Paul Steigerwald

Russ and Avery Hayes isn't a good option.

Maybe Kendall would look better in that first-line slot, at least for now while Sid's out.

And then, you know, what do you do after that?

Well, you know, Tommy Novak's been really good.

I have no complaints about what the Penguins are doing in the middle.

I mean, Blake Lizotte is a great fourth-line center, so I'm happy with that.

But depth is an issue.

And I don't know if he ended up with a throw check, if that's really almost too much.

considering the fact that those other guys are playing pretty well.

I just think you need another center iceman who can spell one of these guys that are in there now if they should go down for a few games.

I think so.

And I think the Rangers like him a lot.

And that's the other thing.

Like the Rangers can't just abandon ship at this point, you know,

They'd love to.

I'm sure they'd like to shake that JT Miller contract because that's a big one.

But Trochek, he's a different bird.

I mean, he's a really important guy for them.

What they really need to do is get a centerman who can play ahead of Trochek so that they can maximize the value they get from him because they're not that strong in the middle.

And they need a center iceman who can really kind of take them to another level.