Adrian Dater of the Denver Post posted on the DP website that Patrick Roy told him what our top 3 lines are:
O'Reilly - Duchene - Parenteau
Landeskog - Stastny - Tanguay
McGinn - MacKinnon - Downie
Well then..
Some notes of interest:
Obviously this would move Ryan O'Reilly to the wing. I saw it suggested that this might somewhat diminish his two-way skills which I can certainly see. On the other hand, I think he's the most versatile center on a team with a lot of centers. I know everyone and their mother have been calling for a Stastny+ for Yandle swap, but that ain't gonna happen. I'm not 100% on board with the move but it's intriguing and I do like the idea of Duchene on a line with O'Reilly.
Hejduk hasn't retired and he is isn't included in these line combos.
He's not a 4th liner. Maybe he's informed the team he's not coming back but has yet to make the announcement formally? Worth noting.
Including MacKinnon in the top 3 lines says that the team feels he will make the team out of training camp. That's a pretty strong statement considering he hasn't even taken the ice in rookie training camp.
Since Pierre Lacroix left the organization and Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy entered the picture, the Avs have been so much more vocal in the media it's almost startling. I, for one really like the change in policy. It's so much harder to follow a team like the Avs who have struggled for a good while now when they tell you next to nothing about what they are doing. If nothing else it's entertaining and while I highly doubt this will be what our top 3 lines look like, sure is fun to speculate.
What do you guys think?