Speculation: Projecting lines for 2017-18

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Do you guys see Kamenev making the team at all?

Not out of camp, but I would expect to see Kamenev up for 15-20 games during the season so he can get a feel for what it takes to sustain the grind of playing in the NHL, similar to what Aberg did last year. He definitely has an upward trajectory in this organization, though.

 

[Armourboy]

Only way I see it happening is if he comes into camp and sets the world on fire and it becomes almost impossible not to give him a chance.

We can always move Jarnkrok to wing.

 

[Legionnaire11]

If Fisher returns it would be impossible to bring Kamenev in next season unless there were 2-3 injuries at center.

Milwaukee should be very good with Gaudreau, Kamenev and Ejdsell though!

 

[Scoresberg]

Rexrode said it best: this was a good offseason if the kids succeed, if not Poile just killed our wing depth.. should've given LV Jarnkrok we would've had Joey-Bonino-Sissons/Fisher-Sissons/Gaudreau still down the middle. The Wilson trade killed what was left of it. Our RW depth hangs solely on Aberg, and that's not a good thing necessarily.. Fiala has to succeed, too and Hartnell can't regress. That's just too many wildcards goddammit Poile!! At least Neal would've given us 20 goals and Willy 30-40 points.

 

[Mortiest Morty]

Hartnell is better than Wilson. Has been every single year Wilson has been in this league. So Poile upgraded Wilson while saving 3 million and getting a 4th. Whatever you think of anything else this offseason, that move was brilliant. I really don't see how anyone can complain about that one.

With Hartnell here, Wilson needed to go, not only for cap space, but to give Fiala a fulltime chance at LW. I'd much rather give Fiala a chance than hope that this year, his 9th in the NHL, will be when Colin Wilson finally figures it out, discovers some consistency and becomes more than a 35 point player. (Spoiler alert: He won't)

 

[LMFAO]

Forsberg-Johansen-Arvidsson
Fiala-Bonino-Smith
Hartnell-Jarnkrok-Aberg
Watson-Fisher-Sissons

 

[jumb0]

forsberg-johansen-arvidsson
fiala-bonino-smith
hartnell-jarnkrok-aberg
watson-sissons-salomaki/mccloud

fify

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Has it ever occurred to anyone that we don't actually need a RWer as much as we need a legit top line LWer? Forsberg is great but I actually he'd be better on RW. He was drafted as a RW IIRC, and being on the RW allows him to flourish better defensively, especially as Arvidsson looks overwhelmed 5 on 5 defensively. Sure his shot might suffer a little, but it shouldn't be that significant. He's a smart player regardless.

Fiala-Johansen-Forsberg
????-Bonino-Arvidsson
Hartnell-Jarnkrok-Smith
Watson-Sissons-Aberg/Gaudreau

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

Has it ever occurred to anyone that we don't actually need a RWer as much as we need a legit top line LWer? Forsberg is great but I actually he'd be better on RW. He was drafted as a RW IIRC, and being on the RW allows him to flourish better defensively, especially as Arvidsson looks overwhelmed 5 on 5 defensively. Sure his shot might suffer a little, but it shouldn't be that significant. He's a smart player regardless.

Fiala-Johansen-Forsberg
????-Bonino-Arvidsson
Hartnell-Jarnkrok-Smith
Watson-Sissons-Aberg/Gaudreau

As good as Fil's shot is I would rather leave him on his off wing.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

As good as Fil's shot is I would rather leave him on his off wing.

Aka be on RW just so we're on the same page? I agree with you then.

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

Aka be on RW just so we're on the same page? I agree with you then.

No, he shoots right handed. Leaving him on the left wing gives him more shooting angles.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

No, he shoots right handed. Leaving him on the left wing gives him more shooting angles.

Eh not necessarily? Exposes more dangerous areas, but less space. Besides on RW he can flourish better defensively.

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

Eh not necessarily? Exposes more dangerous areas, but less space. Besides on RW he can flourish better defensively.

He doesn't need to flourish defensively. I think he's fine in that aspect. Definitely don't want to sacrifice any scoring ability for defensive prowess. Don't know what you mean about not necessarily. Simple geometry says you have about a 15% better angle shooting left to right than right to left for a right handed player.

 

[triggrman]

Eh not necessarily? Exposes more dangerous areas, but less space. Besides on RW he can flourish better defensively.

With his speed, space isn't an issue. Having him on the offwing does give him more space, you said the same about Forsberg, and to me, that's nuts, Forsberg's shot is his most dangerous quality, he is by far better on his offwing. Fiala is more of a play maker but again it's not that big of a deal either way, also wingers cross so much, that it's not as much of an issue regardless.

 

[BigFatCat999]

So Fiala is now Wolverine and Smith is the Honey Badger. So, do we get an animal kingdom line?

 

[GoldOnGold]

Hard to believe that Forsberg only got 3 PP goals last year. Hopefully that number could come up some.

 

[Persona5]

Hard to believe that Forsberg only got 3 PP goals last year. Hopefully that number could come up some.

I personally would like to see a bit of an overhaul on how we manage our power play. I would like to see us use more of an umbrella style where you have your D and 1 forward higher in the zone and 2 forwards swapping between the halfwall and netfront. Forsberg would likely be one of those high forwards and should give him more high % chances. With the coaching change we could see this happen. My only worry is they continue to focus on giving our D all the shots with the system they used last season.

 

[Persona5]

So Fiala is now Wolverine and Smith is the Honey Badger. So, do we get an animal kingdom line?

Well Bonino is a former Bulldog so it could work kinda.

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

I personally would like to see a bit of an overhaul on how we manage our power play. I would like to see us use more of an umbrella style where you have your D and 1 forward higher in the zone and 2 forwards swapping between the halfwall and netfront. Forsberg would likely be one of those high forwards and should give him more high % chances. With the coaching change we could see this happen. My only worry is they continue to focus on giving our D all the shots with the system they used last season.

PP going to look a lot different under a new coach and with Hartnell.

 

[Gh24]

Has it ever occurred to anyone that we don't actually need a RWer as much as we need a legit top line LWer? Forsberg is great but I actually he'd be better on RW.

I'm pretty confident that this idea has crossed Laviolette's mind at some point during these years, maybe couple of times, and Forsberg is still LW. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to see him on right side any time soon.

And we don't need him to flourish defensively as much as we need him to flourish offensively.

 

[triggrman]

Hard to believe that Forsberg only got 3 PP goals last year. Hopefully that number could come up some.

I agree. With our defensemen and Forsberg's ability to get his shot off quickly in tight spaces he should be more of a weapon on the pp.

If he could figure that out, he'd be a 40 goal scorer.

 

[Gh24]

I think I've said it before, but we lack variety on our PP.

Neal was very productive on PP in Pens, but in Preds his PP production took a huge dive. Why? Because we stubbornly just feed our dmen and have them take most of the shots. After Weber it's not so obvious anymore who's gonna take the shot eventually, but it's still the same.

Maybe it's a playmaking (lack of) thing, but we should have few variations where we end up having Forsberg, Arvidsson or Neal (not anymore obviously) take the shot, if the opponent plays wide to block those passing lanes to our dmen.

 

[EXTRAS]

Kamenev needs to make this team soon or he will head back to russia.

 

[Soundgarden]

Kamenev needs to make this team soon or he will head back to russia.

source?

 

[Legionnaire11]

And if he's not good enough to make the team, how is it a loss if he leaves?