Is it too late to request another review of my team?
DETROIT RIOTS
Manager: HomeNugget
Head Coach: Jack Adams
Assistant Coach: Paul MacLean
Captain: Gordie Howe
Alternate Captains:Jack Stewart, Ching Johnson
ROSTER
Charlie Simmer - Marcel Dionne - Gordie Howe
Adam Graves - Joe Thornton - Theo Fleury
Yvon Lambert - Ken Linseman - Yevgeny Babich
Dave Schultz - Billy Taylor - Mickey Redmond
Spares: Rob Neidermayer, Manny Malhotra
Jack Stewart - Randy Carlyle
Reed Larson - Ching Johnson
Duncan Keith -Alexander Gusev
Spares: Luke Richardson
Ed Giacomin
Olaf Kolzig
PP1: Simmer - Dionne - Howe - Carlyle - Keith
PP2: Graves - Thornton - Fleury - Larson - Stewart
PK1: Linseman - Lambert - Stewart - Johnson
PK2: Taylor - Howe - Keith - Carlyle
Good first entry.
You ended up with a coach that's definitely in the top half of the draft. Maybe not the top-10 but close. What do I like about your personnel with Adams as the coach? Well, you got his boy Howe. You also have Dave Schultz on a 4th line (that he's not a very good player is another story) and you have Jack Stewart (one of the few toughest players of all-time) and Ching Johnson on the blueline. Adams liked goon hockey. I just read the other day, that he would imply that he wanted his troops to target guys just coming back from injury. Those three players are not above that, not at all. What don't I like? For a perfectly symbiotic relationship, you may have wanted to give him a bang and crash line he can really count on. Billy Taylor and Mickey Redmond... well, they're a
different way to build a 4th line, but not my way, and I don't think it's Adams' way.
First line has Howe on it so it's good by default. Seriously. In my books, Howe's the best of all-time. Dionne is well within the top half of first line centers, and although I am not a fan of Simmer on a 1st line, he's next to the guy that made him an ATD-caliber player, so that can only be a good thing. It's hard to not have a well-built line with Howe on it, because anything his linemates can't do, he can. This line works.
Joe Thornton, years ago, made us forget about the gritty style he used to play. he's a perimeter player, but oh my, can he make plays from there. And I am not one who thinks those points are worth less than they would be from a more involved player. (unless he's literally causing more goals against, but he doesn't) - I think you got him a good set of linemates who will go into the dirtiest areas of the ice. in fact, you almost won't see a better pair of grinding 2nd line wingers - in terms of guts, that is. Fleury is skilled enough to play on a 1st line, but Graves, with his one season as a top-50 scorer, should probably be on an ATD 4th line. Love what he brings to the table, but he's not too much better than Hadfield, IMO. Thornton will generate some offense no matter who he plays with, and he's among the better 2nd line centers here. Fleury can both score and make plays like few post-euro players can. His playoff prowess will help to keep Thornton involved when the games get tight as well. This line works.
Not a huge fan of the 3rd line, but looking around the league, it ain't bad, either. You have a couple of decent two-way gritty guys. Nothing shutdown, but solid. I'd prefer to have someone tougher with Linseman to clean up the messes he makes. Babich is a total unknown in terms of what his all-time value really is. Many of us are not sold on Bobrov, who might not have ever been one of the 10 best LWs in the world, being on an ATD scoring line. So what to make of his linemate and servant, Babich? He was infinitely less talented than Seve, but then at the same time, his 3rd/4th line skill set is enticing. He's fearless, unselfish and a great team player. Expect opinions on Babich (and therefore likely the whole line) to vary greatly.
The 4th line seems like a bit of a mishmash to me. I feel like Taylor and Redmond are there to be offensive ringers, but your top-6 is going to score - you don't need offensive ringers! They add little to the lineup in terms of grit, defense, and momentum changing capabilities. The good news is that in Malhotra and Niedermayer, you have what it takes to make a true energy line. Not a great one. But at least a cohesive one with a purpose. Niedermayer belongs in the MLD, Malhotra below that (But I did almost take him after we got down to 1800 picks), and Schultz could be an MLD enforcer too so it's not like these are off-the-board scrubs, but lower-tier for ATD players, almost inevitable for a newbie team.
Stewart is a lower-tier but legitimate #1. I personally consider Ching Johnson to be your #2, and he's a very good one. Carlyle gets dismissed a little bit, as a guy who won a Norris, was 8th in voting once, and didn't do anything else for the rest of his career. Well, that is true, as long as you consider being a #1 defenseman for six other seasons to be nothing. Carlyle is a good #3. He provides some puck-moving ability, which is good, because I don't think Stewart really does.
How is Reed Larson as a puckmover? I imagine pretty good, but I can't say for sure. He has the big PP bomb, and he's very subpar defensively, (so it's wise that he's paired up with a guy like Ching, who they said was the hardest guy to get around back then) but I don't know if his big numbers show he was a good puck mover, or just a really really good PP specialist. Either way, I think it's a good yin-yang combination. With 40 teams, and with a partner like that, Larson probably isn't out of place.
It's funny that you should have Keith, because he's going to end up having a Randy Carlyle career... plus a cup. He is a late bloomer and won a norris seemingly out of nowhere at age 27, and same as Carlyle, has been a #1 defenseman for basically his whole career so far. He brings good all-around skills, although I don't think he does any one thing very well at the ATD level. Which is fine, he's a 3rd-pairing guy. No complaints about Gusev on a 3rd pairing either.
Giacomin is a well-below average ATD first string goalie. I'm not as high on him as some might be. I've been compelled recently by an argument that he won his 1st team all-stars by playing more games as other teams began to platoon goalies. Almost by default. Though I am sure he was good, I do wonder how good. He's got playoff issues too. But, you did well getting Kolzig for him, as he's got one of the highest career sv% of all-time. I'm sure after a dead puck era adjustment he'd still be in the top-10. Aside from 1998, his teams never won much, but it wasn't his fault.
Luke Richardson is an MLD #6 defenseman at best. Hopefully you don't need to use him all that much.
Why on earth would Reed Larson not be on your #1 PP? Why draft him otherwise?
Graves also needs to come off that 2nd PP unit. If you must have your offensive ringers on the 4th line - use them! Don't worry so much about putting a RW or C on the left side if it's just for the PP. I would pick Redmond, personally. Thornton feeding him and his rocket shot on the PP sounds pretty nice.
Did Billy Taylor kill penalties? I realize that with your lineup set up the way it is, you don't have many options though. Malhotra would of course fix that.
I would normally prefer Howe wears just an A, not a C. But I don't see better options here. Stewart and Johnson are good assistants, probably your best two. These three can lead by committee.
A great newbie team.
