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On James Neal, Elias Lindholm, and balancing the top-6 |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
In a recent interview with the Courier Post, Johnny Gaudreau suggested he'd like James Neal to join him and Sean Monahan on Calgary's top line.
I think he’s gonna be a great addition to, hopefully, our line. I think that would be great fit for me and Mony — a strong player who can shoot the puck and me and Mony have played together for four or five years now. We know each other really well on the ice and Neal would just be a great addition to our line. Hopefully we can do some big things together.
I have no doubt they'd be a very successful offensive trio and I think it will make sense to play them together in certain matchups; at home where they can get consistent offensive zone starts vs a team with an exploitable line or pairing, for example.
In saying that, the Flames would likely be better off primarily using someone else on the top line – Elias Lindholm comes to mind – and moving Neal down a slot.
Why? Balance.
Neal, Monahan, and Gaudreau rank 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on the roster in 5v5 goals over the last two seasons. The same can be said when looking at goals/60. Consistently putting the three most natural, and efficient, goal scorers on the same line doesn't seem optimal.
If those three are together, that probably means Mikael Backlund is flanked by Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk on the 2nd line. The latter had a nice goal-scoring year but it's probably a stretch to call him a natural scorer. Those are three pass-first guys who are better at creating opportunities for others than scoring themselves.
With Neal on the 2nd line, the Flames would have an *elite* 5v5 finisher – Monahan being the other one – on each of their top two units. That means one of them will always avoid opposing team's best defensive players.
Ultimately the combinations will sort themselves out based on preseason performance, injuries, etc. but I think the Flames would be smart to disperse their eggs rather than routinely putting them all in the same basket.
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Three players who will benefit from Brouwer's departure
On Troy Brouwer's disastrous tenure in Calgary
There were positives in Sam Bennett's disappointing campaign
Flames sign Elias Lindholm to a six-year extension
A closer look at the Derek Ryan and Austin Czarnik signings
James Neal a necessary signing for the Flames
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Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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