But the deep histories of some teams will make that a tough task to accomplish.

What follows is our list of the best lines in the history of each NHL franchise. Some teams have had incredible histories with some elite scorers, while others haven't had someone step up and emerge as dominant. But so far, these are the best lines each team has enjoyed.

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Other NHL coaches have a huge payroll and very little to show for it. Some, like Todd McLellan and Alain Vigneault, have been within sniffing distance of the promised land, but never been there. Others, like Bruce Boudreau and Pete Laviolette, have enormous expectations this year.

Looking around the NHL, some coaches have great job security, and others do not.

Let's look at who has the best chance of being on the bench next year, and who might be looking for a new gig soon.

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Those are facts.

Now let’s kill some ridiculous speculation and empty analysis with a swift dose of reality.

This move was in the works since before Patrick Sharp went down and is in no way a response to the Hawks losing their top goal scorer.

Indeed, sources have indicated that center Dave Bolland‘s season is in doubt (read: it’s over), and Krüger will give the Hawks center depth in his place.

Krüger will play center. There has never, and will never, be thoughts of moving a player with the skills of Krüger to wing.

Speaking of Krüger’s skills, those are why he’s coming to Chicago. He was signed to an entry-level deal in June of last year because he is a smooth two-way center with soft hands and great vision. I attended the Blackhawks’ prospect camp in July, and Krüger stood out as one of the most hockey-mature players there.

He showed a willingness to go into corners and fight for a puck, showed an exceptional concept of space on the ice and, while not at the same level as someone like Patrick Kane, will make passes that many players don’t even see as a possibility.

In February, Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald wrote a look forward at the top prospect in the Blackhawks organization. In that piece, he mentions that Bowman wanted Krüger to be part of the Blackhawks roster this season, but Krüger wanted another season in Sweden. Bowman describes Krüger as a Bolland-like player.

The differences between Bolland and Krüger are the secondary reason he’s here now: Krüger is younger and cheaper.

In February (before Chris Campoli was acquired), I took at look at the Blackhawks salary cap situation moving forward. The reported demise of the defending champions in the wake of Brent Seabrook’s five-year contract is laughably uninformed.

Krüger has enormous upside and, like defenseman Nick Leddy, is good enough to be in the NHL at a young age. Based on his ability and Bowman’s comments, there’s a very good chance that Krüger would have been on his way to Chicago at this point in the year whether Bolland was healthy or not; the health of Chicago’s roster will have more bearing on his ice time than him being in North America.

When he makes his debut on Wednesday night, look for Krüger to be skating between Marian Hossa and Michael Frolik on the second line for Chicago.

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Without wasting much time telling you what makes a player valuable, we'll instead look at why each of these 10 players is deserving of the Hart Memorial Trophy when the NHL hands out its annual awards in Las Vegas this summer.

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A $5.8M cap number for Seabrook would put the annual cap hit of the Hawks’ top four defensemen—Seabook, Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson—at $21.98M for at least the next three years.

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Major? Blockbuster? Not really.

But this deal does make the Habs a legit Cup contender.

The Canadiens have been dealing with substantial injuries on their blue line all year and have been trying to find the right player to be more than a band-aid on special teams for a couple months. When they added James Wisniewski earlier in the season, they hoped he could fill a few roles.

He's been a nice addition, but not what they had hoped.

In Sopel, the Habs get someone that fits their shut-down mold much better.

Sopel isn't going to skate with the speed-racing forwards in the East. And he isn't going to score 20 goals in March. But he is going to provide great leadership in the locker room and add a dependable body on the Habs penalty kill.

So far this year, Sopel is among the league leaders, averaging 3:21 of short-handed ice time per game (ranks 21st in the NHL). He also ranks 10th in the NHL with 130 blocked shots.

Right now, Montreal is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Sopel was a member of the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks last year and was one of their top penalty killers.

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The pick in 2012 will be a third-round selection if the Preds make the playoffs this year and a second-round pick if they advance past the first round. 

Fisher had 14 goals and 10 assists in 55 games for the Senators this season and has two more years on his deal with a $4.2 million cap hit. He is winning 48.4 percent of his faceoffs this year.

The forward has 167 goals and 181 assists in 675 regular-season games, all with the Senators.

Anyone that knows about his home life knows his wife Carrie (Underwood) probably wasn’t thrilled to be in Ottawa.

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• Marian Hossa needs to score.
• Dave Bolland needs to score.
• Patrick Kane needs to be more offensive.
• Jack Skille needs to do… anything.
• The Hawks need to kill penalties.
• Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook need to play smart, strong hockey.
• The Blackhawks need to win games against inferior opponents.

Well…? How’d they start the road trip in Columbus?

• Hossa needs to score – one goal, one assist.
• Bolland needs to score – one goal.
• Kane needs to be more offensive – one goal, one assist.
• Skille needs to do… anything – one assist, plus-one, two hits.
• The Hawks need to kill penalties – killed all five Columbus power plays.
• Keith and Seabrook need to play smart, strong hockey – combined for one goal (Keith), two assists (both Seabrook), plus-one, one blocked shot and three hits in over 51 combined minutes.
• The Blackhawks need to win games against inferior opponents – 7-4 final score. Two points achieved.

So far, so good.

Nick Leddy was outstanding again, scoring his second NHL goal. Marty Turco allowed a soft goal to start the game, but fought off a number of great scoring chances to preserve the victory. Oh, and the Hawks scored two short-handed goals.

As expected it was Jonathan Toews that led the way to victory with a three-point night. He scored a ridiculous short-handed goal and added two assists, while rating plus-two and being credited with one blocked shot, hit and takeaway.

The only drawbacks to Tuesday night’s victory were the continued suckfest provided by Nick Boynton, who was lost most of the time he was on the ice and whose face could have been credited with a Columbus goal, and an apparent ankle injury to Jake Dowell on a blocked shot. After the block, Dowell struggled to get back to his feet and would not return from the dressing room.

Now, on to Vancouver where, unlike Tuesday night, the Hawks will face a quality opponent. The test will be seeing if they can continue some of the strong play from Tuesday night against the best in the West.

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Watch the plus-minus of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

Breaking down the numbers through 50 games this year, it is truly remarkable how much the fortunes of the Hawks top defensive pair dictates the end result of the game. Both have played in all 50 games, and the team's success tracks with their personal performance almost every night.

In the Blackhawks 24 losses, Keith is minus-22 and Seabrook is minus-20.

In the Blackhawks 26 wins, Keith is plus-18 and Seabrook is plus-13.

Seabrook has been positive in only two losses; Keith in only four. On the other hand, Seabrook has only been negative in six wins; Keith has been in the red in five victories.

Both Keith and Seabrook have had a positive plus-minus in the same game only 13 times this year. The Blackhawks are 12-1 in those games, scoring 52 goals (4.33 per game) in those contests.

Both Keith and Seabrook have been even in 14 games, seven of which were together. In the seven games that both Keith and Seabrook were even, the Hawks are 3-2-2. In the other seven games Seabrook was even, the Hawks are 3-3-1. In the other seven games Keith was even, the Hawks are 5-3-1.

Oh, and those numbers aren't even including the fact that Seabrook (18) and Keith (16) are among the league leaders in opponents' power plays goals against.

But to make the point even more clear, look at how these number compare with the Blackhawks second pair: Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Campbell missed October with a knee injury, and has played in 37 games so far. In those games, the Hawks are 19-15-3, but Campbell hasn't had nearly the plus-minus swing that Keith or Seabrook has from wins to losses. In those 19 wins, Campbell is plus-21; in the 18 losses, he is still plus-two.

Hjalmarsson was suspended earlier in the season, but has played in 48 games to date. In those games, the Hawks are 26-18-4, but again the plus-minus swing isn't nearly as wide as Keith or Seabrook. In those 26 wins, Hjalmarsson is plus-16; in the 22 losses, he's minus-10.

Saying that the quality of play from a team's top defensive pair is important is like saying the ocean is moist. But the numbers make it painfully obvious how dependent the Blackhawks are on their top pair to show up every night.

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After consecutive shutouts, Crawford is clearly establishing himself as the top rookie netminder in the league. He is now tied with Nashville’s Anders Lindback for the rookie lead with two shutouts, he boasts the best goals against average of any rookie goalie with 10 games played (2.14) and his 15 wins are now only one behind Philadelphia’s Sergei Bobrovsky for the rookie lead.

In fact, Crawford’s goals against is now tied for third in the entire NHL, and his .920 save percentage is in the league’s top 15 as well.

Certainly San Jose’s Logan Couture, Colorado’s Kevin Shattenkirk and Carolina’s Jeff Skinner are on the short list for the award. But Crawford is quietly establishing himself as a top goalie in the Western Conference, and the Blackhawks find themselves in the playoff picture largely because of his play.

For the best Chicago Blackhawks coverage online, check out CommittedIndians.com!

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