Vegas Golden Knights fans have seen Bruce Cassidy shuffle the team's lineup endlessly. Sometimes, Jack Eichel would play with Jonathan Marchessault on his wing. The former Hobey Baker winner would also be paired with William Karlsson at times. Regardless, Cassidy tries his best to make the pieces fit.
It doesn't matter if his forward group is facing off against Connor McHolySocks and Leon Draisaitl or taking on the lowly Kraken. The Stanley Cup-winning head coach always tries to find the ideal lineup that gives him an advantage. Thank goodness, because the past two Golden Knights head coaches haven't been as successful.
For example, Gerard Gallant has been unbelievably stubborn in changing his lineups. That led to teams like the San Jose Sharks and the Washington Capitals getting an advantage on him. In turn, they make their own adjustments, start winning games, and take the series.
As for Pete DeBoer? Well, he'll make adjustments. However, it isn't the smartest adjustment, as his premature pulling of Jake Oettinger in this year's Western Conference Final will show you. It's no wonder he lost three straight Western Conference Finals with the Dallas Stars!
These lineup changes will be no different with the new season ahead. Now, you have Mitch Marner in tow and Jack Eichel playing for a new contract. All of this gives Cassidy a clean palatte to work with, specifically for creating optimal lineups.
With a new, improved forward group, the possibilities are endless for Bruce Cassidy
For the first time in forever, the Golden Knights can dig deep into their forward group and find viable forwards to mix. It doesn't matter if it's William Karlsson on the third line or Marner on the first line. The choices are endless and McCrimmon has given Cassidy countless options.
For example, he could deploy Marner onto the second unit and play alongside Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev. Imagine a line where the former Maple Leafs gigastar is setting up scoring opportunities to Hertl in the slot or Dorofeyev up top. That could be an incredible line that puts in plenty of work.
Cassidy could also deploy Karlsson with Eichel again, giving Vegas a two-way edge. The duo worked well together during last season's Stanley Cup playoffs, keeping the Golden Knights afloat before being eliminated.
The moral of the story? Don't expect a lineup set in stone, particularly with this incredible forward group. The Stanley Cup-winning head coach can set up his units to take on any tasks and he's not limited to the forward group. He can also shuffle his defensive pairings to give him optimal matchups. Think about the fun that the head coach could have here.
Which three line combinations would I love to see on the Vegas Golden Knights?
For one, I'm interested in seeing what a line of Marner, Dorofeyev, and Hertl could do. This could be a group that has the highest scoring output for the Golden Knights. Last season, the line of Brandon Saad, Hert, and Dorofeyev produced for the Golden Knights. In fact, MoneyPuck tells a better story about how well the group did altogether (minimum 150 minutes).
Line | xGoals % | xGoals For Per 60 Minutes | xGoals Against Per 60 Minutes | xGoals For | xGoals Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saad-Hertl-Dorofeyev | 61.5% | 3.64 | 2.28 | 9.9 | 6.2 |
If Saad can gel well with the group, imagine what Marner could do with the line. That could put him on *GASP* the fast track to becoming the first Golden Knights player with 100 points in franchise history.
I'm also interested in seeing what a line of Karlsson, Eichel, and Reilly Smith could do. Now, this would purely be gimmicky. However, Karlsson and Smith go well together. They could get a two-way boost in the form of Eichel, who adds a prime player to the group.
Again, don't expect to see this often (or at all). But fans should expect some form of Karlsson and Eichel together, should Vegas be faced with another tight situation.
Finally, I'm fascinated by the potential of a Howden-Eichel-Marner line. This one is also gimmicky and likely wouldn't happen. But let's say that Vegas is dealing with a serious case of the injury bug. Let's assume that players like Dorofeyev, Stone (insert tacky LTIR joke here), and Ivan Barbashev all get hurt.
What if the spunky 27-year-old gets the call to the top line? Believe it or not, he's gotten such a call before and did fine. While this would also be a gimmicky line, it would have enough speed that cause problems for opponents.
All this speculation and wondering is whetting the appetite of Golden Knights fans everywhere. They can't wait for October to roll around so the regular season can start. The possibilities are endless and Cassidy will have plenty of fun rearranging the lineup as he pleases.