Your Preferred Line-up

[sarcastro]

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader/Bert (until his back flares up again)
Franzen-Weiss-Alfredsson
Nyquist-Helm-Bert/Abdelkader/Eaves (when Bert gets hurt)
Miller-Andersson-Tatar

Kronwall-Kindl
Q-Ericsson
Smith-Dekeyser

I don't really like either Abby or Bert on that top line, but until Jurco or Mantha or Frk or someone is ready, or until they sign someone who can give that line some muscle and play better offensively than Abby, I guess that's all we can do. I'd like to see Nyquist get a shot with either Hank or Pavel, but if we're keeping those two together you can't put Nyquist on that line. Not at even strength, anyway.

I have no idea about the 2nd line but they're going to start with that and see what happens. Could be a nice line if Weiss and Alfie can get Franzen to play hard. I like the balance of size, speed, and skill that these 3rd and 4th lines bring. I see no purpose in keeping Sammy or Emmerton around.

The D seems like it has better balance this way. For all I know this would cripple Ericsson and Dekeyser, but I figure you have to split up Q and Smith and find out if either one of them can actually play and if that pairing's suckage is mostly due to one or the other. With the depth in the prospect pool I'd hope we see Q get the boot next summer, and if Smith doesn't show improvement I'd just as soon show him the door as well. Too much talent behind them to keep running them out there if it's not working.

 

[Crymson]

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader
Franzen - Weiss - Alfredsson
Tatar - Andersson - Nyquist
Miller - Helm - Eaves

Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Quincey
Kindl - Smith

I really, REALLY want to see a 4th line of Eaves, Helm, and Miller. That would be the best 4th line in the league.

 

[Flowah]

Not sure if I can remember the exact lineup I wrote last time this came up but I really did like that lineup.

Z-Pavs-Alfredsson
Mule-Weiss-Nyquist
Tatar-Andersson-Jurco
Miller-Sheahan-Abdelkader
Emmerton

Ericsson-Smith
Kronwall-DeKeyser
Quincey-Sproul
Lashoff

Howard
Monster

Are you assuming Helm is still injured? Or...

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader
Franzen - Weiss - Alfredsson
Miller - Helm - Tootoo
Nyquist - Andersson - Tatar

Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Smith
Quincey - Kindl

Howard
Gustavsson

 

[Crymson]

Not sure if I can remember the exact lineup I wrote last time this came up but I really did like that lineup.

Z-Pavs-Alfredsson
Mule-Weiss-Nyquist
Tatar-Andersson-Jurco
Miller-Sheahan-Abdelkader
Emmerton

Ericsson-Smith
Kronwall-DeKeyser
Quincey-Sproul
Lashoff

Howard
Monster

Neither Sheahan nor Jurco nor Sproul is ready for NHL duty. Rushing them in this manner would be a good way to ruin them, not to mention that the team would need to dump five forwards rather than two in order to accommodate them. Not gonna happen.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

Bertuzzi Datsyuk Tatar (Size, Skill, Shooting)
Franzen Zetterberg Andersson (Sammy) (Franzen is best with Z. A bit Slow but still)
Nyquist Weiss Alfredsson (3rd line? Pfft.)
Abdelkader Helm Tootoo (Miller) (Best fourth line we've had in a long time)

Kronwall Kindl (Putting Kindl's offensive zone prowess to work)
Ericsson Smith (Giving Smith the green light, with Ericsson playing cautious)
Quincey Dekeyser (Our defenseive pairing, so to speak)
Lashoff

Howard (55-60 games)
Mrazek (22-27 games)

Why? Balanced attack. Offensive weapons play with offensively inclined guys. Hitters play on a hitting line.
We run roll 3 lines of skill and throw the fourth line at the D just to punish them.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

Neither Sheahan nor Jurco nor Sproul is ready for NHL duty. Rushing them in this manner would be a good way to ruin them, not to mention that the team would need to dump five forwards rather than two in order to accommodate them. Not gonna happen.

Rushing them wouldn't ruin them. That's just silly.
And the question wasn't what will happen.. the question was "Your Preferred" lineup.

 

[LeighDx59]

My Helm-less lineup
Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Alfredsson
Nyquist - Weiss - Franzen
Tatar - Andersson - Bertuzzi
Miller - Abdelkader - Eaves (Abby has played center before (I believe) so it works)
(Emmerton, Samuelsson)

My Helm lineup
Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Alfredsson
Nyquist - Weiss - Franzen
Tatar - Helm - Bertuzzi
Abdelkader - Andersson - Miller
(Samuelsson, either Eaves/Emmerton)


Kronwall - Ericsson
Kindl - Quincey
DeKeyser - Smith (DeKeyser is more defensive oriented so it would help Smith join the play more)

Howard
Gustavsson

 

[SoupNazi]

Rushing them wouldn't ruin them. That's just silly.

Plenty of players have failed to reach their full potential because they were rushed.

 

[Frk It]

Bertuzzi Datsyuk Tatar (Size, Skill, Shooting)
Franzen Zetterberg Andersson (Sammy) (Franzen is best with Z. A bit Slow but still)
Nyquist Weiss Alfredsson (3rd line? Pfft.)
Abdelkader Helm Tootoo (Miller) (Best fourth line we've had in a long time)

We share a similar line of thinking, in that we both strive for 3 balanced scoring lines with our line-ups.

Quick question though. What is it about Andersson's game that you think translates well into a top 6 role? I think he's adequate as a bottom 6 fill-in, but I think he wouldn't do much with Zetterberg and Franzen IMO.

Don't know if you caught my lines, but I went with this for my balanced attack:

Franzen-Zetterberg-Nyquist
Tatar-Datsyuk-Alfredsson
Bertuzzi-Weiss-Ferraro

 

[InjuredChoker]

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader
Franzen - Weiss - Alfredsson
Tatar - Andersson - Nyquist
Miller - Helm - Eaves

Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Quincey
Kindl - Smith

I really, REALLY want to see a 4th line of Eaves, Helm, and Miller. That would be the best 4th line in the league.

Not enough size, too soft for that.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Not enough size, too soft for that.

Helm with a bad back, Eaves with a troubling history of concussion issues - what could go wrong?

 

[Run the Jewels]

Neither Sheahan nor Jurco nor Sproul is ready for NHL duty. Rushing them in this manner would be a good way to ruin them, not to mention that the team would need to dump five forwards rather than two in order to accommodate them. Not gonna happen.

Based on his career to date Sheahan is much more likely to be a bottom 6 pivot than he is to be a scoring line center. So he's plenty ready to lock down the 4th line center spot.

Yes, we need to carry IR all stars like Bert, Eaves, Helm and Sammy. They can stay on LTIR as it only costs money that doesn't impact the cap space. I actually like Eaves as a 14th forward but gave the nod to Emmerton since he can play center.

Those lines have size (all three "call ups" are 6'2" - 6'3") and both Tatar and Nyquist have proven themselves to be NHL talents.

I agree that Sproul may be a bit of a stretch but we so lack offensive defensemen that I'd give him a shot on the bottom pairing with Quincey. He'd also man the right point spot on the second power play unit.

And just from a reading comprehension standpoint, the thread title is "Your preferred lineup".

 

[Run the Jewels]

Are you assuming Helm is still injured? Or...

Yeah, there's really nothing to indicate he's ready to take contact.

 

[waltdetroit]

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Mule
Alfie - Weiss - Sammy
Nyquist - Andersson - Tatar
Miller - Helm - Abby/Eaves

Kronwall - Ericsson
Kindl - Quincey
DeKeyser - Smith
Lashoff

Howie/MrZ

 

[InjuredChoker]

Sheahan could/should be ready soon.

Should be one of the first injury callups with Ferraro. Maybe not ready for full time job but if/as the plan is to enter him in the lineup in 14-15 season, I think he plays maybe 10-15 games depending on injuries and how he plays this season etc.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

Plenty of players have failed to reach their full potential because they were rushed.

We're not talking about 18 year olds or 19 years. Jurco will be 21 in December and has size, strength and a full year of AHL hockey in hsi back pocket. On top of that, he's played a lot of playoff hcokey these last two years.

Trying him in the NHL doesn't run him.

Sheahan is 21 and will be 22 in December. Again, he's got the size and skill - so physical limitations aren't a problem.Even better than Jurco, he can be used in a bottom line role where offense isn't the chief concern.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

We share a similar line of thinking, in that we both strive for 3 balanced scoring lines with our line-ups.

Quick question though. What is it about Andersson's game that you think translates well into a top 6 role? I think he's adequate as a bottom 6 fill-in, but I think he wouldn't do much with Zetterberg and Franzen IMO.

Don't know if you caught my lines, but I went with this for my balanced attack:

Franzen-Zetterberg-Nyquist
Tatar-Datsyuk-Alfredsson
Bertuzzi-Weiss-Ferraro

I like your lineup maybe for next year .. though bert will be gone.
I don't think of my lines as top 6 but as top 9.
You can change my line to
Nyquist Weiss Alfreldsson
Franzen Zetterberg Andersson
Bertuzzi Datsyuk Tatar

At the end of the game you load up -- either to score or protect the lead
Andersson has the size to be a winger-even if he doesn't use it

I just think that he's the least signficant guy left in the lineup -- if he wants to play, he needs to play where I put him

Honestly, a move to wing might be best.
Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Weiss are locked up for a few more years. If Helm is healthy, that's four (3 if D-Z play together)
So then, you talk about Sheahan next year and maybe Jarnkrok too.

 

[sarcastro]

Bertuzzi Datsyuk Tatar (Size, Skill, Shooting)
Franzen Zetterberg Andersson (Sammy) (Franzen is best with Z. A bit Slow but still)
Nyquist Weiss Alfredsson (3rd line? Pfft.)
Abdelkader Helm Tootoo (Miller) (Best fourth line we've had in a long time)

Kronwall Kindl (Putting Kindl's offensive zone prowess to work)
Ericsson Smith (Giving Smith the green light, with Ericsson playing cautious)
Quincey Dekeyser (Our defenseive pairing, so to speak)
Lashoff

Howard (55-60 games)
Mrazek (22-27 games)

Why? Balanced attack. Offensive weapons play with offensively inclined guys. Hitters play on a hitting line.
We run roll 3 lines of skill and throw the fourth line at the D just to punish them.

I think we're on the same page regarding the defense - nothing good can come from continuing the Smith-Q pairing.

I like the concept up front, but I wonder where you're going to find enough minutes for everyone there. Even if you assume that they're going to use a 4 forwards most of the time on the PP, you've got what, 60min x 3 forward spots + 8 PPmin = 188 forward minutes a game to divide up. Let's explore that a little.

You're committing to playing Bert and Tatar at least 15 minutes a night (Pavel averaged 15:11 EStoi/g last season). That's pretty ambitious on both accounts. You're asking Bert to do a lot of skating against top D pairings and, since they like to put Pavel against top lines, you're trusting him not to take a bunch of stupid Bert penalties. Tatar is probably better suited to a 12-15 minute a game role to start things off, getting him in more against 3rd and 4th line opposition to let his offense show more.

Line 2 doesn't make much sense with Andersson. You're committing, again, to giving a bottom 6 guy 15+ minutes of prime ice time a night. Those minutes come at the expense of guys like Weiss and Alfredsson, who they just gave a ton of money to, and Helm, who drives the bottom 6 when he's healthy.

With no Miller and no Eaves and no Emmerton, I don't know who does your PKing either. Wearing out Datsyuk or Z on the PK is unwise.

I think having Pavel, Hank, and Weiss on three different lines could work, but not in the configuration you're using. This works better:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Nyquist
Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Alfredsson
Helm-Weiss-Tatar
Miller-Andersson-Eaves/Tootoo

The 3rd line is a little small but has a ton of speed. That line could potentially rip opposing 3rd lines to shreds with speed and skill. And it leaves the 4th line as the PK/spare part line, which makes sense. I'd give the top 3 lines about 18 minutes apiece and have the 4th line do mostly PK work with the odd ES shift thrown in. I'd want Helm on a different line because he needs more than 8 minutes a night and if you put him out there with two skill guys, his stone hands are less noticeable and he can just focus on backchecking and forechecking with speed.

Also, defensive zone coverage is a real weakness for Helm, so having him on the wing would take the net-front backup coverage assignment away and hide that weakness of his as well. There were a lot of goals scored in previous seasons where Helm's man got away from him because Helm had his head turned or otherwise blew the D-zone coverage.

 

[Frk It]

I like your lineup maybe for next year .. though bert will be gone.
I don't think of my lines as top 6 but as top 9.
You can change my line to
Nyquist Weiss Alfreldsson
Franzen Zetterberg Andersson
Bertuzzi Datsyuk Tatar

At the end of the game you load up -- either to score or protect the lead
Andersson has the size to be a winger-even if he doesn't use it

I just think that he's the least signficant guy left in the lineup -- if he wants to play, he needs to play where I put him

Honestly, a move to wing might be best.
Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Weiss are locked up for a few more years. If Helm is healthy, that's four (3 if D-Z play together)
So then, you talk about Sheahan next year and maybe Jarnkrok too.

I see no reason why Ferraro couldn't be on the team this year.
He's got a lot of things going for him.

1. He's fast
2. Right-handed shot
3. Great release on his wrist shot, can elevate and place his shot.
4. Could be on our top PK unit and make us more dangerous in short-handed situations.

He's like a younger, less injury-prone Patrick Eaves. Or a less flashy version of Brunner. Has speed and a shot like Bruner, just minus some of the non-sense. He was the leading goal-scorer in GR last year, for what it's worth.

I'm not too high on Andersson, I think playing him in the top 6 is just as bad, if not worse than playing Abdelkader there. I would have him on my 4th line, or as the 13th forward.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I see no reason why Ferraro couldn't be on the team this year.
He's got a lot of things going for him.

1. He's fast
2. Right-handed shot
3. Great release on his wrist shot, can elevate and place his shot.
4. Could be on our top PK unit and make us more dangerous in short-handed situations.

He's like a younger, less injury-prone Patrick Eaves. Or a less flashy version of Brunner. Has speed and a shot like Bruner, just minus some of the non-sense. He was the leading goal-scorer in GR last year, for what it's worth.

I'm not too high on Andersson, I think playing him in the top 6 is just as bad, if not worse than playing Abdelkader there. I would have him on my 4th line, or as the 13th forward.

Andersson had a lot of success centering the 3rd line last year. His line was at its best when he had Tatar and Nyquist on his wings. That's why I'd like to pair Tatar and Andersson up and add Jurco to the mix.

I think Ferraro is a lock to be on the team by 2014-15. If we go with the old/injured guys this season he is pretty much a lock to get a call up or two when they get injured again. Same as Tatar and Nyquist last season.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

I see no reason why Ferraro couldn't be on the team this year.
He's got a lot of things going for him.

1. He's fast
2. Right-handed shot
3. Great release on his wrist shot, can elevate and place his shot.
4. Could be on our top PK unit and make us more dangerous in short-handed situations.

He's like a younger, less injury-prone Patrick Eaves. Or a less flashy version of Brunner. Has speed and a shot like Bruner, just minus some of the non-sense. He was the leading goal-scorer in GR last year, for what it's worth.

I'm not too high on Andersson, I think playing him in the top 6 is just as bad, if not worse than playing Abdelkader there. I would have him on my 4th line, or as the 13th forward.

I agree. I would have liked to see him on the team in the 12-13 spot this year... playing 50 games or so.

 

[Frk It]

Andersson had a lot of success centering the 3rd line last year. His line was at its best when he had Tatar and Nyquist on his wings. That's why I'd like to pair Tatar and Andersson up and add Jurco to the mix.

I think Ferraro is a lock to be on the team by 2014-15. If we go with the old/injured guys this season he is pretty much a lock to get a call up or two when they get injured again. Same as Tatar and Nyquist last season.

His line was at best when Tatar and Nyquist were on the wing because they drove the line. Just like he looked decent playing with Nyquist and Brunner, because they drove the line. His job was pretty easy having 2 young talented wingers, which says more about his wingers than about Andersson.

I would put Andersson in my line-up as the 3rd center if Nyquist and Tatar were on his line again, but with my lines I would like to see Nyquist on line 1 with Zetterberg, and Tatar on line 2 with Datsyuk. In that scenario I don't really have a use for Andersson in my lines. I would pair Ferraro with Weiss on my 3rd line, and let Bert be the big body on that 3rd line.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

I think we're on the same page regarding the defense - nothing good can come from continuing the Smith-Q pairing.

I like the concept up front, but I wonder where you're going to find enough minutes for everyone there. Even if you assume that they're going to use a 4 forwards most of the time on the PP, you've got what, 60min x 3 forward spots + 8 PPmin = 188 forward minutes a game to divide up. Let's explore that a little.

You're committing to playing Bert and Tatar at least 15 minutes a night (Pavel averaged 15:11 EStoi/g last season). That's pretty ambitious on both accounts. You're asking Bert to do a lot of skating against top D pairings and, since they like to put Pavel against top lines, you're trusting him not to take a bunch of stupid Bert penalties. Tatar is probably better suited to a 12-15 minute a game role to start things off, getting him in more against 3rd and 4th line opposition to let his offense show more.

Line 2 doesn't make much sense with Andersson. You're committing, again, to giving a bottom 6 guy 15+ minutes of prime ice time a night. Those minutes come at the expense of guys like Weiss and Alfredsson, who they just gave a ton of money to, and Helm, who drives the bottom 6 when he's healthy.

With no Miller and no Eaves and no Emmerton, I don't know who does your PKing either. Wearing out Datsyuk or Z on the PK is unwise.

I think having Pavel, Hank, and Weiss on three different lines could work, but not in the configuration you're using. This works better:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Nyquist
Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Alfredsson
Helm-Weiss-Tatar
Miller-Andersson-Eaves/Tootoo

The 3rd line is a little small but has a ton of speed. That line could potentially rip opposing 3rd lines to shreds with speed and skill. And it leaves the 4th line as the PK/spare part line, which makes sense. I'd give the top 3 lines about 18 minutes apiece and have the 4th line do mostly PK work with the odd ES shift thrown in. I'd want Helm on a different line because he needs more than 8 minutes a night and if you put him out there with two skill guys, his stone hands are less noticeable and he can just focus on backchecking and forechecking with speed.

Also, defensive zone coverage is a real weakness for Helm, so having him on the wing would take the net-front backup coverage assignment away and hide that weakness of his as well. There were a lot of goals scored in previous seasons where Helm's man got away from him because Helm had his head turned or otherwise blew the D-zone coverage.

I think it's more like 12-13 minutes... Pavel usually plays 2.5 of the last 5 minutes if the game's close -- which is most NHL games these days.
In the prevent you might go
Zetterberg Datsyuk Abdelkader
Helm Weiss Alfredsson

On the PK I'd go
Helm Abdelkader
Datsyuk Zetterberg
Weiss Nyquist
Andersson Alfredsson

We have no shortage of players

I don't want to see Helm mixed into a scoring line -- which is my basic disagreement with many of the lines I see posted.

the problem I see with your lineup is
1) More Datsyuk + Franzen
2) More abdelkader in the top 6 where he should never, ever be.
3) Helm on a scoring line
4) Fourth line is not particularly fast, is not physical, and not very anything.

 

[Heaton]

I think putting Samuelsson or Bertuzzi in the top 6 in any capacity is setting the team up to fail. I don't want to have them going against the top lines. I don't want to have Babcock changing the important parts of the lineup every few weeks when they get injured. I want players with some upside playing there, that's not Bertuzzi or Samuelsson.