Canucksfor2012 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Sedin-Sedin-Hansen Baertschi-Horvat-Vrbata Burrows-Sutter-Virtanen/Vey/Dorsett/Prust Etem-Vey/McCann-Dorsett/Prust Cracknell I'm not really sure if Vey can play the wing, but I think that should be what the lines look like before the trade deadline. First line: Given. Second line: Baertschi-Horvat with a sniper in Vrbata. I know most people would like Virtanen in that spot but Vrbata needs to play somewhere and it's not going to work in the bottom 6. Third line: I feel that line has a nice mix of speed, skill, and defensive prowess. Decent checking line? Vey, Dorsett or Prust slots into Virtanen's spot when Virtanen is on one of those scheduled "learning days" that management wants to do with both McCann and Virt. Fourth line: Vey and Etem stay on the same line. Vey gets support from a big body in Etem and a fairly physical presence in either Dorsett or Prust. When McCann is playing, Vey either shifts to the third line or sits. Cracknell can slot in here against bigger teams. After the trade deadline: Sedin-Sedin-Hansen Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen Etem-Sutter-Vey Burrows-McCann-Dorsett Cracknell Etem and Vey become regulars on the third while Burrows slots down to the fourth. This should give Sutter time to find chemistry with Etem and Vey. Burrows and Dorsett have some decent skill and could be a good fit with McCann. I know McCann on the fourth isn't ideal for most but I think this season especially it's best if he's sheltered a bit. Vrbata and Prust are moved, but for at least Prust there's almost definitely going to be salary retention. Maybe Vrbata too. People are saying Burrows should be moved but I think his high salary will make it too hard to move him. Plus, he does some mentorship to the table that could be valuable this season. And no, this does not open up any spots for Shinkaruk or Gaunce, but the team as constructed above is already playing 6 young guys (Baer, Horvat, Virt, Etem, Vey, McCann) on a regular basis at the forward position, so I think Shink and Gaunce may have to wait until next season (or as injury callups). On defence: Edler-Tanev Hutton-Sbisa Bartkowski/Hamhuis-Biega Weber/Fedun I could see Weber being moved for a pick, and I could also see Vrbata's return being a lower pick than expected (2nd-3rd round) with a depth/prospect defenceman. Hamhuis' injury probably made it too difficult to move him, so when he's back he might be a good fit on a pair with Biega. EDIT: I just saw that Canuckas above had pretty much the same idea for the forward lines, so this is awkward. Still, nice to know someone agrees with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabcakes Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 1 hour ago, alfstonker said: I like your lines but I am slowly coming to the conclusion that Burr should be added to that trade list after a stream of less than impressive games culminating with a sad performance against the Canes. I see no reason why Gaunce would not take his place. Gaunce is our secret ace in the hole judging by some of the goals he is scoring in Utica. He is also a big body and if we are going to rebuild we may as well get on with it. In that light I would actually keep Prust. He is working his ass off out there and I really think he has now committed to this team, which I would not have said 10 games ago. I hate to say it but he is imo twice as effective as Burr (who I really like but he is a shadow of the player he was) who just can't seem to do anything right. What Canuckas is implying may very well be true and that is that trades of forwards are pending but not until Sutter (and Hansen) are back. I agree with you about Burrows and he is going the way of Higgins. The problem is that he has a cap hit of 4.5 so he'll be difficult if not impossible to move. He can still fill in up and down the line up in case of injury so a Burrows move might wait until the off season. On the same token, the big move on D (Hamhuis) may be predicated on the health of the rest of the line up. I would like to see Fedun play some more. He didn't look out of place in last nights game. It would be nice if they had another 7/8 defender who wasn't prone to coughing up the puck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuckas Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Ya canucksfor2012, I like the balance of that line up. Rookies playing with vets, smaller guys playing with big bodies. Eventually I see Sutter returning to a top 6 roll once he gets his feet back. Him playing with the Sedins again would make the most sense as it would allow Horvat to Continue to develop on the second line. The only problem with that is it leaves us pretty thin down the middle and our bottom six looking not as strong on paper. Sedin Sedin Sutter Baertschi Horvat Hansen Vey McCann Etem Dorsett Cracknell Virtanen Kenins/Grenier/Gaunce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Quote What happens when Sutter comes back? We start to separate from the pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 4 minutes ago, Canuckas said: Ya canucksfor2012, I like the balance of that line up. Rookies playing with vets, smaller guys playing with big bodies. Eventually I see Sutter returning to a top 6 roll once he gets his feet back. Him playing with the Sedins again would make the most sense as it would allow Horvat to Continue to develop on the second line. The only problem with that is it leaves us pretty thin down the middle and our bottom six looking not as strong on paper. Sedin Sedin Sutter Baertschi Horvat Hansen Vey McCann Etem Dorsett Cracknell Virtanen Kenins/Grenier/Gaunce I'm also onboard with having Hansen on the 2nd line...This gives us two strong legit lines...In the past few games,Bo's line has seen the oppositions top lines and defence pairings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 1 hour ago, Crabcakes said: I agree with you about Burrows and he is going the way of Higgins. The problem is that he has a cap hit of 4.5 so he'll be difficult if not impossible to move. He can still fill in up and down the line up in case of injury so a Burrows move might wait until the off season. Not a problem. As we saw with Garrison and Higgins, anybody can be moved in this league. You just need to be willing to make a move that gets you little in tangible return but benefits via capspace or roster spots. Benning sees no less than we do. Burrows and Weber minimally are not long for this team. I'd say chances are significant that Burrows is not on the roster come next season. Perhaps 50/50 that he's gone by the TDL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vancity87 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I love line speculation! Honestly I think with Hanks injury and inability to win draws right now the lines will look like: D. Sedin - Sutter - H. Sedin Baertschi - Horvat - Hansen Burrows - McCann - Vrbata Dorsett - Vey - Etem Virtanen(sub w/ Etem) Cracknell (sub w/ Vey / McCann) Prust (sub w/ a bag of pucks) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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