Speculation: Line Combinations

[swiftwin]

Easy

Tkachuk-Stepan-Batherson
Stutzle-Norris-Dadonov
Paul-Tierney-Brown
Galchenyuk-White-Watson
Anisimov-Chlapik-Paquette

Chabot-Gudbranson
Reilly-Zaitsev
Wolanin-Brown
Coburn-Zub

My 1st and 3rd lines can play against anyone, my 2nd and 4th lines better offensive matchups.

Norris with less pressure on 2nd line I mean he's 21 y/o and has played 5 NHL games.

Wolanin on the 3rd pair, sheltered minutes to help him get more comfortable. Look at how many pro games he has played since April 2019...



DJ Smith seems to be tailor made for a rebuilding team! Play the safe 1 year rental veterans!

4 of the top 6 forwards in our lineup is 22 years old or younger.

If that's not a rebuilding team, I don't know what is.

 

[Xspyrit]

4 of the top 6 forwards in our lineup is 22 years old or younger.

If that's not a rebuilding team, I don't know what is.

Ok but that's pretty much it in terms of youth for the WHOLE line-up

Thankfully, 2 lottery picks in Tkachuk and Stutzle which makes it easier to have "4 of the top 6 forwards in our lineup is 22 years old or younger"

Tkachuk is in 3rd NHL season. Batherson and Norris dominated the AHL, but it still remains to be seen if they will stay in the top-6 all season...

Guys like Wolanin, J. Brown, Paul, Zub and Hogberg don't have a ton of experience but they are all 25-27 y/o

White and Chlapik are still young but looks like they will struggle to get playing time with other vets like Anisimov/Paquette/etc keeping them "honest"

 

[swiftwin]

I think Norris is going to be the odd man out at the end of the day. This is a classic "give him a taste of what being a top 6 center in the NHL" is like. He'll get his 7 games, then go down in time for the AHL season to start, and stay there for the rest of the season unless he is truly outstanding, and we're somehow in the hunt for a playoff spot.

At that point, I think White will get his shot at the top 6 for about a dozen games. If that doesn't work, Logan Brown comes up. At this point, I think White is just being brought in and out to keep him warmed up until Norris goes down.

Paquette is going to be a fixture in the bottom 6 for the whole season. That's why he's getting the leash he's getting right now. Especially if/when injuries happen, Guys like Galchenyuk, or any AHL call up are going to be the ones filling in spots in the top 9. Not Paquette. He has a very specific role.

 

[Micklebot]

We took 2 of 4 points against the Leafs, Norris had two points in the first game, i can't see him going to the 4th line just yet. I hope not

I think top 6 is a bit much to ask for him tbh. Too bad we don't have a roster set up where we can ease him in with lower expectations than centering one of the two lines required to be our offensive catalysts.

Maybe starting on the wing would be better for him.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

I do not like Dadonov's game. He looks rusty and unpolished, probably due to his conditioning for this season. I would not reward him to play with Jimmy the wunderbar.
It makes sense may be during the training camp to put two Euros together, but it does not now, when clearly Dadonov is not ready for this season.

I don't think nationality played any role in trying Stützle with Dadanov. They likely wanted to try Stützle with some veteran players and considering he is a playmaker and Dadanov is a shooter they likely wanted to try that combination. I would like to see Galchenyuk get a look with Stützle.

 

[Clayonator]

At some point:


Tkachuk-Stutzle-Dadanov

Paul-Norris-Batherson

Watson-Tierney-C.Brown

Galchenyuk-Stepan-White


Chabot-J.Brown

Coburn-Gudbranson

Wolanin-Zaitsev

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Exactly this.

I don't get the Paquette criticism. He has had a couple of bad moments but he has been a lot better than some on here have suggested. He has been really solid on the penalty kill and his 5 on 5 play has been solid other than a few mistakes. He almost scored a goal in game 1 and he set Connor Brown up for a solid scoring chance in game 2. He has taken some bad penalties so some of the criticism there is deserved. In game 2 his penalty was winning the faceoff with his hand. That was a mistake but the rest of what he did on the faceoff is good. If we are going to lose draws it is much better that we don't lose them cleanly. I think people have been overlooking the positive things he has done.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Colin White looked lost defensively last game. He will need to be better defensively if he wants to stay in the lineup.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Cobourn is a better skater than I remember.

 

[swiftwin]

Ok but that's pretty much it in terms of youth for the WHOLE line-up

Thankfully, 2 lottery picks in Tkachuk and Stutzle which makes it easier to have "4 of the top 6 forwards in our lineup is 22 years old or younger"

Tkachuk is in 3rd NHL season. Battherson and Norris dominated the AHL, but it still remains to be seen if they will stay in the top-6 all season...

Guys like Wolanin, Brown, Paul, Zub and Hogberg don't have a ton of experience but they are all 25-27 y/o

White and Chlapik are still young but looks like they will struggle to get playing time with other vets like Anisimov/Paquette/etc keeping them "honest"

I don't understand what you want.

Like I said, 4 of our top 6 are young players.

Beyond that, we have a fantastic 3rd line of Paul-Tierney-Brown. They've been our most reliable line so far this season, and they've done a great job of keeping Toronto's top line quiet. We should not be touching that line. They're a perfect shut down line. We need a safe line like that with such a young top 6.

That just leaves us the 4th line. Do you really want Logan Brown as our 4th line center? Playing with Watson (who's been pretty good at his role so far this season)?

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Welp there is is again.


So Anisimov back in and Wolanin stays out.

I guess DJ liked Anisimov and his 100% Ozone starts vs White and his 67% Dzone starts
Reilly gets more rope.
Got a message for you players that may be here beyond this year... Watch and learn boys.. Watch and learn.

This is probably a good time for Dorion to step in. What exactly are they doing with the defence? Reilly getting a longer leash than Wolanin is ridiculous.

 

[swiftwin]

This is probably a good time for Dorion to step in. What exactly are they doing with the defence? Reilly getting a longer leash than Wolanin is ridiculous.

Wolanin was worse in game 1 than Reilly was in game 2. Wolanin will get another shot. It just doesn't have to be right right now.

 

[swiftwin]

Cobourn is a better skater than I remember.

Agreed. I was very very surprised with his wheels.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Wolanin was worse in game 1 than Reilly was in game 2. Wolanin will get another shot. It just doesn't have to be right right now.

Wolanin missed a lot of games due to injury last year and is more important to this team’s future than Reilly. He absolutely should be playing right now.

You don’t jump to these conclusions after the first game in 10 months.

 

[swiftwin]

Wolanin missed a lot of games due to injury last year and is more important to this team’s future than Reilly. He absolutely should be playing right now.

You don’t jump to these conclusions after the first game in 10 months.

Nobody is jumping to conclusions. Wolanin will be back in the lineup. He just needs more practice time to catch up to everyone.

edit: You're the one who's trying to jump to conclusions in game 3 of the season.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Nobody is jumping to conclusions. Wolanin will be back in the lineup. He just needs more practice time to catch up to everyone.

He was one of the best players in camp. I’m not sure practice is what’s missing. He needs the reps.

 

[Clayonator]

I would not put Anisimov back in over White yet. White needs to find his rhythm by getting reps, and working his way up the lineup. Play a game, sit a game, etc is not the way to accomplish that. He was better in game 2 than Anisimov was in game 1, I’d give him another and see if he can get something going.

 

[swiftwin]

He was one of the best players in camp. I’m not sure practice is what’s missing. He needs the reps.

I'll agree with you if he's not back in by game 5.

Right now overall team game cohesiveness is the top priority. Let the team settle in a little bit before injecting someone who hasn't played in 1.5 years.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

I would take out both White and Anisimov and play Galchenyuk. I see Galchenyuk bringing something to the table that the other two don't. I also think we need to see what he can bring to the table so we can decide what to do with those three players and which of them deserves to be in the lineup.

 

[Xspyrit]

I don't understand what you want.

Like I said, 4 of our top 6 are young players.

Beyond that, we have a fantastic 3rd line of Paul-Tierney-Brown. They've been our most reliable line so far this season, and they've done a great job of keeping Toronto's top line quiet. We should not be touching that line. They're a perfect shut down line. We need a safe line like that with such a young top 6.

That just leaves us the 4th line. Do you really want Logan Brown as our 4th line center? Playing with Watson (who's been pretty good at his role so far this season)?

With all the contracts that were already there, and the contracts that have been brought up, yes there's not many things we can do right now. Maybe the plan was to have Brannstrom play but covid probably changed the plan for him. With Paquette and Anisimov, hard to find a spot for Chlapik (would have been the same story for Balcers). With Tierney and Stepan, hard to find a spot for Logan Brown, etc.

I hope they give a real chance to Wolanin to re-establish himself. As I said, not a lot of pro games since April 2019. Shelter him on the 3rd pairing and with PP time until he gets more comfortable

I mean ok, I understand what is going on, it's just that this "desire" to make the playoffs is a bit premature for a team that finished bot-2 the last 3 years. Focus this year should really be to give young players as much experience as possible. So far so good for Norris and Batherson (and of course Stutzle) but I'm kinda worried it won't even stay like this.

The Tierneys, Stepans, Paquettes, Anisimovs, etc won't be the reason why we start contending down the road. Not giving playing time to young players just DELAYS everything.

 

[Ouroboros]

 

[Golden_Jet]

He was one of the best players in camp. I’m not sure practice is what’s missing. He needs the reps.

he was also one of the worst in game 1.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

I'll agree with you if he's not back in by game 5.

Right now overall team game cohesiveness is the top priority. Let the team settle in a little bit before injecting someone who hasn't played in 1.5 years.

But Reilly wasn’t good at all either.

 

[swiftwin]

The Tierneys, Stepans, Paquettes, Anisimovs, etc won't be the reason why we start contending down the road. Not giving playing time to young players just DELAYS everything.

Actually, yes, they will be. Because this season, they are helping create an environment where the young players on the team (the ones currently in our top 6 like Batherson, Norris, Stutzle, etc.) will develop quicker and better. The sooner we can develop these young core players, the better. Having solid bottom 6 veterans is helping us fast track their development.

We're trying to develop top 6 players to form the core of our team. Who cares about players like Balcers and Chlapik. They have no top 6 potential. Players like that are a dime a dozen. We can always acquire players like that through trade or free agency in the future when our new young core is formed and we're ready to take the next step of becoming contenders. Besides, we still have guys like Formenton, Pinto, etc. who can fill out our bottom 6 in a few years.

edit: I also find it a bit silly that you're lumping Paul in with the youth movement, but Tierney with the aging veterans. Tierney is just 8 months older than Paul. Connor Brown is also around that age. Those three all 25-26 years old, and they're quite the solid 3rd line as we speak today. They absolutely can be a part of the future.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
Stuetzle - Tierney - Dadonov
Paul - Stepan - Brown
Anisimov - White - Watson

Chabot - Gudbranson
Coburn - Zaitsev (yikes)
Wolanin - Brown (I'd be fining seeing what Zub can do here too)

Get Wolanin going and if he plays well then you move that pairing up past Coburn and Zaitsev, who realistically will get hemmed in. Coburn didn't play much hockey last year and he looks much better so far this year. Some times older guys benefit from a little time off. Even still that veteran pair will likely struggle but if we can assess where Wolanin / Zub are with their games in the meantime it's worth it.