Best of luck to you too, BB. I'm smack dab in the middle of exams right now, but I'll try my best to get some words in here for the sake of my team. Obviously, I've got an uphill battle, and I guess I didn't do a good enough job in communicating the vision I had for this squad. Let's see if I can do that here.
I also missed a good deal of the assassination discussion so I hope that some of the points I bring up here are not already answered.
1st lines: Denneny - Nighbor - Balderis vs Propp - Lach - Nedomansky
I like the mix of your first line , but my line is simply better at both offense and defense.Elmer Lach was a good defensive player but Frank Nighbor was vastly superior in that regard , Denneny is the best goal scorer and Balderis can also provide quite a bit of offense as well.Nedomansky was a good goal scorer but not at the level of Denneny.Propp , as awesome as he was , is a very poor offensive player at this level.
Overall , your line relies too much on Elmer Lach and I think my line can outproduce yours while being superior defensively.
Well, your first line is one of my favourites. It's tough to discredit the Denneny-Nighbor combo. Cy was an excellent goalscorer, while Nighbor was a great passer and an excellent defensive player. I missed all the Balderis brouhaha in the assassination thread, but again, he's a decent enough complement to the other two here to form a solid line. I suppose Denneny is also the physical presence on this line.
I might be crazy for saying this, but the Denneny-Nedomansky comparison can be interpreted differently. The chasm between them is not so big if you put more stock into Ned's international and Czech league resume. Heck, even his WHA record could point to a strong goalscoring prowess. In the WHA, though, he took on more of a power forward role and often had the Esposito-like task of standing in front of the net and getting the garbage goals. With his size, very few people could move him. If we discredit Nedomansky's international and foreign resume, then what does that say about Balderis?
Lach, while not quite at Nighbor's level, certainly has a lot of similarities with Franky. Both were exceptional two-way players.I agree that Nighbor certainly has a defensive edge, but how much better was he than Lach offensively? Nighbor never topped the league in scoring, while Lach did it twice. Lach also has 7 top 5 assist finishes compared to Nighbor's 5. I also give Lach a physical edge over Nighbor. Nighbor's defensive prowess seemed to come from strong positional play and a trusty poke check, while Lach seemed to actually be more of a grinder.
I agree that Propp may be the worst player offensively of the two lines, but I have him up here more for his digging. I suppose he fits the "first line glue guy" mold. The vision I had for this line was for Propp to be the corner guy, Lach to be the distributor, and Ned to park himself in front of the net and collect the garbage goals.
Yes, your line may be better offensively, but I wouldn't say "simply better". I'd almost go as far as to say "marginally better". I'm actually giving
my line the edge defensively, because outside of Nighbor, nobody else on your line, AFAIK, was noted for their defensive play, while I have 2 players who were known as strong two-way players.
Finally, my line definitely has a physical edge - all 3 of my players were not afraid to use their bodies to create space for themselves and others, while I've read nothing on Balderis or Nighbor being overtly physical. I also ask whether or not Denney's physical play was more of a "tough guy" physicality or a "space maker" physicality.
Overall, some may say your line is still better, but not by as much as you claim.
2nd line: Elias - Oates - Hextall Sr. vs Blake - Watson - Taylor
I like Toe Blake , but I'm not sure how much I like Watson and Taylor.I admit my knowledge on Watson is limited and you didn't provide a bio so I'll assume he was a decent playmaker but nothing spectacular either.Blake's record is also boosted by the war years , even though he managed to have some great years before it so it's not the end of the world in that regard.I think my Oates-Hextall Sr. combo is just too explosive and talented not to consider my line superior.Elias is basically Taylor offensively with a defensive game on top of it.The chemistry between the Oates-Hextall Sr combo is a match made for heaven and while your line certainly has potential , I think the line relies too much on Toe Blake , just like your first line relied too much on Elmer Lach.
Overall , my line has the advantage.
Unfortunately, my time for writing bios was limited. I wish I could've done some digging on these guys (Watson especially because, like you, my knowledge on him is limited). I'll go with what I know here.
Oates is one of my favourites - a guy who gets little respect in the hockey community, but his longevity and his consistency, in my mind, make him a Hall of Famer.
As for Watson, the reading I'm doing on him now makes him out to be a skilled, speedy player who was a strong back checker who sometimes had a bit of a temper. I actually took a look at your Hextall bio for some help, because the two were teammates and line mates for some time. You actually have a quote that talks about three players "rapidly becoming legends", and you crossed out the other two names next to Hextall. Watson was one of the other two. Here's some more quotes I found:
Montreal Gazette - February 2 said:
Most impressive member of the visiting team was Watson, whose speed and neat stick-handling brought the fans to their feet several times.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=6207,5273186&dq=phil-watson&hl=en
The Day - January 7 said:
Watson bagged four goals and an assist to move up to second place among point-getters with 23.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1804,496664&dq=phil-watson&hl=en
Montreal Gazette - October 28 said:
Watson, star goal-getter for the Montreal Royals...
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=6137,3313754&dq=phil-watson&hl=en
Montreal Gazette - January 17 said:
Manager Lester Patrick today announced the recall of Phil Watson, speedy wing man...
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=4988,1987336&dq=phil-watson&hl=en
Ottawa Citizen - February 3 said:
Spark of the club appears to be Watson. The former New York Ranger can really turn it on when in the mood. He makes few mistakes with the puck, and handles himself with class every time he moves.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4248,482520&dq=phil-watson&hl=en
Joe Pelletier said:
Watson was a key player in the spring of 1940, when the New York Rangers famously won the Stanley Cup. Watson was brilliant in the semi-finals against Boston, checking the famed "Kraut Line," who finished 1-2-3 in NHL regular season scoring. Watson held them to just a lone goal in their six game series. Watson, meanwhile, scored twice, including the winner in game one. Watson would do a similar defensive job against Toronto, while adding a lead-tying 5 points in the finals.
Enough about him for now.
I think my Blake-Wtason duo could be quite explosive, almost as much so as Oates-Hextall. To say that Blake's career was bolstered by the war years while you have Bryan Hextall (another war-time player) on your team doesn't seem particularly fair.
Looking at Taylor and Elias, both men seem to be quite even offensively, and for Elias to last so long with the Devils, I'm inclined to say he's as strong defensively as Taylor is. I give Taylor the edge in physicality for his noted hitting.
Overall, I actually believe that our 2nd lines are even.
I'll stop here for now, but I'll get to the rest of your comments later today.
