Miller Time
Registered User
- Sep 16, 2004
- 23,279
- 15,767
Interesting...Both the players on his line and the players on other lines who need to be defended. I see his upside as a Damphousse, a "second line" center who plays defense against top lines and also puts up points.
Last year you couldn't really evaluate the forwards because so much of the the play stayed in the habs end. They're still in a mess, they don't necessarily need more scorers but they need guys who can push the play, get the puck up the ice and occupy opposing players. They are well into the rebuild and Hughes still needs to get the rarest, most in demand players.
I think he's already performing at the "upside" level you defined.
I'd argue his upside is higher than that, something closer to an elite 2-way C. Bergeron-lite, or on par with peak ROR.
Either way, he's a great top 6 piece to have in place & a perfect captain for this market & the eventual cup contending roster KH is building