Line Combos: Your 2024-25 Opening Night Lineup

[LightningStrikes]

It seems like we’re done signing players or doing trades for now. Training camp is still to come but it’s summer now so have at it: What’s your lineup for opening night?

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[Stammertime91]

Guentzel - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Atkinson
Sheary - Paul - Chaffee
Girgensons - Glendening - Eyssimont

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Cernak (what a sight this will be)
Moser - Perbix
Lilleberg


2/3RW are wide open if someone can impress at camp. I like Chaffee more than others but I'm not sold at the moment he's anything more than a 4th liner. The lack of RW's is concerning so interchanging that entire side is a crapshoot. It wouldn't surprise me if we stack three rats on a line to piss people off and even try Eyssimont on the second line.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Guentzel - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Atkinson
Sheary - Paul - Chaffee
Girgensons - Glendening - Eyssimont

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Cernak (what a sight this will be)
Moser - Perbix
Lilleberg


2/3RW are wide open if someone can impress at camp. I like Chaffee more than others but I'm not sold at the moment he's anything more than a 4th liner. The lack of RW's is concerning so interchanging that entire side is a crapshoot. It wouldn't surprise me if we stack three rats on a line to piss people off and even try Eyssimont on the second line.

Flip Chaffee and Eyssimont. Chaffee was horrific on the 3rd line to end last year.

Would love for a kid (Goncalves or Duke specifically) to steal a spot and force us to waive Sheary

 

[Renopucker]

Flip Chaffee and Eyssimont. Chaffee was horrific on the 3rd line to end last year.

Would love for a kid (Goncalves or Duke specifically) to steal a spot and force us to waive Sheary

You know, with the exception of Sheary, I really like that FWD group, and the D is substantially improved with Moser and Mcd.. Cirelli's got 2 puckdogs on his wings. Their 5v5 should be stellar. Finally, I think Atkinson is gonna surprise us.

 

[Maelmoor]

For most, it feels quite settled. First line is obvious, we have the pieces for a great fourth line and guys like Hagel, Cirelli and Paul have their spots. Obviously the much talked 2nd line RW spot is up in the a air and also who will slot in on the third line with Paul, maybe Ylönen can take a place there.

As for the defense, Hedman, McD, Cernak and Moser is a really good top 4 and then we have Raddysh who can play with Hedman and hopefully keep up from last season. Perbix, Lilleberg and
Crozier will be fighting for 6-8 d positions.

 

[Stelio Kontos]

Paul - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Guentzel
Eyssimont - Geekie - Atkinson
Girgensons - Glen - Chaffee

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Cernak
Moser - Perbix

 

[Renopucker]

Paul - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Guentzel
Eyssimont - Geekie - Atkinson
Girgensons - Glen - Chaffee

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Cernak
Moser - Perbix

Interesting F lineup. Certainly food for thought there.

 

[BoltSTH]

Paul - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Guentzel
Eyssimont - Geekie - Atkinson
Girgensons - Glen - Chaffee

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Cernak
Moser - Perbix

Any lineup that does not have Sheary on it is off to a very good start. I would like to see Moser get a chance to play with Hedman, but Cooper would never let that happen.

 

[Stammertime91]

Any lineup that does not have Sheary on it is off to a very good start. I would like to see Moser get a chance to play with Hedman, but Cooper would never let that happen.

It is, but it's either because of a trade or we are carrying a 2M 13th forward. Kinda is meh.

 

[OffBy1]

Paul - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Guentzel
Eyssimont - Geekie - Atkinson
Girgensons - Glen - Chaffee

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Cernak
Moser - Perbix

The first two lines look great to me, but at the expense of the third line. I wouldn't expect that third line to be very effective at stopping other team's scoring lines.

I wouldn't get too excited about Atkinson after reading this review of his last year:

Is Flyers winger Cam Atkinson done in the NHL?

A rough year might have spelled the end of Cam Atkinson’s Flyers and NHL career in his age-34 season.

www.broadstreethockey.com

I'm going to assume he'll be an in and out of the lineup fourth liner at best.

I think the best thing that could happen for our forward group is if Geekie was actually capable of playing the 2C. Then we'd have similar to the above:

Paul - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Geekie - Guentzel
Sheary - Cirelli - Eyssimont
Gigensons - Glendenning - Chaffee
Atkinson

I think this would be better because Hagel and Guenztel as wings should help should compensate for a rookie center, and Cirelli is a great third line center (ideally Sheary is replaced with an effective third line winger from the farm).

It seems like the earliest this fantasy of mine could happen is the 2nd half of the season, assuming Geekie does great in the preseason to win a spot on the third line and forces his way up to the 2nd by playing well the first half. I can dream about it anyway until the preseason comes and goes and he's not even on the team.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Hagel - Point - Kuch
Sheary - Cirelli - Guentzel
Atkinson - Paul - Essyimont
Girgenson - Glendenning - Chaffee

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Perbix
Moser - Cernak

Vasy

At the beginning of the season, we have to see if Guentzel can drag the lifeless corpse of Sheary back to 15g -30p guy he normally was. Also maybe he can get Cirelli to be that 20g - 50p 2C again but not take the whole season to get there. Sheary can only play his way down the line up this season to a buy out or trade. He's not touching the first line, start him on the second, give him every opportunity to sink or swim.

Not having Cernak eat more minutes and get injured for 1/4 to half the season is a must. Less minutes with Moser and split the shut down lines with both McDonagh and Cernak on separate lines. Moser has an offensive touch, so it still adds some possible finish for the 3rd paring.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Hagel - Point - Kuch
Sheary - Cirelli - Guentzel
Atkinson - Paul - Essyimont
Girgenson - Glendenning - Chaffee

Hedman - Raddysh
McDonagh - Perbix
Moser - Cernak

Vasy

At the beginning of the season, we have to see if Guentzel can drag the lifeless corpse of Sheary back to 15g -30p guy he normally was. Also maybe he can get Cirelli to be that 20g - 50p 2C again but not take the whole season to get there. Sheary can only play his way down the line up this season to a buy out or trade. He's not touching the first line, start him on the second, give him every opportunity to sink or swim.

Not having Cernak eat more minutes and get injured for 1/4 to half the season is a must. Less minutes with Moser and split the shut down lines with both McDonagh and Cernak on separate lines. Moser has an offensive touch, so it still adds some possible finish for the 3rd paring.

The D pairings look good other than Perbix. Just not a fan of his game after what I saw all of last year. Since we're not in the dressing room, hard to know if the coaches are oblivious to his weaknesses or if they're well aware, and Perbix just doesn't listen or is inept due to his skating/hockey IQ issues.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

The D pairings look good other than Perbix. Just not a fan of his game after what I saw all of last year. Since we're not in the dressing room, hard to know if the coaches are oblivious to his weaknesses or if they're well aware, and Perbix just doesn't listen or is inept due to his skating/hockey IQ issues.

The hope is McDonagh is his teacher. Honestly there is no better teacher for young defensemen on the Team. McDonagh isn't a world breaker, he was always smart, read the game and the flow well. I think Perbix is the perfect person to pass that on someone like Perbix, Lilleberg, or Crozier.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I keep forgetting that we have Geekie. This offseason has been too long. Would be interesting to see him getting a shot in the middle 6 to start the season, and then down to the Crunch if he isn't ready. Goncalves will certainly be up, as he isn't waivers exempt anymore.

 

[Stammertime91]

The D pairings look good other than Perbix. Just not a fan of his game after what I saw all of last year. Since we're not in the dressing room, hard to know if the coaches are oblivious to his weaknesses or if they're well aware, and Perbix just doesn't listen or is inept due to his skating/hockey IQ issues.

The positive is that he can't get much worse without being replaced. Crozier showed he can step in. Whether he struggles as well is another case, but at least there's a few options. I hope Perbix gets it together, but watching those zone exits and passes with little to no pressure haunts me. Fortunately, that's a mental aspect that can be ironed out.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

The positive is that he can't get much worse without being replaced. Crozier showed he can step in. Whether he struggles as well is another case, but at least there's a few options. I hope Perbix gets it together, but watching those zone exits and passes with little to no pressure haunts me. Fortunately, that's a mental aspect that can be ironed out.

Hopefully Cooper has the balls to scratch him or tell BriseBois to get him off the roster if he plays like shit again.

I just hate Perbix because of his skating and lack of hockey IQ with the puck that we saw this past season

 

[Stammertime91]

Hopefully Cooper has the balls to scratch him or tell BriseBois to get him off the roster if he plays like shit again.

I just hate Perbix because of his skating and lack of hockey IQ with the puck that we saw this past season

Yeah, he's not the smartest. He's also charmin soft for good stretches as well.

 

[These Are The Days]

A lot of Perbix's worst play came with Sergachev. I'm not trying to kick the dude after putting in so many years of service to us. I'm trying to say that there's a reason he is no longer with us. Sergachev was a death sentence for anyone who wasn’t a bonafide top 4 D who knew exactly what he was doing at all times

 

[Outl4w]

I keep forgetting that we have Geekie. This offseason has been too long. Would be interesting to see him getting a shot in the middle 6 to start the season, and then down to the Crunch if he isn't ready. Goncalves will certainly be up, as he isn't waivers exempt anymore.

I'm hoping geekie pushes sheary or atkinson out of lineup .

 

[NatoGhost]

The D pairings look good other than Perbix. Just not a fan of his game after what I saw all of last year. Since we're not in the dressing room, hard to know if the coaches are oblivious to his weaknesses or if they're well aware, and Perbix just doesn't listen or is inept due to his skating/hockey IQ issues.

2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning Player Reviews: Nick Perbix

He’s always calm. He’s usually in position. And he’s better than you think he is. He is…Nick Perbix

www.rawcharge.com

I'll buy it and hope for a good year. He didn't seem great last year, but not as bad as fans make out to me.

 

[Crunchrulz]

2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning Player Reviews: Nick Perbix

He’s always calm. He’s usually in position. And he’s better than you think he is. He is…Nick Perbix

www.rawcharge.com

I'll buy it and hope for a good year. He didn't seem great last year, but not as bad as fans make out to me.

In a world of numbers, fans can forget the value of the players who do not put them up, but instead enable more talented teammates to score points while they keep an eye on their own end of the ice and primary responsibilities that fall within their talent level.

 

[Sky04]

2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning Player Reviews: Nick Perbix

He’s always calm. He’s usually in position. And he’s better than you think he is. He is…Nick Perbix

www.rawcharge.com

Perbix is fine and one of our better value contracts, honestly sounds dumb criticizing him unsubstantiated. His play picked up significantly towards the end of the season, he was playing over 19mins a night at 1M.

 

[Stammertime91]

2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning Player Reviews: Nick Perbix

He’s always calm. He’s usually in position. And he’s better than you think he is. He is…Nick Perbix

www.rawcharge.com

I'll buy it and hope for a good year. He didn't seem great last year, but not as bad as fans make out to me.

His play against the Panthers was a defensive dumpster fire. Constantly slapping the puck around and giving it up to avoid being hit. IIRC he was injured? Still, he had a sophomore season to forget. He can't really get much worse without being replaced by someone cheaper like Crozier. We don't need a world beater #6 but if he could rebound and settle somewhere in the middle of what we've seen, it'll be better than this last season. Playoffs were brutal. Him and Dumba turning the puck over relentlessly had me fuming.

 

[RLP55]

I’m with S91.

I like Chaffee and Eyssimont. Just even incremental growth in their games, the the bottom six is in better shape. We disagree on Perbix. His problem, in particular against the panthers was too much ice time. Need to keep him around 14-15 TOI. Dude was +8 on a hot mess defense.

Willing to give Atkinson a shot. But Sheary and Glendening need to go. Understand the the forum's ‘displeasure’ with Sheary. All valid. But Glendening struck me as useless, at any price.

Need younger and more productivity. As stated above Chaffee and Essyimont are a good start. The little I saw of Geekie in 3v3, he’s not ready.

My secret crush ( no pun intended ) Actually got 2, Groshev and Huutahnen.

 

[Sky04]

Gledenning "needs to go" lol