Play Elias Lindholm at Centre or Wing?

[SeanMoneyHands]

It will be interesting to see how Tocchett uses him. I think he first tries him with Pettersson to see if they gel. But come playoff time, he may go the Vegas route by maximizing strength down the middle. Lindholm could be used as a shutdown center come playoff time and playing him as #3C would take weight off Petterssons and Millers shoulders. What do you think?

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[Angry Little Elf]

We acquired him because of his versatility and utility. If we reunite the lotto line, he can centre the second line. He can also play wing with Petey. Honestly such a good pickup

 

[supercanuck]

I would like to see him in Kuz's spot on EPs line. Give them a good 10-15 games to gel.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

I think Lindholm is on Peteys wing but takes the majority of the draws.

 

[bobbyb2009]

The two above. He should start with Petey taking draws, especially on his side, and the two of them can see if they can switch up centre responsibilities for a while while seeing what they can create together. The Lotto line will be there when and if we need them... Let's try to create a two headed monster

 

[canuckking1]

Play him on Petey's wing but have him take the faceoffs

 

[bossram]

They have the option to use him at both. That's why they acquired him. Use him at both. They can run the current alignment and go Lotto Line + a competent 2nd line that Tocchet actually trusts.

Or they can go back to Toccet's original alignment where Miller is the matchup center, except he's now beefed up with Lindholm (Suter-Miller-Lindholm, Mikheyev-Petey-Boeser).

Or they can run two fairly even first line calibre lines (Suter-Miller-Boeser, Mikheyev-Petey-Lindholm).

 

[Bgav]

I don't think there's any point stressing about either. They'll try both in the the reg season

 

[iceburg]

Having both left hand and right hand centres on the same line, both of whom can play wing, is extremely valuable. I would try out the EP/Lindholm pair in all situations for 10 games then adjust, if necessary, based on results. I suspect they will share draws with Lindholm getting slightly more. Having Lindholm also take on the more defensive responsIbilities will also free up EP to roam a little bit more. The ceiling of this pair is very high. We'll see if the chemistry is right.

 

[RobertKron]

Yes.

 

[Diversification]

 

[vanuck]

Honestly love the fit here with Lindholm's versatility.

Suter seems to have a bit of chemistry with Miller and Boeser so I'd leave them together for the time being. So that means EP and EL play on the same line, with faceoffs being taken by whoever's stronger on the respective side. From what I've been reading, EL is great at finding soft spots to shoot from, so in theory he might work well with EP.

Drance mentioned this in The Athletic too but you could legitimately run a shutdown unit with Mikheyev, Lindholm and Suter whenever Tocchet wants to load up and throw out the Lotto Line.

Lots of options here.

 

[timw33]

I like him as a RW finisher with Pettersson, but takes almost every draw possible since that is where a ton of his value is derived.

At times he will play pure centre depending on the situation of the game and what lines are clicking.

 

[lawrence]

Brining him gave us the option with a play making centre if we do go with lotto line again. Since he can play wing he can be with jt or petey or even he’s a centre for petey. This trade is a just another beauty for us.

 

[RandV]

I was initially thinking if you keep the lotto line together then how good the depth would look if you placed Lindholm between Hoglander and Lafferty, but I'm getting the impression he'll be playing with Pettersson.

 

[elitepete]

Center and move Miller to wing. Miller is not a center.

 

[Play]

Center and move Miller to wing. Miller is not a center.

He’s as dangerous as Rantanen on the wing

 

[lawrence]

Just realized this is a coached wet dream.

miller
lindholm
pettersson

all can play center and the wing. good riddance that’s versatile.

 

[TruGr1t]

Tocchet likes his pairs so this lets him go back to Miller-Boeser and Petterson-Lindholm. They are both rather position-agnostic so you can swap them situationally. This is basically what Allvin hinted at in his presser.

Would sure be interesting run Miller-Pettersson-Lindholm down the middle heading into the playoffs, but we won't have the winger depth to do that.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

He’s as dangerous as Rantanen on the wing

And only behind Kucherov running a PP.

 

[Play]

And only behind Kucherov running a PP.

Hughes helps a lot, but yeah agreed Miller is the man on the PP hands down

 

[ginner classic]

I'd start him at wing until he gets settled into the system. Creates the least amount of changes for the rest of the lineup as well. But there is some insane flexibility now afforded by this deal.

Mik/Petey/Lindholm

- Lotto line is possible (Petey or Miller at C)
- Petey/Lindholm duo with either at wing depending on wingers that can work with them
- Lindholm/Garland is possible - this is a highly underrated part of this deal. There are few centers in the league more ideally suited to Garland's playing style. They could now load up two scoring lines.

 

[Cancuks]

They'll play him on the 1st line with Pettersson and Miller and then whine about needing a second line center for Boeser.

 

[Russian_fanatic]

I would guess he plays with EP, and he will be the one taking the draws.

I don't think people realize what having a RHS playing next to EP will do for his game.

 

[Regal]

I'd start him at wing until he gets settled into the system. Creates the least amount of changes for the rest of the lineup as well. But there is some insane flexibility now afforded by this deal.

Mik/Petey/Lindholm

- Lotto line is possible (Petey or Miller at C)
- Petey/Lindholm duo with either at wing depending on wingers that can work with them
- Lindholm/Garland is possible - this is a highly underrated part of this deal. There are few centers in the league more ideally suited to Garland's playing style. They could now load up two scoring lines.

This is one thing I’ve thought about as well. As much as the third line has been great, Lindholm could potentially turn it into a legit second line if the lotto line is paired up.