In last week's adventure, Patrice Cormier and Tanner Glass took the final two left wing spots on the roster. The picture on left wing was considerably murkier than right wing, as there were a couple of guys on the left side knocking on the door of the NHL (Jason Gregoire, Ivan Telegin), and they may very well show up at least a few games this year. On the right side, though, the depth is quite a bit clearer; rather than the five candidates for two spots, we have four candidates for three spots. Once again, we're assuming that the line of Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, and Blake Wheeler won't be broken up, as they had clicked on Wheeler's arrival.
Before we put it to vote, let's have a look at our candidates...
If you need a refresher on the metrics/abbreviations I'm using, look here.
Nik Antropov
| Year | Team | Lg | GP | G | A | Pts | Adj +/- | SOG | Sh% | PIM |
| 2008-09 | Tor./NYR | NHL | 81 | 28 | 31 | 59 | -7 | 224 | 12.5 | 30 |
| 2009-10 | Atlanta | NHL | 76 | 24 | 43 | 67 | +17 | 126 | 19.0 | 44 |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta | NHL | 76 | 16 | 25 | 41 | -8 | 105 | 15.2 | 42 |
| Year | Team | Lg | TOI | ESTOI | PPTOI | SHTOI | ZS% | QoC Rk | QoT Rk |
| 2008-09 | Tor./NYR | NHL | 17.18 | 13.35 | 2.95 | 0.88 | 56.1 | 12th of 21 | 1st of 21 |
| 2009-10 | Atlanta | NHL | 18.22 | 14.55 | 3.57 | 0.08 | 48.3 | 3rd of 16 | 7th of 16 |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta | NHL | 15.65 | 13.07 | 2.55 | 0.02 | 49.8 | 7th of 17 | 14th of 17 |
Antropov is a bit tricky, because he can play both centre and right wing, but he's not particularly strong on faceoffs (44.6% success rate over the last three years) and it looks like they want to give Burmistrov a chance on the second line. Either way, Antropov had a down year, but shouldn't be completely counted out. He can still give the team solid powerplay minutes, and he can be effective in front of the net.
Eric Fehr
| Year | Team | Lg | GP | G | A | Pts | Adj +/- | SOG | Sh% | PIM |
| 2008-09 | Washington | NHL | 61 | 12 | 13 | 25 | +4 | 134 | 9.0 | 22 |
| 2009-10 | Washington | NHL | 69 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 0 | 145 | 14.5 | 24 |
| 2010-11 | Washington | NHL | 52 | 10 | 10 | 20 | -4 | 120 | 8.3 | 16 |
| Year | Team | Lg | TOI | ESTOI | PPTOI | SHTOI | ZS% | QoC Rk | QoT Rk |
| 2008-09 | Washington | NHL | 11.23 | 10.47 | 0.75 | 0.00 | 55.9 | 7th of 22 | 9th of 22 |
| 2009-10 | Washington | NHL | 12.12 | 10.67 | 1.43 | 0.00 | 53.6 | 13th of 23 | 11th of 23 |
| 2010-11 | Washington | NHL | 12.58 | 10.63 | 1.95 | 0.00 | 55.2 | 15th of 19 | 13th of 19 |
Fehr comes to Winnipeg after three years of frustrating injuries. He's not an ideal tough-matchup guy, but his ability on the powerplay might bump Wheeler (or even Antropov) off of the PP unit.
Spencer Machacek
| Year | Team | Lg | GP | G | A | Pts | Adj +/- | SOG | Sh% | PIM |
| 2008-09 | Chicago | AHL | 77 | 23 | 25 | 48 | +10 | 201 | 11.4 | 23 |
| 2008-09 | Atlanta | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | Chicago | AHL | 79 | 20 | 29 | 49 | +7 | 207 | 9.7 | 68 |
| 2010-11 | Chicago | AHL | 67 | 21 | 32 | 53 | +17 | 177 | 11.9 | 45 |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Year | Team | Lg | TOI | ESTOI | PPTOI | SHTOI | ZS% | QoC Rk | QoT Rk |
| 2008-09 | Atlanta | NHL | 8.18 | 8.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 50.0 | 1st of 17 | 14th of 17 |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta | NHL | 7.67 | 7.65 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 61.0 | 16th of 17 | 13th of 17 |
A promising two-way player, Machacek has done his time in the AHL with considerable success. His fairly good shot is an added bonus.
Chris Thorburn
| Year | Team | Lg | GP | G | A | Pts | Adj +/- | SOG | Sh% | PIM |
| 2008-09 | Atlanta | NHL | 82 | 7 | 8 | 15 | +4 | 85 | 8.2 | 104 |
| 2009-10 | Atlanta | NHL | 76 | 4 | 9 | 13 | +10 | 63 | 6.3 | 89 |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta | NHL | 82 | 9 | 10 | 19 | -7 | 114 | 7.9 | 77 |
| Year | Team | Lg | TOI | ESTOI | PPTOI | SHTOI | ZS% | QoC Rk | QoT Rk |
| 2008-09 | Atlanta | NHL | 9.58 | 9.42 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 46.3 | 11th of 17 | 11th of 19 |
| 2009-10 | Atlanta | NHL | 9.97 | 7.67 | 0.02 | 2.27 | 43.6 | 15th of 16 | 11th of 16 |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta | NHL | 13.78 | 11.53 | 0.37 | 1.87 | 46.9 | 9th of 17 | 6th of 17 |
Thorburn is a known commodity, a tough player who's willing to block a shot and scrap a bit, but he has never been remarkable offensively. That said, he's played well enough to stay in the NHL for three years straight, so it's up to you to decide whether it's because of his skill or a lack of skill on the Thrashers.
You'll notice the poll question is worded a bit differently than just a "what line will he be on" kind of question; it's more geared towards viewing the three who play the most as those who succeeded to the top of the depth.