Line Combos: 2017-18 Lineup

[neelynugs]

Lines I'd like to see when Krejci is back...

Marchand - Bergeron - Bjork
Cehlarik - Krejci - Pastrnak
DeBrusk - Backes - Heinen
Vatrano - Nash/Kuraly - Czarnik

Chara - McAvoy
Krug - Carlo
3rd pair still a mess. Need a puck mover to play with 86/54.

interesting. hey bill, check this out - not sure if anyone remembers this from last preseason (i barely do)....... heinen-backes-pastrnak:

http://www.weei.com/blogs/dj-bean/d...inen-produce-bruins-preseason-win-over-flyers

 

[BigBear83]

Cant remember, but some of pb's regulars can maybe help out.. who did debrusk primarily play with in providence.. was there anyone that he seemed to have a lot of chemistry with? especially the second half of the season where he started to figure it out.

 

[Fenian24]

You keep saying that Heinen is too similar to a bunch of other players the B’s have.

Serious question, who are all these guys he is similar to? I don’t see it.

The guy I think he’s most similar to is probably Krejci (pass first guy who is defensively/postionally sound).

Cehlarik, Czarnik, Spooner, Donato, Fitzgerald all have a similar skill set, Heinen may be the best of that group but the have a lot of pass first players/prospects with average size or less.

 

[BruinDust]

Cehlarik, Czarnik, Spooner, Donato, Fitzgerald all have a similar skill set, Heinen may be the best of that group but the have a lot of pass first players/prospects with average size or less.

Small to average size - Check

"Pass-first" players - Check

Clearly all very similar players.

You seem to divide players into 3 categories

1) Power Forwards

2) Traditional 4th line wingers (see Ryan White)

3) Everyone else

 

[Fenian24]

What trades did they turn down?

Refusing to trade a 20-year old Top 4 right-shot D-man (where they don't have a lot of long-term depth in the system at RD) for a UFA-in-two year's Duchene or another left-shot winger in Landeskog? Not to mention we don't know what else Colorado asked for on top of Carlo.

Did you happen to notice that they just had not one, but two, left-shot rookie wingers break camp with the team?

Or that Bjork's production thus far in Boston is equal what Landeskog's is in Colorado, in less games no less.

Not trading for a couple Colorado forwards is going to make this team pay for year's to come? Give me a break.

I did notice Bjork's production and game and like him with Bergeron and Marchand, should be a 20 goal 30 asst guy for years to come with speed and solid defensively. DeBrusk has been inconsistent but ok, they are relying too much on him as a top 6 and I would be more comfortable with him on a line with Backes and Nash. I take Landeskog over either in the top 6.

What's going to make them pay is Sweeney refusing good deals because of his prized prospect, poor FA signing trying to make up for bad trades (Lucic/picks/Belesky/Backes thread we discussed) and over valuing prospects. We'll see where Carlo is in a few years. I take the sure thing over the maybe every time.

 

[Fenian24]

Small to average size - Check

"Pass-first" players - Check

Clearly all very similar players.

You seem to divide players into 3 categories

1) Power Forwards

2) Traditional 4th line wingers (see Ryan White)

3) Everyone else

And great two way players (Bergeron, Kopitar, etc), pure offensive players (pastrnak, Seguin) and pests (Marchand, Roussell). Once again a mix of talent and toughness, they have little toughness in system past Frederic and Gabrielle.

 

[BruinDust]

I did notice Bjork's production and game and like him with Bergeron and Marchand, should be a 20 goal 30 asst guy for years to come with speed and solid defensively. DeBrusk has been inconsistent but ok, they are relying too much on him as a top 6 and I would be more comfortable with him on a line with Backes and Nash. I take Landeskog over either in the top 6.

What's going to make them pay is Sweeney refusing good deals because of his prized prospect, poor FA signing trying to make up for bad trades (Lucic/picks/Belesky/Backes thread we discussed) and over valuing prospects. We'll see where Carlo is in a few years. I take the sure thing over the maybe every time.

Debrusk is 7 games into his career. And he may end up on the 3rd line at some point this season, but he's looked promising thus far.

The point was, what purpose would robbing from a position with little long-term depth past McAvoy and Carlo (RD) to bring in ANOTHER winger.

While his FA signings have been questionable, you never answered the question, what "good" deals do you have knowledge of that Sweeney has turned down?

 

[BruinDust]

And great two way players (Bergeron, Kopitar, etc), pure offensive players (pastrnak, Seguin) and pests (Marchand, Roussell). Once again a mix of talent and toughness, they have little toughness in system past Frederic and Gabrielle.

Did you actually just lump Brad Marchand and Antoine Roussell together?

 

[Fenian24]

Did you actually just lump Brad Marchand and Antoine Roussell together?

Examples of pests, I could add Andrew Shaw, Ken Linseman and Steve Ott if you like. Wasn't a measure of talent more playing style.

I do Carlo for Landeskog, we won't know who is right about this for a few years. I think Carlo is way over rated by some Bruins fans.

 

[bp13]

Examples of pests, I could add Andrew Shaw, Ken Linseman and Steve Ott if you like. Wasn't a measure of talent more playing style.

I do Carlo for Landeskog, we won't know who is right about this for a few years. I think Carlo is way over rated by some Bruins fans.

Here's the problem...you don't know that Sweeney refused to trade Carlo for Landeskog, Duchene or anyone else. Flip side, we don't if he didn't either. But acting like either one is a fact seems silly.

 

[BruinDust]

Examples of pests, I could add Andrew Shaw, Ken Linseman and Steve Ott if you like. Wasn't a measure of talent more playing style.

I do Carlo for Landeskog, we won't know who is right about this for a few years. I think Carlo is way over rated by some Bruins fans.

"Pest" isn't a playing style. You want to categorize Marchand put him right alongside the Bergeron's and Kopitar's with the elite forwards who play well all 200 ft.

You don't need a few years, you're trading a Top 4 RD in Carlo for a Top 6 winger in Landeskog. Right here today, not down the road.

That's the trade you're proposing. And it makes no sense for the Bruins.

 

[Absurdity]

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Cehlarik, Czarnik, Spooner, Donato, Fitzgerald all have a similar skill set, Heinen may be the best of that group but the have a lot of pass first players/prospects with average size or less.

Have you watched the guys you listed play? I would agree that Spooner and Heinen are both pass first players, but I would argue that defensively Heinen is already much better, and their games are far different. I look at the prospects you listed and see six different players, with six different style of play.

I think you paint with much too broad a brush.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I look at that Bottom 6 and can't say I'm overly thrilled, particularly when I know what is sitting in PRO, waiting for the call.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

I look at that Bottom 6 and can't say I'm overly thrilled, particularly when I know what is sitting in PRO, waiting for the call.

These bottom two lines won't bring any offense that's for sure.

 

[Mainehockey33]

I bet Cassidy is asking Sweeney for some help from Providence too. We saw that when he has options, he’s not afraid to sit Beleskey. If he had Heinen and Cehlarik, he would definitely play them.

 

[BruinDust]

I look at that Bottom 6 and can't say I'm overly thrilled, particularly when I know what is sitting in PRO, waiting for the call.

I don't get why Vatrano is subbing in with a guy on a PTO in White.

Then again, I don't get why Agostino is still up in Boston and Heinen is in Providence.

 

[Sheppy]

I wonder if the Bruins know that there is this thing called trading in the NHL to get a better team/bottom 6.

 

[bp13]

That 3rd line is gross. Just awful. But we've said that before already, and it's likely to be a full season of ugly bottom 6 lineups, so I guess we just deal with it.

 

[DKH]

Lines I'd like to see when Krejci is back...

Marchand - Bergeron - Bjork
Cehlarik - Krejci - Pastrnak
DeBrusk - Backes - Heinen
Vatrano - Nash/Kuraly - Czarnik

Chara - McAvoy
Krug - Carlo
3rd pair still a mess. Need a puck mover to play with 86/54.

That's pretty much mine as well

Two changes

1. Switch Carlo & McAvoy
2. Alternate Acciari and Czarnik on 4th line depending on competition

I like O'Gara and Grzelcyk and both shoot left so I'd put him with 86 if that's what you need but I have confidence in O'Gara

 

[DKH]

That 3rd line is gross. Just awful. But we've said that before already, and it's likely to be a full season of ugly bottom 6 lineups, so I guess we just deal with it.

It will work its way out

Swans and butterflies don't exactly start out looking like Kate Upton

 

[PB37]

I wonder if the Bruins know that there is this thing called trading in the NHL to get a better team/bottom 6.

I wonder if you know trading in the NHL is vastly different than how it happens on your XBox.

 

[Tampbear]

I wonder if you know trading in the NHL is vastly different than how it happens on your XBox.

I don't know who to trade for or who to trade at this point which I think is the biggest reason no trade has gone one, but teams still identify needs and make trades happen. For a team with so many prospects we should have seen a move by now, we should have upgraded the forwards last year and not been juggling so many different prospects for spots on the team. As DKH said it will work out, there is way too much skill in the system for it not to, but we could be more competitive last year and right now if we had done a better job identifying what we wanted the roster to look like and traded some of our excess prospects for an established player.

 

[bp13]

It will work its way out

Swans and butterflies don't exactly start out looking like Kate Upton

True.

I think it's fine to keep giving some of the unknowns rope and I expect they will, I'd just like to see more logical roster construction. We're stuck with Backes, but let's see him at center anchoring a 3rd line. And let's see some kids with certain skillsets playing together rather than guys like Beleskey and even Nash just thrown into the mix. They're paid for so I see the business argument, it's just unfortunate because it affects the lineup negatively.

 

[PB37]

True.

I think it's fine to keep giving some of the unknowns rope and I expect they will, I'd just like to see more logical roster construction. We're stuck with Backes, but let's see him at center anchoring a 3rd line. And let's see some kids with certain skillsets playing together rather than guys like Beleskey and even Nash just thrown into the mix. They're paid for so I see the business argument, it's just unfortunate because it affects the lineup negatively.

It is unfortunate, because this team expected more out of Beleskey and rightfully so. I don't know what happened with the guy to go from a 40ish point winger like he was in his first season to the guy we see now. I don't know if the knee injury last year had some sort of career disrupting implications or if he's cashed in on his paycheck and lifestyle and tuned out. I do hope this is the last season we have to deal with Beleskey. I want to see him rebound and have a good season, but I just don't see it happening.