~ Lineup tweaks we may have missed

[GreyHatnDart]

You should take your blinders off when you watch them, it would be hard for anyone to say with a straight face that he played with any consistency and looked motivated the whole game other then the last ten games or so at the end of the season.

Edit: I'm not saying that he couldn't prove he's ready for the top six just that he hasn't so far in anyway whatsoever.

I would agree to the consistency thing, to a point. A 23 year old with 3 head coaches in the past 3 seasons is a tough way to find consistency. Furthermore, he's also trying to find exactly what his niche is on this team. Does he and should he have to earn that 2nd line spot? Absolutely. In my mind it's his to lose. He's got the size, the skill, the hands to be there. What he needs is proper guidance, and hopefully WD provides that. As he gets older he'll gain the hockey smarts that it takes to make the smart play. But find me a player, ANY player that doesn't make bone head plays now and again.

[2SKATES1STICK]

ALL of those players are slotted in their natural positions. No wonder Desjardins is excited. this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

omg yeah he's so excited because its more fun when he has righties on the right side and lefties on the left side

[Ray_Cathode]

It doesn't matter that you have a right handed winger on the right and a left handed winger on the left. Particularly with a shooter, a winger might prefer to play their off side to make getting set up for shots easier. If you're a playmaker (think Ales Hemsky) then being on your strong side helps since you'd then be passing off your forehand to the center of the ice. A player that likes to drive the net might also find it easier to control the puck with their stick on the strong side.

Easier to get set-up, ie take a pass on your natural side - also easier to get out of your own end (you are on your forehand). But for shooting and driving the net, you are better off on your off wing - better angle for the shot, and much easier to drive around a guy with your inside leg forward and bottom hand off your stick to protect the puck.

[nuck nit]

I do not understand what you are getting at. You can one time a puck from either side regardless of your handedness. However, look at hull and stamkos. It is much easier and leather if you are on your off wing receiving a one timer.

Hull and Stamkos are HOF players.

The average NHL'er could use the extra time to make the correct play and not be taken out.

Playing on your natural side is crucial.

[sinphase]

It's not doubt that Bonino and Kassian would benefit from a line mate with more experience. But I say give Burrows and Higgins chances on that line.

Personally I think Bonino and Burrows would be quite good for each other, both are capable of adjusting their game to complement their line mates. Burrows and Kassian together seems toxic to me though, they both have an immature dramatic side, especially Kassian. If Kassian can start producing consistently and show maturity, this line could be great. If not, Higgins should be considered, as he clearly plays with more composure.

Or Kassian can be demoted back to the third line and lets see how Burrows-Bonino-Higgins works out.

Its situations like these when I consider Hodgson for Kassian to be one of the worst moves Gillis made. Fingers crossed Kassian breaks out this season.

[ABNuck]

Joining the conversation late...sorry 'bout that...but as for the off-wing comments, Ray Cathode has it right but only in offensive situations. All comes down to zone start...south of mid-field start natural wing, north of mid-field go off-wing. Remember all the criss cross breakout drills we used to do? On D-zone starts / breakouts if you start naturally to make the 1st feed on your natural side (forehand) and criss cross on the attack you end up in a much better position for one-timers and power trips to the net. Honestly, in the modern fast paced game of hockey you really need solid 2 way guys that fill the following 4 roles: a good one-timer guy, a good feeder, a good puck possession/power guy and good guy who gets it all started...fit 3 forwards on a line into those 4 roles and you've got it made...and do it 4 times over and you'll win a lot of games off of north side starts and possession time.

EDIT: and to add my personal experience, I was very much in the Mr. Burns mold (by Bantam I was a D-man converted to wing). I'm a right shot and prefer left wing. I'm equally as good receiving and dishing on both fore/back-hand...but obviously not as quick. It takes an extra 1/2 stride to set up a good power backhand pass and also a micro second look down to make sure you receive a pass on the backside of a 9 iron (I use a 3/4" curve)...so I do expose myself in both situations...just had to learn to take the hit to make the play (of course that usually left my team briefly shorthanded going up ice but I got a lot of high slot one-timers when I FINALLY decided to join the play...a little late).

[VanIsleNorm]

People are forgeting jensen hes gonna be good-great this year should be on the second line

Sedin Sedin Vrbata

Jensen Boner Vey

Burr Matthias Kass

Doorset Richy Hansen

Sestito

Higgy traded

Putting Jensen on his off wing ahead of Burrows is dreaming. Also, moving Vey to the wing and putting him ahead of Kassian is a streatch as well. It's not impossible for the team to look like that at the end of the season but to expect it at the begining is crazy. The bottom two lines are up in the air but outside of injury or a major surprise, the OP has the top 6 correct. It is not his idea but straight from Benning's mouth.

my best guess at the bottom 6:

Higgins Matthias Hansen

Richardson Vey Dorsett

Higgins won't be traded so that Jensen an start the season in the NHL unless Jensen blows everyone away in camp; even if he does prove that he is a legit NHL player it would be another RW who likely gets pushed out. Doubtfully the recently acquired Dorsett so that only really leaves Hansen who's trade value is very low after a terrible year last year. Jensen is our best bet as a call up when a top 6 winger goes down to injury. If he is already in a full time position and we trade Hansen for a 4th-6th round pick, all it does is give up less creadibility and depth going forward. We are also likely to have at least one player out of the lineup at any given time due to the enivitability of injuries. Jensen will get a shot in the NHL this year, it's just verry unlikely that he starts the season as the teams 2nd line LW with Burrows on the 3rd.

Vey is in the same boat. He has the potential to become a top 6 player, maybe even a top line center. It is just highly unlikely that he is given a 2nd line RW position right off the bat unless he blows everyone away beyond reasonable expectation.

[Mr.53]

Put Shawn Matthias on the second line with Kassian. I know it's an incredibly small sample size, but last year, during our great decline, the line of Shawn Matthias, Brad Richardson, and Zack Kassian, was for sure one of our best. Pair up Matthias and Kassian again, and see if they can recreate what they did at the end of last year. Give them an offensive playmaking upgrade in Nick Bonino, and they could seriously do some damage. That line would also be such a hassle to play against.

It would also allow Burrows to drop to the third line with Higgins and Vey. Vey gets 2 veteran players with great work ethic to ease him in. Plus his natural playmaking style would complement Chris Higgins shot as well as turn Burrows shot in for more one timers. This way all the styles complement each other for chemistry reasons.

Matthias Bonino Kassian

Higgins Vey Burrows

[2009cupchamps]

It sounds like they are going to give HORVAT every chance to make the team. The way I see the starting lineup, at least the first 9 games

SEDIN SEDIN VRBATA

BURROWS BONINO KASSIAN

HIGGINS HORVAT VEY

MATTHIAS RICHARDSON DORSETT

HANSEN SESTITO

There is potential for Vey and HANSEN to switch if Vey doesn't pan out. If HORVAT doesn't pan out than than MATTHIAS moves to third line center and than one of HANSEN or SESTITO moves to the fourth line. The one thing we do have that we never had for a while is depth. We Aldo have JENSEN that will be in the AHL biting at the bit to get called up for any injuries.

[GreyHatnDart]

It sounds like they are going to give HORVAT every chance to make the team. The way I see the starting lineup, at least the first 9 games

SEDIN SEDIN VRBATA

BURROWS BONINO KASSIAN

HIGGINS HORVAT VEY

MATTHIAS RICHARDSON DORSETT

HANSEN SESTITO

There is potential for Vey and HANSEN to switch if Vey doesn't pan out. If HORVAT doesn't pan out than than MATTHIAS moves to third line center and than one of HANSEN or SESTITO moves to the fourth line. The one thing we do have that we never had for a while is depth. We Aldo have JENSEN that will be in the AHL biting at the bit to get called up for any injuries.

[docbrock]

we have too many forwards at the moment

sedin/sedin/vrbata

burrows/bonnino/kassian

higgins/mathias/vey

hansen/richardson/dorsette

jensen and horvat are ready for the show but there aren't any roster spots for them unless a trade is made. the only way to get younger is by eventually making room for your young guys

desjardins said that young guys will have to fight for a spot on the team. i think they will hake some trades after training camp if jensen and horvat putt play other players.

possibly hansen, higgins, or mathias

[Roflcawptur]

we have too many forwards at the moment

sedin/sedin/vrbata

burrows/bonnino/kassian

higgins/mathias/vey

hansen/richardson/dorsette

jensen and horvat are ready for the show but there aren't any roster spots for them unless a trade is made. the only way to get younger is by eventually making room for your young guys

desjardins said that young guys will have to fight for a spot on the team. i think they will hake some trades after training camp if jensen and horvat putt play other players.

possibly hansen, higgins, or mathias

Injuries will happen.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

I'm bumping this thread because we don't really have a "lineup" thread right now on the main page. This one was the most recent.

What I wanted to post about was lines I'd like to see tried out during the camps and preseason.

Obviously, we're all expecting to see Sedin-Sedin-Vrbata and Burrows-Bonino-Kassian at some point. But what about some other options?

(1) Dorsett/Hansen - Matthias - Hansen/Dorsett

In the recent Hansen thread, I laid out a 5 point checklist for getting the most out of #36. With that in mind, I'm thinking one of the options we should try is playing Hansen with Matthias and Dorsett. Each of these guys can actually play all three forward positions (with varying degrees of experience), so I'm not worried about having two "right wings" in Dorsett and Hansen. Either of those two could play on the left (and they have both done so with success). They have less centre experience (Hansen the least) but they have both filled-in at C in the past. But obviously Matthias would be the centre (although it's possible that Dorsett or Hansen, both being RH shots, could take some strong-side faceoffs--Dorsett is actually better than 50% on draws, albeit with less than 200 career faceoffs). All three players are fairly strong skaters who can bring good energy and pace. They play good two-way games and work hard. They have shutdown potential as all three have good checking ability and defense (and they can each play the PK). They're skilled enough to provide some secondary scoring. And they should be pretty tough to play against, likely totaling over 400 hits (between the three of them), and generally making life unpleasant for the opposition.

(2) Matthias-Bonino-Kassian

I think Matthias has much more offensive upside than many give him credit for. And he and Kassian found some pretty good chemistry together during the last dozen and a half games. Both of them were producing close to "1st line" level offense at 5v5 to close out the Canucks' dismal 2013-14 season (one of the few bright spots of last year). I think they might be able to repeat this. And I think it might be good to surround Bonino (who's not known for playing particularly physical hockey) with a couple towering wingers who bring toughness and physicality but also have pretty good hands and offensive instincts. This could be a very strong 2nd line that would be tough to contain. It might force the opposition to defend with some of their better players, which would take pressure off of the Sedins.

(3) Matthias-Vey-Kassian

Basically the same as above but with Vey down the middle. Even more so than Bonino, I think Vey would be served well by having size and toughness on his wings, while also having enough skill on the wings to make use of his high-end playmaking and hockey sense.

(4) Matthias-Horvat-Kassian

Talk about a line that could play the "heavy" type of game Benning has mentioned in the past. Those three average about 6'2.5" and 215 lbs. And they have the skill level to provide good "2nd line" offense to back-up the Sedins. Matthias, who's still young at 26, would be the old man of a line that averages 23 years of age. If those three worked well, they could play together for years to come, and form a 2nd line that would be physically dominant and very difficult to contain defensively.

(5) Bonino-Vey-Vrbata

I'm intrigued by the offensive potential of this line. While Bonino is pretty much penciled in as our 2C, and is expected to play a playmaker/distributor role, he's also shown some excellent goalscoring ability over his career (his career shooting percentage is extremely high, at all levels, and he has proven finishing ability--as seen last season on the Ducks' PP). And we know that Vrbata can shoot the puck. If Vey manages to impress and plays to his potential (which is certainly "top-six"), I think these three players could form a very dangerous scoring line. They wouldn't be very physical, but they're not exactly small (they'd average around 6'1" and 195-200 lbs) and I don't tend to believe they'd be all that easily intimidated. If they found good chemistry together, they could form one of the more offensively potent "2nd lines" the Canucks have had in years (and one that might actually provide enough scoring potential to play a "1B" line to a "1A" of Sedin-Sedin-Burrows).

Those are five lines I'd like to see given a shot. There are certainly many more I'd like to see tried out during camp/preseason (and I haven't even cracked the surface on the prospects).

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

I'm bumping this thread because we don't really have a "lineup" thread right now on the main page. This one was the most recent.

What I wanted to post about was lines I'd like to see tried out during the camps and preseason.

Obviously, we're all expecting to see Sedin-Sedin-Vrbata and Burrows-Bonino-Kassian at some point. But what about some other options?

(1) Dorsett/Hansen - Matthias - Hansen/Dorsett

In the recent Hansen thread, I laid out a 5 point checklist for getting the most out of #36. With that in mind, I'm thinking one of the options we should try is playing Hansen with Matthias and Dorsett. Each of these guys can actually play all three forward positions (with varying degrees of experience), so I'm not worried about having two "right wings" in Dorsett and Hansen. Either of those two could play on the left (and they have both done so with success). They have less centre experience (Hansen the least) but they have both filled-in at C in the past. But obviously Matthias would be the centre (although it's possible that Dorsett or Hansen, both being RH shots, could take some strong-side faceoffs--Dorsett is actually better than 50% on draws, albeit with less than 200 career faceoffs). All three players are fairly strong skaters who can bring good energy and pace. They play good two-way games and work hard. They have shutdown potential as all three have good checking ability and defense (and they can each play the PK). They're skilled enough to provide some secondary scoring. And they should be pretty tough to play against, likely totaling over 400 hits (between the three of them), and generally making life unpleasant for the opposition.

(2) Matthias-Bonino-Kassian

I think Matthias has much more offensive upside than many give him credit for. And he and Kassian found some pretty good chemistry together during the last dozen and a half games. Both of them were producing close to "1st line" level offense at 5v5 to close out the Canucks' dismal 2013-14 season (one of the few bright spots of last year). I think they might be able to repeat this. And I think it might be good to surround Bonino (who's not known for playing particularly physical hockey) with a couple towering wingers who bring toughness and physicality but also have pretty good hands and offensive instincts. This could be a very strong 2nd line that would be tough to contain. It might force the opposition to defend with some of their better players, which would take pressure off of the Sedins.

(3) Matthias-Vey-Kassian

Basically the same as above but with Vey down the middle. Even more so than Bonino, I think Vey would be served well by having size and toughness on his wings, while also having enough skill on the wings to make use of his high-end playmaking and hockey sense.

(4) Matthias-Horvat-Kassian

Talk about a line that could play the "heavy" type of game Benning has mentioned in the past. Those three average about 6'2.5" and 215 lbs. And they have the skill level to provide good "2nd line" offense to back-up the Sedins. Matthias, who's still young at 26, would be the old man of a line that averages 23 years of age. If those three worked well, they could play together for years to come, and form a 2nd line that would be physically dominant and very difficult to contain defensively.

(5) Bonino-Vey-Vrbata

I'm intrigued by the offensive potential of this line. While Bonino is pretty much penciled in as our 2C, and is expected to play a playmaker/distributor role, he's also shown some excellent goalscoring ability over his career (his career shooting percentage is extremely high, at all levels, and he has proven finishing ability--as seen last season on the Ducks' PP). And we know that Vrbata can shoot the puck. If Vey manages to impress and plays to his potential (which is certainly "top-six"), I think these three players could form a very dangerous scoring line. They wouldn't be very physical, but they're not exactly small (they'd average around 6'1" and 195-200 lbs) and I don't tend to believe they'd be all that easily intimidated. If they found good chemistry together, they could form one of the more offensively potent "2nd lines" the Canucks have had in years (and one that might actually provide enough scoring potential to play a "1B" line to a "1A" of Sedin-Sedin-Burrows).

Those are five lines I'd like to see given a shot. There are certainly many more I'd like to see tried out during camp/preseason (and I haven't even cracked the surface on the prospects).

#1 will likely be our 4th line unless Hansen gets the boot.

I would be happy with #3 or 4 as our third line.

#5 could be a hit but only if Burrows or Kassian can keep up on the first line.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Random lineup:

Higgins-Henrik-Burrows

Daniel-Bonino-Vrbata

Richardson-Matthias-Hansen

Dorsett-Vey-Kassian

Hamhuis-Sbisa

Edler-Tanev

Stanton-Bieksa

Kassian-Henrik-Daniel

Edler-Bieksa

Vrbata-Bonino-Higgins

Tanev-Stanton

Richardson-Matthias

Bieksa-Hamhuis

Hansen(Burrows)-Dorsett(Henrik)

Edler-Sbisa

Interestingly among our RWers, Vrbata's signed for 2 years, and Kassian is RFA in 2 years. The Vrbata signing essentially deflates Kassian's chances for a big raise by the time he's RFA, based on his opportunity alone. But I think circumstances may change a bit further beyond that as the team is currently in a state of flux. Hopefully Kassian improves as a player regardless. He should.

Also, where's Jensen on this team? Are one of the vets going to step aside for him? He's kinda in the same boat as Kassian, RFA in 2 years.

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

Random lineup:

Higgins-Henrik-Burrows

Daniel-Bonino-Vrbata

Richardson-Matthias-Hansen

Dorsett-Vey-Kassian

Hamhuis-Sbisa

Edler-Tanev

Stanton-Bieksa

Kassian-Henrik-Daniel

Edler-Bieksa

Vrbata-Bonino-Higgins

Tanev-Stanton

Richardson-Matthias

Bieksa-Hamhuis

Hansen(Burrows)-Dorsett(Henrik)

Edler-Sbisa

Interestingly among our RWers, Vrbata's signed for 2 years, and Kassian is RFA in 2 years. The Vrbata signing essentially deflates Kassian's chances for a big raise by the time he's RFA, based on his opportunity alone. But I think circumstances may change a bit further beyond that as the team is currently in a state of flux. Hopefully Kassian improves as a player regardless. He should.

Also, where's Jensen on this team? Are one of the vets going to step aside for him? He's kinda in the same boat as Kassian, RFA in 2 years.

You left him off the roster...

why is everyone playing their off wing,etc.?

Kassian will earn a raise from the second line if he isn't on the first by then.

Vrbata is gone in 2 years anyway unless the Sedins are still pulling him along.

[THERETOOL]

People are forgeting jensen hes gonna be good-great this year should be on the second line

Sedin Sedin Vrbata

Jensen Boner Vey

Burr Matthias Kass

Doorset Richy Hansen

Sestito

Higgy traded

that actually looks pretty darn good on paper

[TOMapleLaughs]

You left him off the roster...

why is everyone playing their off wing,etc.?

Kassian will earn a raise from the second line if he isn't on the first by then.

Vrbata is gone in 2 years anyway unless the Sedins are still pulling him along.

So did capgeek, and when healthy, so will the Canucks (probably)

Burrows, as usual. Who else?

Kassian displaces whom? Somebody Benning trades? Because when healthy I just don't see the Canucks handing him top-6 icetime at this point and Linden kinda said the same thing. 'Kassian needs to focus on becoming a two-way player.'

Yes, Vrbata will be gone, but this lineup is for the now.

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

So did capgeek, and when healthy, so will the Canucks (probably)

Burrows, as usual. Who else?

Kassian displaces whom? Somebody Benning trades? Because when healthy I just don't see the Canucks handing him top-6 icetime at this point and Linden kinda said the same thing. 'Kassian needs to focus on becoming a two-way player.'

Yes, Vrbata will be gone, but this lineup is for the now.

Kassian will be on the second Vrbata the first Burrows the third Hansen the fourth or bench.

Higgins the third, yadda yadda yadda.

I am all for trying new things but I am sure that the twins will end up playing the majority of there toi together.

[2009cupchamps]

BURROWS H.SEDIN KASSIAN

D.SEDIN BONINO VRBATA

HIGGINS MATTHIAS JENSEN

HANSEN RICHARDSON DORSETT

SESTITO VEY

BURROWS H.SEDIN JENSEN

D.SEDIN BONINO VRBATA

HIGGINS VEY KASSIAN

MATTHIAS RICHARDSON DORSETT

HANSEN SESTITO

D.SEDIN H.SEDIN VRBATA

BURROWS HORVAT KASSIAN

HIGGINS BONINO HANSEN

MATTHIAS RICHARDSON DORSETT

VEY SESTITO

we can go on for ever with the potential line combination. Only time will tell what the actual lines will be. The one thing we do have that we haven't had in a long time I'd depth. For some reason I'm partial to the last one