Where does Jarome Iginla fit ?

[The Snapshot]

Eric Tangradi gets to see what he missed out on by being a piece of sloppy, lazy garbage in the off-season.

[JeffDFD]

If people are worried about what Iginla will think about being on the third line...I think telling him, "hey, do you want to play against every teams 5/6 D pairing guys for the first time in your career"

I don't know Iginla's game too well - can anyone provide insight into his recent/past linemates he has had to work with and how they compare to what the Pens have? And also how much of his game is creating vs finishing with those linemates. For instance, Neal has shown he can be a 40 goal scorer...but he needs someone like Malkin to set him up. So a team without the high end talent to pair with Neal...will not got a lot from Neal. How much does Iginla do on his own and will he destroy 3rd D pairings on his own or does he need someone else to work with more in order to get the best from him?

Basically where is the largest net gain? Iginla upgrading the "third line" vs low D pairings or Iginla upgrading a different line vs higher D pairings.

Here is the decision if you want Iginla and Crosby and decide to drop Dupuis to the third line:

Upgraded Production of first line with +Iginla and -Dupuis + Upgraded Production of Third line +Dupuis
> < =
Upgraded production of third line +Iginla (vs those lower D pairings)


In that scenario, I would think Iginla does not largely upgrade the first line because it is so hot right now, and Dupuis does not really upgrade the third line much because he needs Crosby more than he can create on his own. And I am really interested in what Iginla can do on his own vs teams 5/6 guys...so I think that may win.


And again, I would like to add the disclaimer that all this can change in the playoffs, the first line could slow down and it changes the whole scenario, and this is all really just fun speculation.

[DesertPenguin]

You use Iggy like you used Staal in the past. Play him on the 3rd line, but insert him in the top 6 selectively during the game to get him his minutes with the big boys. Staal got his minutes despite the line he was on.

[Mongoose87]

About the best center Iginla has ever played with is Olli Jokinen. That should give you some perspective.

[DontToewsMeBro]

Jarome Iginla...a HHOFer...will not be playing an extended period of time on the 3rd line with Brandon Sutter when we have Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the team. Crosby has made Dupuis into a serviceable winger. Imagine what he could do with Jarome Iginla.

[Bioshock]

Jarome Iginla...a HHOFer...will not be playing an extended period of time on the 3rd line with Brandon Sutter when we have Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the team. Crosby has made Dupuis into a serviceable winger. Imagine what he could do with Jarome Iginla.

Yeah, he's playing a top 6 role. Anything else would be horrible mismanagement

[DontToewsMeBro]

Jarome Iginla...a HHOFer...will not be playing an extended period of time on the 3rd line with Brandon Sutter when we have Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the team. Crosby has made Dupuis into a serviceable winger. Imagine what he could do with Jarome Iginla.

Yeah, he's playing a top 6 role. Anything else would be horrible mismanagement

I don't believe Shero thinks he paid 2 prospects and a 1st round draft pick in a deep draft for a 3rd line player, and Bylsma will surely be made aware of that once this streak ends. Iginla can create offense by himself. Dupuis absolutely cannot-and that's no knock on Pascal. Those things matter in the playoffs when you have a guy like Zetterberg shadowing Crosby.

[smoothmoneyb]

If people are worried about what Iginla will think about being on the third line...I think telling him, "hey, do you want to play against every teams 5/6 D pairing guys for the first time in your career"

I don't know Iginla's game too well - can anyone provide insight into his recent/past linemates he has had to work with and how they compare to what the Pens have? And also how much of his game is creating vs finishing with those linemates. For instance, Neal has shown he can be a 40 goal scorer...but he needs someone like Malkin to set him up. So a team without the high end talent to pair with Neal...will not got a lot from Neal. How much does Iginla do on his own and will he destroy 3rd D pairings on his own or does he need someone else to work with more in order to get the best from him?

Basically where is the largest net gain? Iginla upgrading the "third line" vs low D pairings or Iginla upgrading a different line vs higher D pairings.

Here is the decision if you want Iginla and Crosby and decide to drop Dupuis to the third line:

Upgraded Production of first line with +Iginla and -Dupuis + Upgraded Production of Third line +Dupuis
> < =
Upgraded production of third line +Iginla (vs those lower D pairings)


In that scenario, I would think Iginla does not largely upgrade the first line because it is so hot right now, and Dupuis does not really upgrade the third line much because he needs Crosby more than he can create on his own. And I am really interested in what Iginla can do on his own vs teams 5/6 guys...so I think that may win.


And again, I would like to add the disclaimer that all this can change in the playoffs, the first line could slow down and it changes the whole scenario, and this is all really just fun speculation.

I agree with what you're saying as far as losing some of the production from Dupuis by moving him down to the third line. I wasn't even looking at it that way. I suppose it's entirely possible that he'll continue to be productive without Crosby. He has been playing great lately. But obviously there is going to be a drop off in production. There's chemistry there right now, and although I'm not sure at this point what kind of player Pascal has become without Crosby, with him, Dupuis is an elite goal scorer.(Synergy:the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements) So add that in with the way the 1st line playing and you wonder how much better Iginla could possibly be than Dupuis right now. And lol at calling Dupuis a serviceable winger at this point. He's currently leading the NHL in even strength goals. Translation: HE IS THE BEST GOAL SCORER ON THE BEST LINE IN HOCKEY (at the moment). So yeah, how much of an improvement could Iggy possibly be? Not enough to justify the potential loss of production from Dupuis that might occur by moving him down to the 3rd, me says..

[DontToewsMeBro]

If you don't think a 35 year old Jarome Iginla (read: hall of famer) would be an upgrade over a 33 year old Pascal Dupuis (read: career grinder), I don't know what to say. Crosby is THE single reason that Dupuis is producing. He has been great, no doubt. But we all know that as soon as this streak ends and we come crashing back to Earth (been a while since a nice LGP meltdown), Iginla will play with Crosby in the playoffs. Maybe it will be at the expense of a few Pascal goals. Tough. Either way, I think it's a foregone conclusion.

[Mr. Colby]

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Neal-Malkin-Iginla
Morrow-Sutter-Kennedy
Cooke-Jeffrey-Adams

[smoothmoneyb]

If you don't think a 35 year old Jarome Iginla (read: hall of famer) would be an upgrade over a 33 year old Pascal Dupuis (read: career grinder), I don't know what to say. Crosby is THE single reason that Dupuis is producing. He has been great, no doubt. But we all know that as soon as this streak ends and we come crashing back to Earth (been a while since a nice LGP meltdown), Iginla will play with Crosby in the playoffs. Maybe it will be at the expense of a few Pascal goals. Tough. Either way, I think it's a foregone conclusion.

No, actually we don't know that at all. It's entirely possible, but to be honest, I'd probably bet against it happening. Certainly we'll see them play together to some extent, though..

"If you don't think a 35 year old Jarome Iginla (read: hall of famer) would be an upgrade over a 33 year old Pascal Dupuis (read: career grinder), I don't know what to say."

And yes, that's ALMOST exactly what I was saying. I'm sure that after being given a little time to get used to playing with one another, Iginla would be an upgrade over Dupuis. But not really by all THAT much IMO. And not by enough to justify moving Dupuis down and having him play with someone he's not used to playing with. Once again, Dupuis's value to this team is severely under-appreciated. Once upon a time Dupuis was a 3rd line grinder. Not anymore though. Call him a late bloomer, but either way, his game has definitely changed. Years of playing with Crosby has obviously had something to do with that. One thing that hasn't even been mentioned, is that Kunitz and Dupuis also have developed great chemistry playing together, as we saw tonight.

Plus, to me one of the bigger issues we've had this year is finding another winger for the second line. I mean, Malkin has been good, but definitely not 'Malkin Good' (obviously injuries have been part of that). And Neal is only at his best when Malkin is there and playing well. So after having a revolving door of forwards who couldn't quite make the cut on that line, we pick up a HOF winger at the deadline and are now wondering where to put him? Wait.. I think I know how to fix this..

[Shakes]

Dang, I thought Shero would top himself from yesterday by cloning Kunitz overnight to settle this. That way:

14-87-9 best line in NHL this year
14-71-18 best line in NHL last year
10-16-12 best 3rd line ever

:shrugs:

[Pens4Life]

In all respect to Duper and his production,I think he understands the situation and will be glad to play on 3rd line on this team.
Iginla to RW with Sid.. If Morrow doesnt fit the second line,put Iginla there and Duper back to 1st line,Brendan to 3rd line..

[ziggo]

Morrow/Adams/Iginla...Got to get Adams career kickstarted somehow.

[darkstar57]

For those saying dupiues can't create offense, he had a career year last year, most of it with Sid out.

My biggest reason for moving him to the third line with Cooke and sutter is that is a solid shutdown third line who can really go against other teams top line. On top of scoring you need a line that wants to go out there and just shutdown another teams top line.

[André]

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Neal-Malkin-Iginla
Morrow-Sutter-Kennedy

I definitely think this is the top nine. Cooke, Vitale, Jeffrey, Adams etc battle for spots on the fourth.

I toyed with the idea of Iginla with Sid and Dupuis like many others, as Kunitz - Malkin - Neal would be a re-union of last year's best line. But then again, the current first line is just meshing too well to be broken up. They're insane. And hey, I can live with wathing Iggy with Geno and Neal. That is one sick line.

And no, there's just no way Iginla's not in the top six. Not happening, and it should not happen either.

[Malkamaniac]

Eric Tangradi gets to see what he missed out on by being a piece of sloppy, lazy garbage in the off-season.

I felt his breakaway and shot over the net was a prime example of his time here with the Pens.

[Idoit40fans]

Dupuis working with Crosby didn't suddenly work this season, when they've been together during the past 3+ years with Kunitz, they've been the best line in hockey.

[Malkamaniac]

Dupuis working with Crosby didn't suddenly work this season, when they've been together during the past 3+ years with Kunitz, they've been the best line in hockey.

It's weird how various people see this as a sudden thing for this year. Prior to his concussion he was on pace to crush everyone in points with the exact line.

[FallenHero96]

I want to see:

Kunitz-Crosby-Iginla
Morrow-Malkin-Neal
Cooke-Sutter-Dupuis

This is what I want, as well. How can another team possibly match up against that?

This gets my vote.

[Eismann]

Keeping skaters in their current slots and setting aside any ego issues:

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Bennett-Malkin-Neal
Morrow-Sutter-Iginla
Cooke-Vitale-Kennedy

Sutter's not a playmaker, but that line makes possible the other three being monster. Plus, Morrow and Iginla on the same line is luscious.

This is like discovering plutonium.....by ACCIDENT!!!!!

Huh-HO!!!!!!

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

Keeping skaters in their current slots and setting aside any ego issues:

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Bennett-Malkin-Neal
Morrow-Sutter-Iginla
Cooke-Vitale-Kennedy

Sutter's not a playmaker, but that line makes possible the other three being monster. Plus, Morrow and Iginla on the same line is luscious.

This is like discovering plutonium.....by ACCIDENT!!!!!

Huh-HO!!!!!!

Hands down, this is the best line-up attempt I have seen yet. 4 lines that cause complete fear. There is nowhere to hide. And you get to develop your prize rookie with valuable minutes considering that the rest of these guys are rentals. Good job man!

[headh]

The Pens were leading the NHL in scoring prior to adding Iginla and Morrow.

One plays left wing and the other plays right wing.

It doesn't make any sense to break up the first line.

Beau Bennett has played well enough on the 2nd line with 71 and 18

Simply put Morrow, Sutter, Iginla on the third line. The Pens played HOFers on the third line in the past.

Cook, Vitale and Kennedy makes a fourth line that can't be matched by any other team in the NHL

That gives the Pens four lines with grit and skill

[brwi]

If you don't think a 35 year old Jarome Iginla (read: hall of famer) would be an upgrade over a 33 year old Pascal Dupuis (read: career grinder), I don't know what to say. Crosby is THE single reason that Dupuis is producing.

The same can be said about James Neil. If he isn't playing with Malkin or Brad Richards, he's a marginal NHLer at best. Unlike Dupuis, he can't do much else at all when he's not potting goals.

He has been great, no doubt. But we all know that as soon as this streak ends and we come crashing back to Earth (been a while since a nice LGP meltdown), Iginla will play with Crosby in the playoffs. Maybe it will be at the expense of a few Pascal goals. Tough. Either way, I think it's a foregone conclusion.

I don't. I think Iginla will see some time with Crosby but I think it's more likely that when he does, it will be Kunitz playing with the 2nd line and Malkin.

[pcm]

Morrow-Malkin-Neal looked so much better tonight than they have all season. Morrow just created oodles of space for Malkin and Neal to dance around the offensive zone.

Originally I was all for Iggy with Sidney, but now I'm starting to think you spread out the wealth...create 3 scoring lines. Put Iginla with Sutter and Bennett. Those three have enough offensive awareness that they'd be a second line on most teams, first on a few. They also have the balance of grit/scoring/defensive awareness/puck control that you want in a top line. And like DesertPenguin said, use Iggy like Staal and put him out there with Crosby a few shifts to break things up.

So...

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Morrow-Malkin-Neal
Bennett-Sutter-Iginla
Cooke-Vitale/Jeffrey-Adams