Babcock: Richards played well; Iginla still not 1st line material

[madmike]

I thought Iginla actually looked better on the Morrow line. That unit was very effective.

Bergeron has been a bit of a waste. So have Perry and Getlaf in my opinion.

It hurts to think Stamkos and/or Carter could have been in there instead of one of those three.

[GreenLantern]

Here are the lines I would like to see based on play so far this tournament:

Marleau-Crosby-Nash
Perry-Getzlaf-Heatley
Toews-Thornton-Iginla
Staal-Richards-Morrow
Bergeron

Keith-Doughty
Weber-Niedermeyer
Pronger-Boyle
Seabrook

Kipprusoff forgive me....

Luongo.


Marleau has been arguably Canada's best player this tournament, next to maybe Keith. See what he can do for a shift with Crosby and Nash. Breaking up the San Jose line and spreading the talent out might be the best thing for Team Canada. They had 2 goals in the Swiss game, that is awesome. But I just feel it is a lot of talent to be leaving all on one line, that might not even technically be the first line. Spread that out and it spreads out the ice time even greater.

[llama64]

Seems to me Iginla is being used as the go to piece to get lines going. He's not a fixture of any line likely due to his age - we all know goal scoring is predominantly a young man's domain and Iggy is in his twilight. But he's a big emotion player - put him on with Crosby and Nash during a major push (last 2 min of the game against USA) and he'll play lights out like no other person on that team.

Perry and Pronger are the two players on Team Canada that I wish weren't there. Neither is effective and Pronger is actively targeted as a weakness.

[jschick88]

Doesn't matter what Babcock does from here on then. I lost all respect for him.

[JD]

One of the things I see as an issue with this team is that there are only two pure goal-scorers: Heatley and Iginla. And one of those two isn't being used as a goal-scorer... in fact was told they didn't need him to score goals.

Now, it would be foolish to downplay the scoring ability of the other forwards on the team, but I would argue that none of them are pure shooters. They are all playmakers, the kind of players that are the "straw that stirs the drink" on their NHL lines.

So with that said, players of Iginla's ilk are rare commodities on this team. Why would he not get a prominent role?

It boggles my mind.

Crosby - playmaker, with some goal-scoring ability, as shown this year
Nash - dangler, gets his goals in tight and getting around d-men
Iginla - shooter, puck-cycler
Heatley - pure shooter
Thornton - behind-the-net set-up man
Marleau - speedy, likes to carry the puck wide and set up cycle
Getzlaf - dangler, likes fancy dekes, has a good shot when he uses it
Perry - net-crasher with soft hands
Staal - puck-carrying centreman, has good shot
Morrow - grinder with good hands. Will score on tips and rebounds.
Bergeron - defensive forward? Plays similar to Staal for Boston.
Richards - kind of a Crosby/Morrow hybrid. Not much of a shooter though.
Toews - puck-carrying playmaker. Likes to cycle.

Seems like we have a lot of guys that like to have the puck on their stick. Too bad there's only one puck out there.

[Stanley]

All the more reason I hope we bury the Wings down the stretch so Babcock can go suck on golf clubs in April...

Gee I can't WAIT to hear what the starting lineup will be vs. the Germans...

[Playfair's Hairgel]

i dont really understand why we just dont roll 4 lines?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by madmike

I thought Iginla actually looked better on the Morrow line. That unit was very effective.

The Iginla we've seen in this tournament has been the Iginla we saw in his prime. He's made his linemates better, no matter who they are. He's made Morrow and Richards look better, and he's made Crosby and Nash look phenomenal.

Frankly, Iginla belongs on the top line right now because the top line is only doing its job when he is there. If Crosby and Nash were producing with someone else, then its perfectly fine to leave Iginla in the energy role.

Babcock needs to face facts before its too late.

As far as the goaltending goes, I would play Fleury against Germany myself, then go with Luongo. Four games in six nights is a heavy load for anyone.

[Pastiche]

Brodeur's done. Ride Luongo he can handle it.

[Stanley]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

Brodeur's done. Ride Luongo he can handle it.

Heck, I'd even give Fleury a shot...

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

Brodeur's done. Ride Luongo he can handle it.

He will get us to the Gold Medal game and remind everyone why us fans in Calgary refer to him as 7uongo.

[Bertuzzied]

The Wild better be ready for the Wrath of Iggy. He's going to get a double gordie howe hattrick.

Wed 3/3 Minnesota Wild Minnesota 10:00 pm

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by 868904

I think Iggy has been much better for Canada than he has been for the Flames this year, but that still doesn't mean he's been great in all aspects of his game.

YES, he does seem to have some chemistry with Crosby and Nash and it makes sense to put a shooter like Iggy with those two, BUT, the other parts of his game have been lacking and it's the same parts of his game that have been lacking all year, that is, a desire to be a physical force and a "casualness" in the defensive end.

Disagree with this. Iginla has been excellent defensively, always back in the zone, great positioning and picking up loose men. It looked like he was the only forward back a couple times, and in particular on the Kane play, not sure where the rest of his teammates were.

Watching the games I've honestly been struck about how good he clearly "can be" defensively, definately an improvement over what we've seen with the Flames this year. A bit of a different role for him on Canada's top line though.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by automaton 3

disagree with this. Iginla has been excellent defensively, always back in the zone, great positioning and picking up loose men.

What is your source on this??!!

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by greenlantern

what is your source on this??!!

tmz?

[automaton 3]

^^Haha, could have phrased that better.

[GreenLantern]

I knew it was a mistake to let Iggy spend this long in Vancouver... LOOK WHAT IT DOES TO THEM.. LOOOK!!

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

Brodeur's done. Ride Luongo he can handle it.

I'd go with Fleury, he's a proven winner, 7uongo not so much.

[Azure]

I don't get it.

You want Richards on that line to do what? Muck it up? Grind it up? Hit? You don't want him to shoot?

What the heck is Babcock smoking anyways? Why WOULDN'T you want a shooter playing with one of the best players in the NHL?

I don't get it. Honestly, I don't.

Far as I'm concerned, Babcock, like Yzerman has an ego and a problem with certain players.

[shadetree]

Originally Posted by JD

One of the things I see as an issue with this team is that there are only two pure goal-scorers: Heatley and Iginla. And one of those two isn't being used as a goal-scorer... in fact was told they didn't need him to score goals.

I think in some ways it's even simpler than than: this team is full of centres, with only 6 natural wingers (and that includes Marleau, who up until the last year and a half, was a centre).

Natural RW: Nash, Iginla, Perry
Natural LW: Heatley, Marleau, Morrow

After that, you've got a bunch of guys (Staal, Richards, Bergeron, Toews) playing out of position with varying degrees of success. It's just so tough, because in addition to developing chemistry with new players, you've got guys who have to get used to playing out of position on the fly.

I don't think it's any surprise that some of the most effective lines (Nash-Crosby-Iginla, Morrow-Toews-Iginla, at times the Sharks line) have featured a centre and two natural wingers.