HEIKA: It will probably be all over the place. Not only is Tyler Seguin a candidate to take Pavelski’s place on the top line right wing, but so are Johnston, Stankoven and Bourque. If Johnston goes to the top line, Seguin could be a candidate to play center with Jamie Benn, so there are a lot of moving parts. If I had to draw it up today, I would leave Seguin on the right wing with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment. That line had chemistry, and having that kind of scoring depth is huge in what Pete DeBoer wants to accomplish. With the departure of Faksa and Ty Dellandrea, I do think Seguin will get more PK time, but I don’t think it changes his role. He still is a candidate to play on the top PP, as well.
If lines stay similar, they could look like this:
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Bourque-Stankoven
Dadonov-Steel-Blackwell
That said, it’s a long season, and DeBoer does like to experiment, so be ready for anything.