NYI - My Line Combos

Team: 2018-19 New York Islanders

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 21, 2018

Published: Aug. 21, 2018

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Line combinations I'd like to see tried to start the season. One trade I would like to see happen, but don't think it will before the season starts is a package centered around Nelson to OTT for Duchene.

Line 1: Ideally I'd like to see Barzal slide up and just slot into JTs spot between Lee and Bailey, but given his chemistry with Eberle it's more likely Barzal and Eberle play together - In this case I'd rather see Bailey on the left wing for two reasons - 1) He's a better defensive player then Lee, which would allow Barzal and Eberle to focus more on the offensive side and 2) Bailey is more of a playmaker then Lee and would be better suited to set up Barzy and Ebs - Read a stat recently that Bailey was the primary assist on more of Lee's goals then JT was, so assuming that equates to this line combo we could see both Ebs and Barzy surpassing 30 goals each.

Line 2: Lee moves down to play on a line with Nelson and Beauvilier (RW) - This gives the 2nd line a bona fide goal scorer and also gives Nelson some talented wingers to play with (He showed some promise early last year playing with Beau and Ho-sang). Only problem with this line is there is no real playmaker to set up both Lee and Nelson who have great shots, if Beau can become that while still putting pucks in the net this could be a second line to rival the Beau/Barzal/Ebs line from last year.

Line 3: Honesly, I don't know much about Kovar, but I have a feeling he's not going to pan out and will start the year at Bridgeport, I also think he's going to be outplayed in training camp by both Bellows and Ho-Sang, both of which make the team over him. A 3rd line of Ladd (Gritt) with Bellows and Ho-Sang can be productive and perhaps playing with 2 younger, talented guys will inject some life into Ladd.

Side Note: I'd love to see a dal Colle/Bellows/Ho-Sang line but with the way our roster is constructed right now I don't see all three of them making the team over guys like Filppula/Komarov/Martin/Ladd.

4th Line: Will be a rotation of Martin, Cizikas, Clutterbuck, Komarov and Filppula with Cizikas being the mainstay for most of the season. This line will do what it is intended to do... be defensively sound, create lots of energy and chip in a few goals here and there.

D Pair 1: I'd like to see a Leddy-Pulock pairing to start the season. I think Pulock did enough last season to warrant a move up to the top pair to start the season. I also think for Leddy, going into the season knowing he doesn't have a defensive D partner (Boychuk) backing him up, will force him to focus a little more on the D side of things and help is atrocious plus/minus from last year.

2nd Pair: Hickey/Boychuk - I think having Boychuk play on the second line and seeing less minutes per night will help keep him healthier during the season. At 34 years old I don't think he can keep playing top pair minutes each night. Only issue with this pair is it's very defensive minded and won't provide much offense.

3rd Pair: After last season I think Aho will outplay Pelech to take the LD spot on the 3rd pair. Mayfield did enough last season (in limited time) to show he can be a solid 3rd pair defensemen - If he's healthy and can rebound from his injuries he gets the spot over Pelech.

As a side note: I think Dobson has a real shot of making the team out of training camp and can push Mayfield out on that 3rd pair and send one of Mayfield/Pelech to Bridgeport or out via trade. In that case 2nd pair would be Aho/Boychuk (adds a little offensive minded D to that pairing) and 3rd Pair would be Hickey/Dobson (Hickey mentors Dobson the way he did Pulock last year).

Goalies:
Lehner starts the year as the starter - mostly because he is younger and can be the future goalie here until Soderstrom/Sorokin are ready to take over. Also, at 26 I feel he is more likely to adapt to Korns' way of thinking and new approach.

Greiss will be a capable backup and may even play well enough that some team desperate for goaltending will trade for him at the deadline.

Would love to hear others thoughts on this... if you've read this far lol.