Hockey Lines
Since the early days of the National Hockey League, sportswriters, fans, and even players themselves have been fascinated by names for their big scoring or checking lines. Some make perfect sense and some are a little bit of a stretch. I thought it would be fun to list some of the line names and have you readers try and think of some more. I have a pretty good list of names, but, it wouldn’t be as much fun if I just gave them all to you.
Some of you old farts will remember these line names and you young farts also, but, there are a lot more. For some of the newer or younger members of the site, or of hockey itself, it will give you an idea of the pride the fans had for its teams players and “top”lines.
The S line" — Montreal Maroons (1920s) — Nels Stewart, Babe Siebert, Hooley Smith; after the common initial "S" of the players' su rnames, was one of the earliest lines to get a nickname.
Some lines were named for the temperament of its players. Here is an example "The Brat line" —
Toronto Maple Leafs (late 1970s) — Dave "Tiger" Williams, Jack Valiquette, and Pat Boutette. I don’t think a lot of explanation is needed for this nickname. One of my favorite nicknames gives you and idea how some of these names were concocted. The Bread line" —
New York Rangers (1920s) — Frank Boucher, Bill & Bun Cook; a reference to "Bun" Cook's nicknameThe Bread line" —
New York Rangers (1920s) — Frank Boucher, Bill & Bun Cook; a reference to "Bun" Cook's nickname.
Here are some of the more famous names. "The Clydesdale Line" —
Chicago Blackhawks (1984-1987) —
Curt Fraser,
Troy Murray, and
Ed Olczyk; each player weighed in at or around 200 pounds. NHL players weighing in excess of 200 pounds was rare in those days. "The GAG line" (Goal-A-Game Line) —
New York Rangers (1964-75) — Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert – later dubbed the "TAG (Two-A-Game) Line". The Production line" —
Detroit Red Wings (1947-52) — Sid Abel, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, later with Alex Delvecchio references the booming automotive industry in the Detroit area. It also stood for the point production of these line mates’. The Punch line" —
Montreal Canadiens (1943-48) — Hector "Toe" Blake, Elmer Lach and Maurice "Rocket" Richard
The Century line" —
Pittsburgh Penguins (1972-76) — Syl Apps Jr., Lowell MacDonald, and Jean Pronovost; also known as "The Bicentennial Line"; scored 100+ goals and 200+ points for 4 straight seasons. The Mattress line" —
Vancouver Canucks (2003-04) — Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Jason King; after mattress sizes, "Two twins and a king." The French Connection" —
Buffalo Sabres (1972-1979) — Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert; made up of three French-Canadian players
The last line I’ll give you is one of my favorites, as I was privileged enough to see it in person several times. The MPH line" — Chicago Black Hawks (1970s) — Pit Martin, Jim Pappin, and Dennis Hull; after the initials of the players' surnames; it also stands for "miles per hour", a unit of speed. It was fast efficient and fun to watch.
The names I’ve given were just a tease of the great line names and combination of players who made those lines up. What I would like to see you posters do is think of your favorite line names, give the line members, and a short description of how the line got its name.
There are some very strange line names and even stranger reasons of how they got their name.