NHL: The Best NHL Team That Money Can Buy

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Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

It’s that point in the summer when NHL teams have a majority of their roster set in stone. From here on out, NHL general managers will have an extremely easy job until the season begins. Must be nice to have most of the month of July and all of the month of August off! That got me thinking – what if I were a general manager? It can’t be too hard, right? Hey, Mike Milbury was a general manager once (and a really awful one at that)! Why can’t I pretend to be one?

Best NHL Team Money Can Buy: First Line

For my first line, I wanted it to be an excellent scoring line. I honestly didn’t focus much on defensive value on this line since this line of NHL stars would ideally be seeing a ton of offensive zone starts. Any team that wants to win the Stanley Cup must have the ability to score. This line would dominate the NHL.

First Line Left Wing: Alex Ovechkin

This is the one pick where I completely deviated from my strategy. Ovechkin had the 44th best dCI (53.42) of all left wings. However, as I said, I wanted an elite scoring line for my first line. How could I possibly have an elite scoring line if it didn’t include the best goal scorer in the NHL? Yes, his $9.538 million required me to be fancy and cheap later on. Luckily, I was able to do so.

Honorary Mentions: Daniel Sedin, Jamie Benn, Filip Forsberg. I was REALLY tempted by Forsberg, but dang it I needed Ovechkin! I was also really tempted to include Dallas’s handsome duo of Benn and Seguin.

First Line Center: Joe Thornton

Oh if I could count how many hours I have dreamed to see Thornton alongside Ovechkin. Sadly, that’s not possible in the NHL. Luckily, this isn’t reality, so it’s entirely plausible! Thornton had the second highest dCI (238.98) among all centers in the NHL. Not only that, his passes are poetry in motion. Imagine what Thornton could do with the NHL’s best goal scorer. In Lou We Trust is doing amazing work with passing data (you can read up on it here), but this just shows you how incredible Thornton is at passing. His passes lead to scoring chances. Considering who’s on his left, that’s precisely what I want.

To recap some of the metrics: CC% and CC/60 are for Corsi Contribution (individual shot attempts, primary passes leading to shot attempts, and secondary passes leading to shot attempts) percentage and per sixty minutes. These tell you how much offense goes through that player while on the ice and also how often they contribute. Composite SAG and SG represent the total number of shot attempts and shots a player generated from both primary and secondary passes per sixty minutes. SAG/60 is solely for the player’s primary passing contributions. Entry Assists represent the number of controlled entries a player assisted on. This is determined by the number of passes in transition (prior to entering the offensive zone) we recorded for each player. SC Contribution % and SCC/60 are the exact same thing as CC% and CC/60, but represent only the scoring chances a player was involved in. – In Lou We Trust

CREDIT: In Lou We Trust

Honorary Mentions: Tyler Seguin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Tavares, Henrik Sedin, Joe Pavelski. I was probably the most tempted by Seguin and Pavelski. However, Thornton and Ovechkin has happened in my dreams way too many times for me to not make it happen.

First Line Right Wing: Jakub Voracek

I’m a Caps fan, so I absolutely hate saying this. This might be the first time I’ve openly admitted this: Voracek… is probably the most productive passer in hockey. There, I said it. Voracek had a breakout season in 2014-2015 with 81 points (41 at even strength). Then, there’s his passing. Once again, I turn to In Lou We Trust.

CREDIT: In Lou We Trust

Voracek is more than just boxcar stats guy. The Flyers are a completely different team when he’s on the ice. He’s also good for at least 20 goals a year. With Thornton as his center, 25 to 30 is reasonable. This line is all about optimizing the league’s best goal scorer. The best way to do so? Surround him with two of the league’s best passers.

Honorary Mentions: Pavelski, Ryan Strome, Tyler Johnson. I was sorely tempted by Strome, but Voracek’s passing was way too valuable.

I’m spending a lot on this line, but it’s worth it. This line is going to score at will with offensive zone starts. You have the arguably the best passer in the league (Voracek), the undisputed best goal scorer in the league (Ovi) and arguably the second best passing center in the league (Thornton). Works for me!

Next: Second Line

Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team Money Can Buy: Second Line

For my second line, I wanted to have an elite shutdown line. I got that while adding some potentially borderline elite offense as well by adding a young forward.

Second Line Left Wing And Center: Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron

These two need to be introduced together. They come at a costly price at a combined $11.375 million, but they are worth every penny of it because they are the best shutdown duo in the NHL. Bergeron led the NHL with a dCI of 287.49. Marchand’s dCI was 169.49, 11th highest in the NHL and second among left wings. This duo is way too good to even consider breaking up. Once I included Bergeron, I knew I had to include his best friend Marchand.

Honorable mentions: I was sorely tempted to just have the Triplets line from Tampa Bay, but they don’t dominate defensive zone starts like Boston’s dynamic duo do. What’s impressive is that Boston’s duo does what the triplets do except with less favorable zone starts.

Second Line Right Wing: Brendan Gallagher

Gallagher provides an element of offense to the second line while still being excellent defensively. His dCI of 136.86 ranked sixth among all NHL right wings. His dCF (which measures offense) was the highest among all right wings (161.83). When you consider how sub par Montreal was in terms of possession, that’s very impressive. He also provides the second line with a first line goal scoring talent.

Next: Third Forward Line

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team Money Can Buy: Third Line

I wanted this line to be more well-balanced, though they would likely not be facing the same high quality of competition as most third lines thanks to the best second line in the NHL (hypothetically). I also wanted this line to be dirt cheap because I splurged big time on my first two forward lines. I wound up using two of my three ELCs on this line.

Third Line Left Wing: Nikita Kucherov

Like MacKinnon, he’s still on his ELC with a cap hit of $712,000. That played a huge factor in his inclusion on his team, but so did his impressive numbers. Kucherov had a 64 point season in 2014-2015. Some might say he’s a bit of a passenger to Tyler Johnson. I disagree. Even if that were true, it’s not like he’s playing with bums on the third line. He’s got two of the best young forwards in the NHL on this line. Kucherov had a dCI of 103.44 (10th among right wings) in 2014-2015. He’d add some offensive firepower to the third line without being that much of a hinderance defensively.

Third Line Center: Nathan MacKinnon

I don’t think people realize just how good MacKinnon is. Sure, he had a “down year” in terms of his box car stats with just 38 points after having a 63 point regular season in 2013-2014. Before getting down on him, he’s only 19 years old. He has the hockey IQ of at least a 25-year-old though. His CorsiFor% relative? 7.3%. His possession prowess shines thanks to his dCI of 143.48 (seventh highest among centers). He’s still on his ELC with a cap hit of $925,000 as well.

Third Line Right Wing: Tomas Tatar

I’ve been a huge fan of Tatar since he entered the league. So I wasn’t that surprised that he had such a high dCI. His 191.99 dCI was the fourth highest in the NHL. He’s a rare NHL player who can create offense at an impressive rate and shut down opponents. He’s such a perfect fit for this line. With him, the third line is much better offensively and defensively. Want to know why Detroit could be just fine when Datsyuk and Zetterberg retire? Tatar’s a pretty big reason why.

Next: Fourth Forward Line

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team Money Can Buy: Fourth Line

My fourth line would be seeing a ton of defensive zone starts so that the first and third lines can get as many offensive zone starts as possible. However, I’d still want them to be somewhat productive on offense. I think I got a nice blend here.

Fourth Line Left Wing: Michael Raffl

Raffl is one of the most underrated forwards in the NHL. I really like what he brings to the table offensively. His $1.1 million cap hit pretty much sealed the deal for me. His 120.17 dCI ranked 11th among left wings. He scored 28 points despite playing just over 14 minutes a game. I’ll take that from my fourth liner. It’s a tad bit of a risk having Raffl who has never been a heavy defensive zone start guy in the NHL on the fourth line, but hey, I can afford to take it with his offense.

Fourth Line Center: Marcus Kruger

Kruger is what I like to call a “defensive zone specialist”. He had just a 25.25% offensive zone start percentage in 2014-2015. Despite that, his CF% relative was just -1.67%. That’s insane. That tells me that Kruger is an expert at creating offense despite not getting favorable minutes or zone starts. His dCI was the third highest in the NHL (236.11). Granted, he’s a fourth liner so he didn’t have terribly difficult expectations to beat. But still, that’s extremely impressive. I’ll take him as the fourth line center on my team any day of the week. I renewed his contract at $1.35 million (his AAV from last season) since he hasn’t signed an NHL contract for next season yet.

Fourth Line Right Wing: Erik Condra

Condra, like Kruger, is a defensive specialist. His dCI of 98.09 was 12th among right wings. He can provide a little bit of offense, but he’s more known for his defensive prowess. He’s also one of the best penalty killers in the league.

Now, let’s take a look at my defensemen.

Next: First Pairing

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team Money Can Buy: First Pairing

Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Talk about someone who is criminally underrated. He had the second highest dCI among all blue liners last season (183.19). He had a 43 point season in 2014 for a really bad team (the Arizona Coyotes). Imagine what he could do with a much better team. He’s a true first pairing defenseman. A guy who can handle virtually any situation with relative ease. His $5.5 million cap hit is a beautiful thing.
Anton Stralman. Guess who had a higher dCI than OEL? That would be Stralman. Though Stralman played 97 games, he had a dCI of 187.19. If his partner Viktor Hedman wins a Norris, Stralman can rest knowing that he played a huge role in it. Stralman had 39 points last season, playing over 20 minutes per game. Like OEL, Stralman can handle virtually any situation. His cap hit is a relative bargain at just $4.5 million.

Honorable mentions: I’m a huge fan of Erik Karlsson, so I was tempted to just include him like I did for Ovechkin. However, OEL and Stralman stood out to me. Plus, his $6.5 million cap hit was just too much for me. OEL’s a darn nice consolation prize though. I was also tempted by Drew Doughty for pretty much the same reason. Shea Weber got serious consideration as well. Weber might be the one guy who I don’t care what the advanced stats say, I’ll take him on my team (mostly because I am deathly afraid of his slap shot).

Next: Second Pairing

Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team That Money Can Buy: Second Pairing

Duncan Keith. I know, I know, Keith should probably be on the first pairing. However, Keith would be much better suited if he got more offensive zone starts, in my opinion. To me, he’s not as ideal of a first pairing guy as OEL and I really strived to get lefty-righty combinations. Regardless, it’s awesome to have a guy like Keith as a second pairing guy as Keith is one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. Like Stralman, he benefitted from having extra games in the playoffs. However, he ended last season with a dCI of 174.27 (4th highest among NHL blue liners). He had the third highest dcF as well. Could you imagine Keith getting a ton of offensive zone starts? Good luck opposing teams! Oh, and his cap hit is an unfair $5.538 million. Once you realize how many guys make more than that, holy cow that’s a bargain.
Jason Demers. Boy, the Sharks probably wish they had him back. They traded him to the Stars, and he wound up being an underrated blessing for Dallas. Dallas will be relying quite heavily on him next season. His dCI of 174.33 was the third highest among NHL blue liners. That’s even more impressive once you realize he only played 61 games. He also balances out Keith as he’s more of a stay at home defenseman. Having a guy like Demers allows Keith to be more aggressive, which is when Keith is at his best. He has a very nice cap hit of just $3.4 million.

Next: Third Pairing

Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team That Money Can Buy: Third Pairing

Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm has been a bit of a victim of Nashville’s incredible blue line depth. That said, he is a very underrated defenseman. His dCI of 140.46 ranked 11th among all NHL blue liners. He’s a very reliable stay at home defenseman who would contribute to the penalty kill. His cap hit is just $1.038 million.
Jared Spurgeon. Spurgeon is more of a reputation pick as is dCI isn’t outstanding, but he’s still a very good defenseman. His dCI of 100.08 fell just outside of the top 20 among NHL blue liners. More importantly, he’s right-handed and his $2,666,667 cap hit is reasonable considering his age and how quickly he’s improving. There were cheaper options, but I’ll trust Spurgeon over them.

Next: Goaltenders

Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

Best NHL Team That Money Can Buy: Goalies

I really wanted to have Carey Price. However, thanks to my heavy spending, that wasn’t a possibility. I figured that it wasn’t worth it to make my dream NHL team weaker just to have the best goalie in the league.

Starting Goalie: Devan Dubnyk

Is it risky to assume that Dubnyk can repeat his stats with the Wild? Probably. However, that’s a risk I’m willing to take because of the potential value I could get for him. With a cap hit of $4.33 million, he was worth 20.38 GAR (third most among all goalies). With my defense and offense, I wouldn’t need him to be outstanding. I’d just need him to be good. I’m very confident he can be that. I could’ve gone really cheap and gone with Craig Anderson, but I figured I might as well invest my money in Dubnyk.

Backup Goalie: Scott Darling

I needed a dirt cheap goalie. Darling’s $570,000 cap hit was perfect. He’s also a pretty good backup goalie, with a GAR of 9.58. Not to mention he’s a pretty awesome guy who I have a ton of respect for as well. Hey, personality does count for something! Plus, if Dubnyk regresses, Darling has all the tools to be an above average goaltender (which is pretty much all this team needs anyway).

I came up just under the salary cap. In fact, I had just a tad bit over $100,000 left! Woo! I highly recommend that you try doing this yourself and post your rosters. This was honestly a lot of fun to do. If you decide to, I recommend trying different things. Maybe a cheap goaltender allows you to spend more on the team around them. Maybe you want Carey Price because you want the best. That’s the beauty of this exercise – it’s your team! And I’d love to hear yours!

All stats unless noted are courtesy of War-On-Ice

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