Edit: 3rd D-Pairing is not Casey Fast, but Tuomo Makkonen (90). by bad.

Solid line up all the way around Bloop. Looks really good and I like the balance and such. Looks like you will have some depth scoring that's for sure. Also your defense looks amazing. Great 3 pairs of guys that you can hopefully rely on throughout the season. Solid goaltender as well, looks like you can go far with this squad.

Hope so, I've played so many seasons, having only 4 cups with the quality of rosters I've had is definitely disappointing. I had one season where I scored 321 goals for, only 181 against, and had 119 points (56-19-7) in the regular season, but wound up losing in the 3rd round.

This year I went with a bigger, grittier squad. Losing Yuri Smirnov to retirement was probably a blessing in disguise, since with the Frederick Howes trade, I was able to call up some young RWers, (Baron and Meldere) to the top 2 lines, and able to fill my bottom 6 with better defensive players.

Tuomo Makkonen and Johan Persson as my 3rd line defensive pairing is the strongest I've had. Last time Makkonen was on the team was the last time I had a 85+ on the bottom pair, and he was with just an 80 overall.

Also, the risky move of trading Par Moller and keeping Calle Moller as the starter seems to have paid off. Par was a 91 overall vs. Calle's 88, but both are butterfly goalies, so Calle being 6'3", 209 lbs compared to Par's 6'2", 178 lbs, seems to allow Calle to make more saves, as he doesn't have to go side to side as much. He has 2 shutouts and is 2-1-0 in the 3 games he's played this season.

Given your knowledge of my team (the bio's in the dynasty section don't give a ton of insight, I know), is there anything you might change?

Will do a statistics and roster update after the 8th game of the year, currently 4 games in.

Well tbh your team looks really solid. Here is how I have built my lines and has usually worked for me in the past. I placed a sniper, playmaker and power forward on my top line, and they are usually very good together. In the past I've had people like Iginla, Brown, JVR as my pwf, Toews, Hall, Malkin, Datsyuk as my playmakers and snipers. Now I know there isn't much you can change but if you ever look maybe try to get bigger bodies out there.

As for things you can do right now, I would maybe move Bordson to the 3rd line. That is, if the offense is struggling or something. I think an 88 overall sniper shouldn't be playing the third line. He can be a goal scorer for you, and I know you are probably trying to balance your lineup, I still like to typically have my 1st and 2nd lines the most 'powerful'. 3rd and 4th is just depth to me, guys who will grind away and get you those goals from a couple feet away (guys like Stoll, Brouwer, Kopecky etc those 3 were once my 3rd line). But yeah, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you struggle just mix up lineups. Goodluck

Hey thanks for the input, I've been posting my Tampa and Boston line-ups to try and get some response like this, just haven't got any yet. As for Bordson, yeah, last season he played on the 2nd unit for most of the season and was reasonably productive (47 points, if I'm not mistaken, says somewhere in a previous blog post). The problem with him, he is built like a powerforward, at 6'4", 223 lbs, or something like that, but he doesn't use it well unless I really force him to. On the 3rd line though, with Klee and Whoever, historically Cracknell, the style of the other 2 guys allows him to be more physical.

I promoted Colin Meldere to the 2nd line to start this season, he is built like a powerfoward as well, even though he is a sniper. He can also be 3rd line though, so if I do struggle, he and Bordson will probably change. I agree though, keeping an 88 overall on the 3rd line is difficult, just figured I'd give the kids (Baron and Meldere) a chance to prove themselves.

Again, thanks for the input.

Yeah, I mean really an 88 overall on the third line isn't a huge problem, as long as you aren't lacking in front of him. You know the way your players play better then I do, so the way you move them around will be better. There are certain players for me, who may have a low overall, but I can really play well with them and they seem to do everything right. One example would be Galchenyuk in one of my GM modes. He was only 72 overall, but I liked his play style and he seemed to do really well. As long as your lines balance out in the end and you get some sort of production, I'd say you are ok. If troubles ever come, just juggle the lines and see what will spark the team. But like I said, team looks solid. Good luck during the season!

Thanks, and yeah, I know it's harder to understand the team exactly when you can't see it. I really do appreciate the input, and even now that you've mentioned it, I think Bordson on the 2nd line might be a good fit, if Meldere doesn't continue to produce.

Thanks, hopefully it goes well. Anything less than a Stanley Cup is unacceptable this season!