It's Question About Our Fourth Line Guys...

by Elektrostal_Kid on Oct 6, 2011 1:36 PM EDT

Hi everyone,

While I was reading Devils in the Details, I found interesting to bring up a question posted by tjlecavs ( Welcome here by the way) just below :

OK, now that we know that Bernier didn’t refuse a two-way deal, can someone who is more intimate with the inner workings of the team explain to me why they didn’t offer him a deal but they decided to keep BOTH Boulton and Janssen? I am going to assume the cap was not an issue.Peter Deboer keeps in the NHL line-up Brad Mills, Cam Janssen and Eric Boulton for the first games of the season.

Even if I can't pretend being an Hockey expert, I'll reserve my thought after the jump, but please guys don't be afraid to share yours too.

This my dear, is the question that I would love to answer, because I just don't get it.

In fact, more than Bernier the question could be, firstly, Why did they keep Boulton AND Janssen over Pelley and Zharkov, which are, by far, better hockey players (speaking of the game itself).

There's a good chance to see Mills, Boulton and Janssen prowling around the 4th line now. Personally I see this, already, as a problem, but to me this kind of line-up brings a bigger issue:

Your prospects can't play anymore on the 4th line. Because there will be no room for helping a young talent to develop his game. Of course Mills, Janssen and Boulton can fight, they've got grit, heart and are some real tough guys... But they're just bad hockey players, plain and simple.

As long as they're out there, a kid like Mattias Tedenby shouldn't be playing on the 4th line because he won't develop anything but a growing frustration... And since the 3 other lines seem in a way or in another, completed, Mattias Tedendy, which has burned one year on his ELC, could have no choice but to be sent down to Albany .Looking at the big picture, its the same situation for all of our prospects.The 4th line seems, up to now at least, to be condamned as a goon line.

I sincerely hope that Peter Deboer's still testing the stuff and he will see soon enough that keeping 3 goons in the NHL roster is not good for your team. Truth is, I wouldn't mind keeping just one, Mills or Boulton perhaps, but 3, that's not serious.

Now, to finish my paragraph, let's see the kind of 4th lines we could've had or we could have in a near future (fingers crossed) ... I won't lie, for a 4th line, that looks pretty good to me:

Tedenby-Pelley-Zharkov

Tedenby-Mills-Zharkov

Boulton- Pelley-Tedenby

Tedenby-Henrique-Zharkov

Etc-Ect-Ect

Thanks for reading.

All FanPosts and FanShots are the respective work of the author and not representative of the writers or other users of In Lou We Trust.

Tweet Comment 7 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

The 4th line rarely stays together for more than a few shifts before the coach sees who’s “on” for the night and starts doubling them, or sees who’s “off” for the night and sits them in favor of someone else. Teddy won’t be lost down there, and I really doubt that he’s going to be taking more than a few minutes TOI with those other 2 guys.

I really don’t think (or maybe I just hope) that it isn’t going to be that big of a deal. One of the thumpers is probably going to Albany or scratched. Another one may be a regular scratch. Its really crowded down there, and something has to give.

I wouldn’t worry so much just yet. Let’s see how the next few days and first few games shake out before we panic.

I’m not going to lie to you. It felt good and I’m going to do whatever is in my power possible to stay there as long as I can. - Petr Sykora on playing on a line with Elias and Parise.

by Murdoc on Oct 6, 2011 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

I just don’t understand how Lou can look at his cap hit sheet, see the buyout number for Peters, and then go out and sign Boulton for two years, then sign friggen Cam Janssen, then have them both on the NHL roster at the same time.

by dkball7 on Oct 6, 2011 4:41 PM EDT reply actions

Barney Rubble (Janssen) averages a fighting major every 15 minutes of ice time. OK, we more or less knew that.

The most he ever played was 56 games or 281 minutes in ice time. I’d expect around 200 minutes of ice time this year. The point is he stinks, but he really won’t be on the ice enough to impact us much on the scoreboard or standings.

He won’t be taking away minutes from the young guys either. Henrique and Tedenby will their minutes with good, established NHL players regardless.

Jansenn is a legit NHL fighter. His best attribute is his conditioning which allows him to dole out punishment towards the end of a long bout, even if he had been losing the fight early. His reach and his balance aren’t very good though.

by Bobby V on Oct 6, 2011 4:44 PM EDT reply actions

I’ve seen Boulton fight less then Janssen but from what I’ve seen Boulton has a different style of fighting. Janssen tries to get a good hold and use leverage and stamina to find an opening for punishment. Boulton seams to throws as many punches as fast as he can and lets the chips fall where they may.

by Bobby V on Oct 6, 2011 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Janssen may be a legit NHL fighter. He may possess all those wonderful fighter-esque attributes you assign to him. None of them mean a (darn) thing, however. This isn’t Blades of Steel where you get a Power Play for winning a fight, after all.

As to the argument about minutes, Janssen will absolutely take minutes away from someone so long as he’s dressed on a given night. Putting Cam Janssen in the lineup means you’re probably putting another player who has something to offer in the way of legitimate hockey skills in the press box. Concerning the other guys who skate on the fourth line on a given night — e.g. Tedenby or Henrique — they aren’t likely to produce if they’re skating alongside such marginal NHL talent.

I don’t have a problem with having one enforcer dressed and sticking him on the fourth line. In general, I’d just as soon reserve the fourth line for energy guys, enforcers, and other types who don’t necessarily deserve a lot of ice time but can contribute in another way (e.g. David Steckel and his prowess in the face-off circle, or Vladimir Zharkov and his support for the PK).

Mattias Tedenby’s game hasn’t evolved to the level where I’d consider him worthy of a “power play specialist” role; therefore, I don’t see any particular use for Teddy on the 4th line. If he’s not going to play in a more offensive role with more talented linemates, he probably should be in Albany playing 18-20 minutes in all situations to improve and round out his game.

by acasser on Oct 6, 2011 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Henrique & Tedenby are in competition with each other. They will compete for over all ice time as well as ice time with the better players and ice time on second PP unit.

Henrique and Teddy will get chances to ‘improve and round out’ their game by practicing with and recieving instruction from an NHL team on a daily basis. Also, they’ll get to play about 1000 minutes, if they earn them. Maybe more.

Cam Janssen, with his 17 fighting majors and 200+ minutes played doesn’t have anything to do with that.

by Bobby V on Oct 6, 2011 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Starting Teddy on the 4th line might be ingenious. There something about him that coaches want to rein in ala Lemaire last year when he fist took over and now Deboer. The talent is obvious but making him work feverishly to prove that he is better than the other young guys might prove to start an internal competition amongst these guys to push each other to greater levels. Don’t worry the cream will rise to the 2nd or 3rd line. It is a game played by humans not robots. Maybe they feel hes the lightning rod of the young guys who wont be bothered by this adversity.

by 68devils on Oct 6, 2011 6:12 PM EDT reply actions