Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The argument for 3 scoring lines

At some point later, I'll go into my history as a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, my time with the Jacket Backers booster club, and what my plans are for the blog, but today I have something far more important to talk about. CBJ head coach Scott Arniel has been considering the idea of using 3 scoring lines and a single checking line. The concern that some folks have is whether or not the Jackets have the skill to actually make this work.


What I wonder is not if we don't have enough talent, because I believe we do. Rather, I wonder if Coach Arniel is willing to take this kind of risk and make this kind of statement in the first year of his first NHL coaching job. 


If you look at the roster, it's really the flexibility of the players that makes this kind of discussion even possible. The teams best player, Rick Nash, can play either left or right wing. Ostensibly, this would mean either Christian Huselius or Jake Voracek could be paired with Nash to flank Antoine Vermette. 


One of last years top six fowards, RJ Umberger is defensively sound and can play any position on the 3 forward position. His presence would give legitimacy to a 3rd scoring line, and allow Nikita Filatov the space to get top 6 minutes. This is important because Filatov is still learning to play the defensive aspects of the game at the pro level, and isn't a strong fit on a 3rd line, where he wouldn't likely see fewer minutes and be required to be a bit more defensively responsible.


The drawback to 3 scoring lines is mostly one of finance or depth. Do they waive one of their experienced players and pay him (perhaps Chris Clark) if he's not picked up? Do they risk losing one of their potential younger checking line players (Blunden) on waivers? I say either way it's worth the risk to ice a potentially more offensively potent lineup. Especially as it allows Arniel to include players that likely have a skill set that better matches the system he wishes to run.


My proposal would lead to a lineup something like the following:


Huselius-Vermette-Nash
Filatov-Brassard-Voracek
Moreau-Umberger/Pahlsson-Kubalik/Umberger
Clark-Pahlsson-Boll/Dorsett/Blunden


I'm not one against having a heavy in the lineup, but the Red Wings and others usually do without, and we have a team with enough toughness that it should be able to stick up for itself on the night Boll isnt there.