Thoughts on owning linemates

[Sawch]

Wondering what people's thoughts are on owning linemates. I was always sort of against owning linemates, mainly cause an injury or line movement to one player can affect the other. That being said, without really planning on it, I have a few sets of linemates this year. I drafted Panarin very late (which was the steal of the draft) and then ended up getting Anisimov as a free agent, which turned out to be another gem. That line with Kane is lighting it up. I also drafted Giroux and then was able to get Voracek through a trade (bought low on him). They seem to be turning it around after a slow start. Curious to thoughts on owning linemates? Are you for it or against it, or indifferent? Thanks for the input!

[roberto_alomar]

Very fun. Currently have Benn/Seguin and the double alerts going off... are quite pleasant.

[rataylor22]

So many threads on this. Like so many.

However. In H2H, it wins more weeks than it loses.

In roto, it doesn't matter.

[Sawch]

Sorry, I'm fairly new here and haven't seen any. Anyway, thanks for the input.

[Big Ev]

it doesn't matter in any format IMO. Just pick whoever you think will do the best. If they end up as linemates, then so be it. I have like 4 Blue Jackets on one of my teams right now

[niconasr]

it doesn't matter in any format IMO. Just pick whoever you think will do the best. If they end up as linemates, then so be it. I have like 4 Blue Jackets on one of my teams right now

Totally agree with that. Players are players. If they happen to play on the same team or same line, it doesn't really matter. Pick the best player available, that's all.

[ericdaoust]

Some like targeting line combinations. I don't care about them. I have higher goals like building contenders.

[bondon]

Ah the good old debates between MT319 and Ryan Ma over the tandem theory.

[Atomic Wedgy]

All you need to know is a 70 player is as valuable as any other 70 point player regardless of who is linemate is.

[rataylor22]

FWIW, look at it this way. Say you consider Gaudreau and Perry approximately equal (points only). At the end of the season, they probably finish with around the same points. In H2H, Last night, with a Getz-Perry combo you get 9 points. With a Getz-Gaudreau combo, you get 5. The 9 points is more likely to win you your week than the 5 points will. Next week, Gaudreau could get 4 points and Getz and Perry could each get 1. With a Getz-Perry combo, you only get 2 points. With a Getz-Gaudreau combo, you only get 5 points. Neither is likely enough to win your week. So after 2 weeks, with Getz-Perry, you're 1-1. With Getz-Gaudreau, you're 0-2. Reasons why combos are more valuable in H2H formats. Your stars slump and boom at the same time. Where as if you have 2 equal level players that aren't linemates, their slumps can offset weeks and lose you more weeks than the combo would.

[skiteam14]

Same thoughts initially as you OP.

In my shallow 5-team league, I picked at #5 so I got to pick essentially two top-10 guys back-to-back. For whatever silly reason, I decided I didn't want them to be on the same team so I picked Benn and Giroux instead of Benn and Seguin. Obviously that looks like a stupid decision in hindsight based on how those guys' seasons have started.

But somehow, over the course of the season I ended up with Montreal's top line, parts of Washington's and Winnipeg's top lines, and now I'm fully behind having linemates together. Even now my biggest regret is not taking Seguin over Giroux and locking up the Stars duo.

As long as the lines you invest in are offensively productive and are the top lines in the league, then obviously more often than not you'll reap the benefits of them scoring together. Sure, once in awhile the line gets scored on twice in a game and you end up with a -6 for that night, but if it's truly a good line then you know they will make up for that eventually.

I'm sure whoever had both the Sedins on their team the other night against Chicago was loving those the 9 points those two generated together.

Edit: Also, continuing with the Sedins example, wouldn't you rather take all the points from the Sedin line scoring instead of knowing that every time Daneil scored that one of your opposing GMs got points from Henrik too?

[rangerfan2430]

I loved doing that and think it's a good idea. For years I had Crosby and Kunitz (Back when Kunitz was good) and it would be great when one of them would score and the other one would get an assist

[BealestreetTyrant]

I view it as risky sometime, as (rataylor22 said), they boom and bust in unison in many cases. Point getters are point getters. I'd prefer to look at scheduling and how many nights I'm playing line mates over other potentially viable players. If you have off night line mates, that's even better. I hate having goose eggs from line mates / but I love the streaks.

My answer: It depends on who those line mates are and what the schedule is like.

[CarbombCarcillo]

Thoughts on owning both Backstrom and Kuznetsov? Despite being moved to the second line, Kuz is still producing and has two assists tonight.

[The Comish]

it doesn't matter in any format IMO. Just pick whoever you think will do the best. If they end up as linemates, then so be it. I have like 4 Blue Jackets on one of my teams right now

This. I've heard arguments that have led me to at least consider teammates as a factor in H2H (I haven't played in a H2H league ever), but still, why would you pass on a better player for a lesser talented player? Even players on the same team have up and down streaks, injuries, etc. Coaches rarely keep lines together for very long, as long as they are both on the PP, who cares what line they play on!