Poll: If you could pick any 20 players to start an NHL franchise with.

[Guest blueadams]

Cap-space aside - - - as was the original intention of this thread - - - this is the 23 man roster I'd start a team with (now that I've put some more serious thought into it):

A. Ovechkin-S. Crosby-E. Malkin
S. Stamkos-J. Toews-J. Neal
C. Giroux-A. Kopitar-P. Kane
T. Seguin-J. Tavares-T. Hall
R. N-Hopkins, J. Eberle

S. Weber-E. Karlsson
A. Pietrangelo-D. Doughty

O. E-Larsson-K. Letang
K. Shattenkirk

J. Quick
C. Price

...I challenge anyone to find fault with that roster.

Edited May 29, 2013 by blueadams

[Manny>Ozzie(by a long shot) 55]

No red wings...blasphemy!!!!!!

[T-Ruff 47]

I'd build my team with the best combination to win now and later (i.e. young players with lots of prime left). Of course no concern for the cap, and I'll try to build it not like an all star team, but with "bottom 6" type players in the bottom 6 (i.e. good defensively and/or hard hitters). Here we go:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Patrick Kane

Anze Kopitar - Steven Stamkos - Claude Giroux

Mike Richards - Jonathan Toews - Dustin Brown

Milan Lucic - Patrice Bergeron - David Backes

John Tavares, Jordan Staal

- On line one you have the big power forward Nash, the flashy and speedy Kane, and the of course Crosby who's very good defensively if needed. The opponents will never be able to focus on one threat on this line as they can all score and pass more or less

- Line two is all centres but the wingers have experience playing there. Kopitar's defensive strengths will cover for Stamkos' pure offensive focus. All 3 of these guys are electric when on their game.

- Line three has two centres for important faceoffs, captain serious in between two other captains who are gritty and can hit hard. Richards is also one of the best in his own zone and on the PK

- Line 4 also has two centres, with one excellent defensive forward in Bergeron surrounded by two huge bruising forwards. You're gonna be hurting when you're out against this line.

- With Tavares and Staal in the press box you have two guys who can step into the top and bottom 6, respectively, if necessary due to injury

Zdeno Chara - Erik Karlsson

Duncan Keith - Shea Weber

Drew Doughty - Kris Letang

Alex Pietrangelo

You won't have to worry about matchups with this D-corps, roll them evenly as they can go head to head with the best in the business. Karlsson's offensive inclination is balanced by Chara's defensive one, but that's not a huge lean for either of them who are both very good at both ends. Keith and Weber are basically the perfect balance of top tier ability at both ends of the ice, as is Doughty and Letang. Pietrangelo is one of the league's best as well and he can slot in to replace anyone if necessary with minimal disruption.

Henrik Lundqvist

Jonathan Quick

Simply the two best goalies in the league today so it's an easy choice. However, If you're looking for a goalie who is more suited to the backup role, slot in Craig Anderson or Roberto Luongo instead as both have played 2nd fiddle for long periods and performed well when called upon.

Edited May 26, 2013 by T-Ruff

[amato 3,210]

no pav? even if i wasn't a wings fan, he'd be on my squad in this scenario.

also, this topic is interesting and all but it'd be cool to see what people would do using the salary cap

[T-Ruff 47]

no pav? even if i wasn't a wings fan, he'd be on my squad in this scenario.

also, this topic is interesting and all but it'd be cool to see what people would do using the salary cap

At 34 he was a little bit above my age criteria... If I was building team concerned with winning only this year, he'd be on the team without a doubt.

[stillwater 186]

At 34 he was a little bit above my age criteria... If I was building team concerned with winning only this year, he'd be on the team without a doubt.

But Chara at 36 wasn't?

[Guest DeGraa55]

I'd build my team with the best combination to win now and later (i.e. young players with lots of prime left). Of course no concern for the cap, and I'll try to build it not like an all star team, but with "bottom 6" type players in the bottom 6 (i.e. good defensively and/or hard hitters). Here we go:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Patrick Kane

Anze Kopitar - Steven Stamkos - Claude Giroux

Mike Richards - Jonathan Toews - Dustin Brown

Milan Lucic - Patrice Bergeron - David Backes

John Tavares, Jordan Staal

- On line one you have the big power forward Nash, the flashy and speedy Kane, and the of course Crosby who's very good defensively if needed. The opponents will never be able to focus on one threat on this line as they can all score and pass more or less

- Line two is all centres but the wingers have experience playing there. Kopitar's defensive strengths will cover for Stamkos' pure offensive focus. All 3 of these guys are electric when on their game.

- Line three has two centres for important faceoffs, captain serious in between two other captains who are gritty and can hit hard. Richards is also one of the best in his own zone and on the PK

- Line 4 also has two centres, with one excellent defensive forward in Bergeron surrounded by two huge bruising forwards. You're gonna be hurting when you're out against this line.

- With Tavares and Staal in the press box you have two guys who can step into the top and bottom 6, respectively, if necessary due to injury

Zdeno Chara - Erik Karlsson

Duncan Keith - Shea Weber

Drew Doughty - Kris Letang

Alex Pietrangelo

You won't have to worry about matchups with this D-corps, roll them evenly as they can go head to head with the best in the business. Karlsson's offensive inclination is balanced by Chara's defensive one, but that's not a huge lean for either of them who are both very good at both ends. Keith and Weber are basically the perfect balance of top tier ability at both ends of the ice, as is Doughty and Letang. Pietrangelo is one of the league's best as well and he can slot in to replace anyone if necessary with minimal disruption.

Henrik Lundqvist

Jonathan Quick

Simply the two best goalies in the league today so it's an easy choice. However, If you're looking for a goalie who is more suited to the backup role, slot in Craig Anderson or Roberto Luongo instead as both have played 2nd fiddle for long periods and performed well when called upon.

I pretty much agree with this. Except I would have DAT on the third or fourth line. Then when he goes replace with staal.

[amato 3,210]

At 34 he was a little bit above my age criteria... If I was building team concerned with winning only this year, he'd be on the team without a doubt.

yeah but if he's not on your team, he's playing against you

idk i think as long as he's in the league, i'd want him on my team.. age doesn't effect magic.

[matt198913 932]

Hmmmm

Edited May 26, 2013 by matt198913

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

I would want Datsyuk on the team for obvious reasons, and just to see him playing with some great players for the last time.

Kane - Datsyuk - Giroux

or

Datsyuk - Crosby - Ovechkin

[Aznknight 139]

The question should have the cap considered.

Forwards:

Zetterberg, crosby, Tavares

Helm (healthy) if not then Kesler/Bergeron.

Why these 4?

Leadership, Experience and Finish. Zata still has 4 good years. Crosby and Tavares to carry the team after. Kesler/Helm/Bergeron to run PK and defensive roles.

Defense

Doughty, Kronwall

Dekeyser

Why them?

Leadership, youth and Defense. Dekeyser will be a top D very soon.Kronner to instill fear into entering our zone.

Goalie

Quick and Elliott.

Consistency, youth and experience.

I'll build my team around that

[Richdg 267]

Maybe a better version of this idea would be: build the best cap compliant team, which does make things much tougher. You can't have 4 C's making 7+ million per year. Anyone can draft an AS team, and not be wrong with how they lay it out. Make a team that is under next years 64 million dollar cap, assuming everyone is available. A much tougher thing to do.

[T-Ruff 47]

But Chara at 36 wasn't?

I just completely blanked on the that one haha... Chara can move down the rotation as he gets older and less effective though, I'd stick with it and maybe work Dats in the same way on the bottom 6 somewhere.

I pretty much agree with this. Except I would have DAT on the third or fourth line. Then when he goes replace with staal.

That'd work for sure, It's so hard to narrow it down to 12 forwards, perhaps a cap compliant team would make this easier as others have mentioned.

[pvilleguru 65]

Win now?

If you pick the best players relative to their positions and add a few prospects like you did, you are going to win now. Hell, you have Getzlaf as a scratch.

[Guest DeGraa55]

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Milan Lucic ($6.000m) / Nicklas Backstrom ($6.700m) / Dustin Brown ($3.175m)
Bobby Ryan ($5.100m) / Jordan Staal ($6.000m) / Tomas Tatar ($0.840m)
Gustav Nyquist ($0.788m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.605m) / Shawn Thornton ($1.100m)
Brandon Saad ($0.894m) / Riley Sheahan ($0.900m) / Tomas Jurco ($0.925m)
Calle Jarnkrok ($0.900m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)
DEFENSEMEN
Drew Doughty ($7.000m) / Ryan Suter ($7.538m)
Brendan Smith ($0.827m) / Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m)
Jakub Kindl ($1.050m) / Brian Lashoff ($0.725m)
Xavier Ouellet ($0.925m) / Ryan Sproul ($0.925m)
GOALTENDERS
Jonathan Quick ($5.800m)
Petr Mrazek ($0.790m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $66,132,003; BONUSES: $2,305,000
CAP SPACE (24-man roster): $472,997

here's my cap compliant roster. Problem is it wouldnt copy/paste right. So Hossa is on second line. tatar on 3rd. Thornton on 4th and jurco on bench/minors.

Also some numbers are off for next year. cause I'm sure some guys will get new deals. for example the goalie brobrosky(spelling?) has a cap. hit for 800k next year? I doubt it. He was my backup but changed it because I dont think thats fair.

[Guest The Axe]

Not putting Taylor Hall on the squad is a mistake. He's going to blow up next year. 80-100 pts no problem.

[Resetti 44]

Why does the thread title say that this is a poll?

[Number19 159]

So basically list an all-star team?

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Stamkos (dirty skill line 1)

Wheeler-Crosby-Toews (enjoy the cycle)

VanRiemsdyk-Bergeron-Voracek (the 3rd Selke candidate with 2 power forwards)

Lucic-Helm-D.Brown (speed and anger)

Extras: Callahan-Ladd (a side of sandpaper)

Chara-DeKeyser (giant man and DD, lovin' the young Wing)

Pietrangelo-Suter (sure, i'll take Suter. Pietrangelo is my favorite non-Wing Dman)

Doughty- Ekman-Larsson ( E-L can handle most of the D while Doughty scores)

Kronwall

Lundqvist (best overall goalie in the NHL, Rangers are underachieving bums minus Callahan)

Howard (showin' love for Jimmy!)

f*** with that team. I dare you. I like my players to be more or less complete. 2-ways. Ovechkin, Letang, Malkin, Subban, even Giroux, P. Kane and Nash don't belong on this monster team. Stamkos is the only weaker 2-way guy, but he'd be busy scoring 75 goals.

So basically list an all-star team?

Then lets get a thread going for your favorite 20 under the cap, going from capgeek. And then instructions as to how some of you guys move the capgeek image over to posts.

[Guest DeGraa55]

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Stamkos (dirty skill line 1)

Wheeler-Crosby-Toews (enjoy the cycle)

VanRiemsdyk-Bergeron-Voracek (the 3rd Selke candidate with 2 power forwards)

Lucic-Helm-D.Brown (speed and anger)

Extras: Callahan-Ladd (a side of sandpaper)

Chara-DeKeyser (giant man and DD, lovin' the young Wing)

Pietrangelo-Suter (sure, i'll take Suter. Pietrangelo is my favorite non-Wing Dman)

Doughty- Ekman-Larsson ( E-L can handle most of the D while Doughty scores)

Kronwall

Lundqvist (best overall goalie in the NHL, Rangers are underachieving bums minus Callahan)

Howard (showin' love for Jimmy!)

f*** with that team. I dare you. I like my players to be more or less complete. 2-ways. Ovechkin, Letang, Malkin, Subban, even Giroux, P. Kane and Nash don't belong on this monster team. Stamkos is the only weaker 2-way guy, but he'd be busy scoring 75 goals.

Then lets get a thread going for your favorite 20 under the cap, going from capgeek. And then instructions as to how some of you guys move the capgeek image over to posts.

Its real simple first you go to any team I chose Detroit. I then cut all the players(uncheck the top middle box so their cap doesn't count against you). Then you acquire players from other teams.

After you hot your team click the bottom left button in red. I think its "copy for post" or something like that. What it does is open up another window and you can copy paste from there.

Last night was my first time on capgeek and it took me two Mina to figure it out. Its very easy and fun!

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Its real simple first you go to any team I chose Detroit. I then cut all the players(uncheck the top middle box so their cap doesn't count against you). Then you acquire players from other teams.

After you hot your team click the bottom left button in red. I think its "copy for post" or something like that. What it does is open up another window and you can copy paste from there.

Last night was my first time on capgeek and it took me two Mina to figure it out. Its very easy and fun!

Cool, thanks. I've been on Capgeek quite a bit, but I don't believe I ever tried copying the roster anywhere. If we get another cap compliant thread I'll throw my Capgeek team in there.

[Hey man nice shot! 144]

I'd build my team with the best combination to win now and later (i.e. young players with lots of prime left). Of course no concern for the cap, and I'll try to build it not like an all star team, but with "bottom 6" type players in the bottom 6 (i.e. good defensively and/or hard hitters). Here we go:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Patrick Kane

Anze Kopitar - Steven Stamkos - Claude Giroux

Mike Richards - Jonathan Toews - Dustin Brown

Milan Lucic - Patrice Bergeron - David Backes

John Tavares, Jordan Staal

- On line one you have the big power forward Nash, the flashy and speedy Kane, and the of course Crosby who's very good defensively if needed. The opponents will never be able to focus on one threat on this line as they can all score and pass more or less

- Line two is all centres but the wingers have experience playing there. Kopitar's defensive strengths will cover for Stamkos' pure offensive focus. All 3 of these guys are electric when on their game.

- Line three has two centres for important faceoffs, captain serious in between two other captains who are gritty and can hit hard. Richards is also one of the best in his own zone and on the PK

- Line 4 also has two centres, with one excellent defensive forward in Bergeron surrounded by two huge bruising forwards. You're gonna be hurting when you're out against this line.

- With Tavares and Staal in the press box you have two guys who can step into the top and bottom 6, respectively, if necessary due to injury

Zdeno Chara - Erik Karlsson

Duncan Keith - Shea Weber

Drew Doughty - Kris Letang

Alex Pietrangelo

You won't have to worry about matchups with this D-corps, roll them evenly as they can go head to head with the best in the business. Karlsson's offensive inclination is balanced by Chara's defensive one, but that's not a huge lean for either of them who are both very good at both ends. Keith and Weber are basically the perfect balance of top tier ability at both ends of the ice, as is Doughty and Letang. Pietrangelo is one of the league's best as well and he can slot in to replace anyone if necessary with minimal disruption.

Henrik Lundqvist

Jonathan Quick

Simply the two best goalies in the league today so it's an easy choice. However, If you're looking for a goalie who is more suited to the backup role, slot in Craig Anderson or Roberto Luongo instead as both have played 2nd fiddle for long periods and performed well when called upon.

I respect your opinion, then i barf in my hands.

Cool, thanks. I've been on Capgeek quite a bit, but I don't believe I ever tried copying the roster anywhere. If we get another cap compliant thread I'll throw my Capgeek team in there.

Lol ya i did the same think and made a realistic team.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Hey man nice shot!

[Guest blueadams]

Here's my cap-compliant roster.

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Steven Stamkos ($7.500m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)
Gabriel Landeskog ($3.575m) / Claude Giroux ($3.750m) / Dustin Brown ($3.175m)
Tomas Tatar ($0.840m) / Gustav Nyquist ($0.875m) / Damien Brunner ($1.350m)
Riley Sheahan ($0.900m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.875m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m)
DEFENSEMEN
Drew Doughty ($7.000m) / Erik Karlsson ($6.500m)
Alex Pietrangelo ($3.167m) / Kris Letang ($3.500m)
Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m) / Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.300m)
GOALTENDERS
Jonathan Quick ($5.800m)
Petr Mrazek ($0.790m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,746,666; BONUSES: $4,015,000
CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $568,334

Here's how I did it:

*Rule #1: No one 30 or older.

*Step #1: I laid a nice, cheap foundation - third and fourth line, third-pairing, backup goalie. I wanted to spend about $1mil per player. I'm sure there are some better options out there, but I'm not all that familiar with the intricate details of other teams rosters, so I just went with suitable wings: Tatar, Nyquist, Brunner, Sheahan, Andersson, Abdelkader, DeKeyser Smith and Mrazek. *EDIT: Smith out, Shattenkirk in.

*Step #2: I put together my choice top line. The game-winners: Stamkos, Crosby, Neal, Doughty, Karlsson, Quick.

*Step #3: I bargain-shopped to fill out the second line. Dustin Brown is someone I'd love to have on my team, and is a real bargain at about 3mil. Claude Giroux is perhaps the best bargain in the game at about 3mil. Gabriel Landeskog is one of the brightest young stars in the game, and another bargain at about 3mil. Kris Letang and Alex Pietrangelo are both big time steals at about 3mil too.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Here's my cap-compliant roster.

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER

My Custom Lineup

FORWARDS

Steven Stamkos ($7.500m) / Sidney Crosby ($8.700m) / James Neal ($5.000m)

Gabriel Landeskog ($3.575m) / Claude Giroux ($3.750m) / Dustin Brown ($3.175m)

Tomas Tatar ($0.840m) / Gustav Nyquist ($0.875m) / Damien Brunner ($1.350m)

Riley Sheahan ($0.900m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.875m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m)

DEFENSEMEN

Drew Doughty ($7.000m) / Erik Karlsson ($6.500m)

Alex Pietrangelo ($3.167m) / Kris Letang ($3.500m)

Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m) / Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.300m)

GOALTENDERS

Jonathan Quick ($5.800m)

Petr Mrazek ($0.790m)

------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,746,666; BONUSES: $4,015,000

CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $568,334

Here's how I did it:

*Rule #1: No one 30 or older.

*Step #1: I laid a nice, cheap foundation - third and fourth line, third-pairing, backup goalie. I wanted to spend about $1mil per player. I'm sure there are some better options out there, but I'm not all that familiar with the intricate details of other teams rosters, so I just went with suitable wings: Tatar, Nyquist, Brunner, Sheahan, Andersson, Abdelkader, DeKeyser Smith and Mrazek. *EDIT: Smith out, Shattenkirk in.

*Step #2: I put together my choice top line. The game-winners: Stamkos, Crosby, Neal, Doughty, Karlsson, Quick.

*Step #3: I bargain-shopped to fill out the second line. Dustin Brown is someone I'd love to have on my team, and is a real bargain at about 3mil. Claude Giroux is perhaps the best bargain in the game at about 3mil. Gabriel Landeskog is one of the brightest young stars in the game, and another bargain at about 3mil. Kris Letang and Alex Pietrangelo are both big time steals at about 3mil too.

Your team is 98% offence. Only a handful of your guys can play actual defence. But that's cool if that's the way you like it.

[Guest DeGraa55]

Your team is 98% offence. Only a handful of your guys can play actual defence. But that's cool if that's the way you like it.

And 3m over the cap. Lol