Team Canada's forward lines - I hope they re-unite Nash-Thornton-Gagne

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Looking at that lineup I gotta wonder how Bergeron and Staal didnt make that squad.

Stop trying to pimp Bergeron.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Stop trying to pimp Bergeron.

Did you miss the memo ???

Bergeron-Boyes-Sturm is going to be the best line in the Eastern Conference next year.

 

[Garbs]

Nash - Thornton - Heatley
Nash - Thornton - Bertuzzi
Nash - Thornton - Gagne

Either line will be dominant, I don't think it really matters who the third person is.

Personally I'd like to see Heatley.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Stop trying to pimp Bergeron.

The only pimp Bergeron is Marc-Andre!

 

[VanNistelrooy]

Nash - Thornton - Heatley
Nash - Thornton - Bertuzzi
Nash - Thornton - Gagne

Either line will be dominant, I don't think it really matters who the third person is.

Personally I'd like to see Heatley.

Gagné and Bertuzzi are LWers.

 

[rigger]

The only pimp Bergeron is Marc-Andre!

Hay-Oh

 

[Garbs]

Gagné and Bertuzzi are LWers.

Bertuzzi is a right winger.

Nash is also able to play on the right, so it doesn't really matter.

Gagne - Thornton - Nash

 

[Gags1288]

Nash - Thornton - Heatley
Nash - Thornton - Bertuzzi
Nash - Thornton - Gagne

Either line will be dominant, I don't think it really matters who the third person is.

Personally I'd like to see Heatley.

I disagree there. Gagne is a great defensive winger, which really allows Rick and Joe to work their magic. That isn't to say Gagne isn't a really good offensive player as well, but his defensive responsibilites are what allows that line to be decent defensively, something that neither Heatley nor Bertuzzi provide. It'll be interesting to see whether they use Gagne with Sakic/Iginla, Gagne with Nash/Thornton or Gagne with some other combination.

 

[Garbs]

I disagree there. Gagne is a great defensive winger, which really allows Rick and Joe to work their magic. That isn't to say Gagne isn't a really good offensive player as well, but his defensive responsibilites are what allows that line to be decent defensively, something that neither Heatley nor Bertuzzi provide. It'll be interesting to see whether they use Gagne with Sakic/Iginla, Gagne with Nash/Thornton or Gagne with some other combination.

True, but one must ask themselves how often a line of Nash - Thornton - Heatley would be on the defensive to begin with.

 

[Jakethesnake]

How will the defense look?

 

[harper]

Whats the rap on Tanguay? why is he marginalized when his numbers seem so good, is he bad defensively? uninspired?

 

[bert]

Whats the rap on Tanguay? why is he marginalized when his numbers seem so good, is he bad defensively? uninspired?

This is actually a very good question he defenitely deserves to be on this team over alot of players that are playing.

 

[NyQuil]

According to Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun:

"As a result, Simon Gagne, Joe Thornton and Rick Nash are scheduled to be reunited when Team Canada holds its first official practice at a Toronto-area rink this afternoon."

"Gagne flourished on a line with Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla during Canada's gold- medal run at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Sakic-Iginla partnership is back this time around, with Gagne's spot on the left side filled by speedy Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper."

"Another potentially explosive line features Ottawa Senators star Dany Heatley flanked by Tampa Bay's dynamic duo of Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Lecavalier was the most valuable player at the 2004 World Cup while St. Louis is the defending Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP."

"As for controversial Vancouver Canucks winger Todd Bertuzzi, the coaches tentatively have placed him on a unit with Tampa Bay's Brad Richards and Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers. "

"The process of putting lines together started with the coaches writing four sets of names on a blackboard: Nash-Thornton; Iginla-Sakic; Lecavalier-St. Louis; and Richards-Bertuzzi. Then came the job of finding a third player to line up with each of those pairings."

DRAPER-SAKIC-IGINLA
GAGNE-THORNTON-NASH
HEATLEY-LECAVALIER-ST. LOUIS
SMYTH-RICHARDS-BERTUZZI
*STAAL-*SPEZZA-DOAN

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/2006/02/13/1440263-sun.html

Comment: Besides the Nash line, I wouldn't have picked any of these lines the way they are set up.

 

[bert]

How much better does Tanguay look on Sakic's left wing then Draper. Good god Canada's brass looks like morons.

Heatley and Lecavalier have great chemistry already I really like that third line.