Ranking NHL Teams By Forwards

[Kevin27NYI]

That third line will be a work in progress but if two of the younger wingers click with Brassard, then obviously the Islanders' forwards would be on the rise. The top two lines are solid, not spectacular, and the fourth line is one of the league's best. So much depends on what becomes of that third line.

It's definitely not sexy and lacks star/name power. But other than Beau, no projects, 5 top 6 forwards. very solid. I expect Barzal and Eberle to get twenty points apiece more.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Jesus, rough like the previous two.

It has Dylan Gambrell as San Jose's 2C for crying out loud.

You prefer Hertl in the middle with one of the prospects on the other wing, then a third scoring line with Gambrell centering that trio if Thornton doesn't return? What does your depth chart look like with and without Thornton/Marleau?

 

[Machinehead]

I can't comprehend how you looked at the Rangers and thought "this team's forwards are about as bad as their defense."

 

[Machinehead]

The Sharks being 25th is an absolutely scorching take.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Solid top 5. I agree with others. Sharks should be around 15th.

I mentioned the Sharks would be around No. 20 if Thornton returns. If they get Marleau too, then probably into the mid-teens. I don't think San Jose's forwards are above average as of today, without those two. I think that group overachieves thanks to all the offence from the defence. Those were two separate rankings. So the people that were happy to see San Jose ranked No. 1 for defence (which includes offence from the defence) and now agry to see San Jose ranked in the bottom 10 for forwards (which doesn't account for any offence from the defence).

 

[Machinehead]

Dylan Gambrell is 23 years old. He has played 13 NHL games including playoffs.

This guy said that Dylan Gambrell was the San Jose Sharks’ 2nd line center.

Which one of Couture and/or Hertl was shot into the sun?

 

[joe dirte]

Not bad. Maybe a few that could move around a little but overall it's not totally off base.

 

[TGWL]

Isles finished top 5 last year, rankings have our offense 26, defense 20, goaltending 21. Swapped Brassard for Flip, Lehner for Varlamov.

I think the structure helped Islanders finish with a top defense last year. I didn't fully read this, but maybe it's about the defense on paper rather than how well they perform together, team play, etc. Either way, I wouldn't have them that low.

 

[Erep]

You prefer Hertl in the middle with one of the prospects on the other wing, then a third scoring line with Gambrell centering that trio if Thornton doesn't return? What does your depth chart look like with and without Thornton/Marleau?

Yes, easily.

First of all, the top 2 lines are Meier-Couture and Kane-Hertl, with a rotating set of RWs. The current most likely setup is Labanc and Chmelevski or flipping Meier to the right side and putting in Chekhovich.

Gambrell will be at most 3C (assuming no Thornton), and even without Thronton, I could see him getting beat out by a rookie for that spot.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Pavelski isn't that much of a loss? He lead the Sharks in goals last year and has lead the team in goals 5 out of the last 6 years.

I would have the Sharks much higher (10 spots?) but your comment about Pavelski not being much of a loss is equally as embarrassing.

Are the Preds too high to anyone else? I like the Avalanche and Jets just from the Central more than the Preds forwards and both are lower.

I'm probably higher on the Preds forwards than some/many people, but six of the seven Central teams were between 5-14. So it's understandable that others might see them in a different order. They are bunched together, with not much separating them.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Yeah, the Defense ranking was completely all over the place. Chicago over Washington AND NYI? It's just bizarre.

It depends if we are ranking based on last season or the coming season? Chicago made a couple key additions to round out their defence and should be much better on the back end. I looked forward as much as I looked back for these rankings.

 

[Larry Fisher]

I meant to imply that losing Pavelski shouldn't drop a team that tied for most goals in their conference last year to the 25th best forward unit. Though I do expect regression from Pavs (would have expected some even if he re-signed).

Tied for the most goals in the conference thanks in large part to the defence, which was ranked No. 1 yesterday. This ranking is focusing only on the forwards.

 

[Larry Fisher]

I think the structure helped Islanders finish with a top defense last year. I didn't fully read this, but maybe it's about the defense on paper rather than how well they perform together, team play, etc. Either way, I wouldn't have them that low.

You would be correct.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Which one of Couture and/or Hertl was shot into the sun?

Left handed Hertl was moved to the second line right wing, which he has never played in his NHL career. With right handed Kevin LaBanc playing the left wing on that line.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Yes, easily.

First of all, the top 2 lines are Meier-Couture and Kane-Hertl, with a rotating set of RWs. The current most likely setup is Labanc and Chmelevski or flipping Meier to the right side and putting in Chekhovich.

Gambrell will be at most 3C (assuming no Thornton), and even without Thronton, I could see him getting beat out by a rookie for that spot.

Makes sense, thanks for the clarification. As mentioned, I was working from the CapFriendly Depth Chart tool as a base for all of my lineups and I tweaked some of them that I knew were out of whack. That said, the players remain the same regardless of their alignment, so I'm not sure that changes my forward ranking for San Jose. But it does make the depth chart look better, which could have impacted my ranking at the time. I did feel San Jose was low there, but I also knew they lost a lot in Pavelski, Nyquist, Donskoi and Thornton as of now.

 

[sabremike]

I have absolutely no idea how the Sabres aren't bottom 5. Outside of Jack, Skinner and Sam our forwards are appallingly terrible, and our forward prospect depth is an embarrasment for a team with nothing but top 8 picks for close to a decade. Also nobody outside of an insane asylum thinks Cozens has anything more than a 9 game cup of coffee before heading back to juniors.

 

[Krewe]

Why is a team full of overrated chokers #1??? All of them are just propped up by their teammates

 

[Larry Fisher]

Left handed Hertl was moved to the second line right wing, which he has never played in his NHL career. With right handed Kevin LaBanc playing the left wing on that line.

Again, I was using this as my starting point: San Jose Sharks Depth Charts Projection - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Perhaps we should hound CapFriendly to update their depth charts to better reflect the lineups for the coming season. But CapFriendly is likely waiting to see how the preseason plays out. No point changing them now and then changing them again in two weeks when DeBoer does something different in camp.

Or perhaps I should have used Daily Faceoff instead: Team Line Combinations

That looks closer to the feedback I'm getting here, at least for San Jose.

 

[jetsforever]

Isles finished top 5 last year, rankings have our offense 26, defense 20, goaltending 21. Swapped Brassard for Flip, Lehner for Varlamov.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

 

[Larry Fisher]

I can't comprehend how you looked at the Rangers and thought "this team's forwards are about as bad as their defense."

I really like the Rangers forwards — and their defence, for that matter — but so much of it is based on potential. The Rangers are one of the team that could blow these rankings out of the water if everything clicks when they step on the ice. Colorado being another team like that, with their defence and goaltending capable of greatly outperforming my rankings. But, again, potential versus reality and potential is only potential until it becomes reality. Therefore, I couldn't justify ranking the Rangers any higher, even though I am quite high on their forward group on paper. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Larry Fisher]

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Exactly, a very simple but true explanation. I definitely hit on that in my analysis for tomorrow's Power Rankings.

 

[ShelbyZ]

I think Michael Rasmussen took 4 whole shifts at Center at the NHL level last year.

 

[Viqsi]

Where would you have Columbus' forwards ranked?

Middle of the pack at absolute best. More than likely just outside of the bottom-10. Not buried with the Lafreniere Lottery teams.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Again, I was using this as my starting point: San Jose Sharks Depth Charts Projection - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Perhaps we should hound CapFriendly to update their depth charts to better reflect the lineups for the coming season. But CapFriendly is likely waiting to see how the preseason plays out. No point changing them now and then changing them again in two weeks when DeBoer does something different in camp.

Or perhaps I should have used Daily Faceoff instead: Team Line Combinations

That looks closer to the feedback I'm getting here, at least for San Jose.

First off, your lineup isn’t even the one that currently comes up from CapFriendly.

Second, and far more importantly, if you know so little about a team’s forward lines that you can make such an egregious error as you did, perhaps you shouldn’t be ranking them in the first place?

 

[Larry Fisher]

First off, your lineup isn’t even the one that currently comes up from CapFriendly.

Second, and far more importantly, if you know so little about a team’s forward lines that you can make such an egregious error as you did, perhaps you shouldn’t be ranking them in the first place?

I'm ranking the forward groups as a whole. The names don't change if they are on different lines.