At the NHL level, the top teams are always carefully cast. Or at least that’s what we aim for. There are result chains, bottom chains, over and under strength compositions. This is the case in many places, but the approach also varies from club to club.
One theme that has been talked about recently is related to underpowered playing and role-playing around it.
Is it worth sacrificing the team’s main forces and most expensive players for an underpowered game? For example, Toronto’s answer to the question is a clear yes.
Quick-footed skill player Mitch Marner is one of the star category attackers in the league who play the most underpowered games this season as well. Also Austin Matthews and even William Nylander have killed the ice in the current season.
Carolina, Florida and the New York Rangers also say yes. Sebastian Aho, Alexander Barkov and Mika Zibanejad are the main strikers of their teams, playing a big role in both the over and under power play.
– The problem is that usually the best players are also the best underpowered players. That’s just how it goes. If they are the leading players on the winning wall, so to speak, they are also the best underdogs, former NHL player, JYP assistant coach Ville Nieminen sees
In Nieminen’s view, the statistics provide support. Under the leadership of Sebastian Aho, Carolina has been the NHL’s best underdog team for the previous three years. Rangers can be found in fifth place and Toronto in ninth place.
And the stars are not satisfied with understrength just defending. of Boston Brad Marchand, a star category player himself, is the NHL’s most effective underpowered player for the previous eight seasons with 35 points. Aho can be found in fourth place in the statistics, Zibanejad in sixth place.
In terms of goals, Marchand is first, Aho second.
– Aho has the desire to score even when underpowered and he is really good at it, ‘s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen says.
The masters play the role
Not all clubs want their star players, who enjoy an annual salary of ten million bucks, to spend their energy in an underpowered game.
Such clubs include, for example, Colorado, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko from Ranta, Nikita Kucherov or Sidney Crosby there is no need to wait for underpowered exchanges.
If you look at the Stanley Cup winning teams from the last few years, among the most effective players there are only two players who played a significant underpowered role: the St. Louis Ryan O’Reilly in 2019 and Vegas Mark Stone in 2023.
– At least I wouldn’t dare to underplay my best players. It’s about the overall strain and whether I’d like ten million guys to block shots with understrength, Lehkonen states.
– Could you imagine By Steven Stamkos or Nikita Kutsherov’s underpowered game to fence. Or does Rantanen want to go on the ice and kill when he plays 24 minutes anyway. Yes, he’s in the cheerleading squad when Colorado gets iced, Lehkonen laughs.
Toronto has the least amount of understanding from Lehkon. Among the six most underpowered forwards, there are three of the club’s most valuable gold nuggets, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
– That’s pretty bad humor from Toronto, that you have to use the trio with understrength. I don’t even understand at first. If the best players have to spend 90 seconds killing the ice, then it’s not the case with very strong players, Lehkonen adds.
For example, should Barkov, who plays more than two minutes per match, save his strength for the offensive game and the tough playoff rally in the spring? What about Sebastian Ahon?
– I would definitely reduce the responsibility of both with understrength. Florida has Eetu Luostarinen and by Anton Lundell start taking more responsibility for that. The situation is exactly the same in Carolina. Aho has to consume too many batteries with underpower, Ismo Lehkonen sees.
How easy is it to eliminate the responsibility of star players?
– The point is that guys want to play underpowered, says Nieminen.
– I believe that this would be the easiest thing to remove, Lehkonen sees.
Long-time puckmen are on the same page when it comes to role-playing. For example, Toronto has hired as one of the role players in the bottom chain, a wooden wrestler who mainly profiles himself as a media entertainer by Ryan Reaves. If the necessary depth is not found in the lineup, the point guard may have to carry too much of a burden on his shoulders – up to playing underpowered.
– The NHL team should always be played in such a way that there is not a single player without a role. It’s a challenge, Nieminen says.
– The team must have underpowered men, superior men and the right kind of balance. That way, everyone gets enough credit for their work. Palaver Rally is also ruthless if you play both. First a 40-minute match session and on top of that 20 minutes of superiority session, after which you learn 20 minutes of the opponent’s superiority game, Lehkonen says.
The risks of injury increase
At the same time, when top-class individuals bring significant added value through high-quality starting and doing other things, the risks also increase. Not only that the total load in the regular season increases in the case of Marner and Barkov by about 150-200 minutes in the regular season alone, spinning in front of shots increases the injury coefficients even more.
For example, Buffalo’s main hitter Tage Thompson broke his arm in mid-November going for a shot. There are weeks of recovery ahead, and in the worst case, the club will fall out of the playoff race during that time.
– Nowadays, pucks come at 160-170 kilometers per hour. Which GM out there wants the best player to go to the dock due to an underpowered blocked shot. I believe that someone will still blow the whistle on this game. Defense game speeds will increase because we want to avoid injuries, says Lehkonen.
Even Nieminen would spare the best players.
– You can see from the league table, underpowered performances or pitcher winners, whether anything has ever been won without going in front of the shots. The mask players are so good that you have to go to the front. Of course, it’s smart not to go for stupid bets. This also comes down to the fact that good overpowered players know how to play underpowered, they don’t have to block as often.
– Yes, you would still have to think about who will sacrifice in front of that shot. Especially when the pass comes directly from the wing, someone other than the best defender or the best attacker must be found for that, Nieminen continues.