Notebook Buzz
Team Canada
Brad Marchand – Sidney Crosby – Patrice Bergeron
John Tavares – Ryan Getzlaf – Steven Stamkos
Logan Couture – Jonathan Toews – Tyler Seguin
Matt Duchene – Joe Thornton – Claude Giroux
Corey Perry
Burning Question: Where does Corey Perry fit?
Team Canada’s roster includes 10 centers, many of them, Steven Stamkos, Tyler Seguin, Patric Bergeron and Claude Giroux who will slide over to right wing.
If there’s any challenge for the heavy favorite Canadians, it’s finding the best group of 12 forwards.
Corey Perry who scored 34 goals last season, opened Team Canada’s training camp this week as the extra forward.
On the top line, Patrice Bergeron is itched in stone on Sidney Crosby’s right wing. Brad Marchand coming off a 37 goal season got the first look with Crosby on his left wing.
Crosby has often meshed with players who have the type of intangibles that Marchand brings to the table in what should be an ideal fit between the two, especially with Bergeron and Marchand having a lot of chemistry.
The plethora of centers for Team Canada has them planning to play John Tavares on left wing.
None of Team Canada’s right handed forwards play the left side, meaning Team Canada only has five options to play left wing in Marchand, Tavares, Couture, Duchene and Joe Thornton.
Among the right wingers on the opening depth chart, Claude Giroux could be most vulnerable, but Perry’s best chance of being part of Canada’s regular forward group will most likely have to see Canada move Thornton to the wing and bump a Couture or Duchene out of the lineup.
Defensemen
Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Shea Weber
Alex Pietrangelo – Brent Burns
Jay Bouwmeester
Burning Question: Will Canada’s ‘D’ choices come back to haunt them?
Duncan Keith opting out of the World Cup has put Team Canada’s blueline under the microscope.
Team Canada left the likes of Kris Letang and PK Subban off the roster, both again recently when needing a replacement for Keith in adding Jay Bouwmeester to the team.
One of the arguments in adding Bouwmeester was the need for a left handed defenseman.
If Carey Price isn’t Carey Price and Canada is upsetted, many will be looking at the personnel decisions on D.
Goaltenders
1. Carey Price
2. Braden Holtby
3. Corey Crawford
Burning Question: Who backs up Price?
There’s no question who the No. 1 netminder will be. The only question there is what type of leash Price should be on due to not playing since last November.
In the immediate future, the decision for the Team Canada staff is who backs up Price.
The easy decision would seem to be Braden Holtby, the Vezina Trophy winning goaltender who went 48-9-7 with a 2.20 GAA and .922 save percentage last season.
Still, Corey Crawford is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who had a strong 2015-2016 campaign with 35 wins and a .924 save percentage.
