Line Combos: 2015-16 Minnesota Wild Line Combos Thread

[Beegoalie]

Moving my thoughts from the Vanek thread.

Fontaine is a perfect example of the type of bottom six player you want to have. Someone just not quite good enough for the top six. I dislike teams that are built with two good scoring lines and two lines full of grinders. That got the Wild absolutely nowhere for many years.

If Coyle keeps playing as well as he did the first two games, no brainer to go with a Vanek-Coyle-Fontaine second line.

When Graovac gets healthy, you have to make a decision to see if he can hang at the NHL level. I would give him a few games at #4 center if Haula continues to do nothing worthwhile. Ideally, I'd move Haula to LW and put Schroeder at RW and see how a fourth line with some skill looks.

Zucker - Koivu - Niederreiter
Parise - Granlund - Pominville
Vanek - Coyle - Fontaine
Haula - Graovac - Schroeder

Looks good to me.

Looks great but that's also the softest 12 forward lineup in the NHL. I don't see how we can play any games without a Carter or even Porter to atleast keep other teams honest.

Yeo has shown it isn't his style and certainly not the Wild's to get into a punching match. But teams like St Louis do throw us around and it gets frustrating. Carter will atleast stick up for teammates. Something Chris Porter needs to do to have a role on this team in my opinion.

 

[Jarick]

We need a bigger sample size, but I didn't see a difference in Coyle's game at center vs wing this year.

In today's NHL, skill wins. Size matters to the extent that players can withstand hits and avoid injuries. Big, skilled players are very valuable but rare. I'd rather have smaller skilled players instead of big guys who can only hit.

Fights are going away and haven't deterred anything in years. Especially with the instigator penalty.

 

[AKL]

Speed and skill reign supreme right now, as opposed to size and physicality.

Having all four a la Jack Eichel though, that's gotta be nice.

 

[BusQuets]

Speed and skill reign supreme right now, as opposed to size and physicality.

Having all four a la Jack Eichel though, that's gotta be nice.

Eichel isn't that physical though. He's more like Koivu on that department, nobody is going to manhandle him but he won't go chasing any big hits like Backes and Getzlaf sometimes do.

 

[TaLoN]

Looks great but that's also the softest 12 forward lineup in the NHL. I don't see how we can play any games without a Carter or even Porter to atleast keep other teams honest.

Yeo has shown it isn't his style and certainly not the Wild's to get into a punching match. But teams like St Louis do throw us around and it gets frustrating. Carter will atleast stick up for teammates. Something Chris Porter needs to do to have a role on this team in my opinion.

Chicago is the only Modern era dynasty, and they don't play anywhere near the game you wish the Wild would play. They play the type of game the Wild already DO play.

This isn't a punch'em-up league anymore. St.Louis throws us around, but we still win on the scoreboard and that's all that matters. That's why we knocked them out of the playoffs while they were trying to hit us everywhere on the ice.

 

[borisbadenough]

We need a bigger sample size, but I didn't see a difference in Coyle's game at center vs wing this year.

In today's NHL, skill wins. Size matters to the extent that players can withstand hits and avoid injuries. Big, skilled players are very valuable but rare. I'd rather have smaller skilled players instead of big guys who can only hit.

Fights are going away and haven't deterred anything in years. Especially with the instigator penalty.

And the offensive skill on the Wild is where outside of maybe three/four guys ? We are not talking Detroit, Ducks, Chicago, or Tampa skill levels here in Minn.

 

[Harvest]

Something should be done for that 1st line cause it's not working.

 

[57special]

When Graovac comes back I would like to see Coyle up in Poms spot, and Poms with Vanek. Maybe even try Haula at C instead of Graovac to give the third line some speed and defensive ability. Would be interesting to see what Vanek and Poms can cook up, and having Coyle doing the heavy lifting on the first line would give Bruce and Zach more room to move.

Right now the third line seems to be disjointed offensively. Vanek is playing the best he has as a Wild, but Chahlie doesn't seem to click with him at all, and Fontaine is.... Fontaine.

Could try Vanek up on the first line, but I don't think he is fast enough to forechecking on that line which would put the load back on the other two.

 

[57special]

Parise- Bruce- Coyle( will do the heavy lifting, freeing up the other two. Tired of seeing Zach having to protect Poms and Granny.

Koivu line stays as is.

Vanek- Carter/Graovac- Poms. Bit odd having the Grinder be the C, but he can provide the D and board work necessary to feed the other two, who have plenty of skill between them to be a mismatch for other teams. Thought about Haula here, but That would make for a soft line. Carter toughens it up. Graovac? Who knows?

Porter- Haula-Fontaine. Very fast fourth line with sneaky offense that Yeo could put out in just about any situation.

 

[Hall of Faber]

16-9-22
11-3-14
26-64-29
18-56-7

 

[DrPP]

Parise- Bruce- Coyle( will do the heavy lifting, freeing up the other two. Tired of seeing Zach having to protect Poms and Granny.

Koivu line stays as is.

Vanek- Carter/Graovac- Poms. Bit odd having the Grinder be the C, but he can provide the D and board work necessary to feed the other two, who have plenty of skill between them to be a mismatch for other teams. Thought about Haula here, but That would make for a soft line. Carter toughens it up. Graovac? Who knows?

Porter- Haula-Fontaine. Very fast fourth line with sneaky offense that Yeo could put out in just about any situation.

I agree. Coyle should play wing and with Parise. He looks best as a RW not C. And he'd add some size to that weak line by replacing Pominville.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Why not keep the Granlund line together and see what a Parise - Coyle - Fontaine line could do? Assuming Fontaine isn't too far out; or until then, go Parise - Haula - Coyle?

Seems pretty balanced.

 

[57special]

Because Granlund is much better at passing than Coyle or Haula. Parise needs some one feeding him.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

Because Granlund is much better at passing than Coyle or Haula. Parise needs some one feeding him.

I actually think the opposite. Parise doesn't need someone feeding him. He can play the same type of north and south game that Coyle likes to play. All Parise needs is someone to get the puck to the net while he's somewhere in the vicinity.

That's what makes Parise great. Yes he can play a skilled game, but with his motor...he really plays a high skill grinding game. Although, he can play a skill game on the rush too. But I'm honestly, a little intrigued to see if Parise's consistency could be a positive presence on Coyle. And Fontaine has a really high hockey IQ and some solid vision...I don't think he would pair all that horribly with Parise either.

I go...

Zucker-Koivu-Nino
Vanek-Granlund-Pominville
Parise-Coyle-Fontaine


I'd at least try it out and you can use the "excuse" that you are sort of easing Parise back. That Vanek Granlund Pommer line has been good and I'd love to see what two of our most cerebral players with some of the best vision and playmaking ability can do with some consistency playing together. Why not try it out? We know that if this team wants to be successful it has to be with the mentaility of 3 scoring lines...

Hawks set the blueprint. Mobile, puck moving defenseman who can skate. They had Toews on line 1. Kane on line 2. Hossa on line 3.

The only way it bugs you for Parise to be on line 3 is if you buy into the traditional ideas about lines. This isn't your fathers game anymore.

 

[MrRuin]

You can say what you want, but Pominville and Granlund have struggled all year, even when Parise was hot. They just now, with Vanek on their wing, show sings of their former self. The line has been very good and Vanek has not slowed down moving up the lineup with those two. If the coaching staff tries Parise with Coyle and leave the Mikko and Granlund lines like they are this could turn out to be a masterstroke. Many IFs...but it could be something great.

 

[BusQuets]

Has Vanek said anything about playing with Granlund? If he likes it, it would be shame to send him back to 3rd line after Parise comes back, he's just been brilliant. Although V anek on the 3rd line makes it instantly much better.

 

[Bruce Granville]

I guess most fans don't like the idea of Parise being a 3rd liner.

 

[BagHead]

I guess most fans don't like the idea of Parise being a 3rd liner.

I'd argue that any line Parise is on is the first line. Is anyone really going to argue that Parise-Coyle-Fontaine is a notably worse line than Vanek-Granlund-Pominville?

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

Don't really care at all. The fact that we have 3 2nd lines or 1a, 1b, 1c (whatever you want to call them) is the reason we can outplay teams that have 1, 2, 3, 4.

 

[borisbadenough]

Don't really care at all. The fact that we have 3 2nd lines or 1a, 1b, 1c (whatever you want to call them) is the reason we can outplay teams that have 1, 2, 3, 4.

Too bad that thought does not fit well into the psyche of professional hockey players.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I guess most fans don't like the idea of Parise being a 3rd liner.

He'd still go back to the #1 PP and his line would play as much as the Koivu and Granlund lines.

I guess it would all depend on how the Granlund line looks over the next 3 games.

 

[57special]

Wild have three second lines, though the way the Koivy line is playing they can make a strong case for being a first line. I agree that it doesn't matter, as long as Parise gets PP time. My problem with Vanek, Poms, and Granlund is that it is soft, slow, and plays small. Giveaway prone, also.

Worth trying. This idea that you need thirty games to figure out if line chemistry is going to work isn't true or practical. These guys swap around at practice all the time, and know each other's tendencies. They should be able to adjust to each other within the course of a game.

 

[borisbadenough]

Wild have three second lines, though the way the Koivy line is playing they can make a strong case for being a first line. I agree that it doesn't matter, as long as Parise gets PP time. My problem with Vanek, Poms, and Granlund is that it is soft, slow, and plays small. Giveaway prone, also.

Worth trying. This idea that you need thirty games to figure out if line chemistry is going to work isn't true or practical. These guys swap around at practice all the time, and know each other's tendencies. They should be able to adjust to each other within the course of a game.

So any line combination I can think of should be able to play effectively in the offensive zone immediately from the first moment they play together? A very interesting observation 57. There is no such thing as chemistry in your book and it does not take time for players to find their game together? If the Pom Gand, TV line were to put up a modest 70-80 goals and 150 pts in a season it would mean absolutely nothing because they were slow, soft and they played small? A goal scored on a rush does not count as much as a goal scored after 45 seconds of offensive zone time? A smart pass that can result in a Grad A scoring chance should not be attempted because it has a higher probability of becoming a turnover?

 

[grN1g]

Once this team is healthy again the lines pretty much warrant themselves.

Parise - Granlund - Pominville/Coyle
Zucker - Koivu - Nino
Vanek - Graovoc - Coyle/Pominville
Porter - Haula/Carter - Carter/Fontain

Suter - Brodin
Scandella - Spurgeron
Prosser - Folin

Send Dumba/Schroeder down.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So any line combination I can think of should be able to play effectively in the offensive zone immediately? A very interesting observation.

There shouldn't be a huge learning curve when you're dealing with talented, offensively gifted, NHL caliber players.