Berggren plays on first line before he's scratched for Fischer lmao

Also, Ras has earned, and proven, a spot in the top 6. IMO, he's a perfect linemate for Raymond.

I'd be hardpressed to not at least try Berggren on top line with DeBrincat, no? Berggren is an excellent perimeter passer. Should be legos with him and DeBrincat.
Starting top-6 should be (IMO)

DeBrincat-Larkin-Berggren
Rasmussen-Copp-Raymond

At least try it. I'd love Kasper to be 2C, though.

Let's just take a moment to enjoy how good these problems are to have, that we're trying to figure out who is the best for the top 6, as opposed to "well, I guess he can play top 6"... what a welcome change from the last couple years...

Well, to be fair, we were, or at least I was saying the same **** last year.
Then Berty got injured and Vrana had his issues.

Granted, the depth this year is MUCH better. We don't have many top-6 guys, but we do have an abundance of 3rd liners! Although, I do think Berggren takes another step forward this year and solidifies as a top-6 guy.

With the way the game is evolving, I actually think the way teams are built should change anyways... scoring by committee is the way to go IMO, less prone to tanking a season by injuries, more cap flexibility and more of a team mentality.

Get 3 "Stars" for the top line, fill the next 10 forward positions with depth guys, pump money into the defense, pay a 1a/1b goalie tandem and roll.

Oh certainly.
I remember saying "I'd rather have four 2nd lines than a 1-2-3-4 set up," and got clowned for it.
Then Vegas handily won the cup with their best player being sub PPG. Huh, who would've thought depth wins.

Razor will get a 1st line shot before Bergy. Razor is an excellent playmaker too. Bergy and Ras would fit together as well, as Bergy could feed Ras in the net front.

The reason why you wouldn't want Bergy or Razor with Cat and Larkin is who is playing in the corners? Larkin can play in the corners, but Cat and Razor aren't forecheckers. Perron and Ras are.

It might be 20-30 games before we know how these lines will work.

I can't see any scenario in which Razor and Cat on the same line make sense, as they play too similar of a game, they also both need to be paired with strong defensive linemates to insulate them AND they're both right handed shots...

I love Ras with Razor and think those two should all but be married at the hip... I assume we'll see a lot of line juggling for line 2-4 throughout the season, but I expect the top line to sort itself out pretty quickly. I think Kostin could be a sleeper to work his way into the top 6 too. Not suggesting this per se, but I could see this working too:
DeBrincat-Larkin-Kostin
Rasmussen-Copp-Raymond

No; I just think that Berggren is our team's best playmaker. Raymond is also a great playmaker, but is
A) Right shooting
B) More rounded than Berggren

Obviously, I do think that Raymond sees the top-line over Berggren; he's the better player no doubt, but that's not what I believe it should be.

Kostin first line...man....

Like I said, I'm not SUGGESTING it, just could see him working his way up... Yzerman seemed pretty high on him and his comments led me to believe he'll get a good chance to earn a bigger role... he was a 1st round pick originally...

I mean, certainly ensures we don't see our boys get pushed around.

I think you need a heavy player on each of the top lines, Ras on one, Perron on the other probably make sense to start, but even he isn't getting any younger and plays bigger than he is. My ideal opening night lineup involves moving Copp to the wing and slotting Kasper in at 3C:
DeBrincat-Larkin-Copp
Ras-Compher-Raymond
Berggren-Kasper-Perron
Kostin-Veleno-Sprong
Fabbri
Fischer

Swap in Fabbri in any of those bottom 6 roles you desire if he's healthy...

I think we see Perron on top line and Copp on 3rd.
Kasper certainly plays heavy enough for that line.

Realistically, I have to imagine Kasper plays most of, if not the entire, season in GR next year, but a guy can dream

I'd do unspeakable things to have him at 2C with Mazur on his wing.

I have to imagine Mazur is at LEAST 2 years away... I watched him in a couple GR games and although he had flashes, he looked a little lost a couple times. He still needs to round out his game at the pro level and is definitely not ready to make a jump to the NHL yet...

Idk man. I think, at most, 1 year.

Maybe 2 years is too long and he's only 1 out... depends how he does in GR next year I guess.

I don't want to hold them back and do the Holland "overripe" BS, but I also just don't want to rush guys, it's a very delicate balance...

Yeah. I just think Mazur is sufficient in nearly every other part of his game (shooting, physicality, skating), that if he just focusses on what you're saying, then yeah he'll definitely be fine in a year.