Line Combos: Could Petro shift to the left side?

[Vladdy the Impaler]

I know no one has mentioned it yet, but what if Petro shifted to the left side? That would leave Shatty and Parayko (our better offensive threats) on their strong side while Petro could adjust his playmaking abilities to the weak side? I'm assuming most people would say no since Petro is obviously our strongest D man, but maybe shifting him over would create the best balance?

Petro-Shatty
Jay Bo-Parayko
Edmundson-Bortuzzo


Thoughts? I'm assuming most will say no, but it's just a thought I had since no one had suggested it yet

Click to read more...

 

[bleedblue1223]

He could, and he played there a little in his junior days, but he's better on his natural right. When Shatty is paired with Petro, he is the one on the left, and that makes the most sense. His skill set makes him the best to transition to the other side. His puck skills and skating would be the best on his opposite side between him, Petro, and Parayko.

 

[Alklha]

We flirted with this before we got Bouwmeester, and never went through with it. He is a good enough player that he is still going to be excellent on his off-side, but it is going to take away from aspects of his game.

Considering the need was greater before acquiring Bouwmeester, I think that makes it clear that it's an unlikely option from the teams perspective.

 

[bleedblue1223]

We flirted with this before we got Bouwmeester, and never went through with it. He is a good enough player that he is still going to be excellent on his off-side, but it is going to take away from aspects of his game.

Considering the need was greater before acquiring Bouwmeester, I think that makes it clear that it's an unlikely option from the teams perspective.

Exactly. This is much more of a fan problem than an actual team issue. It is not an issue to always have Pietrangelo, Shattenkirk, or Parayko on the ice. There's not much benefit in giving Parayko big minutes in his rookie year. It's better to keep him as fresh as possible for the playoffs. Burning him out before the season actually matters would be a complete waste.

 

[STL fan in MN]

They've tried both Petro and Shatty on the left before and both are way better on the right side.

 

[stlbluz]

Just read this from JR: "Shattenkirk playing on left side with Bortuzzo on the right."

 

[ManyIdeas]

Just read this from JR: "Shattenkirk playing on left side with Bortuzzo on the right."

Which of Gunn/Ed are out if this happens?

 

[MissouriMook]

Which of Gunn/Ed are out if this happens?

Edmundson was reported to be the "extra" in practice this morning, but I wouldn't put too much in this unless the situation is the same tomorrow morning.

 

[izzy]

Too bad, Gunnarson is trash (unless things have changed the last 4 games which I've missed all of sadly)

 

[ManyIdeas]

Too bad, Gunnarson is trash (unless things have changed the last 4 games which I've missed all of sadly)

To strengthen your opinion further, I thought he had looked better 5-10 games ago, and in the past few he has been absolutely brutal.

 

[Robb_K]

Parayko is the best one to move to his off side. He cruises all over the ice on offense, so he is used to stickhandling, passing and shooting from that side. The big problem is to get used to defending opponents from the opposite side. That can likely be accomplished better by a young player, who doesn't have so very many games and years of doing things that one way, as the veterans do. I think Parayko looked very good on his opposite side in those few games, and he will do even better as he gets more used to it. I think it is not practical top ask Pietrangelo or Shattenkitrk to make such a substantial change to their ingrained way of playing.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Just read this from JR: "Shattenkirk playing on left side with Bortuzzo on the right."

And then of course the follow up tweet:

@jprutherford: Spoke to Shattenkirk ... he says it was just coincidence that he took a few rushes on the left side today. #

i.e., the thought can be disregarded.

 

[Oberyn]

The best solution I can see is force Parayko to use a left handed stick over the entire offseason so that he transitions to a LHD. Nothing is impossible for Parayko.

 

[BlueDream]

If one has to do it, then it should be Pietrangelo since he's our best defenseman and should handle it the best.

 

[KirkOut]

Moving one of them to the left would be just what the other teams are expecting. We'd be playing right into their hands. I say we move Bouwmeester to the right. They will never see that coming

 

[Oberyn]

If one has to do it, then it should be Pietrangelo since he's our best defenseman and should handle it the best.

But is it smart to handicap our best defenseman by putting him in an unfavorable position? Pietrangelo at his best is more valuable than Shattenkirk and Parayko at their best.

 

[Borderbluesfan]

Parayko could play defense with a goalie stick on either side defensively and would still put up big offensive and defensive numbers, lol.

 

[BlueDream]

But is it smart to handicap our best defenseman by putting him in an unfavorable position? Pietrangelo at his best is more valuable than Shattenkirk and Parayko at their best.

Well I also don't think we should do anything to hamper Parayko's development.

After reading Ryan Suter's comments today, maybe it really is that difficult and shouldn't be considered at all. But then I still think a trade will eventually be made.

 

[EastonBlues22]

In the offensive zone, it makes more sense to have the better shots on their off-side to give them better shooting angles and give them one-timing possibilities. That favors Shattenkirk and Parayko. While I'm thinking about it, I wouldn't mind seeing Parayko getting some PP time on the left half-wall, with Steen/Tarasenko on the right half-wall and Shattenkirk up top.

In the defensive zone, I'm not worried about any of these guys defending as much as I'm worried about how it will affect their ability to break out. Parayko carries it out more than Shattenkirk, so the altered passing angles probably matter less to him.

Ultimately, I think Parayko might be the best theoretical fit over there if we're in the mood for some experimenting, but that might be a bit much to throw at him his rookie year. Shattenkirk is probably the next best bet.

I'd rather keep Pietrangelo where he is.

 

[Robb_K]

Well I also don't think we should do anything to hamper Parayko's development.

After reading Ryan Suter's comments today, maybe it really is that difficult and shouldn't be considered at all. But then I still think a trade will eventually be made.

Where can I hear (or read) what Suter said? I assume that he said it would be difficult for any defenceman to adjust to the differences. But, I think it would be a lot more difficult for a long-time player. I still think Parayko would be the best candidate.

 

[BlueDream]

Where can I hear (or read) what Suter said? I assume that he said it would be difficult for any defenceman to adjust to the differences. But, I think it would be a lot more difficult for a long-time player. I still think Parayko would be the best candidate.

Here:

"Yeah, I don't know what they're thinking," said Suter. "I need to play with a right-handed defenseman. To give me more options. Neutral zone. Offensively. And even coming out of the D zone, it's not fair to put a guy on his off side."

 

[kimzey59]

Here:

While I get where Suter is coming from, I don't agree with him on this topic. There are plenty of D men still in the League who grew up and developed playing their "off side". Chara probably being the best example currently in the League. He is a lefty shot, but was developed as a right side D man(to better utilize his cannon of a shot) and his defensive and passing timing/reads have been adjusted to playing that side to the point where he looks bad when shifted back to the left side.

Suter spent a good deal of his early career with Shea Weber and he grew accustomed to the timing and lanes that a natural right shooter provides. I get that aspect of it. At the same time, I don't think it's even remotely justified to say that players shouldn't play their off-side because of it. I think it depends completely on the player in question and how they respond to the timing and read adjustments. Some of the better D men in history did so playing their off-side(start that list with our own Chris Pronger).

 

[STL fan in MN]

In the offensive zone, it makes more sense to have the better shots on their off-side to give them better shooting angles and give them one-timing possibilities. That favors Shattenkirk and Parayko.

I would only agree with that on the power play. 5 on 5, it's usually way better in the offensive zone to have a d-man that is on his forehand while along the boards for pinches. And that's just the offensive zone. The handedness plays a much bigger factor in the D zone in terms of rushes, transitions, outlets, etc.

That said, I do also agree with Kimzey though in that it depends on the player. By and large though, a huge majority of players prefer to play on their natural side...and if it were up to them, would also prefer their parter also playing their natural side. It just makes the transitions easier. Since there are a lot more lefty d-men then righties though, there are quite a few lefties that have successfully transitioned to the right side. With righties at a premium, very few righties end up play much on the left side at all. The Blues have an odd problem in having too many righties.

 

[DatDude44]

I actually don't hate this... and shatty could feed him one timers....but man... jay-petro shutting down other teams top lines sounds a lot better than petrol-shatty. Not to hate on shatty, but i just don't think he's a great top pair defensemen DEFENSIVELY, he's good but not fantastic or shutdown by any means. I think if anything, parayko or shatty should move to the left side on the 2nd pair and play together....shatty has great hands for retrieving the puck off the wall on is offside but man it'd be nice to see parayko ripping one timers other than on the PP.

 

[Celtic Note]

This whole handedness thing seems a little overblown to me. Players can learn to swap sides. Their are plenty of case studies to support it.

And for those saying we tried Shatty and Petro and they didn't look good on their off side, how long do you think it will take a player to acclimate? I would say you need 30-40 games before a player looks comfortable. Has either Petro or Shatty had that number in a row or close to it? Judging a player based on a few games just doesn't seem an ample sample size.