General manager Jim Rutherford said the Canes should have 12 strong forwards in the lineup this season, and he's not ruling out a prospect or two taking a spot with a big training camp.
Rutherford said the collection of forwards will give coach Paul Maurice more flexibility with his line combinations. That should be true.
But who do you like? What combinations would give the Canes their four best lines.
The floor is open.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
really useful!thanks for
Fri, 09/25/2009 - 23:06 — windyfostreally useful!thanks for sharing
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Lines
Wed, 09/02/2009 - 09:25 — GoShelfI don't know how much it matters. Part of the reason JR re-signed most of this group is how flexible they are. Most successful teams do very little tweaking in their line combinations, we did a lot of line tweaking last year and had success with it. I expect that we'll see a lot of different line combinations this year depending on matchups, who's playing well, health, etc. Also, depending on how the youngsters progress their could be a lot of competition for playing time in our 3rd & 4th line. For instance, if Samsonov or Jokinen start off cold that may open the door for someone like Bowman or Boychuk. We'll see; as I expect, our depth, experience, and flexibility should be tough to play against most nights. We need to get off to a good start because Washington & Tampa are going to be good this year.
I think it is important to
Tue, 09/01/2009 - 09:41 — jgrant641I think it is important to note that seemingly most of the team has contracts due next summer, that should be a good spark for many of the players to step up that much more and play for not only their on-ice spot this year, but the competition will be tight next summer for $$$.
Well Now
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 19:37 — esteban1949I too want to personally thank abramsdoug for all the efforts as he has on paper here & mathamatically spelled out each and every possiblity possible...but we must not forget the variables such as who does make it after training camp...and just how " rusty" some of the older players may actually be. But we Fans can hope & keep our fingers crossed so that the canes will come out smokin and hot as they were during the playoffs of last season...Again all we can do is only hope...gee 11 more days til camp...The Clock is ticking !!
Go Canes !!
thanks
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 09:18 — Lidathanks anyway...
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Hurricanes Lines
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 07:17 — abramsdougI think the year will be a work in progress as it relates to the lines. I am extremely hopeful that the Hurricanes will roll four lines. Rod Brind'Amour and Sergei Samsonov are my keys to the early season. If Samsonov starts this year the way he ended last season, it will be a tremendous help to the team. Similarly, if Brind'Amour has overcome the lingering effects of his knee injuries, the Hurricanes can continue the momentum they built at the end of last season. I would experiment with the following lines in sequental order depending on how the chemistry translated from paper to the ice:
Ray Whitney
Eric Staal
Erik Cole
Chad LaRose
Matt Cullen
Tuomo Ruutu
Sergei Samsonov
Rod Brind'Amour
Jossi Jokinen
Tom Kostopoulos
Stephane Yelle
Scott Walker
Ray Whitney
Eric Staal
Erik Cole
Chad LaRose
Matt Cullen
Tuomo Ruutu
Sergei Samsonov
Stephane Yelle
Jossi Jokinen
Tom Kostopoulos
Rod Brind'Amour
Scott Walker
Tuomo Ruutu
Eric Staal
Erik Cole
Ray Whitney
Matt Cullen
Jossi Jokinen
Sergei Samsonov
Stephane Yelle
Chad LaRose
Tom Kostopoulos
Rod Brind'Amour
Scott Walker
Ray Whitney
Eric Staal
Erik Cole
Sergei Samsonov
Tuomo Ruutu
Jossi Jokinen
Stephane Yelle
Matt Cullen
Chad LaRose
Tom Kostopoulos
Rod Brind'Amour
Scott Walker
Ray Whitney
Eric Staal
Tuomo Ruutu
Sergei Samsonov
Matt Cullen
Erik Cole
Chad LaRose
Rod Brind'Amour
Jossi Jokinen
Tom Kostopoulos
Stephane Yelle
Scott Walker
Ray Whitney
Eric Staal
Erik Cole
Sergei Samsonov
Jossi Jokinen
Tuomo Ruutu
Stephane Yelle
Matt Cullen
Chad LaRose
Tom Kostopoulos
Rod Brind'Amour
Scott Walker
I salute the effort you put
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 10:08 — caneshockeyfanI salute the effort you put into this comment! Well done.
I think we'll know by Thanksgiving whether Brind'amour was fighting his knees or fighting his age last season. At that point the lines will more or less stabilize. Regardless, the team should have good depth down the middle with four established NHL centers and a couple of wingers that can play center. As we saw with the Penguins last season, depth down the middle is invaluable.
I think this is a huge year
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 08:17 — jgrant641I think this is a huge year for Brindy and he knows it. Given his age and what he has done for this team, last year was a bit of a free pass. If he is still struggling, this year it could be his last. I would be he doesnt want that to happen so I'd look for him to post some very good numbers this year. If he doesn't, it would be hard for any GM to justify $4mill for a bottom-six center.
having said that, i would expect he and matt cullen to flip flop 2nd and 3rd line centering duties based on line chemistry.
I also feel we have more of a solid 12(offense) and 6(defense) than we have ever seen on this team.
Here's to hoping we stay healthy and come out of the gate strong!
lines
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 07:07 — louis12580Here are the lines I would propose: Staal with Ruutu and Whitney; Cullen with Cole and LaRose; Rod with Jokinen and Samsonov; Yelle with Walker and Kostopolous. Time for Staal to get over having to have Cole on the line. What will be interesting is how the power play units look. Does coach have 4 forwards and 1 d-man, or does he go with the traditional 3 and 2? Personally I'd like to see the 3 and 2.