I definitely want Stepan with Duke. Step thinks hockey at a high pace, and that will force Duke to engage his legs away from the puck. I'm a tiny bit concerned that putting Nash AND Stepan with Duke so early will give him too many non-shoot options. I'd love to see him really learn to be the shot generator in his line. Find open ice in the offensive zone, take the puck to the net, try and finish.
Nash - Brass - St. Louis
Kreider - Stepan - Duke
Hagelin - Hayes - Zuccarello
Mueller - Moore - Stemp
Hagelin is a possession monster. Putting him with Hayes seems like a really smart move. Zucc might be the best player we have at converting offensive zone possession into a scoring chance. He makes smart plays, and always looks to go circle to circle with the puck. Having a guy like Hayes at the net could pay huge dividends for guys that can control the puck and get it to the net. Not to mention Zucc and Hagelin are really good at coming up with the puck when not starting with possession, and Hayes is pretty bad at faceoffs. They could equalize this issue while he improves.
Actually i think you have this backwards. Zucc and Hagelin both drive possession. Neither one is particularly great at scoring, but they are great at getting the puck TO a scorer...
this is why the Zucc-Brass-Nash line needs to stay together.
Hagelin-Hayes-Duclair puts a fast and defensively responsible winger with 2 guys who excel at hockey IQ and vision.
Kreider Step and Duke seems like a no-brainer for me. Stepan is a great pivot for these guys, and they both have speed. Kreider is as north south as NHL players get, and Duke brings a considerable amount of East/West possession skill. Stepan is our best center and I'd love to see what he can get out of them.
AGain, looks good on paper, but I'm not sure you want Duke going against top line competition...
This line should be Kreider-Stepan-MSL
Mueller - Moore - Stemp is a 4th line I actually really like. PP specialist, and two really heady two way guys. Far from the type of 4th line that should get caught in it's own zone much. Plus breaking them up as spare parts through the line-up and on special teams gives AV good options in the face of in-game injuries.
This line i fully agree with
So the lineup you end up with is:
Kreider - Stepan - MSL
Zuccarello - Brassard - Nash
Hagelin - Hayes - Duclair
Mueller - Moore - Stempniak
On games where Duclair is scratched, you can do this instead:
Kreider - Stepan - MSL
Zuccarello - Brassard - Nash
Hagelin - Hayes - Stempniak
Malone/Glass - Moore - Mueller
Many of these players have many roles, and there are only 2 rookies in the lineup as previously expected... That's solid.
I think you could roll with this D for now:
McD - Klein/Girardi
Staal - Boyle
Moore/Hunwick - Klein/Girardi
Moore/Hunwick
Eventually, you keep either Moore or Hunwick (whichever player fits the system better) and trade the other for an upgrade to the 3rd pairing (Sekera or Giordano), and then roll into the playoffs, while keeping Hunwick as a 7th for depth.