Should Petey be moved to the wing?

There's been a lot of talk about Petey’s struggles this season—whether it’s his production drop, Miller’s absence, or maybe even an injury. There have been plenty of excuses thrown around, but at the end of the day, the pressure is on him to perform. He said he welcomed it, but honestly, I don’t think he’s handling it well right now.

At $11.6M per year, he’s supposed to be that elite 1C, a guy who can take over games and be a difference-maker. But whatever’s going on with him, he’s just not playing like that.

That being said, I don’t think this is just about Petey needing to “be better.” I also think RT and management haven’t really set him up for success. He’s never had a high-end, play-driving winger who can take some of the pressure off him. His lack of chemistry with Boeser is pretty obvious, and I think that’s because Boeser just isn’t a strong skater or play-driver. He’s got a great shot, but he needs to be perfectly set up to use it. And historically, Petey’s been stuck with mid-to-low-tier “top-six” guys like Mikheyev and Beauvillier. Debrusk is decent, but let’s be real—he’s not a legit first-line winger.

I really believe if Petey had someone like Reinhart, Tkachuk, Kempe, Bratt, or Guentzel—guys who can create their own offense and take some heat off him—he’d absolutely take off. But those players don’t grow on trees.

So maybe the best move is shifting Petey to the wing and pairing him with someone like Chytil. Chytil’s speed could help draw defenders and give Petey more space to do his thing. At this point, I feel like it’s at least worth a shot. There were also rumors that Van was looking to acquire an impact player, possibly a center. This could make sense to move Petey to the wing