USA Hockey Magazine

AUGUST 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 37 "Why change one winger? Because the responsibilities of the line change a little—maybe you're playing against a team with better defense, or you need someone more physical," Smith said. " You won't have these GAG Lines because players are rotated in and out, off and on. The 'third winger' is rotated based on game situations." Fo r m e r N H L e r To n y G r a n a t o agreed, saying the special "tandems" are much more the norm than the three-player lines in terms of getting attention. "You get guys like Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic on the ice at the same time —guys who won't play together regularly because they both play the same position—at a critical point in the game, and that's something spe- cial," said Granato, who has coached a t t h e N H L a n d O l y m p i c l e v e l s before returning to his alma mater at the University of Wisconsin. The "other winger" on the Gretzky- Ku r r i l i n e w a s u s u a l l y a l e s s e r known, lesser talented player that was deemed to be a mucker, a young up-and-comer and even the occa- sional enforcer. Ditto for center Stan Mikita and sharpshooter Bobby Hull. And Mike Bossy and Trottier went through a number of wingers in New York with the Islanders. "But, those two guys though, were better than just about any three g u y s i n t h e l e a g u e a t t h a t t i m e ," pointed out former NHLer and U.S. Olympian Ed Olczyk. Though the greatest player Gretzky ever played with was Mark Messier, the two were both natural centers, and never clicked as linemates. In fact, Gretzky's greatest pure line may have come later in his career, when he with the Los Angeles Kings and had Granato, a good shooter and finisher on right wing, and talented irritant Tomas Sandstrom on left wing, who could muck and dig and finish. "Anybody in the world could play with Gretzky and he'd make them better,'' said Granato, who did just that for five years. "He was such a scorer and playmaker, so well round- ed, that he was a complementary player to anyone, and he made every- one around him better." Having such diversely talented players—with different skills—can lend itself to a special line. "I think ideally what brings a line together is the guy in the middle who really is so adept to be able to be the setup guy and the finisher, who can work both ends of the rink extremely well, and distribute the puck," said Olczyk, who teamed with David A. Jensen and Pat Lafontaine to form the "Diaper Line" on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, and understands more than anyone how important great lines can be. "But you have to have a guy or two who would rather give than receive— guys who don't worry about who is scoring most of the goals." T h e e r a o f t h e g r e a t l i n e , Backstrom said, has been replaced by the great player. And even role players on good lines with better players see their own stock rise as they put up bigger numbers. That leads to bigger paydays—but usually not better numbers—in another city. "Keep in mind the tremendous turnover in hockey nowadays with free agency, and everything else," he said. "You can't keep these great lines together, because one or two of the players are constantly moving onto greener pastures—and when I say greener, I mean money." P B o b S c h a l l e r i s a l o n g - t i m e f re e - lance writer and published author in Colorado Springs, Colo. The article has been edited and updated from the original story that appeared in the January 2005 issue of American Hockey Magazine. THE PRODUCTION LINE Detroit Red Wings Ted Lindsay – Sid Abel – Gordie Howe LONG ISLAND LIGHTNING COMPANY New York Islanders Clark Gilles – Bryan Trottier – Mike Bossy KLM LINE Soviet Red Army Vladimir Krutov – Igor Larionov – Sergei Makarov THE KRAUT LINE Boston Bruins Woody Dumart – Milt Schmidt – Bobby Bauer THE FINNISH SANDWICH Edmonton Oilers Esa Tikkanen – Wayne Gretzky – Jari Kurri THE DYNASTY LINE Montreal Canadiens Steve Shutt – Jacques Lemaire – Guy Lafleur THE PUNCH LINE Montreal Canadiens Toe Blake – Elmer Lach – Maurice Richard THE GAG LINE N.Y. Rangers Vic Hadfield – Jean Ratelle – Rod Gilbert THE NITRO LINE Boston Bruins Wayne Cashman – Phil Esposito – Ken Hodge THE LCB LINE Philadelphia Flyers Reggie Leach – Bobby Clarke – Bill Barber RED, WHITE & BLUE LINE 1960 U.S. Olympic Team Roger Christian – Tommy Williams – Bill Christian THE TRIPLE CROWN LINE Los Angeles Kings Charlie Simmer – Marcel Dionne – Dave Taylor THE FRENCH CONNECTION Buffalo Sabres Rick Martin – Gilbert Perreault – Rene Robert THE MPH LINE Chicago Blackhawks Pit Martin – Jim Pappin – Dennis Hull THE PERFECTION LINE Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron – Brad Marchand – David Pastrnak Greatest Lines Of All Time "The intangible key factor is chemistry" – RALPH BACKSTROM

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