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The 2017-18 NHL season is basically 1/5th over. The Hawks are essentially a .500 team. And per reports out of practice this AM, not surprisingly, the line blender has been set to 11.
Ahhhh well.
Before getting into whether this (any) juggling is ultimately the optimal course of action—versus, say, firing up the Rockford Shuttle or making a trade, let’s examine these lines.
The new top line:
Patrick Sharp–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Not only has Joel Quenneville pulled out his favorite, and most often used, kitchen appliance, he’s also gone into the Way Back Machine with this one.
There were times, in the latter part of the previous decade and the early parts of the present one, where 10-19-88 was the “nuclear option,” how Q would load up late in regular season games or in the playoffs.
But Sharp’s decline over the last 2-3 seasons has been pretty obvious, never more so than this year. And Toews and Kane haven’t had much chemistry when together the last couple of seasons.
A concern here is combining the two drivers of what have been the Hawks’ top two lines for a few seasons on one line.
But there certainly are more outrageously implausible potential combos than this one.
The verdict: meh, wait and see.
The muscle line:
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–Richard Panik
If you’d have told me this 10 days ago, I would have said, don’t do it. But Anisimov’s had 4 goals in his last 5 games and this should be, at the very least, a difficult line to play against once they gain possession down low. Make no mistake, Anisimov is not the equal of even a diminished Toews, but he plays a heavier, willing style that meshes well with Saad and Panik.
if Q is eyeing some matchups in the next couple of games where a road grader line could provide some advantages against the defense of this team or that, then this makes some sense. The only real question is at times this year, Anisimov looks more than a step slow playing with speedy wingers—which Saad and Panik definitely are.
The verdict: could be effective, maybe very effective, depending on the matchup
The kiddie line:
Alex DeBrincat–Nick Schmaltz–Ryan Hartman
How is Schmaltz rewarded for a basically non-productive handful of games—he gets taken off Kane’s line. Now he must really drive offense for two players who are shooters first, and definitely need someone to get them the puck. That is Schmaltz’ strong suit by reputation.
There’s enough talent here, where, again, the right matchup could expose some opportunities. Each of these three players would also seem to be on the hot seat for different reasons, mostly so-so production of late, at best—so perhaps they sink or swim together.
The verdict: the potential is there, will the production follow?
The grizzled vets (and Hayden):
Lance Bouma–Tommy Wingels–John Hayden
Nothing new to see here. Further proof that in the estimation of the coaching staff, at least, the fourth line is doing the job it’s expected to.
The verdict: more of the same for 10 minutes a night
So this is all very entertaining, but will it break the Hawks out of an offensive funk where they’ve only mustered 5 goals in 3 games?
And if it doesn’t spur some greater production, what then? More blender, more way back machine? Or a deeper, more systemic look at the team, and bigger moves?
We’ll be back with more as we hear it.