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Old 07-05-2019, 11:23 AM   #12
Imported_Aussie
First Line Centre
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
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If I am splitting up Monahan and Gaudreau, to give Lindholm a shot at centre, i feel the 3rd guy on that line needs to be able to shoot the puck, but also have the wheels to keep up. Not sure there is anyone who fits that 100% for the Flames right now, but perhaps running Mangiapane up there may be a fit. The other guy who might work, for different reasons, would be Bennett - those different reasons being being more gritty and I feel he works well with Gaudreau.

As Monahan has a good shot, and will go into scoring areas, he would benefit from a winger who has good tactical awareness - so I am pairing him with Tkachuk. This is also where I see Neal fitting, as with Monahan and Tkachuk, this line will be more of a "set up in the zone" line - with the top line being a transition line. Feed this 2nd line O-zone starts against lower units.

The third line would be the two way powerhouse, built around Backlund.

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Mangiapane/Trade target
Tkachuk - Monahan - Neal
Bennett - Backlund - Dube/Mangiapane

That then means Jankowski shifts to 4RW beside Ryan. The other guy on that line depends on whether a new forward is brought in via trade or not. Dube could end up here, but I do think Mangiapane needs to move up the lineup. The team was patient, he earned the promotion through hard work and skill.

This all assumes that Frolik is gone - if he is still here, then he is the 3RW
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