Happy Tuesday y'all! 

No matter what event is on, I can't seem to turn off the Olympics. If it is cross country skiing, the bobsleds, or some other random sport, it is something unique that you don't see or hear about everyday so it is nice to sit back and appreciate the amount of time and effort these athletes have dedicated to make it to this point. For example, the ski jumping event; I'm not sure there is enough money in the world for me to throw on some skis and go down that hill, that event is bananas.

Anyway, back to the hockey that is taking place. With the men's games about to start, teams have held their first practice and lines are starting to be released. It is fun to take a look at these all-star rosters and run it like a fantasy team.

Oh the combinations we could have with this group. Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid, and bouncer Tom Wilson to create space for the aforementioned two sounds like fun. Don't let the handsome face fool ya though, Wilson leads the Washington Capitals in goals (even though he has missed nine games), powerplay goals, and is first amongst forwards in plus/minus (+20) and time on ice. He also plays on the Caps' first powerplay and penalty killing units. Lining him up with these two skill players should be a good time.

The second line is where I would personally start changing things up; they currently have Brad Marchand, Nate MacKinnon, and Nick Suzuki together, but I would switch the Habs center with the captain, Sidney Crosby. Then that moves Suzuki down to play with Mark Stone and Mitch Marner on an ultimate shutdown line. Maybe they are waiting to put Marchand, MacKinnon, and Crosby together or maybe the three are sick of playing with each other since they do every summer… time will tell. I'm sure we will see a number of different combos in the round robin because you are allowed to dress 13 forwards and seven defenders during Olympic competition. 

The Finns are always a hard out because they always play smart and with structure. It is not an all-star roster like some of the other countries, but they have a strong top six, a nice kid third line, and a solid checking fourth line. A great balance to the group, most lines have familiarity to them as they currently play with each other in the NHL or have been on the same team within the last couple of seasons.

Team USA is another favorite for the tournament, but I do not know how you leave two players that are tied for third (in the entire league!) in goal scoring, but that is a conversation for a different day. The Americans have the Tkachuk brothers (Brady and Matthew) on the top line because they play with the most mix of grit and skill, but honestly, both seem like they are pretty banged up at the moment. I would love to see another mucky player center those two, someone like JT Miller or Vincent Trocheck. That sounds dreadful to play against. Dylan Larkin could be another good fit between them. He would bring a little more skill, but he is a smart player and would be able to fill a checking role with them or be able to create some offense when they develop a cycle downlow. 

Going off what has been reported, I would switch Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews. Eichel has one heck of a shot, but is also an elite playmaker and would complement the goal scoring abilities of Jake Guentzel and Matt Boldy. Matthews could be the elite shooter while the Bash Bros, I mean Tkachuk bros, create space and cause havoc around the net. I really would have loved to see what Eichel could have done with Cole Caufield or Jason Roberston, but I think a player like Kyle Connor would be a great fit as well. 

Luckily there are a lot more teams in this tournament than just the four from the 4 Nations, so teams have the luxury of trying different lineups against some of the lesser competition and potentially develop some chemistry and confidence amongst one another.

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While I can't find any practice lines from Team Sweden so far, they are another Nordic team who plays with smarts and structure, no matter the skill level on the ice. Mika Zibanejad is coming into the tournament on fire, with 11 goals and 22 points in 14 games during the month of January, so hopefully the time off has not cooled him down because I would like to see him with Filip Forsberg and Willy Nylander. Then a second line of Lucas Raymond, Elias Pettersson, and Adrian Kempe could keep a lot of players on their toes. 

If anyone wants to chat Olympics or bounce trade ideas off me, hit me up on Twitter @LAM1926.