Mailbag: Best top line among playoff teams; Maple Leafs GM search
NHL.com's Dan Rosen answers weekly questions
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Who has the best top line of the remaining playoff teams? -- @briantodd34
Great question. Here is the list of the top lines remaining.
Boston Bruins: Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Tampa Bay Lightning: J.T. Miller -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Pittsburgh Penguins: Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Patric Hornqvist
Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Vegas Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
San Jose Sharks: Evander Kane -- Chris Tierney -- Joe Pavelski
Nashville Predators: Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Winnipeg Jets: Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler or Nikolaj Ehlers -- Paul Stastny -- Patrik Laine
And you want me to pick the best from that group? That's tough, but I'll give it my best shot.
I'll take Boston's Bergeron line because if you match it against any of the other top lines it is the one that I think has the best chance to shut down the opposition and produce enough on offense to make the difference in the game. That's not to say the others can't play that way too, but Bergeron's line always will get the hardest assignment. When the Bruins are at home, coach Bruce Cassidy will match it against the opposition's top line, so expect to see it go up against Stamkos, Kucherov and Miller in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at TD Garden on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS). When they're on the road, the opposition will match its best shutdown line against them. That only will work sometimes, which the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Lightning have found out.
The way Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak are clicking now is remarkable. They have combined for 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) through nine games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They are three of the top seven scorers in the playoffs, with Pastrnak second at 18 points (five goals, 13 assists), one behind Guentzel (eight goals, 11 assists).
I'll go to Winnipeg for my second choice, but I'm not sure which line is the top line. They're both so good. If someone came at me with an argument that Crosby's line is the best top line in the playoffs, I'd listen. Crosby, who has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) is the best player.
Rasmus Dahlin will instantly be a top-two defenseman, but to assist him and Rasmus Ristolainen, do the Buffalo Sabres need to attract another top-four 'D' to be competitive or do you think they should address their woeful scoring outside of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Ryan O'Reilly? -- @abolton29
All of the above, and maybe toss in a goalie too. The Sabres have to figure out that position.
Selecting Dahlin with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft should, in theory (and I say that only because we haven't seen him in the NHL yet), make the Sabres defense corps look better than it has, with Dahlin, Ristolainen, Marco Scandella, Jake McCabe, Zach Bogosian, Nathan Beaulieu and Victor Antipin. All of them might not be in Buffalo for training camp. There could be trades.
Brendan Guhle
will push for a roster spot too. The Sabres should try to acquire another proven top-six defenseman. That doesn't mean go big and push for John Carlson of the Washington Capitals, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Drafting Dahlin means they don't have to break the bank to get Carlson. Ian Cole of the Columbus Blue Jackets would be an ideal fit because he's experienced, he's won, he plays hard minutes, is good on the penalty kill and will keep others accountable. He can become a UFA on July 1.
Casey Mittelstadt will have some pressure to be a reliable scorer as a rookie forward next season, and maybe the Sabres finally will get to see forward
Alexander Nylander
, the No. 8 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, in the NHL. The Sabres were last in the League with 198 goals this season. They should try to find scoring help on the wing, a player who is going to go to the net. How would James van Riemsdyk of the Toronto Maple Leafs look in Buffalo, playing alongside Eichel? I'm not saying it'll happen, but it could because van Riemsdyk can become a UFA on July 1. Forwards David Perron or James Neal, each with the Vegas Golden Knights and each a pending UFA, could be worth it too.
What moves do you anticipate the St. Louis Blues making this summer? -- @matt\winthrop
The Blues need to address their center depth. Brayden Schenn is their only proven top-six center. They're one of 31 teams who would love to have John Tavares, the New York Islanders center who can become a UFA on July 1, but they're one of a far fewer number of teams that might have the NHL salary cap space to sign him. That's the dream of course. Either way the Blues have to address the position if they want to be competitive next season. They can't rely on Robby Fabbri being an impact player right away coming off back-to-back ACL surgeries. They have some younger players who could push, Tage Thompson, who played 41 games as a rookie this season, and
Robert Thomas
, the No. 20 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft. But who knows if they're ready for bigger roles? This is a big offseason for Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. Missing the playoffs once is not the end of the world. He has to put together a team that can be consistently good and get back in next season. It won't work without getting better down the middle.
Who do you think the New York Rangers should take with the ninth overall pick? -- @thebige20
One thing I'm not is a draft expert, but we have three of those on our staff, Mike G. Morreale, Adam Kimelman and Guillaume Lepage. Check out their
mock draft
here.
Mock drafts don't account for potential trades, and I think the Rangers could be in line to do something big around the draft that could involve the No. 9 pick. As much as they talk about a rebuild, and it is something they're clearly pursuing, they now also have the salary cap space to make a major addition either via trade or a free-agent signing. If it's a trade and it's a blockbuster (Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson?), you'd have to think the No. 9 pick will be in play.
The Rangers also have two other picks in the first round, the ones belonging to the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. New York also had two first-round picks last season and used them on centers Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil. The Rangers acquired top defenseman prospects Libor Hajek from the Lightning and Ryan Lindgren from the Bruins in trades. Those acquisitions will allow general manager Jeff Gorton to entertain trading the No. 9 pick for help on the NHL roster right now.
Do you see Lou Lamoriello taking a position with the New York Islanders? -- @b\sendek95
From what I know of Lamoriello, 75, sitting back and watching as a senior adviser, his new role with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is not his M.O. Lamoriello enjoys being involved. He enjoys having his hands in the game. He proved in the past three years as general manager of the Maple Leafs that he can work successfully as part of a management team, but he wants some control. That's why he took the job less than three months after he was removed as New Jersey Devils GM three years ago. The Devils kept him on as president, but Lamoriello had other plans. He might now too.
The Islanders would be an interesting fit because he has ties to the organization. He knows general manager Garth Snow well and has a good relationship with him. His son, Chris Lamoriello, is assistant general manager. Chris Terreri, who played and worked under Lamoriello in New Jersey, is their goaltending development coach. Former Devils center Scott Gomez is one of the Islanders assistant coaches.
The Islanders would have to get permission from the Maple Leafs to talk to Lamoriello because he is under contract.
Do the Maple Leafs go with Mark Hunter for general manager to give Kyle Dubas more time to learn? Or go with Dubas now? -- @BSalts15
There are two ways to look at this, and that's without considering the option that the Maple Leafs go outside of the organization for Lamoriello's replacement as GM, which president Brendan Shanahan acknowledged as a possibility. It seems unlikely, but it can't be ruled out entirely.
Hunter, 55, has been around the game a long time as a player who had an extended NHL career, a successful coach and executive in the Ontario Hockey League, and now a successful executive in Toronto. He has led Toronto's draft and player development, and it's hard to argue with his results. He has experience and respect and would be a solid choice.
Dubas, 31, is fascinating. He's a forward thinker who has been ahead of the curve in some areas of the game, including being at the forefront of the push for more data-driven player and systems analysis. He runs Toronto's farm system and its analytics department. The Maple Leafs wouldn't let him talk to the Colorado Avalanche last season when they inquired about interviewing him for a personnel position. That shows how much they value Dubas.
I think either would be a fine choice. Hunter might be looked at around the NHL as the safer choice, especially if he has the backing of coach Mike Babcock. That's unclear. But if the Maple Leafs don't give the GM job to Dubas now, how much longer will he stay patient? He is a clear up-and-comer and Toronto obviously values him. If not now, when? That's the question. I don't have that answer.
