Should I keep the MacInnis- Laperriere pairing or put Herb Gardiner- MacInnis and have Laperierre anchor the 2nd pairing??
Gardiner would add a more physical element. Hard to say. If the best d-man available next time you get a d-man is physical, I'd go Gardiner-MacInnis, if not then Laperierre-MacInnis.
__________________
Every post comes with the Nalyd Psycho Seal of Approval.
What do you all think of a Ted Lindsay - Russell Bowie - Martin St Louis first line? I think it's a perfect mix of playmaking and goalscoring, all three men can handle the puck and bring it up ice, both wing back check, and Lindsay is probably the toughest pound-for-pound hockey player ever.
I realize it's not a traditional line - usually the relatively one dimensional goal scorer plays wing - here he's playing center.
But Ted Lindsay and Martin St Louis are not your traditional wingers. Both are very adept at carrying te puck and both have led the league in assists (with Lindsay equally as good at scoring as he is at playmaking).
It's not what I originally envisioned (I liked Lindsay and Selanne on opposite wings), but I think it might be the best thing for my team.
what do you all think of a ted lindsay - russell bowie - martin st louis first line? I think it's a perfect mix of playmaking and goalscoring, all three men can handle the puck and bring it up ice, both wing back check, and lindsay is probably the toughest pound-for-pound hockey player ever.
I realize it's not a traditional line - usually the relatively one dimensional goal scorer plays wing - here he's playing center.
But ted lindsay and martin st louis are not your traditional wingers. Both are very adept at carrying te puck and both have led the league in assists (with lindsay equally as good at scoring as he is at playmaking).
It's not what i originally envisioned (i liked lindsay and selanne on opposite wings), but i think it might be the best thing for my team.
Is that really a problem with Ted Lindsay? Yeah he's small, but
Lindsay as a puckwinner isn't exactly ideal when he is also the best offensive player on the line, but at this point Bowie + either of your RWs is going to be a soft line, so I think you just have to swallow hard and go with it.
The skill works quite well with a Lindsay-Bowie-St. Louis line, and they were all players that were adept at avoiding checks and not letting their size hold them back. But I do agree, even with Ted Lindsay, the size is an issue. A guy like Rod Langway in your division could give these guys some problems. Sure, Lindsay will be happy to fight anyone that takes advantage of Bowie or St. Louis, but there comes a point where they might just get manhandled down low in the corners and in front of the net.
I was trying to build a Kariya-Bowie-Howe line, which would have been quite good IMO because Howe provides the necessary police factor, size, and toughness to make the line work.
The line would be spending an awful lot of time backed up by Jack Stewart, so I'm not worried about needing a policeman. But jack isn't going to go deep into the offensive zone to help battle for pucks, so point taken.
Any thoughts on the Krutov-Gilmour-Middleton line? I feel like this should be a very strong line in all zones, and I think I've set up Gilmour to succeed offensively with two shooters on his wing.
My plan is to match this line up with other team's top lines. A lot of what I end up doing specifically will end up being decided with who ends up coaching them.
Why draft Dave Keon if you aren't matching him up against top lines? Keon isn't a second round pick for his offense.
I guess it will depend on I take with my next couple picks as well, but I could always roll a Krutov-Keon-xxxxx and Xxxxx-Gilmour-Middleton for now. I think Gilmour and Keon are fairly interchangeable as it is. Gilmour is a little stronger offensively, Keon a little better defensively, but both are capable of shutting people down. Really it'll depend on matchups. I'll probably match Gilmour against bigger top centers and Keon against average sized and smaller top centers.
Or I could keep Krutov-Gilmour-Middleton there, and draft wingers for Kein, one of which I already have in mind with next rounds pick....I still haven't decided yet.
Krutov definitely needs a playmaker at center (which Keon is not). Keep him with Gilmour. Middleton can play with either one.
Im thinking more and more I'm just going to keep that top line together and find wingers for Keon, which will have to be of the playmaking variety I know to ge the most of his offense.
I guess Middleton could play with either, but I think I'd rather have him with a strong playmaker at center than anything else. Looks like Keon will have to wait for a winger.
I guess it's a good sign that I have no question yet about my line-up , I'm normally one of the most active in these threads.
Only thing I could've done was put Hextall Sr with Denneny-Nighbor and drafted a goalscoring RW instead of Provost , but I didn't liked the idea of downgrading Oates' goal scoring winger.
Was wondering what kind of wingers I should surround Sundin with. He reads as a good all around centre, so do I go for 1 gritty forward and a playmaker or 1 goal scorer and a gritty forward (Similar to my 1st line)?
__________________
Exhibit A as to how hockey doesn't matter on ESPN:
Last night an ESPN program was discussing how the Detroit Pistons needed a hero citing the heroes on the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions and no mention of the Detroit Red Wings. All this despite the Red Wings probably being the most succesful team in Detroit right now.
Was wondering what kind of wingers I should surround Sundin with. He reads as a good all around centre, so do I go for 2 goal scorers or 1 goal scorer and a gritty forward (Similar to my 1st line)?
any kind would work with sundin in my opinion , hes not really hard to build around.
There's a quote in EB's bio of Frank Mahovlich of a writer wondering why Imlach always played Frank with Keon, who "can't or won't pass to his left."
Yeah I was planning on grabbing a strong defensive LW with one of my next two picks, and then basing my defensive matchups on whether or not the line was stronger down the right or left wing, then going with either Gilmour-Middleton if they're strong down the left, or undrafted LW-Keon if they're strong down the right, but I figured I'd ask and see what others thought, and maybe even consider throwing Krutov on the Keon line....but yeah I'm pretty sure at this point Krutov-Gilmour-Middleton is going to be my top line and they're going to stay together.
Also, that's a very interesting quote. Certainly an exaggeration of annoyance due to Mahovlich's great and high skill level compared to Keon, but a funny quote nonetheless.
Is it worth sacraficing speed and skill for toughness and grit when I round out my top line of Kharlamov-Taylor-xxx ?
I already know it's going to get questioned but I feel like the line would be much more effective with a speedy skilled player. It's pretty clear most of their damage will be done in transition off the rush, and you'd have to catch them to hit them...
Is it worth sacraficing speed and skill for toughness and grit when I round out my top line of Kharlamov-Taylor-xxx ?
I already know it's going to get questioned but I feel like the line would be much more effective with a speedy skilled player. It's pretty clear most of their damage will be done in transition off the rush, and you'd have to catch them to hit them...
