Quote:
Originally Posted by TheScorpion
So what's the ideal forward lineup in a couple of weeks when Bennett and Czarnik are healthy? Dube has really established himself and Rieder has played excellent hockey over the last little while.
Something like this?
Tkachuk - Lindholm - Mangiapane
Lucic - Ryan - Gaudreau
Dube - Monahan - Backlund
Rieder - Bennett - Czarnik
Extras: Frolik, Jankowski
AHL: Rinaldo
That's a pretty expensive press box, but I think all 14 of those NHL guys have upside and are valuable players to have around. It's certainly a deep lineup... heck, Frolik can easily tread water with Tkachuk and Backlund if need be, and he's currently pencilled in as the 13th forward. And Jankowski is slowly improving.
Rinaldo has acquitted himself as well as he could have in his brief stint, despite his poor metrics. I have to imagine he's among the first in line for another callup, should the opportunity arise. Good to see plenty of forward depth on the farm, with Quine, Phillips, Gawdin, Robinson, Philp, Lomberg, Kirkland, Froese and Tuulola all producing nicely.
|
There are so many options. I don't think it's a good idea to leave Gaudreau with Ryan and Lucic long term though. Also, Backlund on RW makes a ton of sense - he likes it a lot, and he can help Monahan defensively, which frees Monny up for more offense. And one more thing: on the road, Gaudreau and Monahan tend to get matched up against the other team's top line because Gaudreau is weak defensively. Adding Backlund replaces Lindholm's defensive prowess, and probably even improves on it.
Gaudreau - Monahan - Backlund (well balanced line)
Tkachuk - Lindholm - Mangiapane (emerging as another top line)
Bennett/Dube - Dube/Bennett - Lucic (bedlum ensues)
Rieder - Ryan - Czarnik (maybe the fastest 4th line in the game)
Frolik, Jankowski, Rinaldo provide a lot of options from the pressbox