Speculation: Roster Building Thread LXXI

[Rongomania]

Lafreniere is gonna need some adjustment time especially with not having player for so long, 3rd line is the spot for him for now

Would love to see Kak & Laf come out of the gate feasting on D men whom haven't played in so long.

 

[Barnaby]

I’d love to see Laf score his first NHL goal vs the Isles.

 

[TominNC]

Not necessarily. Assuming panarin operates with Strome and another lucky duck, you would play Laff either on line 1 or 3. If he’s THAT good, you do not give him third line minutes. He moves to the top with Zib.

Yep. You put Kreider with Chytil and Gauthier and watch them skate past and through third lines

 

[IDvsEGO]

last year at ES, zibanejad averaged 15:20, strome averaged 14:24 and chytil averaged 13:32. that's pretty balanced for the top 3 lines.

Problem is that Mika got both pp and sh time, strome got pp time, and chytil occasionally got pp time on the second squad but it was the first pp line that got a majority of time.
Again anytime Quinn was chasing a lead, you saw panarin + Mika. The pp was just more of that, as you saw panarin+strome + Mika.

 

[Leetch3]

Problem is that Mika got both pp and sh time, strome got pp time, and chytil occasionally got pp time on the second squad but it was the first pp line that got a majority of time.
Again anytime Quinn was chasing a lead, you saw panarin + Mika. The pp was just more of that, as you saw panarin+strome + Mika.

special teams time has nothing to do with 3rd line usage and if quinn uses the lines evenly...whether or not lafreniere gets those additional minutes will depend on if he's on the pp and could make a big difference in his time per game. whether he's on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd line at even strength isn't going to be that difference. and those ES lines won't determine the special teams...if Lafreniere plays with Mika and Kreider drops down to play on the 3rd line with Chytil, Kreider is still a lock for the #1 pp.

plus looking at it purely from the coaching standpoint...we lacked depth last year. as kids hopefully develop and our forwards become deep you will likely see more balance with ice time helping keep the top guys fresh

 

[TheBloodyNine]

It’s MY wishlist. I want Laff to be so good that he needs more minutes than other players. Deal with it.

So then you play his line more. Kinda easy huh?

 

[TheBloodyNine]

19-20 season we had mika and panarin playing on separate lines, but anytime they were down in the third period it was always back to one line.

So pretty much exactly what I said then, he hasn’t had a situation where he has one line with Mika, on with Panarin and one with Laf.

 

[LokiDog]

I wish Gauthier could be the odd cog for the Panarin/Strome rainbow connection. Run Laf and Kakko with Zib and Kreider Chytil and Buchnevich as a third line that could truly feast on mismatches.

 

[IDvsEGO]

I wish Gauthier could be the odd cog for the Panarin/Strome rainbow connection. Run Laf and Kakko with Zib and Kreider Chytil and Buchnevich as a third line that could truly feast on mismatches.

As much as that sounds great, from a play style perspective I dont see both laf and kakko producing well on the same line. Kakko's play is driven from his puck possession, every clip of him excelling was him just absolutely wearing down defenders by sharp cuts. If that's going to be his game going forward, then he'd prob do great with someone like CK or Buch, but not Laf.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I think people are pencilling Gauthier too high in the lineup for my taste. He's 3rd line or less until he proves otherwise.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I’d love to see Laf score his first NHL goal vs the Isles.

First 5 goal game *

 

[kovazub94]

I wish Gauthier could be the odd cog for the Panarin/Strome rainbow connection. Run Laf and Kakko with Zib and Kreider Chytil and Buchnevich as a third line that could truly feast on mismatches.

C’mon, dog, do you really want to saddle Lafreniere and Kakko with the top line responsibilities before they really cut their teeth? Maybe down the road but not off the get go.

 

[IDvsEGO]

C’mon, dog, do you really want to saddle Lafreniere and Kakko with the top line responsibilities before they really cut their teeth? Maybe down the road but not off the get go.

I don’t disagree with you, not sure why you’re quoting me since I didn’t say anything about kakko and laf on the first line.
I’d say laf probably should start on the 3rd with chytil unless ck moves to the right side; and kakko either on the 1st or 2nd depending on his growth from last season.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I’d love to see Laf score his first NHL goal vs the Isles.

Had a dream he scored off a rebound on his first shift against the Isles BEFORE the schedule was announced.

It has been written.

 

[Kendo]

I wish Gauthier could be the odd cog for the Panarin/Strome rainbow connection. Run Laf and Kakko with Zib and Kreider Chytil and Buchnevich as a third line that could truly feast on mismatches.

If Kravtsov can do that late this coming season, I'd be pumped. Three 2nd lines. An outlier, but I love the premise.

 

[kovazub94]

I don’t disagree with you, not sure why you’re quoting me since I didn’t say anything about kakko and laf on the first line.
I’d say laf probably should start on the 3rd with chytil unless ck moves to the right side; and kakko either on the 1st or 2nd depending on his growth from last season.

Lol, fixed! I meant to quote @Loki Dog 74 who you’re responding to.

 

[Avery16]

blues forward depth is always so scary

 

[Barnaby]

Had a dream he scored off a rebound on his first shift against the Isles BEFORE the schedule was announced.

It has been written.

This is the way.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

See now this I would have done.

We're going to end up bringing some goon to camp on a PTO arent we?

 

[rangers1314]

Incredible.

What’s the deal here. Is this just the stink from the whole Karlsson/Ottawa fallout?

 

[Barnaby]

He couldn’t even land a guaranteed 1 year deal? I get the flat cap, but wow. I’m wondering if there are major character concerns. I know there was the Karlsson incident... maybe he hasn’t shaken that label.

 

[Thirty One]

Incredible.

What’s the deal here. Is this just the stink from the whole Karlsson/Ottawa fallout?

He probably already has a contract agreed to but it can't be made official yet because St. Louis needs to do some cap maneuvering with Steen/Tarasenko. He's not scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for work, I can tell you that.

 

[SA16]

They're already saying it's just a temporary thing and once they can LTIR Steen/Tarasenko they'll have room to give him a real deal. It's not like an actual league min.

 

[Thirty One]

Dreger plagiarizing me again.

 

[kovazub94]

Dreger plagiarizing me again.

Man has no standards.