Blackhawks Line Projections: Building the Best Fit Around Frank Nazar

If Teuvo Tervainen isn't on Bedard's line (as I often emphasize), he should at least be with Frank Nazar. Tervainen's skill in retrieving pucks in the defensive zone complements Nazar's ability to streak down the ice, creating scoring chances on the rush. When they played together, the Blackhawks had a 48% expected goals share. That's not ideal, but considering the team's average was 43%, it's a positive indicator.

Assuming the Blackhawks won't acquire any additional players, Ryan Donato would be a good fit for this role. Donato and Nazar only played 84 minutes together, but the Blackhawks controlled 48% of scoring chances at five-on-five during that time.

This line configuration is unlikely because the Blackhawks will probably have either Tervainen or Donato on Bedard's wing, even if Anton Frondell makes his NHL debut this season. 

Speaking of Frondell, we recently discussed his likelihood of making the roster on our most recent episode of the Four Feathers Podcast.

Frank Nazar's Most Realistic Line

If head coach Jeff Blashill plays Teuvo with Nazar, it's probable that Tyler Bertuzzi plays on Nazar's right wing. This was the line that closed out last season, and they had a 50 xG% and a 51 Corsi, although they were outscored 2-5.

The problem with this line is that Bertuzzi isn't going to add the offense this line needs to produce. Bertuzzi scored in the negative in nearly every offensive category for All Three Zones tracking data. Specifically, his zone entry numbers are atrocious. 

A better winger would probably be Andre Burakovsky, who, as pointed out in the previous article, would have to rediscover his scoring abilities. Ilya Mikheyev could also fit here, but he is much better suited to a third-line role. 

The Frank Nazar Wildcard Line

Much like Connor Bedard's "wildcard line,' Frank Nazar's second line could potentially include either Anton Frondell or Nick Lardis. If, by some miracle, both Frondell and Lardis make the roster, I would even be okay with rolling a kid line. I don't think Jeff Blashill would do that, but one can dream.

If either Frondell or Lardis makes the Chicago Blackhawks roster, a second-line role would be a good opportunity to see what they can do with a skilled player like Nazar. If Lardis starts in Rockford, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play with Nazar eventually. 

What's On Tap Next?

Realistically, we can expect a Teuvo-Nazar-Bertuzzi line, not that I agree with this, it's just the most likely. Bertuzzi probably gets moved around when his eventual goal-slump hits. The line I would like to see is Teuvo-Nazar-Lardis. But that requires sticking Donato and someone else with Bedard, and assuming Lardis has one hell of a training camp. Next up, we'll look at the Blackhawks' bottom-six and what young players we can expect to play there.