Your Best Line Balance and Why

[Raskolnikov]

I'm not sure I like my previous work. Lets not hold Suter back this year...I thought we made Kubalik earn it a bit too much when he could have helped earlier in the season. Thats why I don't just write the obvious line-up which I see below as things sifting toward relatively quickly. It may take a couple weeks for them to realize the league adjusted to Cat-Strome-Kane 2 years ago and knows how to goon them. I don't like it because of how opponents address it, by deploying thugs against Kanes line. This allows them to D him up physically and is destructive to not 1, but 3 skill players longer term. Sure...maybe in a playoff game if you need a goal, or late in third period, but thats what I see teams doing to us, is gooning them and then deploying their elites against our scrub lines. Bad for everyone.

Cat-Soderberg-Kane
Suter-Strome-Kubalik
Janmark-Wallmark-1.Shaw/Barrett 2. Pirri/Morrison
1Barrett/Shaw-Carp-Kampf

Keith-DeHaan
Zadorov-Boqvist
Seabs-Murph

Nalimov-Lankinen-Delia-Suppan

Nalimov has the best body. Delia is the best athlete. Suppan is all around ok if he could just fix his damn glove hand. Its not quickness, its accuracy and anticipation, maybe vision. Lankinen turns out to be the focused gamer. So NO IDEA which of the 4 might emerge, personally. I think its a fools errand to guess, we just have to hope ONE OF THEM DOES!

Cat is the fucking guy you just never know where to put and he changes goddamn everything for 3 lines. I prefer him on line 3 and 1st team PP, but it is what it is. We still have better quality depth without Dach/Toews than in recent years but obviously have a black hole at 1C, and Soderberg is going to have to work hard until Toews gets back.

The defense breaks down like this for me. I think you could make a case for Mitchell/Beudin to start trade talks on DeHaan if Harry Potter can get blow jobs elsewhere on the long road trips, COME ON STAN, STEP UP AND HELP, thats all you buddy! Double DOME!

I was thinking about the Zadorov acquisition and considered it may have been a targeted player to assist Boqvist...thats the thinking there, and it gives Seabs the support he needs.

 

[HSBOB]

 

[KBIB]

When you try and figure out Hawks lines, you gotta start with pairs

Cat/Strome

No reason to break them up. They already have great chemistry and if you put Kane on that line that's pretty much your entire offense on one line.

Kubi/Kane

Would really like to see Kane with a pure sniper again like the good old days with Breadman. Kubi obviously isn't Panarin, but hitting 30 with Kane isn't that bad of an expectation.

Kampf/Carp

JC has a complete hard on for Kampf so much he put him on Kane's line last year for a spell. Kampf isn't a bad player, but he's nothing more then a fourth line center who can take a heavy work load of defensive assignments which is why he's always getting ice time, he doesn't have that it factor that Kruger had which is what made Kruger so effective.

And I'm sorry, Kruger/Frolik would toy and troll other teams top lines around. There was one game against the ducks where they played catch against Gretzlaf and Perry who were trying to run them thru the boards. Carp is Kampfs Frolik, and he's not as good, either.

Now, you pencil in a third line and fill in the gaps.

Aa for defense

Keith/Murphy
Zado/Boqvist
CDH/ committee

Zadorov stated Stan plans on giving him top four minutes, you might flip Murphy and Boqvist because Zado takes chances with his hitting game. I like the idea of a Murphy/Zado combo, two big guys who can push the crease battles and flatten people against the boards, it's just....that's what they are. I can see them knocking people around without attempting to move the puck because neither are great at it and the Hawks pinned in their own zone.

Keith and Boqvist can move the puck, but since you put Boqvist with Keith, I think you gotta go all in and keep him with him now. Keith can't do Duncan Keith things any more and you have to hope he's rubbed off on the guy Stan hand picked to replace him. And seriously, that's alot for the kid.

CDH is actually a good defenseman when healthy, it's just that he isn't healthy. Mitchell has alot of hype, but realistically in this day and age he wouldn't have lasted until the second round in a draft unless teams were afraid of his college commitment.

Seabrook, one of my favorite players is fat and out of shape to start training camp. He's done. I cannot hate on the guy because his body gave out on him.

Shaw has been electric so far in TC. Looks like the Shaw of old.

Kubi/Suter/Shaw? Sign me up.

Hell, I really don't mind the Marks bros with Pirri considering the Marks brothers play defense.

Now goalies?

It's gotta be Delia

 

[HSBOB]

When you try and figure out Hawks lines, you gotta start with pairs

Cat/Strome

No reason to break them up. They already have great chemistry and if you put Kane on that line that's pretty much your entire offense on one line.

Kubi/Kane

Would really like to see Kane with a pure sniper again like the good old days with Breadman. Kubi obviously isn't Panarin, but hitting 30 with Kane isn't that bad of an expectation.

Kampf/Carp

JC has a complete hard on for Kampf so much he put him on Kane's line last year for a spell. Kampf isn't a bad player, but he's nothing more then a fourth line center who can take a heavy work load of defensive assignments which is why he's always getting ice time, he doesn't have that it factor that Kruger had which is what made Kruger so effective.

And I'm sorry, Kruger/Frolik would toy and troll other teams top lines around. There was one game against the ducks where they played catch against Gretzlaf and Perry who were trying to run them thru the boards. Carp is Kampfs Frolik, and he's not as good, either.

Now, you pencil in a third line and fill in the gaps.

Aa for defense

Keith/Murphy
Zado/Boqvist
CDH/ committee

Zadorov stated Stan plans on giving him top four minutes, you might flip Murphy and Boqvist because Zado takes chances with his hitting game. I like the idea of a Murphy/Zado combo, two big guys who can push the crease battles and flatten people against the boards, it's just....that's what they are. I can see them knocking people around without attempting to move the puck because neither are great at it and the Hawks pinned in their own zone.

Keith and Boqvist can move the puck, but since you put Boqvist with Keith, I think you gotta go all in and keep him with him now. Keith can't do Duncan Keith things any more and you have to hope he's rubbed off on the guy Stan hand picked to replace him. And seriously, that's alot for the kid.

CDH is actually a good defenseman when healthy, it's just that he isn't healthy. Mitchell has alot of hype, but realistically in this day and age he wouldn't have lasted until the second round in a draft unless teams were afraid of his college commitment.

Seabrook, one of my favorite players is fat and out of shape to start training camp. He's done. I cannot hate on the guy because his body gave out on him.

Shaw has been electric so far in TC. Looks like the Shaw of old.

Kubi/Suter/Shaw? Sign me up.

Hell, I really don't mind the Marks bros with Pirri considering the Marks brothers play defense.

Now goalies?

It's gotta be Delia

To figure out the Hawk lines,you gotta do lines

 

[hawkinmontreal]

To figure out the Hawk lines,you gotta do lines
[/QUOTE
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[Bigfoot]

For Defence Mitchell is starting with the club. Bowman said he thought Mitchell was ahead of Boqvist last year. This is what it will look like

Keith Boqvist
De Haan Murphy
Zadrov mitchell