Line Combos: 2021-22 lines

[Beer and Chips]

I miss Mats Naslund.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I miss Mats Naslund.

I miss my hair

 

[Dondini]

I still believe the Habs need a 2nd line Center…Dvorak is nowhere near a 2nd line Center.

dvorak hasn’t played a full 82 game season since he was 22. He was on pace for 25 goals 45 points last year in Arizona. I think considering him entering his peak years, and us having better wingers for him I think he hits 25 goals 50+ points foresure. He’s legit 2c quality

 

[Lebowski]

My preferred lines ATM:

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield (This is the "1st line", but the more important line will be the Gallagher line. No explanation, see 2021 Playoff Run)
Hoffman-Dvorak-Gallagher (This is the line I'm the least sure about. Dvorak is the Danault replacement, so he's going to play with Gallagher. Dvorak (and Hoffman) would also be helped by a player that does a lot of work in the offensive zone. Hoffman is also a perimeter shooter that needs guys that go to the net. I just don't buy that the line has enough playmaking, but the Habs don't have a great fit there. Evans might work instead of Dvorak if he takes a massive leap forward, but I'm not holding my breath)
Drouin-Evans-Anderson (Drouin and Anderson looked good together and Evans is the best of the rest at C)
Lehkonen-Paquette-Armia (Lehkonen and Armia are 3rd liners to me, but the wings are where Montreal has depth. Paquette is a center and thus plays ahead of better players like Perreault and Byron)

Edmundson-Petry (It works, stick with it)
Romanov-Savard (If Montreal wants to even sniff at a playoff spot, Romanov needs a breakout season and needs to be given playing time)
Chiarot-Kulak (decent, if overpaid 3rd pair)

Price
Allen

All in all, probably not a playoff team that's pretty imbalanced with too many wingers and not enough at center or PMD. Desperate lack of elite talent. Hopefully they're bad enough to keep their 1st though.

I like this. Couple changes I'd make is swap Drouin and Hoffman. I think Drouin and Gallagher are good opposites and Drouin is probably our best playmaking winger to feed Dvorak some pucks.

Hoff-Evans-Anderson is a fast line that does a bit of everything. I think Evans has the smarts to make plays for Hoff.

I'm not sure about Paquette on the 4th. I think I'd give Poehling a shot if he has a decent camp.

100% agree with the Romanov-Savard pairing. That's what makes the most sense going forward. I wasn't a big fan of the Chiarot-Weber pairing to begin with, I think your pairings offer the most balance.

 

[Bacchus1]

I miss KK

I miss pre-covid times!

 

[Captain97]

I still believe the Habs need a 2nd line Center…Dvorak is nowhere near a 2nd line Center.

So this may be a definition question assuming the player is good defensively how many goals & points do you think a 2C needs to put up?

 

[Tourist]

Ahhh the offseason line combos...so fun yet so useless...

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield
Drouin-Dvorak-Gallagher
Hoffman-Evans-Anderson
Lehkonen-Perreault-Armia (Perreault is a winger now but he can play center and probably do better than Paquette)
Byron-Paquette

Edmundson-Petry
Romanov-Savard
Chiarot-Wideman
Kulak

Price
Allen

I like the forwards. It lacks star power but has very good depth. And Suzuki and Caufield do have the talent to turn into stars. Yes, overall, this group is stronger at wing than center, but I don't see that as a big issue for a team when the centers are all pretty reliable all over the ice. Besides, this group of center is at least as good as last year's:

- Suzuki has shown steady improvement since he's been acquired and should continue his progression. Playing with Caufield from the get go should help his production too.
- Dvorak is at least as good as Danault overall. Danault is better defensively but Dvorak is better offensively. I prefer Dvorak for this team. I think Danault's defensive contributions can be fulfilled internally by committee. On the other hand we don't have any superstar forward so we need all the goal scoring potential we can get.
- Evans can be at least as good as Kotkaniemi was last year. Kotkaniemi has a lot of room to grow but was generally poor last season.
- Between Paquette, Perreault, Poehling or some other signing there's a good chance that contributions from the fourth line center match that of last year's.

On top of this, better wingers should naturally help the centers perform better.

Defense is obviously an issue with this team. The lack of puck moving does not appear to have been fixed. Weber declined but still played tonnes of hard minutes relatively well. He brought stability and leadership. Savard cannot replace all of that. Someone needs to step up. Romanov is the key.

I'm excited to see how the PP will do. Caufield and Hoffman are superb shooters and will help tremendously. The loss of Weber is hopefully addition by substraction by paving the way for more varied and creative offensive schemes. Drouin is a good passer and could get more assists now that he won't be primarily tasked with setting up the erratic and predictable Weber bomb. Kotkaniemi had flair but his lack of quickness and adequate puck protection skills killed a lot of plays. A more polished Dvorak should do better. Suzuki, Toffoli and Petry should remain threats and we still have big bodied right hand shots Anderson and Armia to use in close. Again, puck moving and offensive ability from the back end could be an issue. Again, Romanov could be key. Long shots like Wideman, Norlinder or Brook could surprise.

 

[Hector Salamanca]

Hoffman and Anderson cannot Play together imo. That Will ne a total disaster un the dzone.

 

[Essenege]

Ahhh the offseason line combos...so fun yet so useless...

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield
Drouin-Dvorak-Gallagher
Hoffman-Evans-Anderson
Lehkonen-Perreault-Armia (Perreault is a winger now but he can play center and probably do better than Paquette)
Byron-Paquette

Edmundson-Petry
Romanov-Savard
Chiarot-Wideman
Kulak

Price
Allen

This is also the best lines I’m coming up with, although the 3rd line featuring our 2 worse forwards defensively (Anderson and Hoffman) with a sophomore center would worry me a bit.

 

[26Mats]

Ahhh the offseason line combos...so fun yet so useless...

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield
Drouin-Dvorak-Gallagher
Hoffman-Evans-Anderson
Lehkonen-Perreault-Armia (Perreault is a winger now but he can play center and probably do better than Paquette)
Byron-Paquette

Edmundson-Petry
Romanov-Savard
Chiarot-Wideman
Kulak

Price
Allen

I like the forwards. It lacks star power but has very good depth. And Suzuki and Caufield do have the talent to turn into stars. Yes, overall, this group is stronger at wing than center, but I don't see that as a big issue for a team when the centers are all pretty reliable all over the ice. Besides, this group of center is at least as good as last year's:

- Suzuki has shown steady improvement since he's been acquired and should continue his progression. Playing with Caufield from the get go should help his production too.
- Dvorak is at least as good as Danault overall. Danault is better defensively but Dvorak is better offensively. I prefer Dvorak for this team. I think Danault's defensive contributions can be fulfilled internally by committee. On the other hand we don't have any superstar forward so we need all the goal scoring potential we can get.
- Evans can be at least as good as Kotkaniemi was last year. Kotkaniemi has a lot of room to grow but was generally poor last season.
- Between Paquette, Perreault, Poehling or some other signing there's a good chance that contributions from the fourth line center match that of last year's.

On top of this, better wingers should naturally help the centers perform better.

Defense is obviously an issue with this team. The lack of puck moving does not appear to have been fixed. Weber declined but still played tonnes of hard minutes relatively well. He brought stability and leadership. Savard cannot replace all of that. Someone needs to step up. Romanov is the key.

I'm excited to see how the PP will do. Caufield and Hoffman are superb shooters and will help tremendously. The loss of Weber is hopefully addition by substraction by paving the way for more varied and creative offensive schemes. Drouin is a good passer and could get more assists now that he won't be primarily tasked with setting up the erratic and predictable Weber bomb. Kotkaniemi had flair but his lack of quickness and adequate puck protection skills killed a lot of plays. A more polished Dvorak should do better. Suzuki, Toffoli and Petry should remain threats and we still have big bodied right hand shots Anderson and Armia to use in close. Again, puck moving and offensive ability from the back end could be an issue. Again, Romanov could be key. Long shots like Wideman, Norlinder or Brook could surprise.

Like other posters, I think Hoffman could be great, but not nearly maximized with Anderson. And both aren't great defensively.

So I'd use Armia over Anderson on the 3rd line. But I could see Toffoli and Armia playing well together more than Hoffman and Armia. If we want to keep Tofu with Suzy and CC, and Hoffman also isn't playing with enough fire power with Armia, then Hoffman should play with Dvorak, imo.

Hoffman Suzuki Caufield
Drouin Dvorak Gallagher
Toffoli Evans Armia
Lehkonen Paquette/Perrault Anderson

or

Toffoli Suzuki Caufield
Hoffman Dvorak Gallagher
Drouin Evans Armia
Lehkonen Paquette/Perrault Anderson

 

[tooji]

Pretty sure perrault already clarified that he can’t play center due to his back on the faceoff. So people gotta stop pencilling him as a C. 4C spot is basically a battle between paquette/poehling

 

[Archijerej]

My preferred lines ATM:

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield (This is the "1st line", but the more important line will be the Gallagher line. No explanation, see 2021 Playoff Run)
Hoffman-Dvorak-Gallagher (This is the line I'm the least sure about. Dvorak is the Danault replacement, so he's going to play with Gallagher. Dvorak (and Hoffman) would also be helped by a player that does a lot of work in the offensive zone. Hoffman is also a perimeter shooter that needs guys that go to the net. I just don't buy that the line has enough playmaking, but the Habs don't have a great fit there. Evans might work instead of Dvorak if he takes a massive leap forward, but I'm not holding my breath)
Drouin-Evans-Anderson (Drouin and Anderson looked good together and Evans is the best of the rest at C)
Lehkonen-Paquette-Armia (Lehkonen and Armia are 3rd liners to me, but the wings are where Montreal has depth. Paquette is a center and thus plays ahead of better players like Perreault and Byron)

Edmundson-Petry (It works, stick with it)
Romanov-Savard (If Montreal wants to even sniff at a playoff spot, Romanov needs a breakout season and needs to be given playing time)
Chiarot-Kulak (decent, if overpaid 3rd pair)

Price
Allen

All in all, probably not a playoff team that's pretty imbalanced with too many wingers and not enough at center or PMD. Desperate lack of elite talent. Hopefully they're bad enough to keep their 1st though.

Agreed on the forward lines, except that I would switch Hoffman and Drouin. Trying to find a role for those two is a chore, though.

Perreault's role is still misterious to me. Surely, he wasn't signed to be a spare forward. It's almost as if Bergevin expected to be able to move one of the wingers. Or maybe they do indeed want him to play center and have Paquette as the 13th forward.

Agreed on D pairs, except that I don't want Kulak to play with Chiarot on his off-side. I'd rather try first a lower quality player like Wideman, with the hope that the pairing as a whole will be more effective. Ideally, we'd sign Vatanen to play with Chiarot. Don't know what's the matter with this dude (presume it's injuries), but if he could return to form, the D corps wouldn't be half bad.

 

[Uber Coca]

OT but I will miss the North division. Felt refreshing to play against teams with fanbases that care.

 

[JuJu Mobb]

We're really starting the season with that defense?

 

[26Mats]

Pretty sure perrault already clarified that he can’t play center due to his back on the faceoff. So people gotta stop pencilling him as a C. 4C spot is basically a battle between paquette/poehling

Do you have a link for this?

 

[Holystik]

Pretty sure perrault already clarified that he can’t play center due to his back on the faceoff. So people gotta stop pencilling him as a C. 4C spot is basically a battle between paquette/poehling

Would also like to see a link on that info.

Either ways I agree he doesn't seem to be an option at Centre.
Bergevin semt pretty clear on who the centres(options) are on this team at the presser.

 

[abo9]

Pretty sure perrault already clarified that he can’t play center due to his back on the faceoff. So people gotta stop pencilling him as a C. 4C spot is basically a battle between paquette/poehling

That's news to me. If it's bad enough to stop him taking faceoffs... why did we sign him?

Or is it just a very specifically circumstantial injury but he's fine the rest of the time?

 

[Kosseca]

Do you have a link for this?

He said during his press conference after he signed that he stop playing C due to back problem and not able to take faceoffs. He was move to LW where he had succes so he stayed there. When asked if he could play C again he said that his back was better but him playing C long term would depend on how his back hold.

So in short, dont pencil him at C unless it is absolutely necessairy

 

[Kosseca]

Would also like to see a link on that info.

Either ways I agree he doesn't seem to be an option at Centre.
Bergevin semt pretty clear on who the centres(options) are on this team at the presser.

Look at his press conference after he signed

 

[Habs13]

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield
Hoffman-Dvorak-Gallagher
Lehkonen-Galchenyuk/Bozak-Anderson
Paquette-Evans-Armia

Byron-Drouin-Perreault

Edmundson-Petry
Romanov-Savard
Chiarot-Vaatanen

Kulak-Wideman

Price
Allen

 

[Belial]

Pretty sure perrault already clarified that he can’t play center due to his back on the faceoff. So people gotta stop pencilling him as a C. 4C spot is basically a battle between paquette/poehling

He said during his press conference after he signed that he stop playing C due to back problem and not able to take faceoffs. He was move to LW where he had succes so he stayed there. When asked if he could play C again he said that his back was better but him playing C long term would depend on how his back hold.

So in short, dont pencil him at C unless it is absolutely necessairy

Perreault on possibly playing center:
That's something that was a part of our conversation. I mentioned to Dom that I played center in the NHL for seven or eight years before Paul Maurice used me on the wing. I have experience at the center position and I'm comfortable going back there. I told him that if he needed me at center, I was ready. I also played right and left-wing. I'm comfortable playing any of those positions. I talked about all of that with Dominique.

 

[billy piton]

it would be nice to have three strong scoring lines and two lines that can play great defence. the only way i can see it happen is if poehling wins a spot.

in that case i would go:

hoffman - suzuki - caufield - top scoring line with the best playmaker going with top two snipers
toffoli - dvorak - gallagher - shutdown/2 way line
drouin - poehling - anderson - offensive line that is mostly sheltered from though defensive assignments
lekhonen - evans - armia - top shutdown line

if poehling needs more time i'd go:

hofman - suzuki - caufield - see above
drouin - dvorak - anderson - more of a scoring line with drouin setting up dvorak's shot and anderson crashing&banging
toffoli - evans - gallagher - danault line 2.0
lekhonen - perreault/paquette - armia - defensive fourth line

on defence, i would love to see josh brook sticks with the team:

edmundson petry
romanov savard
chiarot brook - every kid with an experienced back, in the crunch time of close games i'd go with chiarot savard combo
kulak

price
allen

 

[slybel]

I miss my hair

I miss drinking beer till 3am while eating a large poutine!

 

[Holystik]

I'll write this here cause why the F not.

First pre season game: In 16 days!
First regular season game: In 34 days!

Lets go!!

 

[Kosseca]

Perreault on possibly playing center:
That's something that was a part of our conversation. I mentioned to Dom that I played center in the NHL for seven or eight years before Paul Maurice used me on the wing. I have experience at the center position and I'm comfortable going back there. I told him that if he needed me at center, I was ready. I also played right and left-wing. I'm comfortable playing any of those positions. I talked about all of that with Dominique.

There is a part missing about him stating that for that to work, his back has to hold.

Watch the Zoom.