Player Discussion Third Line Center Position

[MettleMcOiler]

From what I've reading through our threads. One of the things that seems to constantly brought up to get this offseason, is getting a 3rd line Center.

I wanted to get more indepth with the position.

So I wanted to ask some questions, and hoping some of you can elaborate more on detail on the position, especially for those that used to coach or played organized Hockey.

• What are the essential skills for a 3rd line center?

• What are the main duties centering the third line?

• How important is third line center to the team as a whole?

• What makes a third line center elite?

• Who would you consider elite 3rd line centers in the game today?

• Is there an potential elite 3rd line center in the 1st round 2020 draft?

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[GretzkytoKurri9917]

The player doesn't need to be elite but simply is required to be well-rounded and be able to win the important face-off.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Phillip Danault would be fine with me.

 

[MettleMcOiler]

Phillip Danault would be fine with me.

What does he do well? what stands out from him as third line center? Faceoffs? Checking? Leadership? Defensive game?

 

[BudBundy]

To me, a 3rd line C has the skating and size and defensive awareness to go head to head with the opposition top line C and battle them to a draw. Ideally that includes the ability to win a key draw and PK. He must also be able to put up at least 20 goals and 40 points, and have enough skill to play 2C if there is an injury. He doesn’t have to be extremely skilled, just capable. To me, a good 3rd line C is more important than any winger on your team. Before I get piled on, yes I know a lot of 3Cs in the league don’t check all these boxes.

 

[MoontoScott]

Mcleod makes the team with his skating and PK abilities?

 

[BudBundy]

Mcleod makes the team with his skating and PK abilities?

Starting in 2022, hopefully yes. Depends if he brings enough gun. Could top out at 4C.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

What does he do well? what stands out from him as third line center? Faceoffs? Checking? Leadership? Defensive game?

He can do it all.

 

[Hynh]

An elite 3C needs to do all the dirty jobs. Lots of PK work with little to no PP time. Some years his line needs to break in a rookie and other years it needs to be 3 vets but either way he has to win the 5x5 battle without pricing himself out of the role.

 

[joestevens29]

Eric Haula please

Probably can expect 15-15 from him. Pk, 54%+ on dot,

 

[OfCorsiDid]

I think the defensive responsibilities of a 3C are way overblown.

An ideal 3C for me would be a guy that can do some PK but has offensive upside.

What plagued us this season was that although we defended well, our bottom 2 lines were absolute blackholes of offence and that put a lot of pressure on McDrai to produce to make up for the lack of scoring on lines 3 and 4. Personally, I think this led to both of them cheating for offence when at evens.

I wish Athanasiou was a bit more of a complete player because he would be a pretty good 3C option if he could play a semblance of defence. Idk maybe Tipp can teach him it.

Best choice in FA is Haula.
Best choice for trade is Wennberg (I’ve liked him for a while).
Best choice in house is McLeod, but I’m unsure of how NHL ready he is.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I think the defensive responsibilities of a 3C are way overblown.

An ideal 3C for me would be a guy that can do some PK but has offensive upside.

What plagued us this season was that although we defended well, our bottom 2 lines were absolute blackholes of offence and that put a lot of pressure on McDrai to produce to make up for the lack of scoring on lines 3 and 4. Personally, I think this led to both of them cheating for offence when at evens.

I wish Athanasiou was a bit more of a complete player because he would be a pretty good 3C option if he could play a semblance of defence. Idk maybe Tipp can teach him it.

Best choice in FA is Haula.
Best choice for trade is Wennberg (I’ve liked him for a while).
Best choice in house is McLeod, but I’m unsure of how NHL ready he is.

Outside or defensively, AA is awful at faceoffs too. He just isn't a good option for an NHL center.

Wennberg is a bad option for 3c for us. $4.9 mill contract for a 3c who has hit double digit goals ONCE in this NHL career. If he was making 3 mill sure but that's a massive contract for a guy like that

 

[OfCorsiDid]

Outside or defensively, AA is awful at faceoffs too. He just isn't a good option for an NHL center.

Hence the “I wish AA was a more complete player”. The dude is all run-and-gun. Which is ok as a 3LW with responsible linemates that can pass.

Wennberg is a bad option for 3c for us. $4.9 mill contract for a 3c who has hit double digit goals ONCE in this NHL career. If he was making 3 mill sure but that's a massive contract for a guy like that

From a skill point alone, Wennberg is a good choice.

I understand that his contract is bad, but I imagine CBJ would want to get out from under it. I don’t think any team calling on Wennberg doesn’t start that call without asking for salary retention.

It honestly depends on if Kekalainen wants to retool CBJ. He’d probably do Wennberg with $2M retention for a 3rd and a mid-level prospect.

 

[OfCorsiDid]

From a skill point alone, Wennberg is a good choice.

I understand that his contract is bad, but I imagine CBJ would want to get out from under it. I don’t think any team calling on Wennberg doesn’t start that call without asking for salary retention.

It honestly depends on if Kekalainen wants to retool CBJ. He’d probably do Wennberg with $2M retention for a 3rd and a mid-level prospect.

Idk what’s going on, but I cannot edit that post.

Anywho, with regards to AA, hence the “I wish he was a more complete player”.

He’s all run-and-gun offence which is a good fit as a 3LW with some responsible linemates who can pass and get open.

 

[CycloneSweep]

From a skill point alone, Wennberg is a good choice.

I understand that his contract is bad, but I imagine CBJ would want to get out from under it. I don’t think any team calling on Wennberg doesn’t start that call without asking for salary retention.

It honestly depends on if Kekalainen wants to retool CBJ. He’d probably do Wennberg with $2M retention for a 3rd and a mid-level prospect.

I don't think they would be willing to do that high. They aren't going to find a better 3c for under 3mill so at the end of the day they probably spend more than Wennbergs $4.9 mill overall for that position, might as well keep Wennberg.

 

[joestevens29]

While Wennberg is overpaid didn't his role change after he signed his contract? Not that I think he's a target I just think he's one of those guys that CBJ probably isn't too mad at what he's making.

 

[CycloneSweep]

While Wennberg is overpaid didn't his role change after he signed his contract? Not that I think he's a target I just think he's one of those guys that CBJ probably isn't too mad at what he's making.

He plays the 12th most 5v5 time on his team for forwards.
He is their 4th highest paid forward as well.
Which being not a rich team, could be an issue. Especially with Dubois and Anderson needing a new contract this summer and them not having a bunch of cap space.
So I could see Wennberg move but only with maybe 1mill in rentention, which even that $3.9 for a low offense 3c wouldn't be a great fit here.

 

[McDNicks17]

Tipp has a history of using his 4th line as his defensive minute eater, so there's no need to target a big, physical old school match-up #3C.

You just need someone that can play between guys like AA and Chiasson and contribute against other teams' third lines with soft zone starts.


Most teams just have aging overpaid former #2Cs or young talented rookies/sophomores playing that role now, so if Holland swings and misses on the shallow UFA crop, he might have to get creative.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Tipp has a history of using his 4th line as his defensive minute eater, so there's no need to target a big, physical old school match-up #3C.

You just need someone that can play between guys like AA and Chiasson and contribute against other teams' third lines with soft zone starts.


Most teams just have aging overpaid former #2Cs or young talented rookies/sophomores playing that role now, so if Holland swings and misses on the shallow UFA crop, he might have to get creative.

If he could find a way to rid of us Neal, I think Tyler Johnson fits the bill there.
I do believe Holland talked about exploring buyout options too. As much as a $2mill a year buyout would suck, That almost 4 mill in capspace would be nice.

 

[belair]

Wennberg makes sense if he gets bought out. Haula is kind of a perfect fit just due to the fact he brings a bit more of an offensive flair. Not great defensively though. Guys like Jankowski and Girgensons probably fit more of a fourth line role. I'm still really high on Zacha, if available, but I'd be tempted to run him on a scoring line.

To answer the OP, it depends on what your organizational needs are. The Oilers kind of need a good mix of two-way ability and a contribution to the PK, but I think they'd be prioritizing offense considering this is the C tasked with complimenting JP.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Wennberg makes sense if he gets bought out. Haula is kind of a perfect fit just due to the fact he brings a bit more of an offensive flair. Not great defensively though. Guys like Jankowski and Girgensons probably fit more of a fourth line role. I'm still really high on Zacha, if available, but I'd be tempted to run him on a scoring line.

To answer the OP, it depends on what your organizational needs are. The Oilers kind of need a good mix of two-way ability and a contribution to the PK, but I think they'd be prioritizing offense considering this is the C tasked with complimenting JP.

Looking around, if the team wants to move on from Larsson, maybe a Larsson/Filppula + Swap. Detroit has like....no defenders left. He can hold the fort for a year till maybe McLeod takes over. Guy has offensive ability still and yeah, he had a bad year in Detroit but they all did. Bring in a Finn to mentor Pulju for the year. I mean Haula is ideal, just talking about a backup

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Looking around, if the team wants to move on from Larsson, maybe a Larsson/Filppula + Swap. Detroit has like....no defenders left. He can hold the fort for a year till maybe McLeod takes over. Guy has offensive ability still and yeah, he had a bad year in Detroit but they all did. Bring in a Finn to mentor Pulju for the year. I mean Haula is ideal, just talking about a backup

that plus better be big
Filppula is old as dirt and trending down

 

[ZJuice]

Gaetan Haas Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[belair]

Looking around, if the team wants to move on from Larsson, maybe a Larsson/Filppula + Swap. Detroit has like....no defenders left. He can hold the fort for a year till maybe McLeod takes over. Guy has offensive ability still and yeah, he had a bad year in Detroit but they all did. Bring in a Finn to mentor Pulju for the year. I mean Haula is ideal, just talking about a backup

Not gonna lie, this is about as awful as a return as you're gonna see for Larsson on these boards. In all honesty, I'm not convinced he gets traded. I think the team likes him and he's made it known he wants to be here.

In regards to Filppula, even in a deal for a guy like Russell, it's not great value for us. He averaged less than a shot a game last season playing what was essentially second line minutes. He's in significant decline.

 

[bone]

Gaetan Haas Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

If he can figure out how to get close to 50% on the dot and become a solid penalty killer he could fit the bill particularly with being a right handed option . But jumping to 50% from 42.2% this year would be quite the improvement and doesn't seem likely.

Though I hate overvaluing faceoffs, a solid right handed faceoff man would be helpful.