Line Rotation The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

After the Pittsburgh Penguins lost tonight versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, there are many fans questioning the merits of constantly shuffling lines from one game to the next. Especially after coming off a winning streak that included a shutout.

There are two camps concerning the merits of regular line rotation, those who live by it and those who are vehemently opposed to it. I will examine the pros and cons of this philosophy and in the end give my personal take on it.

The Good:

Regular shuffling of the pack, can shake up a team when in a slump. You promote players who have been working hard up to a higher line and demote a player to a lower line to motivate them to improve their play. If this psychological motivation works, it should result in all players working harder.

Having most players getting a taste of playing with each other enables you to throw any combination out onto the ice and they will have some semblance of chemistry together and makes adjustments easier when injuries occur.

Line shuffling enables the coach to adjust his lines to match the needs for each specific game. So, if your top line needs a little more size for a particular game, you can throw a checking line player with some scoring ability onto it.

Finally, line shuffling will keep the opposition guessing as to what combinations they are going to have to defend against and how to plan ahead to defend it.

The Bad:

Constant line shuffling can be counter productive to building team chemistry; sometimes players need more than a couple of games to gel.

Shuffling lines can result in players that are on a hot streak going cold, because of a lack of continuity. It can also be very demoralizing for a player who is playing well to be demoted for the sake of shaking up other players.

If everyone is kept on the same lines for the majority of the games, not only does it build continuity, but it also doesn't ask anyone to play in situations they are not normally comfortable with.

You shouldn't shuffle lines if it's going to result in asking players to do things that doesn't play to their talents, especially if it results in a one way offensive talent, being asked to take a defensive role on a checking line.

The Ugly:

Michael Therrien the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins is a huge advocate of line shuffling, but his decision to dramatically shuffle his lines on Thursday, was a poor one.

The penguins were carrying a winning streak into the game and a shutout against the New York Rangers in their most recent game. This was not the time to have a complete overhaul of the lines. It was also not in the best interest of the team to ask Petr Sykora one of the Penguins most offensive stars to play a third line checking role.

The result of this line tinkering, was a disjointed team effort that included a -3 for Sykora and a humiliating 5-2 loss to the Leafs. Not only did it not produce the extra offense wanted, it also ended any chance of the Penguins building on their nice little winning streak.

My View:

Line shuffling should have a place in every coach's strategy book. However, there is a time and a place to use it. It should not be used when a team is on a winning streak, just to try and tweak a little more offense out of a team that is already winning and should never result in asking an offensive star to play a checking role, when that player shouldn't be anywhere near a checking line.

Are The Rangers Down and Out?

The New York Rangers made the biggest splash in free agency, by signing premier free agents Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to a combined whopping $86.75 million. The problem is the Rangers have won only 2 out of their 8 games and only scored 13 goals in the process.

There is a complete lack of chemistry on this team and the constant line shuffling isn't helping the situation either. How can a team that was predicted to win the Atlantic and challenge for the Stanley Cup have such a horrible start?

Well, I'm here to speculate as to why the Rangers are so bad and who is to blame...

The simplest answer is the top two lines are just not gelling and the constant line juggling, is being counter productive to building any chemistry between the players. There is the suggestion that line shuffling is done to jump start the players, but I don't buy into that theory. I believe players who haven't played together before, need to be given more than one game together to try and build chemistry.

The sub-par performance of Jaromir Jagr is a huge part of the Rangers' dismal start. If Jagr isn't firing on all cylinders then the Rangers' offense is greatly weakened.

There was much heated debate whether the Rangers were wrong to let Michael Nylander leave via free agency and now it is looking like it might have been the wrong decision.

Jaromir Jagr is a prima donna and he openly criticized the decision to not re-sign Nylander. There is a reason teams have always catered to Jagr's demands, to have his friends like Kip Miller signed. The reason teams have given into Jagr's demands is, an unhappy Jagr can be a cancer in the locker room, but a happy Jagr can be one of the best players in the NHL.

Glen Sather's career, seems to have followed a very troubling pattern. Sather has had his greatest success while working with a limited budget, but when he has money to burn, he just cannot put a winning team together.

While with the Edmonton Oilers he couldn't put a foot wrong, because he didn't have the spending power to sign anyone he wanted. But when he first took over the Rangers he signed big name free agents and shelled out big contract and it blew up in his face.

Then came Sather's saving grace, the lockout which produced the salary cap. The first two years post lockout, Sather had a tight budget and had to work his magic to put together a winning team and did so successfully. However, this year he had money to burn and boy did he spend it and spend it big. The troubling thing for Rangers' fans is yet again it's looking like big names and big money can't bring the Rangers a winning team.

The Rangers' defense was pinpointed as their main weakness going into the season. They were called soft and lacking in top 4 talent. However, their defense has been very good this year, having only given up 17 goals, which is good enough for sixth in the NHL.

The play of Henrik Lundqvist has been stellar and he truly is one of the best goalies in the league. The Rangers' forwards, should be embarrassed that they are wasting the efforts of such a talented goalie.

So the question is, is this just a blip on a long season or are they going to continue this play and miss the playoffs altogether?

The Rangers have far too much talent and their defense is playing too well with Lundqvist standing on his head, for them to not to right the boat and make the playoffs.

The one thing I don't see happening anymore, is the Rangers winning the Atlantic. The Pittsburgh Penguins started slow but look to be the cream of the crop in the Atlantic and the Flyers are off to a hot start also. The Rangers are going to have a tough time beating out both these teams to win the division.

The Calder is Calling Early!

It may be early, but boy did I get one of my predictions oh so wrong. I had Brett Sterling winning the Calder Trophy while playing with Ilya Kovalchuk. Well, Sterling is no longer playing with Kovalchuk and so far isn't even showing he's worth a roster spot.

I call a mulligan on this one and have to jump on the bandwagon of two sensational rookies in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. To say they have been good is an understatement, their play this year has simply been phenomenal.

They are only teenagers, but they are fast forwarding the Chicago Blackhawks into a new era. These kids aren't just playing a regular shift , they are running the powerplay and playing over 18 minutes a night and scoring at a rate of over a point a game.

The Blackhawks organization and fans must be rubbing their hands with glee over these two kids, because if they build around these two players, the sky's the limit.

So down to the nitty gritty, who do I think will win the Calder Trophy now I've had a chance to see all the rookies play?

The answer is... Jonathan Toews. The kid is just sensational, he is a future team captain, who's defensive game is only surpassed by his offensive potential. His stickhandling while at top speed is just plain sick, right up there with the best in the league.

I'd be the first to admit I wasn't sure how good this kid would be, but he sure has made a believer of me. If you have any doubt that Toews will win the Calder you only have to look at his goal against the Colorado Avalanche and marvel at this sure fire goal of the year.