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Lehtinen - Koivu - Selanne line

  • Thread starter Thread starter shawn_kemp*
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Lehtinen makes every line work. I haven't seen a single line he's on to be a dissapointment. Then he's even playing out of position most of the time as well..

Teemu Selanne was this close signing with the Stars in 2002 I believe, but Tom Hicks decided it would be smarter to spend that money on two players instead. He got Scott Young, but never attracted the promissed second player. Imagine a Selanne - Modano - Lehtinen line. We might have even flipped Arnott to Montreal for Koivu.. ;)
 
Jere Lehtinen is indeed like a glue that can connect any two pieces together. And Koivu and Selänne are two pieces that fit each other perfectly. A truly rare line - works both on paper and in practice. :)
 
ShaneDoan said:
I`ve noticed that almost everytime when Lehtinen is Finland squad they play very good! :handclap:
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He's such an awesome player. He really is!
 
Indeed, best line after the CCCP... yet, I quote a hearsay here, but if some finn has a first hand (ear) witness to the finnish radio yesterday, or today. Mihailov and Yurzinov from Team Russia was asked about the line in topic, and to compare it to the Harlamov's legendary line (Petrov-Mihailov-Harlamov). They (russians above) said the finnish current line is actually better. They can capitalize year after year, and the competition and skill level in game is higher and more even, than back in the CCCP days.

BUT, that's still hearsay, I can't confirm that quote. If some could, that would be... :sarcasm:

I actually agree with that unconfirmed quote. I think Lehtinen - Koivu - Selänne is the best line in international level. Because of the stated above: skill level is higher and the opponents have 4 good lines, instead of just a few, like back in CCCP years.
 
Zambonidriver² said:
Indeed, best line after the CCCP... yet, I quote a hearsay here, but if some finn has a first hand (ear) witness to the finnish radio yesterday, or today. Mihailov and Yurzinov from Team Russia was asked about the line in topic, and to compare it to the Harlamov's legendary line (Petrov-Mihailov-Harlamov). They (russians above) said the finnish current line is actually better. They can capitalize year after year, and the competition and skill level in game is higher and more even, than back in the CCCP days.

BUT, that's still hearsay, I can't confirm that quote. If some could, that would be... :sarcasm:

I actually agree with that unconfirmed quote. I think Lehtinen - Koivu - Selänne is the best line in international level. Because of the stated above: skill level is higher and the opponents have 4 good lines, instead of just a few, like back in CCCP years.
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I remember after the semifinal at the 98 OG's in Nagano "Jursi" said he closed his eyes every time the finnish first line stepped on to the ice. He also felt partly proud because he had a huge impact on Koivu's and Lehtinen's development coaching them in TPS.

Thank you "Jursi", Finnish hockey owes you alot, I wish you were still coaching here :bow: .
 
Zambonidriver² said:
Indeed, best line after the CCCP... yet, I quote a hearsay here, but if some finn has a first hand (ear) witness to the finnish radio yesterday, or today. Mihailov and Yurzinov from Team Russia was asked about the line in topic, and to compare it to the Harlamov's legendary line (Petrov-Mihailov-Harlamov). They (russians above) said the finnish current line is actually better. They can capitalize year after year, and the competition and skill level in game is higher and more even, than back in the CCCP days.

BUT, that's still hearsay, I can't confirm that quote. If some could, that would be... :sarcasm:

I actually agree with that unconfirmed quote. I think Lehtinen - Koivu - Selänne is the best line in international level. Because of the stated above: skill level is higher and the opponents have 4 good lines, instead of just a few, like back in CCCP years.
Click to expand...

Mikhailov himself (from the Petrov - Mikhailov - Kharlamov line) that the finnish line is better than them? Wow, that´s some accolade.
 
I'm not surprised about Koivu. He's never had anyone to work with. And Selanne is finally healthy this year. Kovalev is a strong player, but he's not a scorer, regardless of his talents.

What is also surprising is that Koivu has had a bad groin most of the year and now suddenly he turns it on (as did Zednik). Now both are playing very well. Kind of annoying as a Montreal fan.

Anyone could have had Selanne for cheap this summer if they had bothered to go take a look. It's too bad Montreal didn't invest the time.
 
The best line I remember watching was the Krutov-Larionov-Makarov (KLM) line, not least because they were joined on the ice by Fetisov and Kasatonov. The Big Five is as good as I've seen in international play. That line is followed pretty closely by Bure-Fedorov-Mogilny. Tikhonov just put so much stock in forming that one dominant top line, and it generally paid dividends, at least in international competition.

In the Post-Soviet era, I'd have to rank the current Finnish trio very high, both for their high end as well as their consistency.
 
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