Discussing Where Ryan Dzingel Plays in the Lineup

Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators made a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes bringing Ryan Dzingel back to the Senators. This article is not an analysis on the trade, for that you can read it here.

The purpose of this article is to discuss where Ryan Dzingel plays in this Ottawa Senators Lineup.

Flip-Flop lines

Head Coach DJ Smith has been changed the lines almost every game this year, meaning Ryan Dzingel may jump around in the lineup before DJ finds the ideal place for him. Dzingel is a speedy forward who can play up-and-down the lineup, as a winger, or even a center. I prefer Dzingel at wing, but we could definitely use the versatility in his play.

For this exercise, I will base myself on the most recent lineup I could find.

Obviously, Cedric Paquette and Alex Galchenyuk are out given they were the pieces going to Carolina to bring Dzingel back to the Nation’s Capital, so disregard them.

Dzingel / Stützle – White – Dadonov

This line makes sense to me because Dzingel is a speedy winger that can help White create offense with Evgenii Dadonov. Imagine having two great snipers on each wing, White will keep producing and you can even alternate him with Timmy every couple of games to give the 18-year-old more playing time without overwhelming him. On the downside, you’d have to drop Nick Paul to likely the fourth line in Paquette’s former role.

Dzingel – Tierney – C. Brown

This line would great because for a few reasons. Chris Tierney and Connor Brown have played really well together this season, but Brown has not been able to find the back of the net much this season. Dzingel is a finisher, he could spark the offense in this role and allow Brown to focus more on the two-way part of the game. Again, the only downside of this would be Paul likely sliding down to the fourth line.

Tkachuk – Norris – Dzingel

Reuniting Josh Norris with Brady Tkachuk could possibly help him regain the form he started the season off. To start the season, Drake Batherson was on this line, and while he played great with this line, I much rather have him playing with Stützle, with who he has formed chemistry. Putting Dzingel on this line would add soring. Norris has one hell of a shot but it’s pretty clear that DJ Smith is trying to morphe him into more of a playmaker than a finisher. Which is okay, but you need to give him a finisher. At the time that I’m writing this, Brady Tkachuk leads the NHL in shots on goal with 62, but shooting is not the best part of his game. Dzingel would complement this line nicely by sniping from the flanks, allowing  Brady to play his net-front style and score on rebounds while applying the famous Tkachuk grit. It would even allow Dzingel to use a deadly one-timer. The only downside of this would be Dzingel having to swap sides. I’m not sure he’s played much RW in the NHL.

Stützle – Dzingel – Batherson

Timmy has been great with Drake Batherson so far, but the Sens have yet to be able to find the centerman for this line. To me, Dzingel is ideally a winger, but I think this would benefit Timmy AND Batherson for multiple reasons. Dorion sought out to acquire a veteran to help ease these guys into the NHL, but Derek Stepan has struggled thus far. Dzingel could be that veteran, but he can also play higher quality hockey. This gives the young duo the SKILLED veteran they need to grow their game. Also, with this line, you can alternate Timmy and Dzingel from wing to center night in and night out to translate the young forward to center. The only downside of this would be having Dzingel at center as opposed to the wing. Sure, he started his career as a center. but his play-style makes him a much better winger than center. I could also even see Batherson play center once every now and then.

Which line would I prefer?

I like all the lines I suggested, but the one I prefer most would be the Stützle – Dzingel – Batherson trio. Like I previously mentioned, Dzingel is ideally a winger, but I think it could be a great line.

As always, you can find more of my content on Twitter @JacobLarivire