Picking Team Canada's First Line: Don Cherry Is Wrong!

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

It’s tough to argue with the legendary icon Donald S. Cherry. For the most part, I take what Cherry says as gospel. That said, I have a bone to pick with Mr. Cherry, and his little dog Blue too!

Recently, Cherry has come out and endorsed Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley as the leading candidates to make up Team Canada’s first line at the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver.

Thornton (1st), Marleau (5th) and Heatley (7th), are all amongst the NHL’s top point producers. In fact, this trio has combined for an impressive 98 points and has combined for a plus/minus rating of +13. Let’s face it, these are three of the best players in the world and, given their numbers, are the most feared trio in the League.

Still, I find it hard to select Thornton over Sidney Crosby, hard to select Marleau over Jarome Iginla and, while I would be fine with having Heatley on the first line, I do agree that separating Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley would be an act of stupidity.

For arguments sake (‘cause let’s face it nothing is written in stone where Team Canada’s lineup is concerned) let’s say Canada’s top line were to consist of Crosby, Iginla, and Rick Nash, doesn’t that line make more sense than Thornton, Marleau and Heatley?

Of the six aforementioned forwards, only Sidney Crosby has won the Stanley Cup, which while not an absolute essential for your top center is a nice thing to fall back on. Also, when looking at Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley you’ll notice none of them are the Captain of the Sharks. In fact, Marleau had his “C” taken away from him over the summer, which says something about his leadership skills.

Here’s my thinking on this, if you are not good enough to lead your NHL team, you are not good enough to lead Team Canada. The captaincy for Team Canada is one of the most prestigious honors in all of hockey and, as such, a captain with considerable experience both on the ice and with the media.

Shouldn’t Canada’s best leader be on the first line?

On the other hand, Crosby, Iginla, and Nash are all accustomed to being  team leaders. Fact is, all three serve as their NHL team's captain, all three have a ton of experience and all three are amongst the leading candidates to serve as Canada’s captain.

So, I ask you, why put a first line out on the ice that has no leader? I am not saying that Thornton couldn’t lead or is void of leadership skills, but why play with fire here?

Thornton, Marleau and Heatley should all make Team Canada, in fact, much like Cherry, I think they should play on the same line together. Where I do differ from Cherry’s opinion is that I see the San Jose Sharks trio serving as Canada’s No. 2 line combination.

While not disastrous, the playoff performances of Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley have been questionable at best.  When you consider the magnitude of the pressure that will be on Canada’s first line at the Olympic’s is a very good reason to look beyond this talented trio.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again, how could Steve Yzerman possibly look Sidney Crosby in the eyes and say “You’re my No. 2 guy?”

To be honest, I feel Iginla is best suited to be Canada’s captain, with Crosby and Scott Niedermayer getting the nod as assistants. Either way, Crosby’s line should get the nod as Canada’s number one unit.

If Yzerman chose to go with Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley, would Crosby accept his place on the team? Certainly. Would Crosby say all the right things to the media? You betcha. But it wouldn’t be right, not when you consider Crosby’s resume. The same can be said about Iginla, how do you tell “Iggy", as he is affectionately known in NHL circles, that Marleau is getting the nod over him on Canada’s first line?

Good luck with that Mr. Yzerman! If you do decide to roll with Thornton and Co., might I suggest ducking after you say it!

Let’s face it, Canada is blessed to have such a “problem," that said, given the resumes of all six players, I gotta lean towards having Crosby, Iginla and Nash as my first line.

*****In case you didn’t know, starting Dec. 5 Gabe Morency (formally of The Score ) will be launching his new website. Louis Pisano, my B/R counterpart, and I will be throwing down our Podcast “Get The Puck Out ” every Saturday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

The Live Podcast will be broadcast in studio from Toronto featuring some betting analysis, fantasy advice, trivia, team analysis, player updates, and more puck talk than you can imagine.

Be sure to call in and let your opinion be known. Check back with “Ritter’s Rant” on The Bleacher Report for further details and the call-in number. The inaugural show is set for Dec. 12. Don’t miss it, puckheads!

You can catch Morency and “Get The Puck Out” at www.morencysports.com , the site launches Dec. 5.

Until next time,

Peace!