Defense:<\/strong> Evan Bouchard, Lee Fogolin<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Dwayne Roloson<\/p>\n Not bad, but not exactly the juggernaut you might expect from a team with Edmonton\u2019s history. Let\u2019s try another team that has a rich history.<\/p>\n Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux in 2005. (Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images)Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p>\n Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby are non-negotiable, but Jaromir Jagr is out because he\u2019s a double, and Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Kris Letang all get taken out by Lemieux. Still, I feel like there\u2019s enough firepower up front that we end up with a better team than the Oilers did, even when we leave the blue line for last and pay for it.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Ron Francis<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Brooks Orpik, Darius Kasparaitis<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Tristan Jarry<\/p>\n Let\u2019s try some Original Six teams \u2026<\/p>\n Toronto Maple Leafs<\/p>\n The Leafs are a mess. Pretty much anyone you start with ends up taking out another obvious name. Want Doug Gilmour? No Darryl Sittler or Dave Keon. Want Mats Sundin? No B\u00f6rje Salming or Syl Apps. Auston Matthews? Say goodbye to George Armstrong, Frank Mahovlich and Dave Andreychuk. You get the picture.<\/p>\n Still, with over a century of history to draw from, we find enough talent for a solid roster. And yes, we\u2019re probably too heavy on the 1993 squad here. You saw the byline on this article before you started reading, yes?<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark, Auston Matthews<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> B\u00f6rje\u00a0Salming, Tim Horton<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Felix Potvin<\/p>\n Let\u2019s keep going with the old teams \u2026<\/p>\n Boston Bruins<\/p>\n We start with Bobby Orr as a non-negotiable, then immediately hit a tough call: Phil Esposito or Eddie Shore? On most teams, that\u2019s a tough call. On this one, knowing we have the deepest pool of star blueliners in the league, we\u2019ll cut Shore and take our chances. It works out because while\u00a0Orr means we can\u2019t use Ray Bourque or Brad Park, we still have Zdeno Chara. We can fill in around that trio to form a very solid entry.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Phil Esposito, Milt Schmidt, Ken Hodge<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Bobby Orr, Zdeno Chara<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Tuukka Rask<\/p>\n It would have been nice to be able to fit in Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak or even Cam Neely up front, but this is still a very solid team. Let\u2019s try one more Original Six entry \u2026<\/p>\n Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n Maurice Richard means no Larry Robinson or Patrick Roy, and we have to choose between Jacques Plante and Jean Beliveau, but the Canadiens have such an embarrassment of riches that we don\u2019t have too much trouble assembling a powerhouse.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Maurice Richard, Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Doug Harvey, Shea Weber<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Carey Price<\/p>\n The only weak-ish spot is the second defenseman, since we\u2019re only getting the tail end of Weber\u2019s HHOF career. That makes me wonder if we\u2019ll be able to find any teams at all where all six spots are trouble-free. For now, Montreal is clearly our clubhouse leader, and I seriously doubt anyone will challenge them.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s give some of the newer teams a try \u2026<\/p>\n Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n We start with some optimism, since they get a still-dominant version of Gretzky and one of the most productive left wingers ever in Luc Robitaille, plus a goalie who uses a Q. But we lose Drew Doughty to the doubles rule, and with Rob Blake out of the picture, the blue line is thin.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Wayne Gretzky, Anze Kopitar, Luc Robitaille<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Steve Duchesne, Mark Hardy<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Jonathan Quick<\/p>\n Speaking of left-wingers who scored a bit \u2026<\/p>\n Washington Capitals<\/p>\n Alex Ovechkin is a really nice start here, and team history suggests that, for once, the blue line won\u2019t be the problem. Here\u2019s what I came up with:<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Alex Ovechkin, Mike Gartner, Evgeny Kuznetsov<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Rod Langway, John Carlson<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Braden Holtby<\/p>\n Ovechkin takes out Olaf Kolzig, which forces us to use Holtby, which takes out Peter Bondra and Nicklas Backstrom. Still, this all comes together pretty nicely. It\u2019s not a better lineup than Montreal\u2019s, but it\u2019s more pleasing, if that makes sense.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s stay in the Metro for one more \u2026<\/p>\n Philadelphia Flyers<\/p>\n The Flyers have never had a truly transcendent star on the blue line. Worse, their closest option, Mark Howe, means we can\u2019t use Ron Hextall in goal. That\u2019s a problem, because we also lose Bernie Parent if we want Bobby Clarke, and Pelle Lindbergh if we want Eric Lindros, and after that \u2026 yikes. Flyers fans, did you know that you haven\u2019t had a lot of great goalies over the years? Oh, you did know that? Cool, let me know if you want any of these batteries back.<\/p>\n In the end, I did what felt like the unthinkable and traded Clarke for Parent and Claude Giroux. I don\u2019t love it, but at least it avoids any weird dressing room chemistry with Lindros.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Eric Lindros, Claude Giroux, Tim Kerr<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Mark Howe, Jimmy Watson<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Bernie Parent<\/p>\n I don\u2019t feel good about that one. Let\u2019s try a more recent team.<\/p>\n Ottawa Senators<\/p>\n We\u2019ve only got about three decades to work with, and a lot of that was, uh, not especially useful for our purposes. But the good news is that the Senators have apparently drafted with initials in mind, because once you get past the Daniel Alfredsson vs. Alexei Yashin non-debate, we don\u2019t run into much conflict at all.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Brady Tkachuk<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Erik Karlsson, Wade Redden<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Patrick Lalime<\/p>\n Other than Yashin and maybe Craig Anderson, that\u2019s pretty much everyone you\u2019d want. We even have room to add pre-Norris Zdeno Chara instead of Redden, although Sens fans might prefer not to be reminded of that whole debate<\/a>.<\/p>\n St. Louis Blues<\/p>\n We can start building around one of the greatest center\/wing combos of all time, although Adam Oates does cost us Al MacInnis and Alex Pietrangelo, while Brett Hull costs us the Plagers. That leads to another weak-ish blue-line spot, although overall I feel like this roster captures the spirit of the Blues well enough.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Robert Thomas<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Chris Pronger, Justin Faulk<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Mike Liut<\/p>\n Two teams to go. We\u2019ll try one very new and one very old.<\/p>\n Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n I was going to do Seattle until I realized Jared McCann takes out both Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers, at which point I rage quit. So instead, let\u2019s try Vegas.<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Ivan Barbashev<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Shea Theodore, Nicolas Hague<\/p>\n Goalie:<\/strong> Marc-Andre Fleury<\/p>\n Leaving Jonathan Marchessault off the team hurt, but he would have cost us Eichel and Fleury, and the Knights have taught me that there\u2019s no loyalty in sports. Still, this is an annoyingly solid lineup for a team that\u2019s been around since this morning.<\/p>\n OK, one more from the other side of the spectrum \u2026<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-55857350-scaled.jpg\")
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