All of this C talk is pointless until we know what they're going to do with Galchenyuk.
I think it's pretty clear from CJ/MB's postmortem what they're going to do with AGally.
As far as his organizational status:
- he's not getting traded as many of us have assumed/sensationalized
- which means he has to get some kind of a new contract, which I'm guessing will just be a 1 year second bridge deal, it's the only thing that makes sense for both sides
As far as his team status:
- sounds like all parties (AGally included) realize that he's not ready to be a #1C, which is a shame after 5 years, and the blame can equally be split between the player and team
- it sounds like they do still hold out hope (CJ in particular) that he can still become a top 6 centre, but that he still needs more time and has a lot to learn
- until such time, the team's best position to succeed is with him at wing
So for 2017-2018, he's viewed as a winger. Meaning they have to acquire a centre. And frankly, AGally on wing doesn't sound so horrid if he's got Duchene centering him