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theg69 · 11-25-2013, 12:46 PM

This is something that has really been bothering me recently especially with the whole Backlund situation. I have defended Hartley in the past for some of his benchings and lines but it is getting increasingly hard for me to do so.

First off, why do we need to dress McGrattan every bloody game (especially against teams like the Panthers). I like the guy has a human being but he effectively neuters the line he is on and limits his linemates to the purgoratory of about 5 min of ES ice time. I understand Backlund has not been playing the greatest but how the hell do they expect him to succeed when he is feeding passes to McGrattan (who fumbles just about every single pass and cannot make a pass for the life of him on the ice).
You have to look no further than the whole Stajan fiasco when he was put on that line with Jackman and Kostopolous, and people wondered where the offense went...

Personally, I would like to see a bottom 6 with:

D. Jones - Colbourne - Bouma
Galliardi - Backlund - B. Jones

That way - they can give the icetime to whichever of the 3A or 3B deserves it (true meritocracy). Or, better yet, shuffle players around. The biggest problem with a 4th line that plays so little is then you have someone like Stajan logging 20 minutes of icetime. If we had a true star, then that is fine, but we don't.. and I would like to see the icetime spread out a bit more.

My last note is does McGrattan really make us harder to play against? He only fights within his weight class and I know its an odd complaint, but he is too clean a player for his role as a goon. He was absolutely useless when Ference handed Stempniak his lunch. There would be more of an argument for his role if he fought Ference later in the game (ie. the goon = deterrent argument).

I think this whole goon/fighter in a lineup is BS and would much prefer a team that can roll four lines.

Sorry for the long post, but hearing about all this Backlund trade talk especially with the way he has been used recently ticks me off. He gets benched for 1 mistake and has to play with a goon on the fourth line whereas other players like David Jones can play like garbage and still expect ice time.

What do you guys think?

11-25-2013, 12:46 PM	#1
theg69 Scoring Winger Join Date: Jul 2008 Exp:	Rolling 4 lines.... This is something that has really been bothering me recently especially with the whole Backlund situation. I have defended Hartley in the past for some of his benchings and lines but it is getting increasingly hard for me to do so. First off, why do we need to dress McGrattan every bloody game (especially against teams like the Panthers). I like the guy has a human being but he effectively neuters the line he is on and limits his linemates to the purgoratory of about 5 min of ES ice time. I understand Backlund has not been playing the greatest but how the hell do they expect him to succeed when he is feeding passes to McGrattan (who fumbles just about every single pass and cannot make a pass for the life of him on the ice). You have to look no further than the whole Stajan fiasco when he was put on that line with Jackman and Kostopolous, and people wondered where the offense went... Personally, I would like to see a bottom 6 with: D. Jones - Colbourne - Bouma Galliardi - Backlund - B. Jones That way - they can give the icetime to whichever of the 3A or 3B deserves it (true meritocracy). Or, better yet, shuffle players around. The biggest problem with a 4th line that plays so little is then you have someone like Stajan logging 20 minutes of icetime. If we had a true star, then that is fine, but we don't.. and I would like to see the icetime spread out a bit more. My last note is does McGrattan really make us harder to play against? He only fights within his weight class and I know its an odd complaint, but he is too clean a player for his role as a goon. He was absolutely useless when Ference handed Stempniak his lunch. There would be more of an argument for his role if he fought Ference later in the game (ie. the goon = deterrent argument). I think this whole goon/fighter in a lineup is BS and would much prefer a team that can roll four lines. Sorry for the long post, but hearing about all this Backlund trade talk especially with the way he has been used recently ticks me off. He gets benched for 1 mistake and has to play with a goon on the fourth line whereas other players like David Jones can play like garbage and still expect ice time. What do you guys think?