One of my favourite things about being in the Toronto Marlies coaches office during my two seasons there was discussing the next game’s lineup. As a player, you didn’t really care how all four lines shaped up. You didn’t care if they were balanced, or if they were set up to match your next opponent well. You just wanted to play with your team’s two best forwards in the interest of furthering your own goals. It’s a team game, logo on the front not the namebar on the back, yada yada yada. But it’s a business, and you have to look out for numero uno first and foremost.



As a fan, you usually want what’s best for the whole group, but you also rarely agree with how a coach sets up his four lines (at least, that’s what Twitter would have me believe). What team doesn’t have a forward who gets head-scratching minutes? It’s tough to know if you don’t have all the information, or if your coach is just making bad...