You may want it balanced the way you want it, but trying to give Laine more offensive looks and freeing up space for Connor to start generating were not bad moves.
Line Combos: 2019/2020 Roster Discussion
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I still say we need to trade Wheeler now while he's moveable. By the time they shore up the D, solve the 2C hole he'll be on the wrong side of 35.
I know it's a tough move for fans, more critical PR along with Buff...but it's the best option for the roster moving forward.
I know it's a tough move for fans, more critical PR along with Buff...but it's the best option for the roster moving forward.
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Psych0dad
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Those were fine and surprising moves from PoMo, he usually does not react within game and when it comes to moving Laine to 1st he hasn't made moves within seasons much.
But obviously you'd have more scoring balance with something like
Perreault-Scheifele-Laine
Ehlers-Copp-Wheeler
Connor-Little/Lowry-Roslo
And you could change those LW's any way you want , even use Laine there and put Ehlers on RW in first, but for more balance there should be a potential 30 goal scorer in the 3rd (Ehlers or Connor).
Psych0dad
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I would do it now too, value is at an all time high with two high point seasons. Could get a lot in return and fix the 2nd C hole, maybe even get a top 4 D in the deal. It's a good idea from a rational point of view, maybe not from emotional point of view for a lot of fans. And Maurice would retire out of broken heart the week after, so there's great potential!
I have no issue with either of the top two lines. I see it as Laine getting a shot rather than Ehlers getting demoted. My issue arises with the Lowry line staying the same.Maybe you should take your argument that Laine doesn't belong on the 1st line to the Laine thread, as that will keep you busy for awhile
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Wheeler is probably the best passer on the team and will help generate a lot more offense for that line than MP will. Right now Scheifele and Wheeler are 1-2 in CF% and 1-2 in xGF%. Despite spending most of the season so far on the 2nd line Laine is #3 in both those categories. IMO putting Laine up with Scheifele and Wheeler opens up the very real chance of getting him on a goal scoring run. Again as I stated earlier I think Ehlers also helps get Connor going.
I agree, but I really hope Maurice sees it that way and is willing to balance the TOI because Ehlers deserves a lot of ice time.
Also not a big fan of LSW (would prefer ESL) but we'll see how it goes.
I would love to see Maurice get to the point where the 4 top wingers are interchangeable depending on situation. If we ever got a #2 center anywhere close to Scheifele I'd say the ideal is having all of the top 6 interchangeable.
winnipegger
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Ok, I took a bit of a hiatus from the old ice hockey game since the Blues took out the Jets last April. I come back to find that the entire f***ing defense is gone. I am watching that Islanders game and every time a Jets D-man touches the puck I'm like "who the f*** is that guy". sigh. This might be a tough year.
I must say though, that the young Finnish defenseman is very good.
I must say though, that the young Finnish defenseman is very good.
They should send Heinola down its way too much pressure being the best D on the team as a rookie.
puck stoppa
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You are correct. Our unfortunate circumstances, and there are many, have kept him here. He’s good enough to be an NHLer and will be a stud but let him cotinue to develop in Finland and be that stud next season
But, I'm saying current circumstances are all the reason to send him down. With Mo out, Kulikov out, the only NHL D we have are Pionk and Heinola being forced to play him 30 minutes a game is worse for his development and the team than just losing this year.
Considering Morrissey is most likely back next game and Kuli at most is missing a game and Niku is now called up ice time will normalize. And since Heinola has actually averaged less than 21 minutes a game not 30 in current circumstance I'd expect 17-18 minutes would be closer to the expected range if he stayed up with the Jets.
What hurts a players development is when they are put in circumstances where they are forced to play above their current capabilities and start losing confidence and start getting tentative. There are no signs at this point that would suggest this is the case for Ville. Maybe he starts wearing down with a long season, but load management might be a better strategy. My guess is the biggest reason he gets sent down will be to keep from burning a ELC year when they don't have to.
People complain when jets don't move Laine to 1st line to get him jumpstarted then complain if Ehlers gets moved off that line because it's a demotion. Better to run those 2 lines equal time and just worry to get two effective lines and not worry about demotions.
Gil Fisher
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In theory maybe, but in practise LSW has never worked too well. Three righties might be part of the problem, I don't know. We just have the memory of those non-Wheeler Laine & Scheifele lines that worked really well on 16-17, so at least they are worth of trying.
Though Laine is now more agile and Wheeler has started well with Scheifele (unlike last season when they were horrible 5-on-5 at first), so let's see what happens, but as a roster management point of view it doesn't sound too good to put 3 of your best guys on the same line.
That said ECC might be pretty effective line, if Connor and Ehlers can find each other.
We should have 2 top lines instead of one, so that "demotion" from 1a to 1b would not be demotion at all. Split Scheifele and Wheeler, and call those lines whatever name. Eg. 1st: ECW, 2nd: CSL.
Pros: everyone would be on a top line, playing top line minutes. Secondary scoring would be there. Wheeler can help Copp on playmaking department.
behemolari
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One thing to consider, what we finns know from his FEL years, when Laine puts shitloads of goals he does it from left side. At some point he is going to be ready, then watch.
kelsier
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Yeah you may be right about Roslovic and I'm not even arguing that he's by far the best potential candidate for the job. He certainly wasn't, or rather didn't seem like one last season. Then again he's just reaching to the age where a lot of players make their breakthroughs. Just look at Zibanejad for instance who was already 25 when he finally figured things out. Aside from the experience Roslovic has traits Copp doesn't have which are crucial for any top six center. Being able to move around with the puck more fluidly, having a pretty decent shot, more advanced passing capabilities and I think generally he sees the ice better than Copp. When is the last time he really got a good showcase in the better half of the twelve men forward crew? Can't even remember.
I've been paying attention to Copp a lot and his distribution ability is far below than any average C in the league. Now particularly for a center that's a huge red flag. He doesn't connect all that often and wastes opportunities and once a link breaks the tide turns as we know. I do like the way he's pushing forward unafraid of getting his hands dirty and generally doing his best out there, but I'd prefer soft hands instead of a rigid pair. Which is why I mentioned that instead of waiting yet another injury, Maurice could at least try it for one or two games. Even with improved wingers of Laine and Connor, they really haven't been able to create as much high end scoring chances as one could hope for, yet at the end they wouldn't even need a great C, just a good one.
But as I mentioned if Roslo isn't ready or doesn't have it within him then I see either Wheelers or Perreault as the other potential candidates. The problem with the two is they've spend the past years on the wings but both have at least some experience. Looking further by now it's abundantly clear Little should stay far away from the youngsters/top six and unless Maurice isn't willing to reunite him with Wheelers (which he clearly isn), then these are the options. For a team with extremely weak back end, they absolutely cannot afford bad chemistry nor dysfunctional line combinations with missing links, because each top line has to contribute pretty much on nightly basis - in other words, outscore the opponent.
Anyway I'm certain Copp will remain where he is no matter what comes next as long as he's healthy, cause you know Maurice is Maurice. I'd even argue that trying to outsmart him as far as the line utilization is concerned can be done by basically over half of the fan base. Also I'm not complaining since it seems Laine is finally getting a chance to prove himself in the top line (though that may not last more than a one game if he doesn't produce immediately and/or the Jers lose knowing how the things work). Which is of course nice, but at the same time probably unwise to have your best forwards in one line. Anyway I guess the point is you don't know until you try. Doing my best to remain as optimistic as I can but it isn't easy.
kelsier
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Ah crap. Now that you said it I actually think I remember hearing something alike before but it had escaped me. That explains why they never even tried slotting him in the middle. Too bad though, since that definitely limits the options even more and due to having glaring holes in the back end #2C is no longer the top priority.
DannyGallivan
Your world frightens and confuses me
The trouble with that is that there is only one decent offensive center to play with.
Duke749
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