Becher's Bytes: The best nicknames for Sharks lines… so far

From the first season of the NHL in 1917, the forward line of a center, right-wing, and left-wing have occasionally been assigned colorful nicknames. In that inaugural season, the Montreal Canadiens trio of Jack Laviolette, Didier Pitre, and Edouard Charles Lalonde played with so much speed and finesses that English sportswriters dubbed them The Flying Frenchmen Line. 

Over the years, the San Jose Sharks have also had many forward lines which warranted memorable nicknames. Here are some of my favorites: 

OV Line: The OV Line refers to Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, and Johan Garpenlov who played together in 1993-94 during the Sharks first season in SAP Center. Chosen because all their last names ended with the letters ‘ov’, this line lead the Sharks on a playoff run for the ages.

Burger Line: In the 2005-06 season, Randy Hahn ran an online poll to name the Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, and Patrick Marleau line. Based on the nicknames Jumbo, Heater, & Patty, the name Burger Line won. When defensemen Dan Boyle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic were also on the ice, the five of them were dubbed “Boiled Jumbo Heated Patty with Pickles."

Helicopter Line: The line of Joe Pavelski, Kyle Wellwood, and Torrey Mitchell earned this nickname during the 2011-12 season. As opposed to an airplane, a helicopter has no wings. Analogously, this line had no career left or right wing as each had predominately played their career as a center.

Nin-Joes Line: The 2016 Thorton-Pavelski-Hertl “super line” never really had a nickname that caught on. As he got older, Hertl’s nickname evolved from Teenage Mutant Ninja Hertl to just Ninja so a line with him and two Joes might go by Nin-Joes. With Captain America as Pavelski’s nickname and Thorton’s larger-than-life personality, the Teal Avengers might have been a good name as well.

Given one of the most common words used to describe the 2025-26 San Jose Sharks is ‘fun’, the current Sharks seem ripe for some line nicknames: 

Sleepover Line: Stemming from the viral event last season, Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, and Will Smith form the sleepover line. When Celebrini, Toffoli, and Smith all scored in the same game against the Buffalo Sabres, Toffoli spent the night in the same hotel room as the two rookies.

That 70s Line: When Celebrini, William Eklund, and Toffoli are on a line together, it’s natural to refer to it as that 70s line since all three of the players have a jersey number in the 70s (71, 72, 73). Mixing in either Ryan Reaves (75) or Michael Misa (77) preserves the nickname.

GOR Line: The hardworking and punishing line of Barclay Goodrow, Zack Ostapchuk, and Ryan Reaves might be referred to as the GOR line based on the first letter of their last names and they inflict a bit of gore on the competition.

Mass Line: Adam Gaudette, Collin Graf, and Will Smith were all born in Massachusetts, leading to this obvious nickname for the line. A few fans have pointed out this it too generic and suggested we call it the MASS-WAC line, with the last three letters stemming from the first letters of their first names.

WillMackCo: This is likely going to be the most controversial take. Everyone already refers to Smith and Celebrini as WillMack and there have been online suggestions that a line with Graf and the two of them should be called GrillMack. However, that doesn’t work on so many levels, and by internal popular vote, this line is nicknamed WillMackCo. I don’t make the rules (or maybe I do?).

Have fun suggesting your own nicknames for any of these lines or others you may dream up as an armchair NHL coach.