Z-Less Line-up 18-19

[Roy S]

Yeah, I think Glendening, Helm and Abdelkader will end up playing together and Blash will use them agains the other teams top lines.

It sounds like they are going to start Svechnikov in grand rapids for the time being and Zadina and Rasumssen will both make the lineup.

The defense is going to really turn over a lot over the next two years with maybe only Dekeyser still around. But, for now, it is quite old.

 

[lidstromiscool]

Reading the tea leaves and what Blashill is saying, i'll be surprised if they aren't:

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha
Rasmussen-Nielsen-Nyquist
Vanek-Athanasiou-Zadina
Abdelkader-Glendening-Helm

I like that 3rd line but they would be pretty weak defensively imo. Would love to see Vanek and Zadina on the same line though

 

[Wiiings]

Am I the only one who thinks Zadina and Rasmussen should not be on the starting roster? No need to rush these guys. Jeepers

 

[Ingvar]

Am I the only one who thinks Zadina and Rasmussen should not be on the starting roster? No need to rush these guys. Jeepers

Zadina doesn’t need to be on the starting roster, he has a lot to learn yet and since he’s eligible for the AHL - that’s where he should spend the year. Rasmussen has nothing to do in juniors and can’t go to the AHL - he should play for the Red Wings, he has the body to do it.

 

[Henkka]

Jesus, I'm so sick of this defense. Give me somebody new!

Time will heal your wounds.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Zadina doesn’t need to be on the starting roster, he has a lot to learn yet and since he’s eligible for the AHL - that’s where he should spend the year. Rasmussen has nothing to do in juniors and can’t go to the AHL - he should play for the Red Wings, he has the body to do it.

Zadina needs to be on the starting roster if he is good enough to be a contributor on the starting roster.

Without seeing him in the preseason any determination of where he should go is premature. Putting him down in the AHL when he can contribute in the NHL just because he is eligible is silly.

 

[jkutswings]

Zadina needs to be on the starting roster if he is good enough to be a contributor on the starting roster.

Without seeing him in the preseason any determination of where he should go is premature. Putting him down in the AHL when he can contribute in the NHL just because he is eligible is silly.

Seems fair to me. But I just looked at the preseason schedule, and why is it that Detroit plays all its games in back to back pairs? They have:

Wednesday, 9/19 vs PIT
Thursday, 9/20 vs CHI

Saturday, 9/22 vs BOS
Sunday, 9/23 at PIT

Tuesday, 9/25 at CHI
Wednesday, 9/26 at BOS

Saturday, 9/28 at TOR
Sunday, 9/29 vs TOR


Maybe that's how they've done it before, but that seems to be a strange logistical wrinkle for getting the best evaluation of any kids or bubble players.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Seems fair to me. But I just looked at the preseason schedule, and why is it that Detroit plays all its games in back to back pairs? They have:

Wednesday, 9/19 vs PIT
Thursday, 9/20 vs CHI

Saturday, 9/22 vs BOS
Sunday, 9/23 at PIT

Tuesday, 9/25 at CHI
Wednesday, 9/26 at BOS

Saturday, 9/28 at TOR
Sunday, 9/29 vs TOR


Maybe that's how they've done it before, but that seems to be a strange logistical wrinkle for getting the best evaluation of any kids or bubble players.

I feel like that is the standard, especially when the teams have so many different players dress during the preseason.

 

[lilidk]

Zadina needs to be on the starting roster if he is good enough to be a contributor on the starting roster.

Without seeing him in the preseason any determination of where he should go is premature. Putting him down in the AHL when he can contribute in the NHL just because he is eligible is silly.

I think he can easily play around 10 min a game , he can learn from Vanek

 

[Hugh Mongusbig]

Reading the tea leaves and what Blashill is saying, i'll be surprised if they aren't:

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha
Rasmussen-Nielsen-Nyquist
Vanek-Athanasiou-Zadina
Abdelkader-Glendening-Helm

When you have roughly the same (less than $1M difference) between the salaries of your top line and fourth line, its going to be a long season. That 4th line better be bringing a whole lot of veteran leadership!

 

[RedWingzz]

Zadina doesn’t need to be on the starting roster, he has a lot to learn yet and since he’s eligible for the AHL - that’s where he should spend the year. Rasmussen has nothing to do in juniors and can’t go to the AHL - he should play for the Red Wings, he has the body to do it.

You gotta at least give Zadina some games at the start to see what he can do. Unless he absolutely looks out of place in the preseason, I'd give him some games and go from there. It is very convenient that we have the AHL option though, so if he plays 4 or 5 regular season games, and looks lost, we can send him to GR to clean his game up.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Yeah, I agree on Zadina. Though if Ras doesn't show much in the regular season I'd rather bump him to 3rd/4th line 'til he improves, whichever his current skill set dictates.
It isn't hard to imagine the Blash's line blender within 10 games...

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha
Vanek-Nielsen-Nyquist
Helm-Athanasiou-Zadina (Svech if Z is sent down)
Abdelkader-Glendening-Ras

 

[Invictus12]

Any chance Veleno ends up leapfrogging Zadina and in the line-up this year? I haven't seen him in prospects tourneys but based on the comments here, he looks really good. The videos someone posted on draft day were impressive as well. The guy can make excellent plays and I think we are starving for creative playmaking on this team.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Am I the only one who thinks Zadina and Rasmussen should not be on the starting roster? No need to rush these guys. Jeepers

No reason to keep Rasmussen down.

Zadina, I want to see how he handles training camp. If he's any good, no reason to keep him down either.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Any chance Veleno ends up leapfrogging Zadina and in the line-up this year? I haven't seen him in prospects tourneys but based on the comments here, he looks really good. The videos someone posted on draft day were impressive as well. The guy can make excellent plays and I think we are starving for creative playmaking on this team.

None chance. Veleno looks good, but Zadina was slated to be taken top 3 in the draft for a reason. If Veleno leapfrogs him, it's because something happened with Zadina that made him not ready.

 

[Invictus12]

None chance. Veleno looks good, but Zadina was slated to be taken top 3 in the draft for a reason. If Veleno leapfrogs him, it's because something happened with Zadina that made him not ready.

That's just a status of the pick... Plenty of 2nd rounders bypass first rounders. On average a first rounder is more likely to be a better player than a later round pick but we are talking one to one here. That's besides the fact that plenty had Veleno much higher than where he got picked as well. I would think it's his current ability on the ice that would decide the outcome and that's the input I'm hoping to get.

 

[odin1981]

Man this is going to be sad. No Z does make us the worst team in the league in my opinion.

EK less Ottawa?

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

That's just a status of the pick... Plenty of 2nd rounders bypass first rounders. On average a first rounder is more likely to be a better player than a later round pick but we are talking one to one here. That's besides the fact that plenty had Veleno much higher than where he got picked as well. I would think it's his current ability on the ice that would decide the outcome and that's the input I'm hoping to get.

Sorry. I should have been more clear. A good showing in a prospect tournament will not be enough to have Veleno hop Zadina in the here and now. Fans tend to put way more recency bias on things than teams do.

Also, Veleno is going to be a C in the league.

Larkin-Nielsen-AA-Glenny.

Without injury, Veleno doesn’t make it. On the wings, Zadina has fewer bodies in front of him.

Based on his talent and pedigree, Zadina will get every chance. With having a full boat of Cs and also a couple other C players on the wings, I think Veleno gets kept down to develop

 

[marcmadsen]

So far, the way the combinations seem to be shaping up it looks like:

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha
Nyquist - Nielsen - Rasmussen
Zadina - Athanasiou - Vanek
Abdelkader - Glendening - Helm
Frk, Witkowski

Those lines make sense from the perspective of mixing different players traits and forming some chemistry. But I think anyone who has ever watched hockey has got to be a bit concerned over the what should be a terrible defensive third line. AA is not positionally strong in his own end as a centre. Saddling Zadina with those two (defensively) could form some bad habits. But we'll see I guess

I do think matching Rasmussen with Nielsen and Nyquist will actually be really good for him at both ends of the rink. He'd be the big body net front presence while the other two are the playmakers. Makes sense to me

 

[Shaman464]

I would put Zadina higher in the lineup than Rasmussen, if only because he's a proven finisher, and that second line people keep posting is kinda meh on finish. Beyond that, having Vanek and AA on a line they need someone like Ras with size to excel. AA and Vanek are both puck hogs, and Ras would be better than Zadina at getting the pick out of tough areas to them, especially when they are floating.

 

[newfy]

I would put Zadina higher in the lineup than Rasmussen, if only because he's a proven finisher, and that second line people keep posting is kinda meh on finish. Beyond that, having Vanek and AA on a line they need someone like Ras with size to excel. AA and Vanek are both puck hogs, and Ras would be better than Zadina at getting the pick out of tough areas to them, especially when they are floating.

I dunno if any of these lines are really much above the others, unless one gets put with Larkin. I could see Rasmussen being more ready for the defensive work needed to play against top lines moreso than Zadina because hes older and more well rounded. If the top line is something like Larkin Bert Mantha... Then the next 2 lines likely play similar amounts.

I like the idea of sheltered matchups with AA and Vanek for Zadina at 5 on 5 and then give him plenty of PP time. After years of Frk and Pulkkinen shooting from the top of the cirlce, its gong to be weird having Zadina there actually hitting the net

 

[Shaman464]

I dunno if any of these lines are really much above the others, unless one gets put with Larkin. I could see Rasmussen being more ready for the defensive work needed to play against top lines moreso than Zadina because hes older and more well rounded. If the top line is something like Larkin Bert Mantha... Then the next 2 lines likely play similar amounts.

I like the idea of sheltered matchups with AA and Vanek for Zadina at 5 on 5 and then give him plenty of PP time. After years of Frk and Pulkkinen shooting from the top of the cirlce, its gong to be weird having Zadina there actually hitting the net

I hate the idea of Zadina with AA and Vanek, AA and Vanek will need all the defensive help they can get, and someone to get the puck for them, which would be Ras's strength. Zadina would be better off playing with playmaking/defensive forwards at first like Nyquist and Nielsen than two finishers who wouldn't know defense if it bit them in the ass.

 

[Heaton]

I hate the idea of Zadina with AA and Vanek, AA and Vanek will need all the defensive help they can get, and someone to get the puck for them, which would be Ras's strength. Zadina would be better off playing with playmaking/defensive forwards at first like Nyquist and Nielsen than two finishers who wouldn't know defense if it bit them in the ass.

If winning was the goal this season, I would agree with you. But for development purposes, I want to see Zadina on a line that has the most scoring chances possible.

 

[jkutswings]

If winning was the goal this season, I would agree with you. But for development purposes, I want to see Zadina on a line that has the most scoring chances possible.

Zadina-AA-Vanek...the poke and hope line?

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

EK less Ottawa?

Duchene, Stone and heck even Ryan are there still. Tkachuk and Brown are exciting young guys up front as well.

Chabot on the back-end is exciting in terms of the PP. Ceci will need to step up. But yes I still think Ottawa is probably a little better than us. Plus this should be a good year for Anderson this year, he seems to alternate every other year.