Gallagher on Nick Suzuki's wing? A surprising post has surfaced, and it confirms that some experts still believe in him
The CH's training camp has just started, and many are already analyzing Martin St-Louis' line combinations. A trend is evident as the coach appears to be testing out forward duos.
Indeed, we've seen the following three pairs: Caufield and Suzuki, Monahan and Dach, and Slafkovsky and Anderson.
Based on this, the former scout for the Montreal Canadiens and now a columnist for recrutes.ca, Grant McCagg, has suggested his lines for the upcoming opening game. Not one to shy away from bold opinions, he believes Brendan Gallagher might end up on the first line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
His reasoning seems logical. Given that MSL appears keen on going with pairs, and since Alex Newhook will likely be the center of the 3rd line, Gallagher and Tanner Pearson would need to be spread across the first two lines.
While the explanation is theoretically sound, it's practically hard to fathom. Placing a player who has only played 93 games over the past two seasons on the 1st line when stability is sought doesn't seem wise. Even if he claims to be in top form, there's a high risk he might miss several games this season.
If he manages to play 75 or more games this season, I believe Gally, despite his best intentions, would hinder Suzuki and Caufield more than help. The latter is physically compromised and lacks his previous speed. He'd be more beneficial to the team on a 3rd line rather than the first.
It will be intriguing to see if the pairs proposed during the initial intrasquad games will last and, most importantly, who will ultimately be the third member of the team's first line. Personally, my bet is on Sean Monahan, but he seems to be "paired" with Kirby Dach.
A story to watch...
Via: DLC
| POLL | ||
Would you like to see Gallagher on Suzuki's line? | ||
| Yes | 57 | 27.5 % |
| No | 150 | 72.5 % |
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