WWYDW: Who should centre the third line?

If there was one thing the Flames were supposed to have, it was defensive depth. If there was another thing, it was centre depth.

Sean Monahan is great! Mikael Backlund is great! Sam Bennett… should have been great by now? Mark Jankowski is a rookie who has, over time, not appeared to have an immensely positive impact. Matt Stajan isn’t too bad in a fourth line defensive role. Curtis Lazar is… worth a second round pick? Freddie Hamilton is press box fodder, but he actually is an ideal candidate for that role–

So. Who do you have centring the third line?

The original plan, heading into this season, was that the third line would be Bennett’s. He had a decent rookie campaign, he kind of slumped as a sophomore but had a great playoffs. This was the year he would break out, and that has yet to happen, kind of hampering the Flames’ third line in the process.

Okay, try something new. Bennett’s back on the left wing now, another position he plays. Up came Jankowski, who had five goals and eight points in six games for the Heat this season, and sure looked like he earned a spot in training camp. He started off great, and then things kind of fizzled out, and he has a 46.65% 5v5 CF with 69.00% offensive zone starts, so he is both heavily sheltered and not doing much with it. (The only bottom sixer with a 5v5 CF over 50% right now? Jaromir Jagr, who has missed a handful of games and, also, is Jaromir Jagr.)

The third line as a whole needs to get going, but the question probably turns back to down the middle. The Flames have an abundance of centres now, as detailed above, but do they have anyone right for this job at the moment?

Do you keep Jankowski in that position, and let him work through the ups and current downs of the season, fingers crossed that he’ll prevail? Do you try switching Bennett back there, now that the magic appears to have worn off? Do you go into desperation mode and try one of the other centres you have readily available? Recall, say, Marek Hrivik, and try him up there? Make a trade?

These articles are always meant to provide the set up for what you would do, if you were in charge. So… who would you have centring the third line?

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