Line Combos: Predict who WILL be our 3C on the opening roster

[mcpw]

Predict who you think WILL be (not "should be") our third line center come day one of the season. One of the bigger mysteries for me.

Mathieu Perreault - is he more effective at LW?
Alex Burmistrov - rough year but showed some good stuff at the end of last season.
Adam Lowry - "one day he'll be out on the ice against the other team's top line" -- Paul Maurice (not an exact quote)
Shawn Matthias - listed as C by nhl.com, mainly played LW in recent seasons. I was sort of asking for a 3C UFA signing who can deliver some offense. Not sure whether that's what we got.
Andrew Copp - much higher P/60 than Lowry and Burmistrov, with at times really bad linemates.
Nic Petan - long shot but you never know.

Click to read more...

 

[BrianFromAIH]

Predict who you think WILL be (not "should be") our third line center come day one of the season. One of the bigger mysteries for me.

Mathieu Perreault - is he more effective at LW?
Alex Burmistrov - rough year but showed some good stuff at the end of last season.
Adam Lowry - "one day he'll be out on the ice against the other team's top line" -- Paul Maurice (not an exact quote)
Shawn Matthias - listed as C by nhl.com, mainly played LW in recent seasons. I was sort of asking for a 3C UFA signing who can deliver some offense. Not sure that's what we got.
Andrew Copp - much higher P/60 than Lowry and Burmistrov, with at times really bad linemates.
Nic Petan - long shot but you never know.

Burmi WILL be.
Perreault SHOULD be, but I've heard he far prefers playing wing.

 

[Return of the Jetdi]

Perreault to center Connor and Armia

 

[Flair Hay]

I have thought about it a lot but I still don't know

 

[Skidooboy]

Petan isn't as long a shot as many think.

Still horribly horribly underrated by the people on this board.

 

[The Blue Baron]

This is the way I see it at C:

Schief
Little
Copp
Burmi/ Lowry

Perrault excels better on the wing put him there with 29 and Little

 

[Daximus]

Mathieu Perreault - is he more effective at LW?
I think Perreault is actually a very effective C. It's really just a matter of where we set up the rest of the lineup (Scheif, Wheeler, Ehlers, Laine) that likely dictates where he ends up. I really don't want Stafford in our top 6.

Alex Burmistrov - rough year but showed some good stuff at the end of last season.
I think Burmi is another case where he is better at C. I think he should be given a legitimate chance to show if he really is rounding out his game now.

Adam Lowry - "one day he'll be out on the ice against the other team's top line" -- Paul Maurice (not an exact quote)
Lurch suffered from a sophomore slump last year but I honestly think he might be a better winger at this point than a C.

Shawn Matthias - listed as C by nhl.com, mainly played LW in recent seasons. I was sort of asking for a 3C UFA signing who can deliver some offense. Not sure that's what we got.
I think Matthias would make a very good 4th C/LW and regular PKer

Andrew Copp - much higher P/60 than Lowry and Burmistrov, with at times really bad linemates.
I think Copp is very underrated by our fanbase, especially since it was his rookie year. He is a solid player, wasn't horrible in the dot and had mostly defensive zone starts. The 3rd line could be where we see Copps offensive game evolve. He showed flashes off brilliance and with the right line-mates could Center a strong two-way 3rd line while also being a regular PKer.

Nic Petan - long shot but you never know.
I still think Petan needs more time in the AHL. But he is definitely a wild card for training camp.

With all that said I have no clue...

 

[Jetsfan4life]

Petan isn't as long a shot as many think.

Still horribly horribly underrated by the people on this board.

I think Petan will be very good for us one day I just don't think he is ready for the big club yet.There is a lot of people ahead of him before he comes up.He will play extremely well on the Moose this year.

 

[Duke749]

Not necessarily who I think should get it, but I think Copp ends up slotted there followed by Burmi as my second pick for that spot.

 

[CorgisPer60]

I like Burmi as the 3C because he's at his best there and he's better than the others who can fill that position (except for Perreault, but he is a better winger than Burmi, so...).

 

[BigZ65]

I think we could find a situation where are middle 6 lines are tough to delineate because one will be more offensive and one might be a line that matches up more against other teams 1st or 2nd line but doesn't get as much PP time or time when the Jets trail if that makes sense.

So Little or Perreault depending on how you view the lines. Ice time will be similar IMO. I think Little might struggle to get PP time but will be matched up a lot 5 on 5 against other teams best. Perreault could be a great match for Laine IMO. I wouldn't split up 27-55-26 until they gave me a reason to. I think Burmi and Lowry are better wingers at this point on our roster, but will be useful to plug in when necessary. They are competing for that LW role on the "shutdown" line.

I'd go:

27-55-26
29-85-56
6-18-40

Of course in reality Stafford probably slots in for 56 or 40. Little could be juggled up to the Laine line when the bench shortens.

 

[SM]

I think there's a lot of factors in the choice. One majr one I see is if Connor is playing 3LW. Whether or not Petan/Copp are exceptional, I don't see them putting two young guys on the same line together. Burmi doesn't fit there either based on how inconsistently responsible he is. Perreault, Matthias, and Lowry would make the most sense to me (in that order) if we see Connor there.

Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine!

 

[Hank Chinaski]

Should be Perreault, expecting it will be Matthias. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[Bob E]

Connor-Matthias-Dano.

Speed of Matthias and Connor will be fun to watch.

 

[Skidooboy]

I think Petan will be very good for us one day I just don't think he is ready for the big club yet.There is a lot of people ahead of him before he comes up.He will play extremely well on the Moose this year.

I don't think so.
Petan got two fairly lengthy stints on the Jets.
The first one at the start of the year was because he forced his way on in training camp. The second was because of injury, but again he was up for a long look. Most of the others you have "ahead" of him don't have his talent, or determination or pedigree. I think the origination gas him ranked quite a bit higher than many here. Also after his play in the AHL I don't think he's got much more to learn there.

 

[YWGinYYZ]

Petan isn't as long a shot as many think.

Still horribly horribly underrated by the people on this board.

Some, not all. That's a horribly horribly generalized statement. I have high hopes for him, and think he has the skill the make it as a regular in the NHL, myself.

 

[garret9]

I prefer Matthias at wing, TBH...

For prediction: I predict Burmi.
I also predict it to go well if he's with players like Dano, Perreault, Connor, Laine. I predict it to go poorly if he's with players like Thorburn, Stafford, and Lowry. Not certain how it would go with Matthias.

Long game though I think and hope it goes eventually to Petan.

 

[winnipegger]

I still think it's

Scheif
Little
Lowry
Copp

Provided Lowry shows improvement. If not, slot Burmistrov/Petan in.

 

[Duke749]

I think we could find a situation where are middle 6 lines are tough to delineate because one will be more offensive and one might be a line that matches up more against other teams 1st or 2nd line but doesn't get as much PP time or time when the Jets trail if that makes sense.

So Little or Perreault depending on how you view the lines. Ice time will be similar IMO. I think Little might struggle to get PP time but will be matched up a lot 5 on 5 against other teams best. Perreault could be a great match for Laine IMO. I wouldn't split up 27-55-26 until they gave me a reason to. I think Burmi and Lowry are better wingers at this point on our roster, but will be useful to plug in when necessary. They are competing for that LW role on the "shutdown" line.

I'd go:

27-55-26
29-85-56
6-18-40

Of course in reality Stafford probably slots in for 56 or 40. Little could be juggled up to the Laine line when the bench shortens.

Don't see a scenario where Little isn't getting heavy minutes. He's carried the #1 load for awhile now. No reason to think him and Schief won't take heavy minutes for most of the year. Little is a much better center then Perrault. At least from my perspective.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

Voted for Perrault. Either Chevy or Maurice already said something along the lines that Matthias will likely play wing & then mentioned Burmistrov & Perrault by name in terms of 3rd line centre.

 

[Duke749]

I prefer Matthias at wing, TBH...

For prediction: I predict Burmi.
I also predict it to go well if he's with players like Dano, Perreault, Connor, Laine. I predict it to go poorly if he's with players like Thorburn, Stafford, and Lowry. Not certain how it would go with Matthias.

Long game though I think and hope it goes eventually to Petan.

BOLD prediction Garrett. Got anymore insightful gems for us?

 

[robertocarlos]

Burmi and it's based purely on salary. It's his last chance though.

 

[CanWin]

They were ready to give Petan a shot at the beginning of last season. The Jets obviously value his skill set. Whenthey brought him back at the end of last season, he showed himself ready. He has the best ability/potential to set up his "power-wingers" of everyone on the team. If he shows this ability in training camp the way that he needs to, he has a real shot at 3C.

BTW, I have a bear of a time separating "will" from "should".

 

[citizenmundane]

Whoever can win some damn face-offs!!!!!

 

[lanky]

Pereault has been used as LW by Maurice. I see no indication that his mind is changed.

Burmi was above Lowry, Petan and Copp in Maurice's books last season. I see no indication that his mind is changed.

Only wildcard is Matthias. He has potential to unseat Burmi from that spot.