EDMONTON – When Joe Thornton and Logan Couture got hurt in the final weeks of the regular season, the lights got immediately turned up on Tomas Hertl.
For several seasons now, the Sharks have tried desperately to make Hertl a full-time center, with so-so results. That includes the 2015-16 season when he was in the middle of the third line until January. Coach Pete DeBoer then bumped him up to the top line with Thornton and Joe Pavelski, and he thrived. Hertl even started this season in that spot, too.
But the key to DeBoer-coached teams, as well as general manager Doug Wilson’s philosophy, is strength down the middle.