Smilanic seems like he would be a nice addition

27 goals in 2 seasons at Quinnipiac. I wonder what prompted him to want to enter the portal? Quinnipiac seems to be a senior laden team and maybe their cupboard will be a little bare next year?

Primeau looks like a decent pick up too, but in him I see just another in a long line of good Notre Dame forwards who are functional on the top lines. Nice to have but be nothing like the dynamic scoring threat this team is screaming for.

We need that line that can't be shut down for an entire game or weekend and uses up the other team's shutdown defenders, so our second scoring line can see most of their ice time against the guys who are generally grocery sticks. We need scorers with enough skill who can create their own space and make plays even when our puck possession system is momentarily thwarted. It has been too easy for a team that knows what to do to clamp down on Notre Dame and leave us with virtually no chance to score.

This all plays out on the biggest stage and we are simply too easy to shut down. Just 2 goals in the last 4 NCAA losses. No other team is that offense-averse even in losing NCAA tournament games. Among 20 other teams with numerous NCAA appearances in the last dozen or so seasons only Providence is close, with 3 goals in their last 4 NCAA losses. That list includes teams that have won titles, teams that have made FFs and teams that have not won any of their last 4 NCAA games. They all manage to create more offensively than Notre Dame.

It is a myth that goaltending and/or defense wins titles. You also have to score. 5 of the last 6 NCAA champs finished in the top 5 in goals scored in the NCAA. The one that didn't was UMD in 2018. Until we see a serious commitment to upgrading our goal scorers or playing a very different style of hockey, this team is not going to realistically threaten to beat 4 different teams in an NCAA tournament.