The best forward lines of all-time

[Eisen]

Beat me to the punch. I've always been more impressed (eye test) by that Spartak line than by Kapustin-Zhluktov-Balderis, for example.

Some other Soviet lines not mentioned yet:

A. Golikov-V. Golikov-Makarov (late 1970s/early 1980s, national team)
Firsov-Polupanov-Vikulov (sometimes with Maltsev at center on the national team)
Alexandrov-Almetov-Loktev
B. Mayorov-Starshinov-Y. Mayorov
Bobrov-Shuvalov-Babich

Especially Starshinov's chinstrap.

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

GAG line...great name, great line. Thank you Dale Rolfe!

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Does anyone actually think there was ever a better line constructed than the one that had both 66 and 99?

 

[bucks_oil]

If we want to do a "best 2nd lines of all time", the 1988 Oilers 2nd line has to be near the top:

Simpson Messier Anderson...

You had a 37G/111Pts center with a 56/90 LW and a 38/88 RW. That line also scored a grand total of 78 points in 19 playoff games on the way to the Oilers 4th Stanley Cup.

 

[Krewe]

The current Bergeron, Marchand and Pasta line would fair very well all time.

Yeah that comes to mind. Im aware we cant use absolute best (as any of the top 3-5 lines from today would roll over lines from 25-30yrs ago) and have to compare to the level of competition, but still. I wonder if the tendency to try to roll 2 strong lines over just 1 is a more recent trend ( I am not old enough to have watch back then ). Like Tampa, Toronto, Pens, and some others could all roll one absurdy strong line that would be comparable to Boston's but their depth scoring would go down as a result.

 

[Thenameless]

I was thinking that you could at least mention Taylor - Simmer - Dionne, Lindros - Leclair - Renberg, Holik - Peluso - McKay (obviously for a different reason) at the bottom, as you did with other lines.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Robitaille - Gretzky - Kurri

 

[VanIslander]

Repeated mention of the cutsey-named "kid" line of the Leafs, a disappointment in the postseason more times than not, Frank Selke saying because they focused too much on flashy offense.

Yet... no mention whatsoever of a Leaf line from one of the Leaf dynasties!!!

Honorable mention:

Frank Mahovlich - Dave Keon - George Armstrong

 

[BobbyShehan]

Moore-Beliveau-Geoffrion or F Mahovlich -Beliveau-Cournoyer... were dominating the league as much as any of the lines you listed.

 

[Kamina]

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson was very good, all would have scored 100+ pts if Spezza wasn't injured.

Not at the level of the all-time greats but still solid.

All three linemates tied for 1st in 2007 playoff scoring with 22 points. Alfredsson led the playoffs in goals with 14, Heatley and Spezza led in assists with 15.

In Game 5 of the ECF vs. Buffalo, which would send Ottawa to their first (and so far only) final, they scored in order.

Heatley. Spezza. Alfredsson (OT and series winner).

Those were the days.

Everyone most likely remembers Alfredsson's OT winner, but my favourite is the Spezza goal, where all three make it happen in a matter of seconds. This clip sums up how dominant they were.

 

[The Panther]

Robitaille - Gretzky - Kurri

This wasn't really ever a line, but for odd shifts here or there. Also, two of the three guys were past their primes.

I think Tikkanen / Gretzky / Kurri is possibly the best line ever, but it only existed for two seasons (1986-87 & 1987-88).

How about Krushelnyski / Gretzky / Kurri for that one season, 1984-85?:
Gretzky 208 PTS (+100)
Kurri 135 PTS (+78)
Krushelnyski 88 PTS (+60)

The scary thing is that Kurri missed nine games...

 

[KingPuckChoo]

This wasn't really ever a line, but for odd shifts here or there. Also, two of the three guys were past their primes.

I think Tikkanen / Gretzky / Kurri is possibly the best line ever, but it only existed for two seasons (1986-87 & 1987-88).

How about Krushelnyski / Gretzky / Kurri for that one season, 1984-85?:
Gretzky 208 PTS (+100)
Kurri 135 PTS (+78)
Krushelnyski 88 PTS (+60)

The scary thing is that Kurri missed nine games...

lol seriously WHATEVER

but thank God for facts!

Gretzky-Kurri-Robitaille Line Sharp Again : Hockey: It produces four goals in 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs. L.A. is unbeaten in its last five games.

this was beyond the ODD shift

they were a legit line

btw i use to watch a ton of kings games in the 90s, but nice try buddy

 

[The Panther]

lol seriously WHATEVER

but thank God for facts!

Gretzky-Kurri-Robitaille Line Sharp Again : Hockey: It produces four goals in 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs. L.A. is unbeaten in its last five games.

this was beyond the ODD shift

they were a legit line

btw i use to watch a ton of kings games in the 90s, but nice try buddy

You seem upset.

According to the article you quote, the line had been together for three games. Were they really together for the entire remainder of that season? I'm skeptical.

If you remember that season, you'll also recall Jari Kurri being roundly booed by Kings' fans through much of the latter part of the season. The Kings had a disappointing season (fell 18 points in the standings), and Gretzky had easily the worst season of his career to date.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

You seem upset.

According to the article you quote, the line had been together for three games. Were they really together for the entire remainder of that season? I'm skeptical.

If you remember that season, you'll also recall Jari Kurri being roundly booed by Kings' fans through much of the latter part of the season. The Kings had a disappointing season (fell 18 points in the standings), and Gretzky had easily the worst season of his career to date.

of course! Kurri was getting old and wasn't as good in LA and they sometimes flipped with Tomas Sandstrom, f*** even Marty McSorley had a crack at it, etc

you said they played together an odd shift here and there, they literally brought Kurri in to play with Wayne

and Robitaille wasn't scoring his 100pts by himself on a 2nd line... he got a good bulk of his pts during that era by playing with WAYNE

they were a line for way more than 3 GAMES between 91 and 95

196 -- Goals by Gretzky on which Jari Kurri earned an assist. Kurri has the most assists on Gretzky's goals by any player. Paul Coffey is next with 116, followed by Mark Messier with 68 and Glenn Andersonwith 63. Among players who didn't play with Gretzky in Edmonton, Luc Robitaille is the leader with 48.

364 -- Assists by Gretzky on goals by Kurri, by far the most he had on goals scored by any one player. Gretzky assisted on 115 goals by Robitaille and 106 by Anderson. In all, Gretzky assisted on goals by 141 players.

Los Angeles had no obvious fill-in at center for "The Great One." They tried Tony Granato up the middle first. Then coach Barry Melrose turned to Gretzky's "right hand man" Kurri.

Watch as Wayne Gretzky explained how Jarri Kurri stands out as the player he connected most with when he played in the NHL.

The kind of chemistry and offensive excellence displayed by Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri during the Oilers heyday and with the Kings is the kind of natural connection that has become so hard-pressed for modern-day players to achieve.

 

[ITM]

Might have missed their inclusion but, The Stastnys were a treat to watch. So was Larionov-Fedorov-Kozlov. Lemieux-Jagr-Stevens...Hull-Fedorov-Shanahan..or Yzerman-Fedorov-Shanahan...Good night, and...Did anyone mention The Production Line?

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Surprised the Gilles-Trottier-Bossy line hasn't been mentioned.

 

[VMBM]

Good night, and...Did anyone mention The Production Line?

From the original post:

Lindsay-Abel-Howe (Detroit Red Wings)

Production line. This was the best version of the line, right? I’d say on paper and the most dominant at least. In any case, it is the wingers who mostly made any version of the line legendary. Howe was obviously the best player and at least eventually the best goal-scorer as well as playmaker of the line. Well, the best at about everything. Abel, as the clear senior of the trio, probably had an important nurturing role in the beginning and was occasionally even the best performer of the three, and Lindsay was a small but nasty instigator with good goal-scoring and playmaking skills. Skill mixed with toughness, old-time hockey, yeah!

Or did you have some other Production line in mind?

Surprised the Gilles-Trottier-Bossy line hasn't been mentioned.

Ditto:

Gillies-Trottier-Bossy (New York Islanders)

Trio Grande. A personal favourite of the North American lines, not sure why. Despite one player being clearly inferior to the other two, it was still in other ways a well-balanced forward line; Bossy was one of the greatest goal-scorers of all-time and a pure ‘finesse player’, Trottier a physical two-way player and playmaker, and Gillies a huge physical presence who could also put the puck in the net and pass it too when needed. Obviously they got great help from Denis Potvin also. Their success in the NHL and contribution to 4 Stanley Cups needs no further introduction, but they also had some strong and productive international performances, like the 1981 Canada Cup (despite the disastrous final for the team), and the first two games of the Challenge Cup (basically Team Canada vs USSR).

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Martin

Pappin

Hull

 

[David Bruce Banner]

The French Connection is one of my all-time favourites and should be near the top of any list.

Carson, Gelinas and Graves I liked, for that one season.

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

Surprised the Gilles-Trottier-Bossy line hasn't been mentioned.

Mentioned in first post.

 

[DannyGallivan]

My top 10 list (not in a definitive order, but in a sort of order):

Tikkanen-Gretzky-Kurri (Edmonton Oilers)

Aka Finnish Sandwich. I don’t know if it was even the best of Gretzky’s lines, but a very well balanced version of the Oilers’ top line it was in my opinion; one offensive wizard and best playmaker of all-time, one two-way player with a lethal shot, and one, well, nutter. (No no, Tikkanen was a fine all-round player.) They were a joy to watch and a nightmare for the opponents in the mid-/late-‘80s. Not just in the NHL, but they also had a strong performance vs the Soviets in the 1987 Rendez-Vous. Gretzky and Kurri (or sometimes Tikkanen?) were also a dangerous pair on the penalty kill.

Krutov-Larionov-Makarov (CSKA Moscow, USSR)

KLM. Maybe the best line of all-time? (At least if the we talk about the whole Green Unit.) Played together from the 1981-82 season to 1988-89. Rarely played a poor game or a game where they didn’t score, no matter who they faced. I’m glad that in recent years Sergei Makarov has finally gotten the appreciation he deserves; he is one of the best forwards ever, period. I’ve never been overly high on Larionov, but no question that he was a skilled, smart player who took care of his defensive duties and who fit in well with his more explosive wingers. Krutov was equally at home in speedy skill game as well as battling with defencemen in front of the net, a terrific goal-scorer. They certainly got help from their steady defencemen (especially Fetisov), but were by no means dependent on them. Notice also Krutov and Makarov’s terrific penalty-killing tandem.
The greatest goals scored by the Green Unit

Gillies-Trottier-Bossy (New York Islanders)

Trio Grande. A personal favourite of the North American lines, not sure why. Despite one player being clearly inferior to the other two, it was still in other ways a well-balanced forward line; Bossy was one of the greatest goal-scorers of all-time and a pure ‘finesse player’, Trottier a physical two-way player and playmaker, and Gillies a huge physical presence who could also put the puck in the net and pass it too when needed. Obviously they got great help from Denis Potvin also. Their success in the NHL and contribution to 4 Stanley Cups needs no further introduction, but they also had some strong and productive international performances, like the 1981 Canada Cup (despite the disastrous final for the team), and the first two games of the Challenge Cup (basically Team Canada vs USSR).

Shutt-Lemaire-Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens)

Dynasty Line. I guess this version of the Habs’ top line of the mid-/late 1970s was the best rather than the one with Pete Mahovlich instead of Lemaire? Lafleur was the obvious superstar offensive dynamo, Lemaire a speedy two-way center with also reputation of timely goal-scoring and Shutt - forgive me the term - a pure goal-scorer. Very fun to watch (much thanks to Lafleur), and I guess mostly they could pretty much concentrate on the attack, with players like Robinson and Savard, or Lapointe, on defence.

Kharlamov-Petrov-Mikhailov (CSKA Moscow, USSR)

The KLM of the seventies. All in all, played about 11 years together. Mikhailov, Kharlamov and Petrov hold the number one, two and four spots, respectively, in the World championship scoring. Kharlamov was the biggest talent who could make devastating plays and score devastating goals, Petrov a strong two-way center with big slapshot and good passing skills, and Mikhailov the most productive goal-scorer with also a physical side (and sometimes downright nastiness) to his game. They never had a top notch defensive pairing who played behind them on the national team year after year (Vasiliev-Gusev was probably the longest-serving one). Somewhat unfortunately, the trio didn’t play together in the 1972 Summit Series, except for a few power plays. In the 1975-76 Super Series vs NHL teams, they played (very productively, I might add) in the first two games vs the Rangers and the Canadiens, but the last two games against the Bruins and the Flyers was with Maltsev at centre. In the 1979 Challenge Cup, Kharlamov was injured already in the first game. None of them played in the 1976 Canada Cup. This is probably why they are not quite as famous in North America as in Russia/Europe. Petrov and Mikhailov were also heavily used penalty killers.
Kharlamov - Petrov - Mikhailov

Leach-Clarke-Barber (Philadelphia Flyers)

LCB line. According to Clarke, at one time Scotty Bowman considered this the best line in the world (around 1975?). In any case, while Leach and Barber were not exactly slouches, I think it is fair to say that the greatness of this line rested fairly heavily on Bobby Clarke’s shoulder. He was not only the top defensive player but also the top offensive player (though actually the weakest goal-scorer) of the line; quite a rare feat. Leach’s main contribution was his scoring, Barber had some versatility. In addition to their work in the NHL, they also played in the 1976 Canada Cup; overall, their performance was a disappointment in the tournament, but the line still deserves some credit for their timely scoring in the important round robin game against the Soviet Union and in the 2nd game of the final against Czechoslovakia. The line had a big performance against CSKA in 1976 too.

Lindsay-Abel-Howe (Detroit Red Wings)

Production line. This was the best version of the line, right? I’d say on paper and the most dominant at least. In any case, it is the wingers who mostly made any version of the line legendary. Howe was obviously the best player and at least eventually the best goal-scorer as well as playmaker of the line. Well, the best at about everything. Abel, as the clear senior of the trio, probably had an important nurturing role in the beginning and was occasionally even the best performer of the three, and Lindsay was a small but nasty instigator with good goal-scoring and playmaking skills. Skill mixed with toughness, old-time hockey, yeah!

Hodge-Esposito-Cashman (Boston Bruins)

The Intro Line (one of the nicknames anyway). Not among my favourite lines of all-time per se, as they represented the ‘dump and chase’ hockey too much for my liking, and it also has to be one of the worst-skating and slowest top lines ever, but one cannot dismiss their very high productivity in the early 1970s. Cashman was one of the best ‘cornermen’ ever, feeding Esposito, who was possibly the best slot man in the history of hockey. Esposito might also be somewhat underrated as a passer/playmaker. Hodge and his role on the line is somewhat more obscure for me, but he was a big man who at least occasionally used his size to his and his team’s advantage and could both score and set up goals pretty well. Bobby Orr’s big influence on this line cannot be forgotten either. Esposito and Cashman did not only show their power in the NHL but also the Soviets had problems with their mastery of dump and chase and physicality in the 1972 series (games 2 and 3).

Lemieux-Francis-Jagr (Pittsburgh Penguins)

They didn’t play very long together, and didn’t even win a cup, but Lemieux and Jagr (and to lesser extent, Francis) on the same NHL line had to warrant a place on the list (I also considered the Stevens-Lemieux-Jagr line, but Jagr wasn’t quite a superstar yet back then). Lemieux and Jagr are among the best scorers and players of all-time, while Francis added some defensive game to the line, with good playmaking too. Despite the big size of all three players, the line didn’t appear to be overly physical, but it’s not like they could be bullied either. I think they might have had the biggest scoring potential of any line ever, but unfortunately their time together was fairly short.

Blake-Lach-Richard (Montreal Canadiens)

Punch Line. Shined and dominated the scoring during/a few years after WWII. Richard was the superstar and one of the greatest goal-scorers and one of the most dangerous players from the blueline in ever. Lach was a tough and hard-working playmaker who won the scoring title twice, and Blake completed the line with also prolific scoring, strong playoff performances and leadership qualities. Blake's injury ended the line's dominance in 1948.


Sorry for the possibly somewhat superficial characterizations of some players and/or their roles at times. You can’t always get everything right.

I also thought about e.g. G-A-G line, French Connection, (Punch line), Kraut line, Winnipeg Jets’ Hot Line (or at least some line with Bobby Hull), and whether players like Crosby, Ovechkin, Béliveau, to name a few, and any of their lines could be included. I considered some of the legendary Czechoslovak lines, like B. Stastny-Novak-Martinec, and some other European lines, but it would have been a bit of a stretch to include them in the top 10. Possibly I favoured the 1970s/1980s too much.

Suggestions, links to highlights, whatnot?

List is not complete without Hull - Nilsson - Hedberg

 

[Reindl87]

Well, I know no one will agree with this and they actually only played together for like 20 games. But the way Morozov-Lemieux-Kovalev started off the 2003 seson at the height of the dead puck era on a garbage Team was simply pure Magic. They deserve to be mentioned.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

What was Roenick’s big line in Chicago? Did he have Steve Thomas on the line? Michael Goulet was past his prime in Chicago so if he was on that line then I say forget it.

Pretty sure it was Goulet - Roenick - Larmer for 3 of Roenick's big 4 years in Chicago, and then after Larmer went to NYR, I think it was Joe Murphy who filled in at RW for that 4th year.

Roenick had a couple more years with the Hawks, but battled injuries. I believe Tony Amonte was a regular linemate of his during that time, but can't remember who else.

I think Thomas was Roenick's linemate for one season before Savard was traded.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Personal favorites include the French Connection (Perreault/Martin/Robert), GAG Line (Ratelle/Hadfield/Gilbert), the three Stastny brothers, and Bobby Hull/Nilsson/Hedberg.

From the WHA Jets:

Hull-Nilsson-Hedberg

List is not complete without Hull - Nilsson - Hedberg

Have to agree. Hull often stated that Hedberg and Nilsson were the best linemates he ever had.

 

[streitz]

Best I've seen.


Gretzky/Kurri/Tikkanen - Nothing more needs to be said
Bossy/Gillies/Trottier - Ditto


Probably more I can't remember.

Hard to rate the soviet lines since I only saw them play a handful of games.
HM
Larmer/Savard/Secord - Very similar in structure to the Isles top line, rest of the Hawks team didn't measure up though.
Propp/Poulin/Kerr was good aswell, if they had a better center this would be in the tier above for sure.
Jets 80's
Maclean/Hawerchuk/Mullen(the other Mullen, the one who handled the puck like a grenade) Pretty solid to complete with Gretzky and co.


I was a bit young for the triple crown, ditto for all the old 70's lines brought up on the thread. Before my time.