Well, after hours of sifting through statistics, scouting reports and my own memories, what I consider to be the prototypical team has been built, bit by bit. The final results:

Rick Nash/Henrik Zetterberg/Jarome Iginla
Chris Higgins/Chris Drury/Antoine Vermette
Taylor Pyatt/John Madden/Mike Grier
Derek Boogaard/Steve Ott/Aaron Asham

Dion Phanuef/Chris Phillips
Christoph Schubert/John-Michael Liles
Mike Komisarek/Anton Volchenkov

Roberto Luongo
Johan Hedberg

Number One Goalie: Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)

If you were to build an NHL goaltender from scratch, odds are he would very closely resemble Roberto Luongo: big, quick, technically sound and smart, with the ability to log heavy minutes and steal games for his team. Luongo isn’t perfect – he doesn’t handle the puck all that well and struggled down the stretch for the Canucks this season, a part of the reason they wound up missing the playoffs. Despite that, Luongo is still NHL netminder who most resembles the perfect goalie.

Others considered: Martin Brodeur, Miika Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Marc-Andre Fleury, Rick DiPietro, Ryan Miller, Evgeni Nabokov

Backup Goalie: Johan Hedberg (Atlanta Thrashers)

There are plenty of guys in professional hockey who could do an adequate job filling in for a starting goalie in a pinch, and there are plenty of guys who are happy to fill the role of reserve netminder and are willing to work towards the team’s success, no matter what their role in it. What is rare is to find these two qualities in the same player. Hedberg is such a player, filling in well for the oft-injured Kari Lehtonen, but willing to give up the spotlight once the team’s number one was ready to go.

Shutdown Defenseman #1: Mike Komisarek (Montreal Canadiens)

Statistically Komisarek led all defensemen in hits and blocked shots in 2007-08 and was tied for 12th in takeaways. Anecdotally, Komisarek was one of the few defensemen who could line up across from Alexander Ovechkin this past season and not look completely overmatched. He’ll never put up too many points, but any coach should feel comfortable matching Komisarek against his opposition’s top players or lines.

Shutdown Defenseman #2: Anton Volchenkov (Ottawa Senators)

Volchenkov is similar to Komisarek in many ways: he’s a big player, he has a heavy shot, he loves to hit and he’s one of the NHL’s best when it comes to blocking shots. What puts Volchenkov behind Komisarek is his tendency to get caught out of position going for a big hit and his overall lack of ability when handling or moving the puck.

Others considered: Hal Gill, Robyn Regehr, Jason Smith, Scott Hannan, Barret Jackman, Greg Zanon, Brendan Witt

Somewhat analogous to the second line of forwards, the second defensive pairing should consist of players who will provide solid minutes of generally mistake-free hockey and occasionally chip in on offense. Like second liners, the third and fourth defensemen also bring more value if they can contribute in specific areas, especially penalty killing or on the powerplay.

Second Pairing Defenseman #1: Christoph Schubert (Ottawa Senators)

The German-born Shubert more than pulls his weight defensively and has enough offensive skill that he’s filled in at forward at times for the Senators. Though he doesn’t own top-end offensive talent, even for a defenseman, Schubert is a good enough puck-mover and has enough offensive awareness to man the point on the second powerplay unit and although he’s overmatched against the league’s best forwards, Schubert handles himself quite well in his own end most of the time and was seventh in the league in hits this past season.

Second Pairing Defenseman #2: John-Michael Liles (Colorado Avalanche)

Lilies is a very solid skater with good offensive instincts and ability to quarterback any powerplay. In his own end, Liles has the agility, speed and defensive awareness to match up with most of the league’s better forwards. However his smallish frame (he’s listed at 5’10’’, 185) means he can have a tough time against bigger opposing forwards. Though Liles does have enough overall ability to play in any situation, he’s best utilized by having him play a moderate number of even strength minutes and then deploying him on the powerplay, where he’s most effective.

Others considered: Niklas Kronwall, Andrej Meszaros, Rostislav Klesla

Franchise Defenseman: Dion Phaneuf (Calgary Flames)

If ever the distinction between “best” and “prototypical” is needed, it’s here. Phaneuf isn’t the best defenseman in the league – that’s an honor that clearly goes to Nicklas Lidstrom. But a big body who’s not afraid of making contact, is one of the best hitters in the league, has a bomb of a shot from the point and plays top-tier defense is what most hockey fans think of when they think of number one defenseman.

Other considered: Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Jay Bouwmeester

Number Two Defenseman: Chris Phillips (Ottawa Senators)

Like second line forwards there’s not a lot that is set in stone when it comes to discussing number two defensemen, a role that can be filled by a good all-around around player who doesn’t quite have enough skill to be a number one, a stay-at-home defenseman who moves the puck well, or a powerplay quarterback. Since I’m doing this by pairing I thus turned my focus to blueliners who could play a defensive role well enough to let their partner get in to the offensive player, but who have enough offensive talent to contribute on occasion. Phillips is such a player, fast enough to match up with the league’s better forwards, a solid hitter and an excellent shot blocker who also has enough offensive awareness to chip in. Though not a great playmaker, Phillips does have a hard shot and, just as importantly, a very good sense of when to jump into the play.

Others considered: Braydon Coburn, Brendan Witt

Here’s where it gets fun. The fourth line is the domain of the toughest, grittiest and hardest working players. Guys who rarely score or set up goals yet still make their presence felt on every shift. Despite claims that the NHL has become significantly less tough in recent years there are still plenty of hard-nosed grinders, agitators and enforcers in the league; the only challenge was determining which among them most encompassed the spirit of the fourth line. I could wax poetic about how much I love these guys and how they are part of what makes hockey the greatest sport in the world, but I’m sure everyone already knows it – these guys become fan favorites for a reason.

Enforcer: Derek Boogaard (Minnesota Wild)

He’s not the best fighter in the NHL per se (that title that still probably belongs to Georges Laraque), bnlike Laraque, Boogaard seems to welcome his role on the team and he is a good fighter, even by heavyweight standards. In addition to being able to drop the mitts, Boogaard is a ferocious hitter and his 6’7’’, 245 pound frame serves to intimidate opposing players. However, part of what makes Boogaard a prototypical enforcer is that he plays with restrained physicality – through 147 NHL games, Boogaard has yet to be suspended by the league. The prototypical enforcer is a player who will defend his teammates without embarrassing the club or distracting from the task at hand – winning a game. Sure, as a general manager you could do better than Boogaard, and in reality you’d probably like to employ an enforcer who can contribute a little more offensively. But a hulking physical presence and a willingness to play a physical game are what it takes to be a prototypical enforcer.

Others considered: Georges Laraque

Fourth Line Center: Steve Ott (Dallas Stars)

Although there are a good number of players in the NHL who would be at home on the fourth line, there aren’t all that many centers. Ott gets the nod here not only for being a solid faceoff man (58.8% in 2007-08) but also for the fact that he has enough skill to fill in on either the powerplay or the penalty kill in a pinch. Like any adequate fourth-liner Ott hits anything that moves and is more than willing to drop the gloves.

Other considered: Ryan Johnson, Adam Mair, Paul Gaustad

Fourth Line Right Wing: Aaron Asham (New Jersey Devils)

Just as Steve Ott did, Asham makes this list because his skills goes beyond just being able to bang bodies and muck it up in the corners. Like Ott, Asham is solid penalty killer and handles himself better than the average fourth liner when drops the mitts.

Others considered: Steve Begin, Adam Hall, Chris Neil, Jordan Tootoo

After the relative nightmare of trying to determine what exactly constitutes a prototypical second line player, it was nice to get to the checking line, where roles are more defined. Besides being able to shut down any opposing team’s big guns, a checking line player should be a coach’s dream: gritty, hard working and the owner of a team-first attitude. Since center is the most important position on a checking line, I’ll start there.

Checking Line Center: John Madden (New Jersey Devils)

Perhaps the best defensive forward in the game right now, Madden may very well win his second Selke Trophy tonight, on his fourth nomination. Not only is Madden a good enough defensive player to be able to match up with anyone in the NHL either five-on-five or shorthanded, he’s is also versatile enough to fill it at either wing if called upon to do so and can chip in offensively more than most checking line players. An important, but underrated, part of Madden’s game is his ability to stop top-tier forward without taking penalties: he’s spent just 76 minutes in the box in his 236 post-lockout games.

Checking Line Left Wing: Taylor Pyatt (Vancouver Canucks)

At 6’4’’ and 220 pounds Pyatt certainly looks the part of a third line winger. While not as defensively adept as Madden, Pyatt nonetheless ranked highly among left wing in shot blocks, hits and takeaways. The ability to play either wing, along with a decent scoring touch help to separate Pyatt from the pack and to make him an ideal third line winger.

Checking Line Right Wing: Mike Grier (San Jose Sharks)

Like Pyatt, Grier is mountain of a man (6’1’’, 225) and does more than his fair share of hitting and shot blocking. Like Madden, Grier is sound enough defensively to be matched up against any forward in the NHL, is an excellent penalty killer and plays a defensive role while taking very few minor penalties. Unlike Pyatt or Madden, Grier can’t generally be counted on for a significant amount of scoring, although his presence down low and in front of the net can help a team’s offense even if doesn’t show up on Grier’s stat sheet.

The prototypical checking line: Taylor Pyatt, John Madden and Mike Grier.

Other considered include Jay Pandolfo, Samuel Pahlsson and Sean Avery.

Building the second line was the most difficult task in the “Building the Prototypical Team” series because the definition of prototypical second liner is the vaguest. A player like Alexander Semin, supremely talented yet inconsistent and immature in his own end, could be considered a second line player. Yet so could those at the other end of the spectrum, players who excel defensively yet don’t have a ton of offensive upside, like John Madden. Then of course there are players like Brendan Morrow, who is sound is every facet of the game but doesn’t quite have the offensive upside to be a prototypical first liner.

With so many different skills sets and hence so many different players out there who could reasonably be called “prototypical” second liners, the definition has to go beyond just raw hockey skill to include players whose characteristics add more to the team than just the sum of their hockey-playing parts.

First among these is attitude. While second line players aren’t normally referred to as “character guys”, the ideal second line player is going carry himself like one. After all, teams get frustrated enough carrying primadonna types like Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Yashin even when they’re racking up the points. No coach or general manager is going to tolerate it for 20 goals and 50 points.

Second is versatility, both positionally and in terms of roles on the team. A second liner is likely to have to be shifted around in certain game situations or because of injuries and it thus it helps to have a player who can play more than one forward position. By the same token, a second line player would ideally be able to help out both on the powerplay and penalty kill when necessary.

Third is intangibles. If a player who has second line talent can excel in one area such as hitting, creating traffic in front of the net or leadership, they are providing a valuable service to their team as well as separating themselves from the pack when it comes to players with a second-line skill set.

With all that said, your prototypical second line player is:

Antoine Vermette (Ottawa Senators)

Vermette broke out offensively in 2007-08, posting 24 goals and 28 assists, bringing his offensive output closer to his level of his defensive responsibility and work ethic. The fact that Vermette can play all three forward positions well, has enough skill to be a part of a second powerplay unit and enough defensive acumen to kill penalties makes him the ultimate utility player – and the prototypical second liner.

Vermette’s inclusion means that while one of the three forward spots is taken up, any position is still up for grabs.

Second Line Left Wing: Chris Higgins (Montreal Canadiens)

Much like Vermette, Higgins is capable of playing all three forward positions but since his 2007-08 faceoff percentage was 35.5 to Vermette’s 56.7, Higgins probably belongs on the wing in this lineup. Higgins has shown that he can contribute offensively with three straight twenty goal campaigns and a career-best 52 points this past season. He’s no slouch in his own end either, where his 65 blocked shots were ninth among NHL forwards and his 50 takeaways were good enough to lead his team.

Second Line Center: Chris Drury (New York Rangers)

Apologies to any Blueshirt fans, but Drury (who made over seven million dollars this year) just isn’t an ideal top line center. Although he scored 67 goals over his final two years in Buffalo, Drury’s 2007-08 was closer to what his expected output should be: 25 goals and 60-70 points. A solid offensive player, Drury also has a penchant for coming up big in the playoffs, has won everywhere he’s been and is a solid leader. Like the hypothetical perfect second line player outlined at the beginning of this post, Drury doesn’t have as much offensive talent as an ideal first line player but still has the intangibles that can make him just as valuable to a contending team.

Drury’s inclusion pushes Vermette over to the right side, making the prototypical second line Chris Higgins, Chris Drury and Antoine Vermette.

Brendan Morrow and Erik Cole were all considered for this line but dismissed because they aren’t really prototypical second line players so much as guys who were be borderline first liners and would thus be ideal second liners. Other considered include Andrew Brunette, Saku Koivu, Ryan Malone and Jarret Stoll.

With the NHL’s season over (finding the Cup, once again, residing in Detroit) and the draft a couple weeks away Caps Blue Line is introducing a series of posts entitled “Building the Prototypical Team”. The goal of this series is to look at what a prototypical NHL team would look like, not to build the best possible team out of current NHL players but rather to find players who seem to embody the terms “franchise player”, “checking forward”, “enforcer” and the like. It’s also worth nothing that I’m going to try my best to eschew the use of Capitals’ players, just for the sake of making things more interesting.

Face of the Franchise: Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames).

Sure there are guys who score more points than Iginla, but “Iggy” has the total package when it comes to what you’d look for in a franchise player: he can score (89 goals in 152games over the last two seasons), he makes other players better (103 assists in that same time frame), he’s good defensively, he tied for the team lead among Flames forwards in hits in 2007-08, he’s a good leader and he’s willing to drop the gloves when necessary. He may not be the highest scoring player in the league and he may not be the best player in the league but Iginla is the one who brings everything you’d want out of your franchise player without the added caveat of questions about their postseason play (ahem, Thornton).

Iginla’s inclusion takes care of the right wing slot, so let’s focus on center. But first, a look at the other guys who were considered for this spot.

Other “face of the franchise” contenders: Thornton, Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Getzlaf
Other first line right wings: Shane Doen, Daniel Alfredsson, Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik

First Line Center: Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings).

The only thing that prevents Zetterberg from being a serious contender for the “Face of the Franchise” tag is his limited physical play, because he excels in every other aspect of the game. The 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Selke Trophy nominee, Zetterberg not only contributes offensively (1.14 points per game over the last three seasons) but is responsible in his own end, won 55% of his faceoffs is 2007-08 and had only 34 minutes in penalties.

Other first line centers: Thornton, Malkin, Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Jason Spezza, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Henrik Sedin

First Line Left Wing: Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Nash is one of the league’s most underrated offensive players, a somewhat dubious distinction that is primarily the result of playing generally weak Columbus teams, meaning Nash has never reached the postseason and hasn’t had a ton a help on the ice. Despite having never played on a team that finished with more than 74 points, Nash has established himself as one of the league’s premier scorers, averaging 39 goals per 82 games since 2003. Nash’s 6’4’’, 215 pound frame lets him be a presence down low in the offensive zone and make him difficult to knock off the puck. Despite this size, Nash does not hit particularly hard or particularly often and this, along with his still-developing playmaking skills, prevent Nash from being a prototypical franchise player.

Other first line left wings: Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Alexander Frolov, Daniel Sedin

And there you have it for today: your prototypical first line consists of Rick Nash, Henrik Zetterberg and captain Jarome Iginla.

The image of Jarome Iginla used in this post has been pilfered from Sharkspage.