Line Combos: Poll 2 : HF Hawks Decides - Where does Strome fit?

[featherhawk]

not gonna cast a vote till he signs

 

[Malaka]

3c next to debrincat as a bumslaying line

Kubalik Toews -------
------ Dach Kane
Debrincat Strome ------

gg ez next

 

[Pertti]

3th C with Cat and very(to extreme) defensive winger. Janmark and Carpenter comes to mind, one plays here other with Dach and Kane so that Dach can spent little time in O zone too.

 

[Kevin Musto]

3c next to debrincat as a bumslaying line

Kubalik Toews -------
------ Dach Kane
Debrincat Strome ------

gg ez next

Paying 6.4M for DeBrincat to sit on the 3rd line is ridiculous.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Not willing to give up on him yet, he has shown promise as a middle 6 scoring forward, that needs to work on his defensive game. A team like ours needs to work with players like Strome to make them better, not ship them out. At least he has shown he can produce in the NHL unlike Nylander.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Paying 6.4M for DeBrincat to sit on the 3rd line is ridiculous.

Swap DeBrincat and Kubalik. Cat averaged ~ 3 more minutes of 5v5 ice time per game than Kubalik did in the playoffs. So swapping them here wouldn’t be a huge departure from how Colliton used each, the change is linemates.

DeBrincat and Toews have looked good together pretty much every time they played together. Advanced stats also back that up. If Strome is on the third line, a big and aggressive sniper like Kubalik could be perfect for him.

 

[Malaka]

Paying 6.4M for DeBrincat to sit on the 3rd line is ridiculous.

People said something similar about kessel, I think it would work well.

 

[ClydeLee]

People said something similar about kessel, I think it would work well.

And Sharp worked well as 5mil something player there too.

When you have a stacked roster and are an elite team. Having a highly priced bum slaying idea is quite poor when you arent loaded or succeeding with your top 2 lines.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

And Sharp worked well as 5mil something player there too.

When you have a stacked roster and are an elite team. Having a highly priced bum slaying idea is quite poor when you arent loaded or succeeding with your top 2 lines.

Yep. You need the Toews and Kane lines to each be very successful without DeBrincat in order to make sense placing Cat on the third line.

It was that way in 2015 when Sharp was on the third. It was also that way with the Crosby and Malkin lines with back-to-back Pens’ cups.

If you have a really good winger you don’t willingly throw him on the third line when your top two lines aren’t up to snuff.

 

[featherhawk]

Yep. You need the Toews and Kane lines to each be very successful without DeBrincat in order to make sense placing Cat on the third line.

It was that way in 2015 when Sharp was on the third. It was also that way with the Crosby and Malkin lines with back-to-back Pens’ cups.

If you have a really good winger you don’t willingly throw him on the third line when your top two lines aren’t up to snuff.

agreed, I think Cat needs to play in the top 6

Cat-Toews-Kane
Kubalik-Dach-Kurashev/Suter
Shaw-Wallmark-Kurashev/Suter
Janmark-Kampf-Carpenter/Hagel/Entwhistle/Nylander/Highmore etc...

 

[Malaka]

I just don't know who Cat really fits in with anymore. I used to think that size wasn't such a defining factor but for chemistry and playstyle it affects a lot. Him with Kane makes it easy to play physical strategically against them. I don't believe Dach offsets that enough. Cat with Toews and Kubalik/Suter? I'm not sure if that meshes well. And bigger teams now have two top lines they're facing with wingers under 5'8', where having a big 3rd or 4th/shutdown line could negate a lot of pressure.

Just my opinion, I don't know shit about shit.

I like the lines

Kubalik Toews Suter/Nylander
Kurashev/Nylander/Suter Dach Kane
Debrincat Strome Suter/Shaw/Janmark/Wallmark/Kurashev
Janmark Wallmark/Kampf Carpenter/Hagel/Shaw

 

[RememberTheRoar]

I just don't know who Cat really fits in with anymore. I used to think that size wasn't such a defining factor but for chemistry and playstyle it affects a lot. Him with Kane makes it easy to play physical strategically against them. I don't believe Dach offsets that enough. Cat with Toews and Kubalik/Suter? I'm not sure if that meshes well. And bigger teams now have two top lines they're facing with wingers under 5'8', where having a big 3rd or 4th/shutdown line could negate a lot of pressure.

Just my opinion, I don't know shit about shit

I think it’s a good point. In an ideal world, DeBrincat becomes more and more like two-way Marchand as he matures (minus the total douchebag attempts to hurt guys).

but without that evolution/growth, I can’t really think of a great example of a good top-6 with two undersized guys, and where one of those is completely uninvolved in defensive play 95% of the time.

 

[Malaka]

I think it’s a good point. In an ideal world, DeBrincat becomes more and more like two-way Marchand as he matures (minus the total douchebag attempts to hurt guys).

but without that evolution/growth, I can’t really think of a great example of a good top-6 with two undersized guys, and where one of those is completely uninvolved in defensive play 95% of the time.

He's definitely got the feistiness of marchand. My buds and I call him scrappy doo when he jumps in post-whistle

 

[ploppsdman]

Ottawa. He has no spot here.

 

[Pez68]

DeBrincat fits literally anywhere with skilled players.... What a silly statement. The kid has elite instinct and an elite shot. If you can't make him work in a lineup, you're an imbecile.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

DeBrincat fits literally anywhere with skilled players.... What a silly statement. The kid has elite instinct and an elite shot. If you can't make him work in a lineup, you're an imbecile.

I think people are stuck on the notion that Toews must be the center of an elite two-way line that is tasked more with shutdown rather than scoring duties, and that he can’t just be an offensive line center.

I want DeBrincat with Toews if Kane is with Dach. I think those are the four most important forwards right now, and still three years from now. That’s coming from someone who loves Kubalik too, but I just think you must put those four in their best spots before you worry about where Kubalik fits.

 

[Malaka]

DeBrincat fits literally anywhere with skilled players.... What a silly statement. The kid has elite instinct and an elite shot. If you can't make him work in a lineup, you're an imbecile.

I think there’s more nuance to it. There’s no reason you can’t put him next to skill players on the third line.