Second Line Center a Question Mark Once Again

by BReynolds on Sep 20, 2011 12:01 PM CDT in Features

When it was confirmed that Matt Cullen was inked to a three year deal, Wild fans we ecstatic. Finally, they thought, a second line center to help take some pressure off of Mikko Koivu. Hell, the stats weren't great, but Cullen was better than Eric Belanger, right? At that point, it seemed likely that the Wild had made a major upgrade and that everything would roll easily.

As is the way with the world, it did not work out that way.

Last season, Cullen was consistent with his career type stats, posting 39 points (12 goals, 27A), and yet was a complete disappointment for fans. Cullen was replaced on the "second" line by Kyle Brodziak, and the Martin Havlat - Kyle Brodziak - Pierre-Marc Bourchard line was actually considered by competition to be the Wild's top line for the bulk of the year.

With Guillaume Latendresse healthy, will Matt Cullen find renewed jump and reclaim his second line role, or will Kyle Brodziak earn himself a big raise in a contract year?

Everyone reading this post should already know that the Wild have never really had a second line center. If you ask the rest of the fans in the NHL, they have the best second line pivot in the game in Mikko Koivu, but that's another debate. What Wild fans know is that the game lives and dies on the centerman, and knowing that Koivu was the only guy on the team with the ability to play the position at an elite level.

We all watched as time after time the Wild attempted to slot in third and fourth line checkers into the second line role. The signing of Matt Cullen was supposed to solve all of that. Let's just say, it didn't work.

With just three days of camp under their belts, there are mixed reviews of Matt Cullen's play on the proposed second line. He did have a handful of nice defensive plays, and hit the pipe with a shot, but looked a step behind the play of Bouchard and Latendresse for the length of the 50 minute session.

Perhaps that was planned, and Cullen will be more of a safety net for the other two guys, giving them the freedom to operate deep in the offensive zone and take some chances to create opportunities. The idea of the center not dropping into the zone is not going to be popular around these parts, however, so we'll just move on.

Matt Cullen is not an 80 point player. It is not his career level of play, it is not realistic, and is not fair to expect. It is fair, however, to expect the second line center to have second line ability to stay with the play and contribute to the process. Early in the warm up session, the confidence in his ability to do so is suspect.

Solutions Available

The hope for everyone is that Cullen steps up and regains the form we saw early last season. This is a better team if Cullen is on his game and keeping pace with Butch and Lats. It will be an extremely fun line to watch, and if Cullen is on it and clicking, it only adds to the excitement.

However, the Wild have options should Cullen slip back to a third line role again. The obvious solution is to move Kyle Brodziak up in the lineup. Brodziak has stated more than once that he feels more comfortable in a checking role, and with him on a line with Powe and Clutterbuck the Wild have one of the potentially best checking lines in the game.

Think of it this way. Brodziak is the new Wes Walz. Can he play up and keep up? Sure he can, but the team is much better off with him in a shutdown role. Preventing a goal is just as good as scoring one, and Brodizak is much better at preventing them.

After Brodziak, the Wild could go with a risky move and give the spot to a prospect such as Casey Wellman, David MacIntyre, or whoever emerges among the Aeros as deserving a chance to play a top six role in the NHL. If this is the solution, and the call up doesn't have a Calder worthy season, the Wild could be trouble. The second line spot is critical to the success of a team, and giving that spot to a rookie is one hell of a gamble.

The best solution for the Wild is for Matt Cullen to be the second line center, find that higher gear and make his linemates that much better. Kyle Brodziak is a worthy fill in, but should not be the long term solution. Right now, the spot is Cullen's to lose, and in his 13th season, Cullen has to be aware of the young bucks gunning for his spot. It's time for him to lock down his job and keep the kids waiting a bit longer.

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It'll definitely be an interesting storyline, especially early in the season.

Cullen… while he did hit the lower ends of his career averages, it was obvious that he absolutely disappeared last year, for most of the last 2/3rds of the season. There should be more there, even if he’s playing the more defensively responsible role on a line with Bouchard and Lats. I get the sense from Yeo that if the Powe – Brodziak – Clutterbuck line is as good as is hoped, and is as difficult to play against as it has the potential to be, Yeo might look elsewhere to fill in that 2nd line center. Yeo has spent more time talking about being difficult to play against, and playing ‘hard’ minutes, I think he doesn’t touch the third line if that develops into a pace changing, moral boosting, opposition’s 1st line crushing, option.

by Krotz the Wall on Sep 20, 2011 12:45 PM CDT reply actions

I don't think the 2nd line center dilema is getting enough attention

So it is nice to read this story. I think this is a bigger issue than our defense really. Yes our defense may struggle to start the breakout, but I think defensively they should be solid. I agree with Krotz that if the 3rd line ends up as good as it could be, Yeo won’t and shouldn’t touch it. I’d like to see Cullen somehow step up and just be a serviceable 2nd line center with 20 goals and 30 assists but I really don’t think it will happen. He certainly can still skate but I wonder if this is more a question of his hockey sense. I’d love to see Wellman step up and take the 2nd line spot, he’s got the wheels for it and has a nice shot but he too disappears a lot it seems and I wonder about his defense (at least Cullen should be solid defensively). Another question is what if a guy like Wellman takes Cullen’s spot, what will we do with him? It was a bad contract and will be tough to move although he is still an asset on the powerplay and penalty kill. Great story with many unanswered questions but I think we will soon find some answers when the season starts.

by cgp711 on Sep 20, 2011 12:53 PM CDT reply actions

Question:

Who has been centering the 4th line? Gillies or Nystrom?

by Krotz the Wall on Sep 20, 2011 1:27 PM CDT reply actions

Right now, there is no “fourth line” since the team is split up. But I believe both have been used in both wing & center in the limited play.

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by BReynolds on Sep 20, 2011 1:52 PM CDT up reply actions

While I do agree that Cullen stunk up the X last year...

I don’t really believe that Brodziak is a “better” solution. Cullen, as underwhelming as he was, outscored Brodziak last year, who had a career year. Switching Brodziak for Cullen doesn’t really have a big payoff, at least the way I see it. I would prefer leaving Brodziak on the 3rd line, making that a tough line for other teams to play against.
As for the 2nd line, I’m not sure I see an immediate fix. Wellman seems to be the next guy in line, but as CGP pointed out, he’s not consistent enough to hold down a top-6 spot. Plus, as unpopular as it is, someone does need to be a two-way forward on that line. Lats isn’t going to tear up the defensive zone, and Butch isn’t going to blow away opposing offenses. Even in an up-temp offense, there still needs to be defensive accountability, and Cullen does provide that.
In addition, Cullen is still good in the faceoff dot (an underappreciated talent), kills penalties well, and will be asked to help provide some spark for the 2nd powerplay unit. I don’t believe the Wild have the luxury of just benching/scratching him. Otherwise, the team will be asking Mikko and the 3rd line to do a lot of penalty killing. In fact, I do remember one of the perks of having Cullen sign last year was that he would be able to take some heat off of Koivu on the PK, freeing him up for some more offensive minutes.
Hopefully, it’s just an early season chemistry issue, as Cullen has never played with PMB or Lats before. Right now, I think the Wild are banking on the three of them learning where the others will be on the ice, which isn’t something that come naturally after a couple days of workouts. In fairness, even Seto-Koivu-Heatley are still working out some chemistry issues together, as neither Seto nor Heatley have worked with a center that’s a give-and-go player like Koivu.

by JDesthubert on Sep 20, 2011 1:30 PM CDT reply actions

Cullen didn't necessarily suck

He was just horrible on even-strength. He did wonders for our special teams.

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by JSLandry on Sep 20, 2011 3:32 PM CDT up reply actions

And yes

I realize there’s way more even-strength time than special teams time in hockey, but still.

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by JSLandry on Sep 20, 2011 3:33 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree. He’s really a special teams specialist right now, until he can show the ability to play as the #2 pivot. Not as important as the 5-on-5, but the 2nd powerplay unit could be brutal. If PMB is playing as the setup man up high with Zids on the first unit, it’s really the Cullen and Lats show on the #2 unit.

by JDesthubert on Sep 20, 2011 3:47 PM CDT up reply actions

If Cullen Can't Cut it

And Brodziak needs to go up to 2nd line, I would favor Powe centering Gillies and Clutterbuck. That line could probably lay some havoc on opposing teams.

by ThatGuy22 on Sep 20, 2011 2:04 PM CDT reply actions

Regardless of who is where, I agree with the Powe – Gillies – Clutterbuck line. It could be a debilitating 3 man wrecking crew against the opposing first line.

by gunslinger1 on Sep 20, 2011 5:14 PM CDT via iPhone app up reply actions