Team Canada Line Combinations

86Habs

Registered User
May 4, 2009
2,588
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Does anyone have information regarding Team Canada's line combinations / defense pairings at prior "best-on-best" tournaments - specifically, the Canada Cups / '96 World Cup and the '98 Olympic team? I had noted down our lineups during the '02 and '06 Olympics and '04 World Cup, so I'm all good there.

Just thought it would be interesting to retrospectively take a look at the different philosophies and styles that were put into making our rosters and, most importantly of all, which ones were successful.
 
2002 Olympics:

P. Kariya - M. Lemieux - S. Yzerman
S. Gagne - J. Sakic - J. Iginla
R. Smyth - E. Lindros - O. Nolan
B. Shanahan - J. Nieuwendyk - T. Fleury
M. Peca

C. Pronger - A. MacInnis
S. Niedermayer - R. Blake
E. Brewer - A. Foote
E. Jovanovski

I believe that the lineup in the first game against Sweden was vastly different from the one above - however, this is the lineup they went with for the remainder of the tournament

2004 World Cup:

M. Lemieux - J. Sakic - J. Iginla
R. Smyth - V. Lecavalier - D. Heatley
S. Gagne - B. Richards - M. St. Louis
K. Draper - J. Thornton - S. Doan

S. Niedermayer - R. Regehr
E. Brewer - A. Foote
W. Redden - E. Jovanovkski
J. Bouwmeester

Pronger, Blake, and Yzerman were injured and didn't participate in the tournament. Morrow drew-in for the first game against the U.S., and I recall Hannan drawing-in for a game or two as an injury replacement. Maltby, Marleau and Morrow were on the "taxi squad".

2006 Olympics:

K. Draper - J. Sakic - J. Iginla
D. Heatley - V. Lecavalier - M. St. Louis
S. Gagne - J. Thornton - R. Nash
R. Smyth - B. Richards - T. Bertuzzi
S. Doan

C. Pronger - R. Blake
W. Redden - A. Foote
R. Regehr - J. Bouwmeester
B. McCabe

Towards the middle of the fourth game against Finland, they started switching-up the lines - this is the way the lined-up for the rest of the tournament:

S. Gagne - J. Sakic - J. Iginla
R. Smyth - V. Lecavalier - M. St. Louis
R. Nash - J. Thornton - T. Bertuzzi
K. Draper - B. Richards - D. Heatley
S. Doan

C. Pronger - J. Bouwmeester
R. Regehr - R. Blake
W. Redden - A. Foote
B. McCabe

Jovanovski and Niedermayer pulled-out due to injury. Staal, Spezza, and Boyle were on the taxi squad.
 

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