Anaheim Ducks Potential Lineup Options Under Coach Dallas Eakins

There are a lot of different line combinations Dallas Eakins could deploy in his first year with the Anaheim Ducks. We’re taking a look at a few of his options.

With a new coach in the mix and a host of either unproven or brand new players, the Anaheim Ducks lineup is surely subject to change from seasons past. Certainly, certain combinations worked well and could be revisited. However, with a host of younger players being shuffled through the deck, the incoming coach may also wish to insulate them somewhat from certain situations. That is to say, some of the players may require sheltering. Particularly against bigger, more physical, teams.

With respect to team building, it makes some sense to run multiple five-man units, each with a different playing style. The differences in strategy on a line to line basis ensures that the opposition team is constantly in flux, having to adapt to changing circumstances. If one line is struggling to score against a certain defensive set up, then perhaps another can get it done by approaching it in a different manner.

Often in hockey, or at least in the fan-sphere, there is a focus on defensive pairings and forward lines as separate entities. However, none of these exists in isolation. The defense transitions into offense, while the forward group is always tasked with defensive duties. Additionally, NHL hockey should consider shifting from the traditional roles given to players and transition to “position-less” hockey, in the way that basketball and, to an extent, rugby has.

Players like Eric Karlsson and Brent Burns have transitioned from the traditional role of the defenceman, and provide a service similar to having a 4th forward on the ice. Typically speaking, for defencemen to transition to this level requires mobility and a quality passing game. Given these are two hallmarks of the Ducks drafting of defencemen during the current Bob Murray regime, the Ducks may consider transitioning to a more position-less system where each player is an equal part of the offense and defensive structure.

Spreading Out the Talent

Furthermore, the Ducks should attempt to build their units, so that they have the highest possible talent on the ice at all times, as this is reportedly the best return on investment for the aim of winning games. Looking at a Ducks-centric scenario in the now-distant past, the Ducks had one line consisting of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and another with Selanne as the focus points. The Getzlaf line played a heavy, behind the net cycle game, whereas the Selanne line attempted to succeed by odd-man rushes and speed.

There was elite talent on the ice for large portions of the game. Added to the mix, was a shutdown line and an energy line. While a dedicated shutdown line and/or energy line, may not currently be in vogue, the idea of multiple options is a strong one. With that in mind, the Ducks should consider balancing the offense so that each of the five-man units they can deploy, can take a different approach to scoring.

One line teams such as last season’s Colorado Avalanche should be taken as a warning and not as the blueprint. Certainly, their top forward line was incredible to watch, but with little depth behind it, they were not considered that tough of a team. In basketball, Dennis Rodman once said while he was on the Pistons team, that they would allow the freakish scorers to score while they worked on shutting down the rest of the team. Sometimes the Jordan’s of the world would beat them, but at the time the Pistons were champions and more often than not, they came out on top.

A similar rationale can be applied to hockey. Yes, those elite lines can dominate a game and win it by themselves. However with little depth or secondary scoring, eventually they will run short in the championship race. The Ducks, during this rebuilding period, should be looking to create a balanced attack that can produce up and down the lineup.

With that said, creating combinations which work within a five-man unit requires a little more tinkering. Initially, it would make some sense to have at least one gifted passer and one gifted shooter on a particular unit. Typically speaking, the shooter will be a forward, as for the most part, players who have reached the NHL as a forward are simply better shooters than their defensive counterparts. Passing, however, should be a more of a whole unit endeavor, although the stronger passing forward should be moved into a position to become the fulcrum of a triangle-styled offense.

Similarly, the more gifted passer of the defensive pairing should be given a rovers style role so that they may join the offense on the overlap (the overlap being a rugby-style terminology for a player who receives an inside pass going against the current flow of ball movement.) That is to say, when the puck is being moved from the right side to the left side, then the better passing defensive player should receive a pass as they enter the zone moving from the left side to the right. Think the patented Getzlaf drop pass, but instead of coming straight on, the defenceman is cutting to a side to open up more space on the offensive ice. With their passing skills and open space, they then become the new fulcrum of the triangle offense.

The third player of the forward group would often be suggested to be the puck retriever, and depending on the playing style this may carry more weight. For instance, if one of the units is dedicated to “getting pucks in deep” or “chip and chase” as a previous Ducks coach mentioned, then having a speedy player who does excellent work along the boards and in the corners is essential to regaining possession of the puck.

However, if the unit in question is dedicated to maintaining puck possession, then perhaps a different type of player would be required. A larger limbed player with reach, to keep the puck away from the opposition could be in order. Or perhaps this is the place for the vaunted “two-way” player, who the Ducks have seemingly been enamored with over the past half-decade.

The Concept of Handedness

It’s also worth mentioning prior to lineup design, the concept of handedness. In the not-to-distant past, it was considered a great boon to have players play on their correct wing. In today’s NHL, for one reason or another, not having a right-handed shot on their correct wing, means that they’ll instantly forget how to hockey. As a counterpoint to this, I’d argue that shifting some of the younger players to their off wing, at least initially, may be beneficial to their growth.

For instance, a player like Jacob Larsson who has yet to establish himself at the NHL level, and who has a limited offensive toolbox, may find a level of comfort playing on his off-side. As a skater and as a passer, he is adequate but not elite. As such, his offensive ceiling is somewhat limited. However, having him cut inside on the overlap from his off-wing, would allow him to get a shot off in space quicker than he otherwise would.

While not likely to be a scoring shot, it would provide opportunities for rebounds and general chaos in front of the net, which may lead to scoring from other avenues. On the defensive end, it would mean that he would not be intercepting pucks and closing off passing lanes through the central corridor on his backhand. Should he get adept and intercepting passes, this could easily turn into a one-touch block-pass to one of the forwards higher in the defensive zone. A pass which could lead to a breakout.

Nonetheless, it may allow for a slightly easier entry point into NHL hockey. A similar rationale would work for the newer forwards. Consider how long the call for moving Jakob Silfverberg to the opposite wing has been around for, as an example of shifting wings. Given the above rationales, I’ve taken a little bit of a stab at some potential five-man combinations that Coach Dallas Eakins could potentially consider after the jump.

Even Strength: Top Pairings

Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf – Troy Terry

Hampus Lindholm – Jacob Larsson

Rationale: The Rakell-Getzlaf connection has been a strong one over the past few years. While he is toolsy, Rakell has shown he’s far better when he has a creative player on his line, whereas Getzlaf is not much of a goal scorer in his own right. Getzlaf is, however, an elite passer of the puck.

The veteran duo can provide coverage for Terry in his first full season in the NHL, and take most of the attention while on the ice. This would hopefully provide Terry with a little extra time and space to play the role of the secondary passing player on this unit, or the rover’s role. To my mind, that would allow him to use his best assets (passing and skating) to the best effect.

Lindholm is the Ducks strongest defenceman, and given this unit will likely see the strongest competition as the Rakell-Getzlaf is the Ducks only credible scoring threat, he is a valued member of this unit. Larsson is able to play on his off-side which may allow his transition into a full-time NHL defenceman to be a little easier for the reasons mentioned above. He should be able to play a similar game to that of Brandon Montour last season, who often played the outlet option after Lindholm had broken up the opposition foray into their zone.

Nick Ritchie – Adam Henrique – Ondrej Kase

Cam Fowler – Korbinian Holzer

Rationale: The Ritchie-Henrique-Kase line has worked well in the past, and should continue to into the near future. However, none of the forwards is a high-end passer, although Henrique and Kase are both very good in their own right. The fulcrum of the offense is then run through Fowler who is one of the better passers and skaters on the team.

For the talk of position-less hockey earlier, Fowler may be one of the players who epitomizes this most. He should easily be able to play that rovers role to the greatest extent of any of the Anaheim Ducks defencemen, which would help to solidify the weak point of this unit. It also bears mentioning that Fowler has traditionally be rated extremely highly amongst his peers, for his neutral zone play.

That is to say that he is very likely to be able to spring Kase for breakaway attempts, which was one of the ways Kase has generated a lot of his offense in his career to date. Holzer performed relatively well with Fowler in a limited role last season and would give them a right-left combination on this pairing, which is a different look to the one above.

Even Strength: Bottom Pairings

Jakob Silfverberg – Sam Steel – Daniel Sprong

Michael Del Zotto – Josh Manson

Rationale: It has long been discussed that Silfverberg should switch to the other wing, in an attempt to see if he can recreate his early career shootout magic. This move would allow Sprong to play as a pure shooter on the other side, with Steel playing the fulcrum of the passing offense.

Steel has the ability to execute plays at near his maximum speed, and with Silfverberg being about average paced and Sprong being relatively quick means this line should be able to generate a slightly faster-paced offense to the other combinations. However, due to Steels inexperience and Sprong being largely incapable on the defensive end, a veteran defensive duo is placed with them in support.

Del Zotto, although not a strong defensive player, is the most experienced of the Ducks defencemen leftover, aside from those already mentioned. It should also be noted that Del Zotto was once thought of as an offensive defenceman, thus coming in against easier competition, and with some good offensive players in front of him, may help to open this aspect of his game back up. His inclusion over Brendan Guhle, at least initially, is more for team balance.

There are numerous young players in the forward group already, so an additional veteran body who can cover for them somewhat may be warranted. Manson is, of course, the Ducks second strongest defensive player behind Lindholm, thus he gets added here for stability. His growing points total over the past few seasons may take a hit, but him moving here also gives the Ducks a strong defensive and offensive player on each of the five-man units presented thus far.

Max Jones – Derek Grant – Devin Shore

Hampus Lindholm – Josh Manson

Rationale: Likely to be tasked as a shutdown unit of sorts, reuniting Lindholm and Manson seems like the obvious choice, and they will need to find minutes somewhere to get their total time on ice to where it needs to be. With two very strong players on the ice, it seems likely that the Ducks would, at worst, break-even in the puck possession game, thus limiting any downside to weaker forward grouping.

Grant has obviously played as the first line pivot for the Ducks in the past, and Shore has also pinch-hit in the top 6, so neither will be strangers to a high quality of competition. While somewhat unfortunate, it appears that Jones is destined for a lower line role with the Ducks. Even with the injuries in last season’s lineup, he was still passed over on multiple occasions for a top 6 role, even but for a short period of time.

However, he was one of the stronger forwards on the defensive side of the puck, and his speed created numerous scoring opportunities. This may not be a high scoring unit itself, but the ability to create chances will fatigue opposition players, which may, in turn, create opportunities for the other units.

The Power Play: First Unit

Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf – Ondrej Kase

Hampus Lindholm – Cam Fowler

Rationale: At some stage, the Anaheim Ducks are going to need to score, and score quickly. Getzlaf, with his Captain Dad strength and elite passing ability, is a no brainer to run out in this situation. So too, the Ducks only 30 goal scorer in Rakell. Their already apparent chemistry keeps this duo together. Kase moves up to provide energy and spark on the unit.

While his scoring took a significant dip when he was moved into a top 6 role in the past, a year of strength gains may help offset any difficulties he once had, and his underlying numbers while playing with Getzlaf were very strong. With a lack of heavy scoring defencemen, Lindholm plays the straight man on the defensive end, while Fowler shifts to his off-wing and plays the rovers role where he alternates with Getzlaf as the primary passing lane option.

It is also worth noting here, that Getzlaf can sometimes play a high-risk, high-reward game, that can appear rife with turnovers if passing lanes are interrupted or one goes askew. Eakins should be accepting and even advocating this style of play, as they will almost certainly score more on the power-play than they will give up. However, playing two defencemen, even with one playing almost as an additional forward, will provide a little more defensive coverage in this should things go awry.

It’s hard to say what attributes the sports science staff will be tracking during games, however, we can assume that they will be monitoring player loading and fatigue in some capacity. Assuming one of the above players is fatiguing and requires some additional rest, the suggested replacement player would likely be Troy Terry. His passing game would mesh well with a unit that is more reliant on puck movement than overpowering their opposition. Should this be the case, I would suggest that he take on the rover’s role from Fowler, which would provide him a growing experience in running a power-play. Nonetheless, a rebuilding team should be putting their youthful players in positions to succeed, and placing them on the power-play is one of the simplest solutions to finding them easy ice time.

The Power Play: Second Unit

Nick Ritchie – Adam Henrique – Daniel Sprong

Jakob Silfverberg – Josh Manson

Rationale: If the unit prior would be the primary power-play unit, then this could easily be the second. Moving the defensively responsible Silfverberg to one of the defensive slots, adds a volume shooting forward to the mix for a four-forward, one-defenceman, unit. A unit configuration which has seen increasing popularity over the past few seasons. He is able to play the rovers role, cutting against the grain from his off-wing with his quick release, and providing a means for him to bump his scoring output which may suffer somewhat if left in traditional 3rd line minutes.

Manson’s heavier shot is well set on the other wing, which would be helped through by a strong front of net presence in Ritchie. Sprong provides a mercurial point of difference as a shooter, and Henrique the solid veteran presence, upon that unit. We know that historically a players power-play performance typically remains stable until it begins a relatively rapid decline around 30 years of age, thus Henrique should still be able to provide value in this facet of his the game even should he continue to show a decline in other areas.

Jones could be introduced onto this unit to add to his experience bank. His speed is unlikely to be a differentiating factor on the power-play, however, at his heart, he is a somewhat traditional power forward. Thus using his strength and size would be beneficial to this units make up. Additionally, giving Jones a chance to work on his finishing in close during an in-game scenario may help to unlock his stifled offensive game. He may have been pushed into a bottom 6 role thus far in his career, but he’s too young to be locked into it just yet.

While the Getzlaf unit above would play a more finesse style, this unit would be closer to the traditional Anaheim Ducks method of volume shooting from the point through traffic and attempting to put away rebounds. Thus points of difference are created upon the same power play with different unit configurations. Historically, the Ducks have given very little time to their second unit. However, given the spread of scoring talent between the two units, the differences in their playing styles, and with a commitment to managing player loading, it seems plausible that the Ducks could play both units relatively interchangeably depending on what is happening on any given day.

Left Overs

Naturally given there are only so many roster spots to go around, some players will miss out. Some of those players will be fan favorites. Without going into too great of detail, some potential trajectories are outlined below.

Carter Rowney: As harsh at it may be to Rowney, he isn’t likely to be a big part of the Ducks future. Certainly not at the expense of some of the younger players who will be expected to grow into future playoff contenders. Thus for the moment, Rowney becomes the Ducks 13th forward. Defensively responsible and capable of playing the all-important center position, Rowney is the perfect guy to sit on the bench until needed. In order to keep him in game shape, it would behoove Coach Eakins to play him on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps switching in and out of the team with Derek Grant or even the younger Devin Shore.

Maxime Comtois: At this stage of the season, there doesn’t appear to be a readily available roster spot for him in the top 9 forward groupings. Although a trade can happen at any time and open one up. However, for a younger player who, while posting strong offensive numbers, had abysmal underlying metrics, a season in professional hockey (the AHL) could pay dividends. There is no rush to push Comtois forward, and keeping him down is likely to help the Ducks financial situation going forward as well, as his contract will remain relatively cheap.

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Nicolaus Deslauriers: I mention him here only due to the Ducks giving up an asset to acquire him, and that the Anaheim Ducks will be going with a large youth contingent and the GM Bob Murray is as old school as it gets. Realistically Deslauriers will play games for the Ducks, but he won’t help them, won’t be part of the future, and will actively make them worse each time he steps foot on the ice. The data doesn’t support the use of enforcers as a deterrent, nor does it come close to suggesting that icing an enforcer will reduce injuries (to the contrary, they actually increase). Of course, the purists of hockey will appreciate him interrupting the hockey game for a poorly skilled fight, and won’t mind the Ducks lowering their overall skill level and chances to win games. My best guess is that he plays 30-40 games on the season.

Jani Hakanpaa: It might seem out of place to have the fresh new signing out of Finland out of the team, however, being new on North American ice may resign him to the AHL for the short term. Certainly, his size and reach are notable, as well as being a right-handed shot (which would allow the Ducks a right-left combination on all three pairings.) For this reason, It’s likely that Hakanpaa is the Ducks first choice call up in case of injuries throughout the season.

It could even be a consideration to play him in Del Zotto’s spot for a number of games to get him acclimated to the game. Playing on his off-wing may present some challenges there, but it would also allow him to intercept passes and interrupt passing lanes with a little more ease. That particular pairing with Manson would also provide a very large blue line to counter-balance the small forward group, that that pairing is currently locked in with. At 27 years of age, they’ll want to see what he has to offer sooner than later, but there’s no rush to push him to jump just yet. Anaheim Ducks fans will definitely see him at some stage.

Brendan Guhle: Quickly a fan favorite, Guhle presented positively while paired with Cam Fowler in a small sample, last season. At this stage, I believe that the current lineup presents the best opportunity to develop players and systems, however, Guhle could force himself into the lineup as the season progresses. This may be due to Larsson not panning out, or him presenting solid enough numbers to rejig the defensive pairings. Until that time, however, I would presume that logging a high TOI in the AHL, and being the Ducks second choice call up option in the case of injury would suit him well. Playing a high number of youthful players is a balancing act, and unfortunately for Guhle, Larsson has a longer history with the present coach and the forwards are all more highly touted.

Finishing Off

While only a sample of the potential combinations that Coach Eakins could employ, the above hopefully provides some ideas for what the Anaheim Ducks may be expected to do. While there are certain methods, such as using wins above replacement, that may produce stronger lines or units, I believe that as a rebuilding team the Ducks should be focused on concepts.

Yes, they play in the Pacific Division, which means they could easily end up in the postseason, yet they shouldn’t be considered a Cup fancy. That will take some years, as the current young crop gain experience. What better way to gain that experience and time, than by developing a number of new systems and combinations?

The Anaheim Ducks have a lot of options they can explore as far as lineups this season. Do you agree with the possible combinations discussed in this article, or do you have a different idea? Let us know in the comments below and leave us your line combinations as well!