Line Combos: Early 2022-2023 Line combo predictions

[TheNewEra]

It's about the role they want their 3rd pairing to play as to who ends up playing in those positions. If they think Zaitsev fits that role better than Brannstrom then he will be the one who plays that position. IMO the first 5 D spots are taken with Chabot, Zub, Sanderson, Hamonic & Holden & the only spot left will likely go to Zaitsev & Brannstrom will sub in from time to time. Of course, injuries happen or changes are made on performance that will likely change things too from time to time, game to game. And 3 of the guys on D at this time are all UFAs going into the season that could be part of the decision process going forward.

the thing is that we have seen zaistev attempt to fill that role and it bad, like extremely bad

if the team doesnt like brannstrom and doesnt think lassi or jbd are ready then give heatherington a shot, sign someone on a PTO, overpay in a trade (of all the times we have made an overpayment on the market now we draw the line haha).

Its insane to repeat the same experiment over and over again and expect a different result

 

[aragorn]

the thing is that we have seen zaistev attempt to fill that role and it bad, like extremely bad

if the team doesnt like brannstrom and doesnt think lassi or jbd are ready then give heatherington a shot, sign someone on a PTO, overpay in a trade (of all the times we have made an overpayment on the market now we draw the line haha).

Its insane to repeat the same experiment over and over again and expect a different result

Zaitsev has been bad on a team that was really bad & young that made plenty of mistakes. I don't want to defend Zaitsev because I don't think he is very good either but with his experience could be at this time better than the rest including Brannstrom fighting for that last D spot. Given the fire power up front on this team I think the coaching staff is now looking to also reduce their goals against & who gives them the best chance to do that. Then there is the question of one way contracts & who is waver exempt & paying someone to not play.

I think that over the course of this yr they have to look at others, while I like Heatherington for example I'm not sure he will ever be a full time NHL player & could be a bubble guy for his career. The other two (JBD/Lassie) have a shot at being regular NHLers & IMO will certainly be given an opportunity this yr to prove it given the team has 3 UFAs on defence & they have to replace them or re-sign them at some point. My hope is that the offence will make up for the defence this yr, but until they play & start winning consistently the defence will be a question mark all yr.

 

[Alex1234]

Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
Debrincat - Stutzle - P. Kane
Formenton - Pinto - Giroux
Kastelic - Kelly - Motte

Ott: Patrick Kane
Chi: 1st Rd pick, Lassi Thomson, Mathieu Joseph, Tyler Boucher

70 MM$ forward group right there

 

[Tuna99]

No to Kane, would be a bad pickup, as we would just lose him, since no cap space to resign him and DeBrincat.

You missed the part where we won the Stanley Cup with him in the lineup

 

[Cosmix]

Of course, all I'm saying is that in any pick trade that happens on the floor, the guy that's chosen is not what that team wants.

I'll never forget that interaction between Burke and Murray about flipping the 7th and 9th picks in 2009. Burke asked Murray, "who do you want there?" and Murray said Kadri. Burke quickly shut it down telling Murray that's who they're taking, and the conversation was over.

So Ottawa would have asked the Rangers the same question and if they said their guy was JBD, the trade would never have happened and Miller would've been taken later. That 2nd round pick was a bonus, just didn't turn out well.

Now if they got 9 2nd round picks, then that would've been something. Maybe even a cup!

Time will tell which team won that trade. At this time, it appears that NYR won but there are still many years to go. I hope the Senators win in the end.

Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson
DeBrincat-Stutzle-Giroux
Sokolov-Pinto-Joseph
Kelly-Motte-Watson

Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Hamonic
Holden - Brannstrom/Zaitsev

Formenton will sign a week into the season.

I hope that happens but I fear it will not.

 

[Cosmix]

70 MM$ forward group right there

Kane would be a great addition; however I am not sure the team can afford him, nor both him and a top 4 D unless some players are traded.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

At this point. Same PP1 as last year.

DJ rationalizes it as if it aint broke don't fix it.
Personally I would like to see them integrate DCat in the 1st unit. Now is the time to build the chemistry and he is the proven top goal scorer on the team.
We will see how it works out.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

At this point. Same PP1 as last year.

DJ rationalizes it as if it aint broke don't fix it.
Personally I would like to see them integrate DCat in the 1st unit. Now is the time to build the chemistry and he is the proven top goal scorer on the team.
We will see how it works out.

If DeBrincat were to be on PP1, he would likely replace Stutzle I’d think. Both play that left side bumper wall on the PP. I may be wrong about that though

 

[Micklebot]

At this point. Same PP1 as last year.

DJ rationalizes it as if it aint broke don't fix it.
Personally I would like to see them integrate DCat in the 1st unit. Now is the time to build the chemistry and he is the proven top goal scorer on the team.
We will see how it works out.

Idk, if Giroux and DeBrincat find chemistry, that second unit could be pretty killer,

 

[aragorn]

And Pinto already considered for the 2nd PP this yr is great, he has a rocket of a shot & can be the front net presence for tips & big body to screen the goalie. He is going to be a hell of a player & I would love to see him in the rookie race along with Sanderson.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

At this point. Same PP1 as last year.

DJ rationalizes it as if it aint broke don't fix it.
Personally I would like to see them integrate DCat in the 1st unit. Now is the time to build the chemistry and he is the proven top goal scorer on the team.
We will see how it works out.

I understand chemistry is a thing, but I don't see the sense in putting our best goal scorer on PP2. Plus I'd be worried about annoying Debrincat when we need to sign him to an extension.

 

[aragorn]

IMO we have a 1A & 1B PP which could be a 1A PP on some other teams. On any given night the second PP unit could be better than the first PP unit. They could even take turns, the first PP goes out with the first penalty called & the 2nd PP goes out with the second penalty is called. Put out the one that is hot in any given game, hopefully they could both be very good.

 

[Korpse]

If DeBrincat were to be on PP1, he would likely replace Stutzle I’d think. Both play that left side bumper wall on the PP. I may be wrong about that though

I don’t see that happening. The PP ran through Stutzle last year. He is the PPQB and can just as easily move over to the right wall. Having Norris and Debrincat on the same unit isn’t something I would do personally. There’s only one puck to go around.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

I don’t see that happening. The PP ran through Stutzle last year. He is the PPQB and can just as easily move over to the right wall. Having Norris and Debrincat on the same unit isn’t something I would do personally. There’s only one puck to go around.

Ya. Makes sense that DeBrincat is on PP2 to start.

 

[K1900L]

Splitting up DeBrincat and Norris (most lethal shots) as well as Stützle and Giroux (puck movers) on pp seems like the most logical and correct thing to do.

Genuinely believe that this is going to happen on 5v5, too, even if some games into the season. Batherson to the Jimmy line, Giroux to the Norris line.

 

[Micklebot]

The good thing about having two lethal PP units is you don't have to worry about sending out guys who just finished a shift, you can just put out whichever unit is fresh.

The other benefit is one of the units will face the 2nd PK unit

With the focus on having a good start to the season, I think going with what we know works when possible makes a lot of sense.

Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson works,
So far Motte-Pinto-Joseph works.
Chabot-Zub works

We desperately need DeBrincat-Stützle-Giroux and Sanderson-Hamonic to start clicking, once that happens we are golden.

The fourth line and 3rd pair will be a bonus, I think Brannstrom and Holden can be effective, or if JBD/Thomson step up we could see some alternatives. Kelly has had a bit of a slow start, but I'd like to see him, Kastelic and Watson form the 4th line

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

The good thing about having two lethal PP units is you don't have to worry about sending out guys who just finished a shift, you can just put out whichever unit is fresh.

The other benefit is one of the units will face the 2nd PK unit

With the focus on having a good start to the season, I think going with what we know works when possible makes a lot of sense.

Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson works,
So far Motte-Pinto-Joseph works.
Chabot-Zub works

We desperately need DeBrincat-Stützle-Giroux and Sanderson-Hamonic to start clicking, once that happens we are golden.

The fourth line and 3rd pair will be a bonus, I think Brannstrom and Holden can be effective, or if JBD/Thomson step up we could see some alternatives. Kelly has had a bit of a slow start, but I'd like to see him, Kastelic and Watson form the 4th line

Have to see how the icetime is distributed. Normally PP1 will get more op;portunities.

TSN 1200 poll to weigh in

 

[BondraTime]

Stutzle should be on the halfwall on PP1, he was our best PP player by a sizable margin last season, at 19. Should only get better.

Stutzle-Tkachuk-Batherson
Debrincat-Chabot

Someone is going to be playing on PP2, will suck for them but it is what it is. Batherson and Stutzle are much better at the halfwall than Norris, and Debrincat is the triggerman in place of him.

I don't think Norris will be scoring like he did the past 2 seasons, don't see a 20+ shot % again. Debricat is the triggerman on the team this year, not Norris.

Don't think there is a snowball's chance in hell Norris is off PP!, just what makes the most sense to me

 

[aragorn]

I don't see anything wrong with these two units it's calling them one & two that's the problem. I agree with Mickelbot that they will have the luxury of putting out a fresh PP any time they want given they have two lethal ones. Norris was great on the PP last yr & should not be demoted for it, he has proven he has a great accurate shot & until he proves otherwise should stay there. These two units should both get equal opportunities until one proves to be better than the other & if it doesn't work they have 10 PP players that they can mix & match anytime they want. Norris is going to be here for another 8 yrs while we have DeBrincat for one yr unless they can afford to re-sign him, why piss a great young player like Norris off?

People picking on this or that is just semantics to call attention to something that will create interest or click bait. The season hasn't even started yet & here we are complaining already which is what the radio station wants. I guess there has been too much good news & it's time to start some controversy for radio consumption. When the season begins & it actually matters there will be plenty of things to cheer about & complain about. People on radio need to stay relevant & Simmer creating controversy where there is none is trying to stay relevant IMO. Oh, & that is what training camp is for, the players need to prove they deserve to be on the PP & so far Norris has been doing alright once again.

 

[SlapJack]

I like the possibility of having DeBrincat and Norris on the same PP so there is a dual threat of goalies being bombed from either side. If it's more feasible to break them up to balance out the PPs, it might make more sense to put DeBrincat on the 2nd unit - only to keep his numbers down for contract negotiations

Nah, would rather see DeBrincat score 50. Going to be awesome with 2 solid units going out there after seeing the top unit last year use Sanford, Brown, and Tierney on PP1 for stretches. Kinda embarassing

At this point. Same PP1 as last year.

DJ rationalizes it as if it aint broke don't fix it.
Personally I would like to see them integrate DCat in the 1st unit. Now is the time to build the chemistry and he is the proven top goal scorer on the team.
We will see how it works out.

Yikes, Sanderson hasn't played a game and already overtaken Brannstrom

 

[MJKW]

Debrincat is the best goal scorer and having your best goal scorer on the 2nd unit doesn't make much sense.

Looking at the two units that were used at practice, its not a 1A and 1B, because the PP1 is clearly better then the PP2, so in the interest of giving yourself the best chance to score, the PP1 would continuously get the bulk of the time on the PP. But having Debrincat on PP1 would make the PP1 even better. I know everyone will tow the company line and say the right thing, but if Debrincat doesn't average one of the highest amounts of PP minutes, then that wont sit well for re-signing him.

A good problem is still a problem when everyone is healthy and someone gets bumped down a line. its a delicate situation to manage.

 

[Micklebot]

Have to see how the icetime is distributed. Normally PP1 will get more op;portunities

Sure, but the distribution doesn't have to be extreme, StL had about a 30-45 sec diff per game between their 1st and 2nd unit, I think in our case we could lean on the hot hand and give whichever unit is firing on all cylinders as the 1st unit until the dust settles, I also think things will change as the year goes on, and we may load up one unit in a more traditional setup, but given our need to hit the ground running I feel like going with a known commodity makes a lot of sense.

 

[HSF]

Sure, but the distribution doesn't have to be extreme, StL had about a 30-45 sec diff per game between their 1st and 2nd unit, I think in our case we could lean on the hot hand and give whichever unit is firing on all cylinders as the 1st unit until the dust settles, I also think things will change as the year goes on, and we may load up one unit in a more traditional setup, but given our need to hit the ground running I feel like going with a known commodity makes a lot of sense.

STL is probably the only example of a good team that splits PP time like that. All the other top teams from what I can see have a distinct group of 5 that carry the load. Even in the case of STL you still have a PP1 and PP2. There will be a unit that is first to go on the ice who start with possession.

Debrincat should be in that group.

In the case of STL I suspect we will see Kyrou and Thomas now move to the near top of the list for PP mins esp with Perron gone and they will probably have a more distinct group of 5.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Looks like they will keep the one unit together that was great to close out the season.

Then work on Giroux, DeBrincat, Pinto, Sanderson for the second unit. Last spot is up for grabs apparently.

That second unit looks dangerous as well, and could definitely challenge the existing PP1.

I like the ‘if it ain’t broke’ situation here, no need to crowd the top unit off the hop, it was already pretty deadly looking.

 

[Micklebot]

STL is probably the only example of a good team that splits PP time like that. All the other top teams from what I can see have a distinct group of 5 that carry the load. Even in the case of STL you still have a PP1 and PP2. There will be a unit that is first to go on the ice who start with possession.

Debrincat should be in that group.

In the case of STL I suspect we will see Kyrou and Thomas now move to the near top of the list for PP mins esp with Perron gone and they will probably have a more distinct group of 5.

Most teams are top loaded, right now we're about 8 or 9 deep in guys that are pretty close to each other, that gives us the flexibility to have 2 groups imo.

If teams could have two groups that are both high end PP units they would, it's an advantage because most teams don't have 2 equal pk units. Every team would love to get their 1st PP unit away from the PK unit with Bergeron on the ice or Slavin, with two balanced units we turn the tables on the opposition.