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The jersey was never used in a game which sparked widespread anger. Many fans believed that the jerseys were just a way of taking money from fans before unveiling the trojan logo. ’It was a scam,’ said Dean Vasilas, 25, who has Senators season tickets. ’We’re being used. Chris Phillips leads the Senators in games played with 1,179; Alfredsson is second with 1,178 appearances. Chris Neil is the all-time leader in penalty minutes accrued, with 2,522 minutes in 1,026 regular season games, and 204 minutes in 95 playoff games. Patrick Lalime and Craig Anderson hold team records in most goaltending categories. For his 1000th game, Chris Neil and his family are recognized during a pregame ceremony at Canadian Tire Centre. 2013-14 Panini Titanium Game Worn Gear Marc-Edouard Vlasic #GGMEV JSY BV6 2013-14 Panini Titanium Game Worn Gear Patrick Marleau #GGPM JSY BV8 2013-14 SP Game Used Team Canada Fabrics Gold Joe Thornton Team Canada #TCJT JSY 21/97 BV12 2013-14 Totally Certified Rookie Roll Call Jerseys Red Tomas Hertl #RRTHE JSY BV15. Pic 1: 4358 Daniel Alfredsson Autographed Puck, $20 Pic 2: (S) Two Senators Flags White flag on pole, autographed by Alexei Yashin, No. 19, $20 Red Sens Army Flag, $5 -Pics 3 and 4: (SS1/2) Quality Senators sweater by Rugby Wear NHL Official Licensed Product 100% Cotton Preshrunk Size: Medium New condition $30 - Pic 5: (HH) New Hat Trick; winter hat, designed to look like a hockey helmet.
The life cycle of a hockey line goes something like this:
It’s created by a coach attempting to mesh three players together into a cohesive unit; it’ll stick around for anywhere from a few periods to a few games; and then it’s either broken up, with the spare parts added to different lines, or it passes the chemistry test, living on for months or perhaps for seasons.
Sometimes lines earn nicknames, although that usually speaks more to their popularity than their effectiveness. Or, in some cases, it’s just because the first letter from the players’ names spells something cool.
Every franchise has its endearing and enduring lines, which is why we’ve decided to determine the best ones for all 31 teams, currently and back in the day. As these rankings can get a bit predictable when looking back -- ’The Production Line,’ ’The Triple Crown Line,’ ’The French Connection’ and the rest of the usual suspects -- we’re limiting our ’best line’ search to the past 30 years, back to the 1989-90 season.
In addition, we’re naming a ’cult classic’ line for every team during that span: a line that captured the fans’ imagination, no matter how long it was together.
Stats are courtesy Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.
Enjoy our ’best lines’ rankings, and let the debates begin ..Jump ahead to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI
COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | STL | SJ
TB | TOR | VAN | VGS | WSH | WPGAnaheim Ducks
Best line: LW Dustin Penner, C Ryan Getzlaf, RW Corey Perry
The extraordinary thing about this line is that it dominated at two different points in the timeline. In 2006-07, when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup, it was the ’Kid Line.’ Getzlaf and Perry were both 21, and they were the top two scorers for the Ducks in the postseason. Penner left for Edmonton as a free agent that summer. It wasn’t until 2013 when Penner signed with Anaheim as a free agent that the trio reunited, and didn’t skip a beat, averaging 4.28 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.
Cult classic: LW Travis Moen, C Samuel Pahlsson, RW Rob Niedermayer
The checking line that coach Randy Carlyle deployed with frequency during the team’s 2007 Stanley Cup run, and especially in the finals against the Senators when Jason Spezza (two assists in five games) and Dany Heatley (one goal) were shut down in part due to this trio. Moen chimed in with seven goals in the playoffs, while he and Pahlsson -- a suffocating defensive center -- had 12 points each.
Best current line: LW Jakob Silfverberg, C Adam Henrique, RW Rickard Rakell
A strong possession line that averaged 4.07 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, it earned the second-most ice time for any line on the Ducks this season. But all three players have seen better seasons (as has their team, obviously).Arizona Coyotes
Best line: LW Keith Tkachuk, C Jeremy Roenick, RW Rick Tocchet
Were we to open up this competition to the Coyotes’ days in Winnipeg, then it’s a slam dunk: Tkachuk, Alexei Zhamnov and a plucky young scorer named Teemu Selanne. But we’re talking only about the desert dogs here, so that means it’s Big Walt with Roenick and Tocchet. This line racked up points, with Tkachuk hitting 40 goals in 1997-98. The trio also racked up penalty minutes with its net-crashing style -- combining for 428 PIMs in 1998-99. No line was more popular in the team’s first few seasons in Phoenix.
Cult classic: LW Daymond Langkow, C Ladislav Nagy, RW Mike Johnson
Although there wasn’t a Tkachuk, Roenick, Shane Doan or Taylor Hall on the line, this trio proved to be a solid scoring unit around the 2001-02 season. Langkow actually led Phoenix with 62 points that season, ahead of Doan and Daniel Briere. Coyotes coach Bob Francis would deploy the trio as a defensive stopper line, too.
Best current line: LW Taylor Hall, C Christian Dvorak, RW Conor Garland
Easy call here, as Hall found a home with these two forwards after coming over from the Devils. They averaged 3.41 goals per 60 minutes and earned 55.4% of the scoring chances. Garland was a revelation, scoring 22 goals in his second NHL season. Hopefully for the Coyotes, he’s not a one-hit wonder.Boston Bruins
Best line: LW Joe Juneau, C Adam Oates, RW Dmitri Kvartalnov
For one season, ’The Bonanza Line’ rode high in the saddle. This was the best offensive season in Oates’ Hall of Fame career, with 142 points(!) including a league-high 97 assists. Juneau’s 102 points and 32 goals were his career best. Don’t sleep on Kvartalnov, who arrived in Boston as a 26-year-old ’rookie’ after a decade playing in Russia and posted 30 goals and 72 points in one of only two seasons in the NHL.
Cult classic: LW Daniel Paille, C Gregory Campbell, RW Shawn Thornton
They earned their ’Merlot Line’ nickname because that was the color of their jerseys in practice, worn by the team’s fourth line. But the trio protested against being called the team’s fourth line. ’Our fourth line, as it’s called in Boston, is not a fourth line on most other teams. We play an important role,’ said Campbell. Indeed these linemates did, throwing their bodies around and energizing fans and teammates during Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup run.
Best current line: LW Brad Marchand, C Patrice Bergeron, RW David Pastrnak
Known as ’The Perfection Line’ (to everyone but the Bruins fans who loathe that moniker). Since 2017, these three have played just over 1,600 minutes together at 5-on-5, with the Bruins scoring 61.0% of the goals and getting 57.0% of the shot attempts. Bergeron, one of the best two-way centers in NHL history, is flanked by two wingers who have played to a 30-goal pace for the past four seasons. As dominant as they come, and an argument can be made that this is the best Bruins line of the past 30 years, too.Buffalo Sabres
Best line: LW Dave Andreychuk, C Pat LaFontaine, RW Alex Mogilny
The 1992-93 season was notable for LaFontaine having played 84 games, the most he’d play in a season and only the second time in his 15-season Hall of Fame career in which he didn’t miss a game. As a result, he put up an extraordinary 148 points, including 53 goals -- and he was still second to Mario Lemieux (160) for the Art Ross Trophy. Mogilny was the primary beneficiary with a career-best 76 goals, tying him with Teemu Selanne for the league lead. Andreychuk’s big body and Hall of Fame crease crashing completed the line. (Speaking of the Hall: Get Mogilny in there finally, will you?)
Cult classic: LW Brad May, C Rob Ray, RW Matthew Barnaby
We asked Barnaby who typically skated with him and Ray. ’I didn’t play with Rob much,’ he said. But they did play together for a few glorious (goriest?) moments with fellow agent of chaos Brad May around 1997 to form what was known as ’The Dog Line.’ This brief alignment of three of the team’s greatest miscreants -- with a total combined penalty minutes that season of 641 -- remains the epitome of a cult classic.
Best current line: LW Sam Reinhart, C Jack Eichel, RW Victor Olofsson
They played over 600 minutes together in 2019-20, averaging 2.74 goals per 60 minutes at even strength. Eichel’s career-best 1.15 points per game helped put Olofsson in the Calder Trophy conversation.Calgary Flames
Best line: LW Gary Roberts, C Joe Nieuwendyk, RW Theo Fleury
The greatest Flames line of the past 30 years will have two basic components: Roberts, who scored 505 points in 585 games with Calgary; and his frequent linemate Nieuwendyk, the Hall of Fame center who amassed 616 points in 577 games. While there are a few candidates for their ideal right wing -- and Sergei Makarov is certainly in the mix -- it’s hard not to believe the best combination would involve that mightiest of mites, Fleury, who cracked 100 points in 1990-91 and 1992-93.
Cult classic: LW Matthew Tkachuk, C Mikael Backlund, RW Michael Frolik
The ’3M Line’ quickly established itself as one of the NHL’s preeminent collections of grunts. The trio played over 1,790 minutes together from 2016-17 to 2018-19 and had a plus-26 goal differential. Tkachuk, Backlund and Frolik devoured teams in puck possession and earned 58.78% of the scoring chances. Backlund was quietly one of the league’s best defensive centers. Tkachuk blossomed into a star thanks to his combination of goal-scoring prowess and ruthless agitation.
Best current line: LW Andrew Mangiapane, C Mikael Backlund, RW Matthew Tkachuk
While the O.G. ’3M Line’ still skated together in 2019-20, ’3M 2.0’ featured a breakout season from Mangiapane (17 goals) on a line that averaged 3.55 goals per 60 minutes and had an 11.13 shooting percentage.Carolina Hurricanes
Best line: LW Cory Stillman, C Eric Staal, RW Erik Cole
This line helped fuel the Hurricanes’ first Stanley Cup win in 2006 and Staal’s lone 100-point season in the NHL; he was the offensive star of the line. Stillman averaged 1.06 points per game in 2005-06, a career high for a player who had experience flanking high-end offensive talent. Cole scored 30 goals in 60 games and brought more sandpaper than a Home Depot.
Cult classic: LW Bates Battaglia, C Rod Brind’Amour, RW Erik Cole
They were nicknamed ’The BBC Line,’ despite none of them having been born in Leeds or Liverpool. The Hurricanes’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002 featured this trifecta of hard-nosed forwards anchored by Brind’Amour, one of the best two-way centers of the past three decades (and current Hurricanes coach). Along with Cole, Battaglia was a hustling winger who hit a career-high 21 goals in 2001-02. They were featured on T-shirts and sat down for interviews together:
Best current line: LW Teuvo Teravainen, C Sebastian Aho, RW Andrei Svechnikov
Teravainen and Aho have worked well together for the past three seasons, with the Hurricanes scoring 59.89% of the goals while these two are on the ice together. Nino Niederreiter played the most with them this season, but Svechnikov really kicked them to a different level: In 286 minutes together, their line produced 4.62 goals per 60 minutes, many of them without the benefit of lacrosse moves.Chicago Blackhawks
Best line: LW Michel Goulet, C Jeremy Roenick, RW Steve Larmer
This line worked despite itself. Roenick played at a different speed and tempo than his veteran linemates. ’Larmer and Roenick are an odd, yet effective, couple. Larmer plays a deliberate style and avoids media interviews, while Roenick plays in the fast lane and enjoys talking about it,’ Mike Kiley wrote in the Chicago Tribune back in 1992. But it worked: Larmer helped Roenick to consecutive 50-goal seasons, and Goulet was a model of consistency (and, for the record, the only member of the line to make the Hockey Hall of Fame).
Cult classic: LW Brandon Saad, C Andrew Shaw, RW Patrick Kane
A sensation during their 2014 run to the conference finals, reaching ’what do we nickname this line?’ status. The eventual answer was the ’Hustle and Flow Line,’ as two offensive standouts flanked uberpest Shaw. A brief but stellar trio during the Hawks’ dynastic years.
Best current line: LW Brandon Saad, C Jonathan Toews, RW Alex Nylander
The Blackhawks used a variety of lines this season, but this trio might have been the most effective from an analytics standpoint. Of the team’s top 10 lines in terms of ice time at 5-on-5 this season, none had a better expected goals percentage (52.07).Colorado Avalanche
Best line: LW Alex Tanguay, C Peter Forsberg, RW Milan Hejduk
Better known as the ’AMP Line’ thanks to their first names, which somehow won out over the ’MAP Line’ (they locate the back of the net!) or the ’PAM Line’ (greasy!). Whatever you call it, this trio was one of the best lines of the past three decades, especially in 2002-03. That’s when Hejduk led the NHL with 50 goals and Forsberg led the NHL with 106 points, winning his only Hart Trophy in the process.
Cult classic: LW Ville Nieminen, C Dan Hinote, RW Chris Drury
An aggressive line that helped fuel the Avalanche to their 2001 Stanley Cup championship. Nieminen was a solid rookie; Drury was in the midst of a five-season run of 20-plus goals; and Hinote was one of the NHL’s best pests at the time.
Best current line: LW Gabriel Landeskog, C Nathan MacKinnon, RW Mikko Rantanen
While the ’AMP Line’ gets the nod for the GOAT of Avalanche scoring lines, this trio can certainly stake a claim for that title. Look no further than last season, when all three broke the 30-goal mark; Rantanen (31), Landeskog (34) and MacKinnon (41) were the team’s top three scorers. Injuries limited their time together this season, but when these three were united, the line had a 61.52 expected goals percentage. Forsberg line or MacKinnon line? Who’s your GOAT?Columbus Blue Jackets
Best line: LW Artemi Panarin C Pierre-Luc Dubois, RW Cam Atkinson
While this choice might seem as easy as ’pick the one with Panarin on it,’ there was another worthy contender for the honor: the line of Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek that put up strong numbers in the 2010-11 season, including 3.41 goals per 60 minutes in 516 minutes together. That group was good, but this line was dynamic, averaging 4.03 goals per 60 in 750 minutes together in the 2018-19 season, with an 11.0 shooting percentage. (The debate on Nash vs. Panarin for best left wing in franchise history is a rather intriguing one, however.)
Cult classic: LW Geoff Sanderson, C Espen Knutsen, RW Robert Kron
Sanderson was the first accomplished goal scorer in franchise history, hitting 30 goals in the Blue Jackets’ inaugural season. He found quick chemistry with Knutsen, who had 53 points in his first season in Columbus after having amassed just three in his NHL career to that point. The duo had a slew of wingers in the early years, but we always liked how the pair rolled with Kron, a 5-foot-11 mighty mite Sanderson knew from their days with the Whalers.
Best current line: LW Nick Foligno, C Pierre-Luc Dubois, RW Oliver Bjorkstrand
There wasn’t a Columbus line that played more than 200 minutes at even strength together this season. This one showed a lot of promise in limited time, with the Blue Jackets scoring 64.92% of the goals while these three were on the ice together.Dallas Stars
Best line: LW Brett Hull, C Mike Modano, RW Jere Lehtinen
One of our favorite lines in NHL history, for the way it took over games and for the personalities involved. Hull and Modano were dynamic offensive talents and dynamic personalities. Lehtinen was less flashy, putting his head down and playing some of the best two-way hockey of any winger in the league. Joe Nieuwendyk once recalled a time when coach Ken Hitchcock threw the line off the ice at practice to make a point: ’Modano and Hull couldn’t get off the ice fast enough to head to the golf course. Jere really took it hard. That’s a cute little story that I remember about those guys.’
Cult classic: LW Brenden Morrow, C Mike Ribeiro, RW Jere Lehtinen
Years later, Lehtinen helped anchor another top line for the Stars’ last trip to the Western Conference finals. This trio was most notable for Morrow going Beast Mode in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with nine goals in 18 games. In the 2008 playoffs, this line scored 77.9% of the goals when it was playing at 5-on-5.
Best current line: LW Jamie Benn, C Tyler Seguin, RW Alexander Radulov
We’ll give this trio the nod thanks to proof of concept, because it didn’t have its greatest season together in 2019-20, with just 1.49 goals per 60 minutes at even strength. But the line did have a 57.9 expected goals percentage, and last season just tore up the league at 4.07 goals per 60 in 65 games.Detroit Red Wings
Best line: LW Slava Kozlov, C Igor Larionov, RW Sergei Fedorov
Three of the famous ’Russian Five’ group of former Soviet stars, along with Slava Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov. Offensively, it was like watching the hockey manifestation of a Tchaikovsky symphony in its precision and artistry. Defensively, Fedorov was a next-level forward who would win the Selke Trophy (as he did twice) while scoring over 100 points. Scotty Bowman united them in 1995, and they starred in the Wings’ Stanley Cup win two years later.
Cult classic: LW Kirk Maltby, C Kris Draper, RW Darren McCarty
Putting the Grind Line here was an easy call. Figuring out which iteration of the line to honor was tougher. Draper, the tremendous shutdown center, and the agitating Maltby were the constants. The original Grind Line had celebrated goon Joe Kocur on right wing, and that trio provided backbone to the Wings team what won the 1997 Cup over the Flyers. But McCarty saw more time on the Grind Line and was a considerably better offensive player, so we’ll go with Version 2.0.
Best current line: LW Anthony Mantha, C Dylan Larkin, RW Tyler Bertuzzi
Apologies for the whiplash in going from the Red Wings championship machine to the 2019-20 team, whose .275 points percentage was the third lowest in franchise history. But this trio of young standouts was a highlight, posting a 55.21 expected goals percentage together at 5-on-5.Edmonton Oilers
Best line: LW Craig Simpson, C Mark Messier, RW Glenn Anderson
We’re examining a 30-year span, which means this trio sneaks in under the wire. These three were still playing together when the Oilers won their only post-Wayne Gretzky Stanley Cup in 1990, a season that saw Messier tally 129 points. Simpson and Messier tied for the playoff lead with 31 points, while Simpson led all scorers with 16 goals. A classic Edmonton trio from the dynasty days.
That said, an argument can be made for the modern-day line of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDa
https://diarynote.indered.space
The jersey was never used in a game which sparked widespread anger. Many fans believed that the jerseys were just a way of taking money from fans before unveiling the trojan logo. ’It was a scam,’ said Dean Vasilas, 25, who has Senators season tickets. ’We’re being used. Chris Phillips leads the Senators in games played with 1,179; Alfredsson is second with 1,178 appearances. Chris Neil is the all-time leader in penalty minutes accrued, with 2,522 minutes in 1,026 regular season games, and 204 minutes in 95 playoff games. Patrick Lalime and Craig Anderson hold team records in most goaltending categories. For his 1000th game, Chris Neil and his family are recognized during a pregame ceremony at Canadian Tire Centre. 2013-14 Panini Titanium Game Worn Gear Marc-Edouard Vlasic #GGMEV JSY BV6 2013-14 Panini Titanium Game Worn Gear Patrick Marleau #GGPM JSY BV8 2013-14 SP Game Used Team Canada Fabrics Gold Joe Thornton Team Canada #TCJT JSY 21/97 BV12 2013-14 Totally Certified Rookie Roll Call Jerseys Red Tomas Hertl #RRTHE JSY BV15. Pic 1: 4358 Daniel Alfredsson Autographed Puck, $20 Pic 2: (S) Two Senators Flags White flag on pole, autographed by Alexei Yashin, No. 19, $20 Red Sens Army Flag, $5 -Pics 3 and 4: (SS1/2) Quality Senators sweater by Rugby Wear NHL Official Licensed Product 100% Cotton Preshrunk Size: Medium New condition $30 - Pic 5: (HH) New Hat Trick; winter hat, designed to look like a hockey helmet.
The life cycle of a hockey line goes something like this:
It’s created by a coach attempting to mesh three players together into a cohesive unit; it’ll stick around for anywhere from a few periods to a few games; and then it’s either broken up, with the spare parts added to different lines, or it passes the chemistry test, living on for months or perhaps for seasons.
Sometimes lines earn nicknames, although that usually speaks more to their popularity than their effectiveness. Or, in some cases, it’s just because the first letter from the players’ names spells something cool.
Every franchise has its endearing and enduring lines, which is why we’ve decided to determine the best ones for all 31 teams, currently and back in the day. As these rankings can get a bit predictable when looking back -- ’The Production Line,’ ’The Triple Crown Line,’ ’The French Connection’ and the rest of the usual suspects -- we’re limiting our ’best line’ search to the past 30 years, back to the 1989-90 season.
In addition, we’re naming a ’cult classic’ line for every team during that span: a line that captured the fans’ imagination, no matter how long it was together.
Stats are courtesy Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.
Enjoy our ’best lines’ rankings, and let the debates begin ..Jump ahead to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI
COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | STL | SJ
TB | TOR | VAN | VGS | WSH | WPGAnaheim Ducks
Best line: LW Dustin Penner, C Ryan Getzlaf, RW Corey Perry
The extraordinary thing about this line is that it dominated at two different points in the timeline. In 2006-07, when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup, it was the ’Kid Line.’ Getzlaf and Perry were both 21, and they were the top two scorers for the Ducks in the postseason. Penner left for Edmonton as a free agent that summer. It wasn’t until 2013 when Penner signed with Anaheim as a free agent that the trio reunited, and didn’t skip a beat, averaging 4.28 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.
Cult classic: LW Travis Moen, C Samuel Pahlsson, RW Rob Niedermayer
The checking line that coach Randy Carlyle deployed with frequency during the team’s 2007 Stanley Cup run, and especially in the finals against the Senators when Jason Spezza (two assists in five games) and Dany Heatley (one goal) were shut down in part due to this trio. Moen chimed in with seven goals in the playoffs, while he and Pahlsson -- a suffocating defensive center -- had 12 points each.
Best current line: LW Jakob Silfverberg, C Adam Henrique, RW Rickard Rakell
A strong possession line that averaged 4.07 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, it earned the second-most ice time for any line on the Ducks this season. But all three players have seen better seasons (as has their team, obviously).Arizona Coyotes
Best line: LW Keith Tkachuk, C Jeremy Roenick, RW Rick Tocchet
Were we to open up this competition to the Coyotes’ days in Winnipeg, then it’s a slam dunk: Tkachuk, Alexei Zhamnov and a plucky young scorer named Teemu Selanne. But we’re talking only about the desert dogs here, so that means it’s Big Walt with Roenick and Tocchet. This line racked up points, with Tkachuk hitting 40 goals in 1997-98. The trio also racked up penalty minutes with its net-crashing style -- combining for 428 PIMs in 1998-99. No line was more popular in the team’s first few seasons in Phoenix.
Cult classic: LW Daymond Langkow, C Ladislav Nagy, RW Mike Johnson
Although there wasn’t a Tkachuk, Roenick, Shane Doan or Taylor Hall on the line, this trio proved to be a solid scoring unit around the 2001-02 season. Langkow actually led Phoenix with 62 points that season, ahead of Doan and Daniel Briere. Coyotes coach Bob Francis would deploy the trio as a defensive stopper line, too.
Best current line: LW Taylor Hall, C Christian Dvorak, RW Conor Garland
Easy call here, as Hall found a home with these two forwards after coming over from the Devils. They averaged 3.41 goals per 60 minutes and earned 55.4% of the scoring chances. Garland was a revelation, scoring 22 goals in his second NHL season. Hopefully for the Coyotes, he’s not a one-hit wonder.Boston Bruins
Best line: LW Joe Juneau, C Adam Oates, RW Dmitri Kvartalnov
For one season, ’The Bonanza Line’ rode high in the saddle. This was the best offensive season in Oates’ Hall of Fame career, with 142 points(!) including a league-high 97 assists. Juneau’s 102 points and 32 goals were his career best. Don’t sleep on Kvartalnov, who arrived in Boston as a 26-year-old ’rookie’ after a decade playing in Russia and posted 30 goals and 72 points in one of only two seasons in the NHL.
Cult classic: LW Daniel Paille, C Gregory Campbell, RW Shawn Thornton
They earned their ’Merlot Line’ nickname because that was the color of their jerseys in practice, worn by the team’s fourth line. But the trio protested against being called the team’s fourth line. ’Our fourth line, as it’s called in Boston, is not a fourth line on most other teams. We play an important role,’ said Campbell. Indeed these linemates did, throwing their bodies around and energizing fans and teammates during Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup run.
Best current line: LW Brad Marchand, C Patrice Bergeron, RW David Pastrnak
Known as ’The Perfection Line’ (to everyone but the Bruins fans who loathe that moniker). Since 2017, these three have played just over 1,600 minutes together at 5-on-5, with the Bruins scoring 61.0% of the goals and getting 57.0% of the shot attempts. Bergeron, one of the best two-way centers in NHL history, is flanked by two wingers who have played to a 30-goal pace for the past four seasons. As dominant as they come, and an argument can be made that this is the best Bruins line of the past 30 years, too.Buffalo Sabres
Best line: LW Dave Andreychuk, C Pat LaFontaine, RW Alex Mogilny
The 1992-93 season was notable for LaFontaine having played 84 games, the most he’d play in a season and only the second time in his 15-season Hall of Fame career in which he didn’t miss a game. As a result, he put up an extraordinary 148 points, including 53 goals -- and he was still second to Mario Lemieux (160) for the Art Ross Trophy. Mogilny was the primary beneficiary with a career-best 76 goals, tying him with Teemu Selanne for the league lead. Andreychuk’s big body and Hall of Fame crease crashing completed the line. (Speaking of the Hall: Get Mogilny in there finally, will you?)
Cult classic: LW Brad May, C Rob Ray, RW Matthew Barnaby
We asked Barnaby who typically skated with him and Ray. ’I didn’t play with Rob much,’ he said. But they did play together for a few glorious (goriest?) moments with fellow agent of chaos Brad May around 1997 to form what was known as ’The Dog Line.’ This brief alignment of three of the team’s greatest miscreants -- with a total combined penalty minutes that season of 641 -- remains the epitome of a cult classic.
Best current line: LW Sam Reinhart, C Jack Eichel, RW Victor Olofsson
They played over 600 minutes together in 2019-20, averaging 2.74 goals per 60 minutes at even strength. Eichel’s career-best 1.15 points per game helped put Olofsson in the Calder Trophy conversation.Calgary Flames
Best line: LW Gary Roberts, C Joe Nieuwendyk, RW Theo Fleury
The greatest Flames line of the past 30 years will have two basic components: Roberts, who scored 505 points in 585 games with Calgary; and his frequent linemate Nieuwendyk, the Hall of Fame center who amassed 616 points in 577 games. While there are a few candidates for their ideal right wing -- and Sergei Makarov is certainly in the mix -- it’s hard not to believe the best combination would involve that mightiest of mites, Fleury, who cracked 100 points in 1990-91 and 1992-93.
Cult classic: LW Matthew Tkachuk, C Mikael Backlund, RW Michael Frolik
The ’3M Line’ quickly established itself as one of the NHL’s preeminent collections of grunts. The trio played over 1,790 minutes together from 2016-17 to 2018-19 and had a plus-26 goal differential. Tkachuk, Backlund and Frolik devoured teams in puck possession and earned 58.78% of the scoring chances. Backlund was quietly one of the league’s best defensive centers. Tkachuk blossomed into a star thanks to his combination of goal-scoring prowess and ruthless agitation.
Best current line: LW Andrew Mangiapane, C Mikael Backlund, RW Matthew Tkachuk
While the O.G. ’3M Line’ still skated together in 2019-20, ’3M 2.0’ featured a breakout season from Mangiapane (17 goals) on a line that averaged 3.55 goals per 60 minutes and had an 11.13 shooting percentage.Carolina Hurricanes
Best line: LW Cory Stillman, C Eric Staal, RW Erik Cole
This line helped fuel the Hurricanes’ first Stanley Cup win in 2006 and Staal’s lone 100-point season in the NHL; he was the offensive star of the line. Stillman averaged 1.06 points per game in 2005-06, a career high for a player who had experience flanking high-end offensive talent. Cole scored 30 goals in 60 games and brought more sandpaper than a Home Depot.
Cult classic: LW Bates Battaglia, C Rod Brind’Amour, RW Erik Cole
They were nicknamed ’The BBC Line,’ despite none of them having been born in Leeds or Liverpool. The Hurricanes’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002 featured this trifecta of hard-nosed forwards anchored by Brind’Amour, one of the best two-way centers of the past three decades (and current Hurricanes coach). Along with Cole, Battaglia was a hustling winger who hit a career-high 21 goals in 2001-02. They were featured on T-shirts and sat down for interviews together:
Best current line: LW Teuvo Teravainen, C Sebastian Aho, RW Andrei Svechnikov
Teravainen and Aho have worked well together for the past three seasons, with the Hurricanes scoring 59.89% of the goals while these two are on the ice together. Nino Niederreiter played the most with them this season, but Svechnikov really kicked them to a different level: In 286 minutes together, their line produced 4.62 goals per 60 minutes, many of them without the benefit of lacrosse moves.Chicago Blackhawks
Best line: LW Michel Goulet, C Jeremy Roenick, RW Steve Larmer
This line worked despite itself. Roenick played at a different speed and tempo than his veteran linemates. ’Larmer and Roenick are an odd, yet effective, couple. Larmer plays a deliberate style and avoids media interviews, while Roenick plays in the fast lane and enjoys talking about it,’ Mike Kiley wrote in the Chicago Tribune back in 1992. But it worked: Larmer helped Roenick to consecutive 50-goal seasons, and Goulet was a model of consistency (and, for the record, the only member of the line to make the Hockey Hall of Fame).
Cult classic: LW Brandon Saad, C Andrew Shaw, RW Patrick Kane
A sensation during their 2014 run to the conference finals, reaching ’what do we nickname this line?’ status. The eventual answer was the ’Hustle and Flow Line,’ as two offensive standouts flanked uberpest Shaw. A brief but stellar trio during the Hawks’ dynastic years.
Best current line: LW Brandon Saad, C Jonathan Toews, RW Alex Nylander
The Blackhawks used a variety of lines this season, but this trio might have been the most effective from an analytics standpoint. Of the team’s top 10 lines in terms of ice time at 5-on-5 this season, none had a better expected goals percentage (52.07).Colorado Avalanche
Best line: LW Alex Tanguay, C Peter Forsberg, RW Milan Hejduk
Better known as the ’AMP Line’ thanks to their first names, which somehow won out over the ’MAP Line’ (they locate the back of the net!) or the ’PAM Line’ (greasy!). Whatever you call it, this trio was one of the best lines of the past three decades, especially in 2002-03. That’s when Hejduk led the NHL with 50 goals and Forsberg led the NHL with 106 points, winning his only Hart Trophy in the process.
Cult classic: LW Ville Nieminen, C Dan Hinote, RW Chris Drury
An aggressive line that helped fuel the Avalanche to their 2001 Stanley Cup championship. Nieminen was a solid rookie; Drury was in the midst of a five-season run of 20-plus goals; and Hinote was one of the NHL’s best pests at the time.
Best current line: LW Gabriel Landeskog, C Nathan MacKinnon, RW Mikko Rantanen
While the ’AMP Line’ gets the nod for the GOAT of Avalanche scoring lines, this trio can certainly stake a claim for that title. Look no further than last season, when all three broke the 30-goal mark; Rantanen (31), Landeskog (34) and MacKinnon (41) were the team’s top three scorers. Injuries limited their time together this season, but when these three were united, the line had a 61.52 expected goals percentage. Forsberg line or MacKinnon line? Who’s your GOAT?Columbus Blue Jackets
Best line: LW Artemi Panarin C Pierre-Luc Dubois, RW Cam Atkinson
While this choice might seem as easy as ’pick the one with Panarin on it,’ there was another worthy contender for the honor: the line of Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek that put up strong numbers in the 2010-11 season, including 3.41 goals per 60 minutes in 516 minutes together. That group was good, but this line was dynamic, averaging 4.03 goals per 60 in 750 minutes together in the 2018-19 season, with an 11.0 shooting percentage. (The debate on Nash vs. Panarin for best left wing in franchise history is a rather intriguing one, however.)
Cult classic: LW Geoff Sanderson, C Espen Knutsen, RW Robert Kron
Sanderson was the first accomplished goal scorer in franchise history, hitting 30 goals in the Blue Jackets’ inaugural season. He found quick chemistry with Knutsen, who had 53 points in his first season in Columbus after having amassed just three in his NHL career to that point. The duo had a slew of wingers in the early years, but we always liked how the pair rolled with Kron, a 5-foot-11 mighty mite Sanderson knew from their days with the Whalers.
Best current line: LW Nick Foligno, C Pierre-Luc Dubois, RW Oliver Bjorkstrand
There wasn’t a Columbus line that played more than 200 minutes at even strength together this season. This one showed a lot of promise in limited time, with the Blue Jackets scoring 64.92% of the goals while these three were on the ice together.Dallas Stars
Best line: LW Brett Hull, C Mike Modano, RW Jere Lehtinen
One of our favorite lines in NHL history, for the way it took over games and for the personalities involved. Hull and Modano were dynamic offensive talents and dynamic personalities. Lehtinen was less flashy, putting his head down and playing some of the best two-way hockey of any winger in the league. Joe Nieuwendyk once recalled a time when coach Ken Hitchcock threw the line off the ice at practice to make a point: ’Modano and Hull couldn’t get off the ice fast enough to head to the golf course. Jere really took it hard. That’s a cute little story that I remember about those guys.’
Cult classic: LW Brenden Morrow, C Mike Ribeiro, RW Jere Lehtinen
Years later, Lehtinen helped anchor another top line for the Stars’ last trip to the Western Conference finals. This trio was most notable for Morrow going Beast Mode in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with nine goals in 18 games. In the 2008 playoffs, this line scored 77.9% of the goals when it was playing at 5-on-5.
Best current line: LW Jamie Benn, C Tyler Seguin, RW Alexander Radulov
We’ll give this trio the nod thanks to proof of concept, because it didn’t have its greatest season together in 2019-20, with just 1.49 goals per 60 minutes at even strength. But the line did have a 57.9 expected goals percentage, and last season just tore up the league at 4.07 goals per 60 in 65 games.Detroit Red Wings
Best line: LW Slava Kozlov, C Igor Larionov, RW Sergei Fedorov
Three of the famous ’Russian Five’ group of former Soviet stars, along with Slava Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov. Offensively, it was like watching the hockey manifestation of a Tchaikovsky symphony in its precision and artistry. Defensively, Fedorov was a next-level forward who would win the Selke Trophy (as he did twice) while scoring over 100 points. Scotty Bowman united them in 1995, and they starred in the Wings’ Stanley Cup win two years later.
Cult classic: LW Kirk Maltby, C Kris Draper, RW Darren McCarty
Putting the Grind Line here was an easy call. Figuring out which iteration of the line to honor was tougher. Draper, the tremendous shutdown center, and the agitating Maltby were the constants. The original Grind Line had celebrated goon Joe Kocur on right wing, and that trio provided backbone to the Wings team what won the 1997 Cup over the Flyers. But McCarty saw more time on the Grind Line and was a considerably better offensive player, so we’ll go with Version 2.0.
Best current line: LW Anthony Mantha, C Dylan Larkin, RW Tyler Bertuzzi
Apologies for the whiplash in going from the Red Wings championship machine to the 2019-20 team, whose .275 points percentage was the third lowest in franchise history. But this trio of young standouts was a highlight, posting a 55.21 expected goals percentage together at 5-on-5.Edmonton Oilers
Best line: LW Craig Simpson, C Mark Messier, RW Glenn Anderson
We’re examining a 30-year span, which means this trio sneaks in under the wire. These three were still playing together when the Oilers won their only post-Wayne Gretzky Stanley Cup in 1990, a season that saw Messier tally 129 points. Simpson and Messier tied for the playoff lead with 31 points, while Simpson led all scorers with 16 goals. A classic Edmonton trio from the dynasty days.
That said, an argument can be made for the modern-day line of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDa
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