Lines change a thousand times over the course of a season and injuries/roster decisions/"chemistry moves" all play a big role in that. But it's August and I'm out of things to talk about. So we're going to take our first crack at guessing what Paul MacLean's lines might look like.
There's two schools of thought with respect to 2014-2015 roster assembly for the head coach. The first, preserving the team's top-line and hoping the rest of the team doesn't get killed. The second, splitting up the team's top-line to create more of a balance across the board.
I think both make some level of sense. But, I'm trying to guess what Paul MacLean will do -- not necessarily what I'd do. And I think he'll lean to preservation. So, here's one guess:
L1: MacArthur-Turris-Ryan
L2: Michalek-Legwand-Chiasson
L3: Greening-Smith-Neil
L4: Hoffman-Zibanejad-Stone
Condra/Lazar
Again, no complaints with keeping the top-line together. They were excellent last year, and despite the team's off-season of uncertainty, I think you can lean on that group + Erik Karlsson to still get the right side of the shots and goals against most every other club.
The second-line is where my objections start. I endorsed the Legwand signing and think he's an obvious fit, but I'm concerned that his presence may have a deflationary effect on Zibanejad's EVTOI. I also am not entirely convinced that Milan Michalek going forward is a more productive player than Mike Hoffman. But, we've seen MacLean reluctant to use Hoffman in the past, and the team seems to really like what 9MM brings. And they love Stone. So, there's your L2.
The scary possibility is that the third-line's going to be the third-line, and though I really wonder how safe Colin Greening is as one of the team's regular forwards, I think they'll at least temporarily be reunited as the team's 'shutdown' group. Preferably, I'd prefer MacLean to healthy scratch Greening and Neil, and move Smith down to the fourth-line with two skilled youngsters on his wing. Won't happen.
The fourth-line is too good to be a fourth-line, but this is sort of what happens if you have a promotion to Legwand and the Smith line still in tact. I wonder if it's possible, assuming the above rules to be true, that MacLean could toy with the idea of moving Zibanejad back to the wing to give him more ice-time.
Here's an alternative possibility. I think MacLean likes Zibanejad -- to the extent that he's ready to promote him in the lineup, how would things shake out?
L1: MacArthur-Turris-Ryan
L2: Michalek-Zibanejad-Chiasson
L3: Hoffman-Legwand-Stone
L4: Greening-Smith-Neil
Condra/Lazar
Instantaneously, that's a better lineup. If only because the GSN line is going to get less ice, with Zibanejad and Legwand getting more. If MacLean's incessant on keeping that trio together, I'd be more interested in this assortment, because I think over 82-games they'd perform at a significantly better rate.
What's your best guess as to how MacLean arranges the forwards?
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»