Who would be a better 3C, Blueger or Suter?

[Nick Lang]

Yeah. This is what ultimately kind of seals it for me.

We need someone in that "3C" spot who can distribute the puck and play with the surplus of skill guys wingers we have. A third "scoring line". That's Suter. Doesn't mean he's "better" than Bluegers per se. But just the way people inherently draw up a roster card works that way.


I think we could ultimately see a very even split of icetime between the two. Call it a 3a/3b or maybe more accurately 4a/4b platoon.


Suter runs with Garland stapled to his hip. Some mix of Hoggy/Podz/Beauvillier on the other wing depending on what happens with the Top-6.

Bluegers runs with Aman. Plus someone defensively responsible and physical on the other wing.

It's just my opinion but I don't like the scoring third line model unless you have really good and consistent scorers there. I don't like our make-up of the players we have and I don't think they have what it takes. I think even a scoring 3rd line needs some defensive acumen. I really don't like the idea of Garland and Suter together. I think they will get absolutely lit up. We already have two hotdog lines playing all offence all the time (despite Petey trying hard on defence) in the first two lines. Defence can be taught and accomplished with determination, dedication, and attention to detail. I think that's easier to achieve than a successful scoring line that can still defend properly. Therefore my vote goes to Blueger. I am hoping they trade Garland but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

 

[MS]

blueger was terrible for vegas. lost his spot in the lineup to amadio in the playoffs

?

Amadio is a winger who was a regular for Vegas all year and played wing in the playoffs as well.

Blueger was acquired as C depth and couldn't crack a roster that featured Eichel-Stephenson-Karlsson-Roy as their regular 4 Cs.

 

[credulous]

?

Amadio is a winger who was a regular for Vegas all year and played wing in the playoffs as well.

Blueger was acquired as C depth and couldn't crack a roster that featured Eichel-Stephenson-Karlsson-Roy as their regular 4 Cs.

roy started the playoffs on karlsson's wing and was replaced by amadio there when blueger was removed from the lineup and roy took his spot between kolesar and carrier

 

[MS]

roy started the playoffs on karlsson's wing and was replaced by amadio there when blueger was removed from the lineup and roy took his spot between kolesar and carrier

Blueger wasn't in the lineup to start the playoffs and didn't play in the first round. Most of his games were in the 3rd round, and I thought he actually looked pretty good in those games in limited minutes.

They put Karlsson and Roy together for those few games, yeah, and then went back to what they started with with their best 4Cs in the lineup playing C.

 

[Cancuks]

Since it's the Canucks, I expect Aman to be third line center, Dries 4th line center, Suter on the 4th line wing and Blueger a healthy scratch.

 

[theguardianII]

I had a few minutes so I thought to drop in and see how "The Great Hope" was rewriting history.

Canucks still trying to con fans into thinking the third line center position is the answer.

I'm telling you now, the second line center is a major issue, much bigger than an easily found 3rd line center.

Ya, ya, ya but, but, but JT Miller is the second line center!!!!!

Did anyone watch his game last year? He didn't drop almost 17 points because Horvat got traded, he dropped that because he slowed down. Just a bit but enough to alter his numbers that an the change of position from wing most of the year.

Players playing in later rounds often can look really good just because they are more rested and less injured. We have seen this before, Gudbranson while playing one a better team look pretty good in playoffs but not so good in the long season when he got promoted to top 4. Ditto with Schmidt, playing on playoff teams he was a stud, but when a team had to rely on him, well not so much.

Still waiting until closer in the season before getting serious about this forum and team but I am not holding my breath about seeing any improvements in the standings, they just didn't get better or keep up to other teams but no much longer, then the tirade

 

[strattonius]

I had a few minutes so I thought to drop in and see how "The Great Hope" was rewriting history.

Canucks still trying to con fans into thinking the third line center position is the answer.

I'm telling you now, the second line center is a major issue, much bigger than an easily found 3rd line center.

Ya, ya, ya but, but, but JT Miller is the second line center!!!!!

Did anyone watch his game last year? He didn't drop almost 17 points because Horvat got traded, he dropped that because he slowed down. Just a bit but enough to alter his numbers that an the change of position from wing most of the year.

Players playing in later rounds often can look really good just because they are more rested and less injured. We have seen this before, Gudbranson while playing one a better team look pretty good in playoffs but not so good in the long season when he got promoted to top 4. Ditto with Schmidt, playing on playoff teams he was a stud, but when a team had to rely on him, well not so much.

Still waiting until closer in the season before getting serious about this forum and team but I am not holding my breath about seeing any improvements in the standings, they just didn't get better or keep up to other teams but no much longer, then the tirade

We're not really in a position to improve 2C at the moment given our assets and other problems on the roster.

But that being said, I thought Miller got better as the year went on especially when Tocchet took over. I'm not seeing this heavy decline you are and I think Miller is the least of our problems for next year.

 

[biturbo19]

It's just my opinion but I don't like the scoring third line model unless you have really good and consistent scorers there. I don't like our make-up of the players we have and I don't think they have what it takes. I think even a scoring 3rd line needs some defensive acumen. I really don't like the idea of Garland and Suter together. I think they will get absolutely lit up. We already have two hotdog lines playing all offence all the time (despite Petey trying hard on defence) in the first two lines. Defence can be taught and accomplished with determination, dedication, and attention to detail. I think that's easier to achieve than a successful scoring line that can still defend properly. Therefore my vote goes to Blueger. I am hoping they trade Garland but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

I'm just not really sure that with the collection of Wingers we have, there's anything else that really makes sense...other than running a "3rd scoring line". Whether you call that line 3 or 4. We just have too many offensive-minded scoring wingers to really do anything else. It's also really the only role Suter is particularly cut out for.


As has been pointed out here and in the other thread, Suter isn't and hasn't been a real #3C. What he's been, is often more of a #2C on bad teams. Which is where...if you're going to get much out of him, you probably need to stack him up in a similar sort of role. Which would align with a 3rd scoring line alongside other quasi Top-6 types like Garland/Hoggy/Podz/Beauvillier/et al.


It's not the way i'd ideally want to build a roster...but it's what we're stuck with. With the surplus of scoring wingers, it just feels like the best chance of making chicken salad out of chicken shit.


The only real alternative is trying to split things up to "spread the wealth" defensively. Which probably means Garland playing with Aman and/or Bluegers, which still makes for a kind of awkward line that isn't going to be a robust matchup line anyway. At least if you concentrate the offensive/defensive acumen a little bit more...you can take a Suter-Garland line and try to "hide" them a little bit more in softer minutes. Rather than just rolling 4 lines that all have weak links defensively.

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm just not really sure that with the collection of Wingers we have, there's anything else that really makes sense...other than running a "3rd scoring line". Whether you call that line 3 or 4. We just have too many offensive-minded scoring wingers to really do anything else. It's also really the only role Suter is particularly cut out for.


As has been pointed out here and in the other thread, Suter isn't and hasn't been a real #3C. What he's been, is often more of a #2C on bad teams. Which is where...if you're going to get much out of him, you probably need to stack him up in a similar sort of role. Which would align with a 3rd scoring line alongside other quasi Top-6 types like Garland/Hoggy/Podz/Beauvillier/et al.


It's not the way i'd ideally want to build a roster...but it's what we're stuck with. With the surplus of scoring wingers, it just feels like the best chance of making chicken salad out of chicken shit.


The only real alternative is trying to split things up to "spread the wealth" defensively. Which probably means Garland playing with Aman and/or Bluegers, which still makes for a kind of awkward line that isn't going to be a robust matchup line anyway. At least if you concentrate the offensive/defensive acumen a little bit more...you can take a Suter-Garland line and try to "hide" them a little bit more in softer minutes. Rather than just rolling 4 lines that all have weak links defensively.

I wonder if something like this is workable:

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
Garland - Miller - Boeser
Mikheyev - Blueger - DiGiuseppe
Joshua - Suter - Aman/Podkolzin/Hoglander

Obviously was just referring to his last name

I get what he was trying to do, I just don't think the joke works or makes sense in context.

 

[biturbo19]

I wonder if something like this is workable:

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
Garland - Miller - Boeser
Mikheyev - Blueger - DiGiuseppe
Joshua - Suter - Aman/Podkolzin/Hoglander

Who really knows what Tocchet will be thinking. It could be something like that.

Personally though, i don't really like it. I don't feel like there's any chemistry between Garland and Miller. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to work as well as it should on paper.

I also feel like that's kind of a waste of what Mikheyev can bring. I think you get far more value out of his speed, size, defensive play by using him to bolster one of Petey or Miller's lines. His ability to keep up offensively while bringing those other elements is something nobody else can really bring to balance out a Top-6 line (unless Podkolzin takes a huge step).


I don't mind the idea of continuing to use Beauvillier as the 3rd wheel on that top line with Pete/Kuz. I think that's a good way to get more out of him. Seemed to work.

But i'd say maybe something more like:

Kuzmenko-Pettersson-Beauvillier

Mikheyev-Miller-Boeser

Bluegers flanked by some mix of PDG/Aman/Joshua/Podkolzin

Hoglander-Suter-Garland


I hate the lack of size and lack of robust defensive presence on that Suter line...but it almost seems like the lesser of potential evils, where you can just try to shelter the bejeepers out of them in butter soft minutes and hope for the best. Spoonfed almost completely OZone starts.

Or you plug Podkolzin/PDG in there instead, and Hoglander is left out in the cold again, which i also hate.

Idk. There are so many configurations i've tinkered with in my head...and almost all of them are still kind of messy and have something i don't like. There are certain combos and duos that i think belong together but the 3rd cog is tricky to work out.

Hoglander is probably the toughest peg to fit into a hole that makes sense. If he comes in confident and can plug into the Top-6 with Miller though, there's a lineup that makes a lot of sense to me.

Kuzmenko-Pettersson-Beauvillier
Hoglander-Miller-Boeser
Mikheyev-Suter-Garland
Bluegers with a PDG/Joshua/Aman/Podkolzin mix.

Basically just run two kinda janky 2nd lines.

 

[Shareefruck]

Do we see Garland as being SO bad defensively that he can't be the third guy on a checking line? His defensive game honestly doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother others, and I think his tenacity and possession can come in handy if he isn't asked to do the positional heavy lifting defensively.

If lack of chemistry between Garland and Miller is an issue, I'd want to try something like...

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
DiGiuseppe - Miller - Boeser (didn't this surprisingly work for a while?)
Mikheyev - Blueger - Garland
Joshua - Suter - Podkolzin/Aman

I just really don't like the half-assed third scoring line idea, personally.

I agree that moving Mikheyev down isn't ideal, but it's a "beggars can't be choosers" sacrifice that I think I'd be willing to make for more stability across the lineup.

 

[biturbo19]

Do we see Garland as being SO bad defensively that he can't be the third guy on a checking line? His defensive game honestly doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother others, and I think his tenacity and possession can come in handy if he isn't asked to do the positional heavy lifting defensively.

If lack of chemistry between Garland and Miller is an issue, I'd want to try something like...

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
DiGiuseppe - Miller - Boeser (didn't this surprisingly work for a while?)
Mikheyev - Blueger - Garland
Joshua - Suter - Podkolzin/Aman

I just really don't like the half-assed third scoring line idea, personally.

I have mulled the idea over. He's not really great defensively, but he also seems to be able to generate pretty solid possession results at even strength anyway. So that would open some things up.


Kuz-Pete-Beauvillier
Mikheyev-Miller-Boeser
PDG-Bluegers-Garland
Podkolzin-Suter-Hoglander

Maybe that works?


I'm just not big on the idea of a Bluegers-Mikheyev duo. It just feels like doubling down concentrating all of that element of speed and north-south directness in one line. I'd rather spread that out. Plus, neither really has the puck distributing ability to get the most out of one another offensively i don't think. But PDG could be an interesting fit there. Not really a conventional "checking line" at that point, but maybe good enough defensively to survive some tougher minutes anyway. Slots in that sort of weird low tier "extra 2nd line" with Suter flanked by a better mix of skillsets and some offensive ability.

Might not be a terrible way of doing it.

 

[Shareefruck]

Yeah, I think that potentially works too. Regardless, I think we have some options, and aren't completely stuck with the scoring third line idea.

 

[biturbo19]

Yeah, I think that potentially works too. Regardless, I think we have some options, and aren't completely stuck with the scoring third line idea.

I don't know that it has to be the 3rd line per se...but i do think that with the makeup of things, we are kind of stuck with one of the bottom-6 lines being at least a pseudo scoring line though. There's just not really any way around it that i can see. Not with Suter in the fold and the wingers we have. We just have too many offensive wingers for it to really shake out any other way. For me it's more just a question about how much Tocchet wants to skew toward the other line being a more pure "checking line" or a bit of a mix.

 

[Shareefruck]

Heh... Tried to come up with one just for fun:

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
Suter - Miller - Boeser
Mikheyev - Blueger - Garland
Joshua - Aman - DiGiuseppe

 

[Siludin]

Play them together

 

[arttk]

Do we see Garland as being SO bad defensively that he can't be the third guy on a checking line? His defensive game honestly doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother others, and I think his tenacity and possession can come in handy if he isn't asked to do the positional heavy lifting defensively.

If lack of chemistry between Garland and Miller is an issue, I'd want to try something like...

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
DiGiuseppe - Miller - Boeser (didn't this surprisingly work for a while?)
Mikheyev - Blueger - Garland
Joshua - Suter - Podkolzin/Aman

I just really don't like the half-assed third scoring line idea, personally.

I agree that moving Mikheyev down isn't ideal, but it's a "beggars can't be choosers" sacrifice that I think I'd be willing to make for more stability across the lineup.

Might as well try this..

Kuz - Petey - Boeser
Garland - Miller - PDG/Joshua
Mik - Bluegar - Beau
Pod - Suter - Hog

Just let the offensive player (Boeser, Garland) play with guys that can put up points and make a 3A/3B line.

 

[JohnHodgson]

I wonder if something like this is workable:

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
Garland - Miller - Boeser
Mikheyev - Blueger - DiGiuseppe
Joshua - Suter - Aman/Podkolzin/Hoglander

I get what he was trying to do, I just don't think the joke works or makes sense in context.

Garland on in the top six just doesn't make sense. He was far better when he was in the bottom six carrying the offensive workload on his own line We already tried Garland with Miller most of last year and they didn't have favourable results. Miller was far better with PDG (career AHLer) on that Boeser line. Why would we pair up a speedy goal scoring winger in Mikheyev with two third line checkers that have limited offensive upside in Blueger and PDG? Mikehyev was one of our better forwards last year on one leg, there's literally zero reason to pair him with two fourth line checkers. We didn't pay this guy 4.75M just to skate fast.

Do we see Garland as being SO bad defensively that he can't be the third guy on a checking line? His defensive game honestly doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother others, and I think his tenacity and possession can come in handy if he isn't asked to do the positional heavy lifting defensively.

If lack of chemistry between Garland and Miller is an issue, I'd want to try something like...

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
DiGiuseppe - Miller - Boeser (didn't this surprisingly work for a while?)
Mikheyev - Blueger - Garland
Joshua - Suter - Podkolzin/Aman

I just really don't like the half-assed third scoring line idea, personally.

I agree that moving Mikheyev down isn't ideal, but it's a "beggars can't be choosers" sacrifice that I think I'd be willing to make for more stability across the lineup.

Why would we pair Mikheyev and Garland with Blueger and not Suter? Suter's proven to be better offensive player than Bleuger... why staple two of our better offensive wingers with the worst offensive center we have?

PDG with Miller and Boeser was OK but dude was a passenger and not a play driver. He had 12 points in 30 games in second line duty... that's not an indication that he should be on the roster. There's really no reason to have PDG in the lineup ahead of someone like Hoglander. PDG is a good 13th/14th forward - there's no reason he should be on the second line other than an OK stint.

I have mulled the idea over. He's not really great defensively, but he also seems to be able to generate pretty solid possession results at even strength anyway. So that would open some things up.


Kuz-Pete-Beauvillier
Mikheyev-Miller-Boeser
PDG-Bluegers-Garland
Podkolzin-Suter-Hoglander

Maybe that works?


I'm just not big on the idea of a Bluegers-Mikheyev duo. It just feels like doubling down concentrating all of that element of speed and north-south directness in one line. I'd rather spread that out. Plus, neither really has the puck distributing ability to get the most out of one another offensively i don't think. But PDG could be an interesting fit there. Not really a conventional "checking line" at that point, but maybe good enough defensively to survive some tougher minutes anyway. Slots in that sort of weird low tier "extra 2nd line" with Suter flanked by a better mix of skillsets and some offensive ability.

Might not be a terrible way of doing it.

Where's Dakota Joshua? How is PDG ahead of Joshua? This would be the softest lineup maybe of all time. We were already soft last year and you want to put PDG ahead of Joshua? Who's going to provide some pushback, some bite, some snarl in that lineup?

Heh... Tried to come up with one just for fun:

Beauvillier - Pettersson - Kuzmenko
Suter - Miller - Boeser
Mikheyev - Blueger - Garland
Joshua - Aman - DiGiuseppe

Just no...

Suter's a far better C than Aman. Aman was terrible last year outside of some flashes. Where's Hoglander? Where's Podkolzin? This would be one of the worst bottom sixes in the NHL... there's zero offensive capabilities here.

Might as well try this..

Kuz - Petey - Boeser
Garland - Miller - PDG/Joshua
Mik - Bluegar - Beau
Pod - Suter - Hog

Just let the offensive player (Boeser, Garland) play with guys that can put up points and make a 3A/3B line.

None of these are serious lineups right? Good golly LMAO

Kuz and Petey were great with Beauvillier and Mikehyev... speedy forecheckers that can retrieve the puck. So let's pair them with the slowest forward on our team! Garland and Miller... we already tried that with middling results.. so let's try that again... by adding some 4th liners to the table (PDG/Joshua)?


Why is everyone trying to re-invent the wheel here?

The easiest lineup to put together is the most probable.

1: Kuz-Petey-Beau/Mik (both Beau and Mik had success, therefore interchangeable)

2: Beau/Mik-Miller-Boeser (Boeser and Miller worked well as a duo last year - naturally you want to put your best forwards on your top lines... Beau and Mik are the best top six options we have so let's put them there)

3: Hogs-Suter-Podz (three good offensive players to create a good scoring third line)

4: Joshua-Blueger-Garland (Garland played well with Joshua and Aman last year. Bleuger's an upgrade over Aman.. this should be an effective fourth line)

PDG, Aman as your 13th and 14th is fine. That's where they are right now in terms of abilities anyway.

 

[Shareefruck]

^ Wow, you really have no chill, huh? It's just spittballing. Trying to see if it's possible to create a defensively reliable 3rd line (and in the case of the last one, both a 3rd and 4th line, just to see if it's possible rather than an actual good idea), compromises to the first two lines being inevitable.

Edit: Not a fan of that third line at all, unless Hoglander and Podkolzin have breakout seasons, which there's no indication of yet.

 

[MS]

^ Wow, you really have no chill, huh? It's just spittballing.

At least you haven't had to spend multiple days defending the innocuous use of the term '5C' in a post and apparently 'gaslighting' people by doing so.

 

[JohnHodgson]

^ Wow, you really have no chill, huh? It's just spittballing. Trying to see if it's possible to create a defensively reliable 3rd line (and in the case of the last one, both a 3rd and 4th line, just to see if it's possible rather than an actual good idea), compromises to the first two lines being inevitable.

Edit: Not a fan of that third line at all, unless Hoglander and Podkolzin have breakout seasons, which there's no indication of yet.

Why would Aman be in this lineup if you were trying to implement this? He was arguably our worst forward last year.

 

[credulous]

3: Hogs-Suter-Podz (three good offensive players to create a good scoring third line)

4: Joshua-Blueger-Garland (Garland played well with Joshua and Aman last year. Bleuger's an upgrade over Aman.. this should be an effective fourth line)

this is just fantasy. there's no way hoglander and podkolzin play ahead of joshua and garland. if those lines are used the 4th will get way more usage than the 3rd. it's way more likely it's suter - blueger - garland and joshua - aman - whoever is leftover than what you posted

 

[Shareefruck]

Why would Aman be in this lineup if you were trying to implement this? He was arguably our worst forward last year.

For me, there are question-marks worth exploring and wondering about regarding how he was developing/where he's heading next year, and how he'd look defensively if given a bit more support and being played up the lineup less often. From what I'm reading about Suter, it seems that he's better defensively than Aman at the moment, but I personally think it sounds like there's more of an opportunity to have the 4th line develop an identity with Aman's forechecking abilities complementing two other capable guys.

You're free to disagree with that, but again, it's just spittballing. There's really no need to go into outraged "Are you serious!? What about this!? What about that!? What a joke!" mode-- No, I'm not serious, not really-- these are merely musings, and the way I'm non-committedly framing them in those posts should have communicated that to you.

 

[Nick Lang]

Garland on in the top six just doesn't make sense. He was far better when he was in the bottom six carrying the offensive workload on his own line We already tried Garland with Miller most of last year and they didn't have favourable results. Miller was far better with PDG (career AHLer) on that Boeser line. Why would we pair up a speedy goal scoring winger in Mikheyev with two third line checkers that have limited offensive upside in Blueger and PDG? Mikehyev was one of our better forwards last year on one leg, there's literally zero reason to pair him with two fourth line checkers. We didn't pay this guy 4.75M just to skate fast.



Why would we pair Mikheyev and Garland with Blueger and not Suter? Suter's proven to be better offensive player than Bleuger... why staple two of our better offensive wingers with the worst offensive center we have?

PDG with Miller and Boeser was OK but dude was a passenger and not a play driver. He had 12 points in 30 games in second line duty... that's not an indication that he should be on the roster. There's really no reason to have PDG in the lineup ahead of someone like Hoglander. PDG is a good 13th/14th forward - there's no reason he should be on the second line other than an OK stint.



Where's Dakota Joshua? How is PDG ahead of Joshua? This would be the softest lineup maybe of all time. We were already soft last year and you want to put PDG ahead of Joshua? Who's going to provide some pushback, some bite, some snarl in that lineup?



Just no...

Suter's a far better C than Aman. Aman was terrible last year outside of some flashes. Where's Hoglander? Where's Podkolzin? This would be one of the worst bottom sixes in the NHL... there's zero offensive capabilities here.



None of these are serious lineups right? Good golly LMAO

Kuz and Petey were great with Beauvillier and Mikehyev... speedy forecheckers that can retrieve the puck. So let's pair them with the slowest forward on our team! Garland and Miller... we already tried that with middling results.. so let's try that again... by adding some 4th liners to the table (PDG/Joshua)?


Why is everyone trying to re-invent the wheel here?

The easiest lineup to put together is the most probable.

1: Kuz-Petey-Beau/Mik (both Beau and Mik had success, therefore interchangeable)

2: Beau/Mik-Miller-Boeser (Boeser and Miller worked well as a duo last year - naturally you want to put your best forwards on your top lines... Beau and Mik are the best top six options we have so let's put them there)

3: Hogs-Suter-Podz (three good offensive players to create a good scoring third line)

4: Joshua-Blueger-Garland (Garland played well with Joshua and Aman last year. Bleuger's an upgrade over Aman.. this should be an effective fourth line)

PDG, Aman as your 13th and 14th is fine. That's where they are right now in terms of abilities anyway.

Hate to break it to you but that line-up isn't much better if any than the others. That 3rd line has the possibility of being absolutely brutal. We do have to keep the puck out of our own net. Unfortunately no matter what configuration we come up with we're still saddled with over priced tiny and defensively poor wingers. You also don't know what works until you try it. That's what practice is for.

 

[biturbo19]

Garland on in the top six just doesn't make sense. He was far better when he was in the bottom six carrying the offensive workload on his own line We already tried Garland with Miller most of last year and they didn't have favourable results. Miller was far better with PDG (career AHLer) on that Boeser line. Why would we pair up a speedy goal scoring winger in Mikheyev with two third line checkers that have limited offensive upside in Blueger and PDG? Mikehyev was one of our better forwards last year on one leg, there's literally zero reason to pair him with two fourth line checkers. We didn't pay this guy 4.75M just to skate fast.



Why would we pair Mikheyev and Garland with Blueger and not Suter? Suter's proven to be better offensive player than Bleuger... why staple two of our better offensive wingers with the worst offensive center we have?

PDG with Miller and Boeser was OK but dude was a passenger and not a play driver. He had 12 points in 30 games in second line duty... that's not an indication that he should be on the roster. There's really no reason to have PDG in the lineup ahead of someone like Hoglander. PDG is a good 13th/14th forward - there's no reason he should be on the second line other than an OK stint.



Where's Dakota Joshua? How is PDG ahead of Joshua? This would be the softest lineup maybe of all time. We were already soft last year and you want to put PDG ahead of Joshua? Who's going to provide some pushback, some bite, some snarl in that lineup?



Just no...

Suter's a far better C than Aman. Aman was terrible last year outside of some flashes. Where's Hoglander? Where's Podkolzin? This would be one of the worst bottom sixes in the NHL... there's zero offensive capabilities here.



None of these are serious lineups right? Good golly LMAO

Kuz and Petey were great with Beauvillier and Mikehyev... speedy forecheckers that can retrieve the puck. So let's pair them with the slowest forward on our team! Garland and Miller... we already tried that with middling results.. so let's try that again... by adding some 4th liners to the table (PDG/Joshua)?


Why is everyone trying to re-invent the wheel here?

The easiest lineup to put together is the most probable.

1: Kuz-Petey-Beau/Mik (both Beau and Mik had success, therefore interchangeable)

2: Beau/Mik-Miller-Boeser (Boeser and Miller worked well as a duo last year - naturally you want to put your best forwards on your top lines... Beau and Mik are the best top six options we have so let's put them there)

3: Hogs-Suter-Podz (three good offensive players to create a good scoring third line)

4: Joshua-Blueger-Garland (Garland played well with Joshua and Aman last year. Bleuger's an upgrade over Aman.. this should be an effective fourth line)

PDG, Aman as your 13th and 14th is fine. That's where they are right now in terms of abilities anyway.

I actually agree with pretty much all of this.

Garland+Miller doesn't work. I don't see any point to Mikheyev riding outside the Top-6 where he brings a much needed element. I could definitely see this being the way they ultimately roll with things, and the 3/4 lines basically saw off in terms of raw minutes...more just a difference in deployment.


Except for...

Where's Dakota Joshua? How is PDG ahead of Joshua? This would be the softest lineup maybe of all time. We were already soft last year and you want to put PDG ahead of Joshua? Who's going to provide some pushback, some bite, some snarl in that lineup?

Joshua isn't a very good player. He's a part of what got Aman ventilated in a lot of ways.

Ultimately, if a 10-12 minute a night banger who can't really keep up with the player consistently in Joshua is the difference between "softest lineup of all time"...the roster is absolutely butter soft to begin with, and that ain't changing. Which is unfortunately the reality of our situation.

The only thing PDG doesn't do better than Joshua is rattle the boards as much. He's better offensively, defensively, faster, smarter, and a better PK contributor. Joshua as basically a "poor man's enforcer" doesn't meaningfully toughen up our roster. You have to hope that the addition of guys like Cole and Soucy on the back end is going to make a bigger dent in that problem than Joshua chasing the play ever did.