[gvitaly]

It's the off-season, and we all try to predict the Flames' line combinations from time to time. I was wondering on your takes on which players get a boost from playing with each other in your eyes.

Defense
Andersson - Weegar > Hanifin
I think last year Andersson was better with Weegar, but it was a solid pairing with Hanifin as well.

Hanifin - Tanev > Andersson
Hanifin looked absolutely great with Tanev shutting everything down, and taking on a more offensive role.

Weegar - Andersson > Zadorov
Weegar looked good with any partner, but I would argue that Weegar - Tanev had similar results to Weegar - Zadorov, that's why I think Tanev is better used with another partner.

Tanev - Hanifin, Kylington, Zadorov(? - 65.8%xG this season)
Tanev just has chemstry with everyone it seems, but I didn't like him paired with Z a year ago.

Kylington - Tanev
I only liked his game with Tanev a year ago.

Zadorov - Weegar, Gilbert
Z showed good numbers with all his partners, except Stetcher, but he had much higher expected goals against with Andersson, and Stone last year.


Forwards
Forwards are harder to gauge, but here are some of our best lines last year that played more than 100mins together:
Mangiapane - Backlund - Coleman (67.8%xG)
Mangiapane - Lindholm - Toffoli (67.6%xG)
Pelletier - Kadri - Huberdeau (59.1xG%)
Huberdeau - Backlund - Coleman (56.9%xG)
Dube - Lindholm - Toffoli (52.3%xG)

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That's where I have a ton of trouble, because our best players have yet to develop noticeable chemistry with anyone. It could be Sutter's system, or me not noticing it. Aside from Mangiapane - Backlund - Coleman I have a hard time finding a line, or a pairing that will be written in more than pencil.

Huberdeau - Pelletier, Backlund(?), Kadri(?)
Can also make a case for Lindholm, but it was a very short experiment.

Kadri - Pelletier, Huberdeau(?)
I didn't like Kadri with Dube, and Mangiapane defensively.

Mangiapane - Backlund, Coleman > Lindholm(?), Dube(?)
Mangiapane played well with just about everyone, especially after the all-star break.

Backlund - Mangiapane > Coleman > Ruzicka, Huberdeau(?), everyone else
Backlund just makes everyone better. I don't think he did enough to maximize Huberdau offensively.

Coleman - Backlund > Mangiapane > Ruzicka, Huberdeau(?)
Backlund lite.

Lindholm - Dube > Ruzicka, Mangiapane(?)
He had chemistry with Toffoli, who's gone, and had a revolving door of wingers. Dube, Ruzicka, and Mangiapane had the best results IMO.

Dube - Lindholm, Mangiapane(?)
I thought he was decent on the Lindholm line, had chemistry with Mangiapane on the PK.

Pelletier - Huberdeau > Kadri > Lindholm
Small sample size, but he looked great especially with Huberdaeu and Kadri as his line-mates.

Ruzicka - Backlund, Coleman, Lindholm
He had such an up and down season that it's hard to gauge, but he was very productive for ~20 games on the Lindholm line. He also looked good with Backlund.

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Sharangovich - I really hope he has chemistry with Huberdeau

Duehr - I think he'll have chemistry with anyone, just playing his game. Might see him with Pelletier this season.

Coronato - I see him as someone that can develop chemistry with Huberdeau, and Lindholm. Or perhaps with Kadri and Dube.