Line Combos: Opening Night Lineup vs Chicago

[MetalGodAOD*]

Not sure if this was posted, but Nill says here they wanted Ales from the start to play with Seguin/Benn. Specifically says they wanted an elite passer for "shooters Seguin and Benn."

http://video.stars.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=627804&lang=en

Definitely going to see him tried with Seguin/Benn at some point.

 

[glovesave_35]

Not sure if this was posted, but Nill says here they wanted Ales from the start to play with Seguin/Benn. Specifically says they wanted an elite passer for "shooters Seguin and Benn."

http://video.stars.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=627804&lang=en

Definitely going to see him tried with Seguin/Benn at some point.

I'm sure we will see some different versions of things this season. I doubt Hemsky spends the majority of the season with those two, though. And I don't read too much into him calling them "shooters". Both of those guys are excellent playmakers who could elevate a pure scorer type if given the chance. If anything, Hemsky's goal totals would probably go up if he spent a year on that line.

 

[txpenny]

Cole might not be that bad to the left of Spezza and Hemsky. If he can be a 20-20 guy that's plenty good. He was 16-13 last year being moved around. I could see him potting 20 playing with those two guys.

^ - this.

Cole played with nobody last year on a consistent basis. I was at a few games last December/January where he was great. But his ice time dwindled as the year went on. I really think there's upside with him on the second line - not just for his numbers, but for Spezza and Hemsky as well.

 

[oconnor9sean]

If Ales stays healthy all year on the top line, I honestly think he could hit 50 assists.

 

[TrillMike]

So based off Nill's comment:

Benn-Seguin-Hemsky
Cole-Spezza-Val
Roussel-Eakin-Garbs
Eaves-Fiddler-Scevieor

Not sure if I like the order of the top 6.

 

[BigG44]

Nill's comment was illustrating they wanted him with or without Spezza. He's already said where he plays is entirely up to Ruff.

We know Ruff likes creating forward pairs to stick together. I'd love for Spezza's guy to be Nuke so he doesn't end up and down the lineup.

That said ... we also know it's not exactly likely he's going to put a guy he didn't trust as much defensively last year with a guy at center who has reported defensive deficiencies.

If Hemsky is as good on the back check as some EDM fans are saying, Ruff might feel more comfortable going that way.

 

[piqued]

I think Hemsky is good enough defensively to be a sufficient conscience for that potential line. Val has deficiencies but he also is willing to track and put in the effort at the other end so I expect improvement as he learns what does and does not work. The idea as usual will be to possess the puck as much as possible. It's not like Cole is some amazing defensive player as an alternative. Sure he has great games -- then he has games where it looks like he's never played hockey before.

 

[Klockis]

My dream 2nd line would be Val-Spezza-Hemsky. I'm not to concerned who they put beside Benn and Seguin, that line will be good regardless.

 

[beepeearr]

I think Hemsky is good enough defensively to be a sufficient conscience for that potential line. Val has deficiencies but he also is willing to track and put in the effort at the other end so I expect improvement as he learns what does and does not work. The idea as usual will be to possess the puck as much as possible. It's not like Cole is some amazing defensive player as an alternative. Sure he has great games -- then he has games where it looks like he's never played hockey before.

Cole does some things well, but last year catching passes was not one of them, but he's still pretty quick and can hit, and can punch home rebounds and occasionally score on the breakaway. Dont mind him on the 3 or 4 line, but that giveaway in the playoffs was brutal, not what you want to see from a veteran

 

[Hull Fan]

I too am hoping Val is to the left of Spezza and perhaps a guy like Sceviour starts on the right of Benn/Seguin. I eventually believe Ritchie will end up there but Sceviour at least knows where to go to score and Benn and Seguin are more than good enough passers to set him up.

True dark horse, if it is even tried, Glennie can skate with both Benn/Seguin, has an excellent shot, and is a very good F1 forechecker. He can drive the net to open a lane, be puck retriever, or trail the play and be the gunner on occasion, not to mention that he was consistently the second or third guy in who cleaned up and buried rebounds for Texas in the playoffs. If Dallas wants to try to see if he can be more than a bottom six forward, Benn/Seguin would be the best linemates he'll ever play with. He's a guy I'd love to see get a shot in the preseason just to see how it looks. If they find some chemistry, great. If not, no real harm done and you rotate through your other options till you find one Ruff prefers.

 

[Satan]

#TheScottGlennie4FirstLine

 

[BigG44]

I think Hemsky is good enough defensively to be a sufficient conscience for that potential line. Val has deficiencies but he also is willing to track and put in the effort at the other end so I expect improvement as he learns what does and does not work. The idea as usual will be to possess the puck as much as possible. It's not like Cole is some amazing defensive player as an alternative. Sure he has great games -- then he has games where it looks like he's never played hockey before.

Yeah that's why I put Val as a guy he didn't trust defensively last year. I believe he's going to ultimately develop a solid two way game. Just like you said, the willingness is already there to back track, and at times he did make some smart defensive plays.

Getting someone willing to learn is the hard part. Look at Yakupov.

 

[BostonBruins11]

as a bruins fan, i think you guy's will be plenty surprised and pleased when you see a healthy Rich Peverly (never underestimate this guy)

 

[Elysian]

as a bruins fan, i think you guy's will be plenty surprised and pleased when you see a healthy Rich Peverly (never underestimate this guy)

We've already seen a healthy Rich Peverley

 

[NukeJukes43]

I've done some mulling over on this and really keep coming to the same conclusion.

We'll see mix-ups I'm sure, but I think 80% of the time we'll be seeing this lineup.

Benn-Seguin-Nichushkin
Cole-Spezza-Hemsky
Roussel-Eakin-Garbutt
Horcoff/Fiddler/Eaves/Sceviour combo of some sort.

Nichushkin has already proven he can feed some pretty impressive passes to Benn and Seguin and can receive them just as well. He has chemistry built with those guys already and that's something that holds value for a first year rookie. It's a lot harder to go through a sophomore slump when you've already meshed well with a line of insanely talented players.

We need to spread the scoring out and with Hemsky/Spezza we can do that comfortably. Cole showed flashes of his old self when he played top 6 minutes (mostly with Benn/Seguin), and I think with 2 other seasoned yet skilled veterans he could elevate his game again. He was nowhere near as bad as Whitney so he's far from useless despite most of us wanting to see his cap hit gone. He's a guy we'll like to have around for the playoffs if he gels with a line.

I was on board with letting some prospects earn a spot on the team but with having a first line averaging the age of 21-22 years old, it was the right move to add a bit of experience to our top 6. Hemsky/Spezza goes beyond expectation for most teams looking to add in that area.

As for defense, there's not much for me to say because that sounds like it's gonna be a training camp/pre-season battle for a lot of those guys. I just hope to see Nemeth punch his ticket onto the big squad.

It's still early, if we end up moving Gonchar, Cole, or Horcoff, there are endless possibilities to what happens. Fingers crossed Gonchar gets launched into the sun .

 

[slim to nill*]

Unless he wants to go party or something Nemeths days in Austin are clearly over. For me the bigger question is Klingberg? There might have been about 3500 people at the AAC last year for his lone preseason game , but nearly all of us left really impressed. He has the stick handling of a forward, undersized a bit but likes to mix it up a little bit. By calm Swedish standards the guy has to be considered a psycho.

 

[WhoahNow]

Unless he wants to go party or something Nemeths days in Austin are clearly over. For me the bigger question is Klingberg? There might have been about 3500 people at the AAC last year for his lone preseason game , but nearly all of us left really impressed. He has the stick handling of a forward, undersized a bit but likes to mix it up a little bit. By calm Swedish standards the guy has to be considered a psycho.

Unless he lights the world on fire I'm absolutely fine having Klingberg marinade in the AHL and be the go to guy there. If Gonchar ends up being traded and we need to bring up another AHL guy other than Nemeth then maybe, but if the defence stays the same as it is now heading into the opening game I'm totally cool with Klingberg on the Texas Stars to start out the year.

 

[Starry Knight]

Welcome to HF slim to nill

 

[TrillMike]

So where do we pencil Pevs in if he can play?

I don't think Ruff would put three righties on the second line. He did play well with Benn and Segs in spurts.

Guess we'll see.

 

[BigG44]

So where do we pencil Pevs in if he can play?

I don't think Ruff would put three righties on the second line. He did play well with Benn and Segs in spurts.

Guess we'll see.

There's little doubt in my mind he'd play a prominent role if his heart is healthy enough. That's the thing ... he was playing at a high level, and he's not coming off of a knee, concussion ... something physical where his body has to make an adjustment.

Either his heart is fixed or it isn't. His biggest hurdle would be mental, and fortunately I think much of that will be something he'll face and overcome in training. They're going to likely push him beyond game stress to see how his heart reacts before he ever plays one game.

So barring a total mental collapse ... which lets be honest, I really wouldn't blame him ... he should be good to go. His mindset seems good though so far. No apparent hesitation or tip toeing in wanting to play. He's been direct and seems confident that's his goal.

I'd say he'd play Top 9 almost certainly ... whether it is a safety valve for Seguin and Benn ... pushing Val to LW with Spezza-Hemsky ... or even a guy to play with Val and Spezza. I've always thought he'd be an even better compliment to Roussel and Eakin as well. So yeah ... no fear for Pevs health ... my wish would be:

Seguin-Benn-Peverley/Hemsky
Nichushkin-Spezza-Hemsky/Peverley
Roussel-Eakin-Garbutt
Horcoff-Fiddler-Sceviour

If Cole had a great camp though, which honestly he seems like a guy who could do well with Spezza:

Seguin-Benn-Nichushkin/Hemsky
Cole-Spezza-Hemsky/Nichushkin
Roussel-Eakin-Peverley
Garbutt-Fiddler-Sceviour

 

[NukeJukes43]

There's little doubt in my mind he'd play a prominent role if his heart is healthy enough. That's the thing ... he was playing at a high level, and he's not coming off of a knee, concussion ... something physical where his body has to make an adjustment.

Either his heart is fixed or it isn't. His biggest hurdle would be mental, and fortunately I think much of that will be something he'll face and overcome in training. They're going to likely push him beyond game stress to see how his heart reacts before he ever plays one game.

So barring a total mental collapse ... which lets be honest, I really wouldn't blame him ... he should be good to go. His mindset seems good though so far. No apparent hesitation or tip toeing in wanting to play. He's been direct and seems confident that's his goal.

I'd say he'd play Top 9 almost certainly ... whether it is a safety valve for Seguin and Benn ... pushing Val to LW with Spezza-Hemsky ... or even a guy to play with Val and Spezza. I've always thought he'd be an even better compliment to Roussel and Eakin as well. So yeah ... no fear for Pevs health ... my wish would be:

Seguin-Benn-Peverley/Hemsky
Nichushkin-Spezza-Hemsky/Peverley
Roussel-Eakin-Garbutt
Horcoff-Fiddler-Sceviour

If Cole had a great camp though, which honestly he seems like a guy who could do well with Spezza:

Seguin-Benn-Nichushkin/Hemsky
Cole-Spezza-Hemsky/Nichushkin
Roussel-Eakin-Peverley
Garbutt-Fiddler-Sceviour

I chimed in a bit on Pevs in my response on the other thread, but I figured the moves Nill made dictated Pevs wasn't coming back? Maybe the Eaves signing is just a cushion but it doesn't explain the Fiddler signing.

 

[BigG44]

Fiddlers a center and Peverley played almost exclusively at wing. There were only a handful times he played center, and that was because of an injury IIRC.

Nill's doing the right thing planning like he won't be healthy ... but that's not an indication of Pevs health. He's not more or less likely to be on the team because of free agency ... and Eaves is easily an AHL piece if need be. He's responsible as GM to plan for the worst but hope for the best.

Personally ... and I don't want to harp on it ... the chances of Eaves even being healthy any extended time aren't that great either. Until he actually stays on the ice ... he's not a risk to anyone's job in my opinion.

 

[Hull Fan]

Unless he lights the world on fire I'm absolutely fine having Klingberg marinade in the AHL and be the go to guy there. If Gonchar ends up being traded and we need to bring up another AHL guy other than Nemeth then maybe, but if the defence stays the same as it is now heading into the opening game I'm totally cool with Klingberg on the Texas Stars to start out the year.

I'm the opposite. It's going to take Klingberg or Oleksiak playing like their hair is on fire to keep Gonchar off the ice. I would much rather they take their lumps than see Gonchar play one minute for this team. I'm just not sure that even if KC is better than him he'll get the nod instead of the vet.

 

[beepeearr]

Looking at what Nill is doing with the Goalie position, I think he's decided that if you are going to be on this roster come opening day you had to earn it. I really think he wants there to be a competition for every roster spot moving forward.

 

[WhoahNow]

I'm the opposite. It's going to take Klingberg or Oleksiak playing like their hair is on fire to keep Gonchar off the ice. I would much rather they take their lumps than see Gonchar play one minute for this team. I'm just not sure that even if KC is better than him he'll get the nod instead of the vet.

Oh trust me I would much rather have a Klingberg or Oleksiak on the team than Gonchar, but unless he is traded then you have that 5 mil a year on the team eating up space. And what do you do with Connauton? Is he ready to be a regular. I just don't see the point to having Klingberg or Oleksiak come up when both Gonchar and Connauton are on the roster to fill out those bottom slots.

If Klingberg does well enough to warrant a top 4 spot thats a different story for me then.