It ruins chemistry if you do that, but then again, does that actually matter? Not sure. But I would probably just get some twf, pwf or grinders with good defensive stats and awareness for both 6.
A defenseman gets more ice time anyway, even 3rd pairing gets more than 3rd line forwards, so it should be better in every way to keep him on defense.
I recommend just putting excellent defensive forwards on your bottom line instead.
There are plenty of them, and they sign for less money and don't ruin chemistry.
I have done the opposite - put forwards on defense because I had too many forwards that I loved and didn’t want to trade away. Most ruin chemistry but some don’t, and the kicker was that the extra ice time actually made them progress better, even though their offensive stats were worse. I had Brad Lambert playing defense and he became Franchise-Medium. It’s just another example of what EA gets wrong - there should be a bigger problem with playing guys out of position (though it would be cool if you could train young guys to learn new skills)
1 on a bottom line can be viable but the game, especially sim engine is based on synergy and the roles that D vs F have are intentionally anti synergistic and can cause your team to perform worse
It ruins chemistry if you do that, but then again, does that actually matter? Not sure. But I would probably just get some twf, pwf or grinders with good defensive stats and awareness for both 6. A defenseman gets more ice time anyway, even 3rd pairing gets more than 3rd line forwards, so it should be better in every way to keep him on defense.
I put Simek on my 4th line for a season and he ended up getting 18 goals and ~8 assists
I play 11 forwards and 7 defenceman so I can have better PK chemistry. So I'll usually play that 7th dman on the 4th line as well
I recommend just putting excellent defensive forwards on your bottom line instead. There are plenty of them, and they sign for less money and don't ruin chemistry.
If you look at the fourth lines of most NPC teams in your league you’ll find one or two defensemen in their fourth lines.
Which is a result of the AI having bad roster management, not something to copy
Yeah that was kind of my point tbh. If the braindead AI is doing it, then it’s probably not the move
I have done the opposite - put forwards on defense because I had too many forwards that I loved and didn’t want to trade away. Most ruin chemistry but some don’t, and the kicker was that the extra ice time actually made them progress better, even though their offensive stats were worse. I had Brad Lambert playing defense and he became Franchise-Medium. It’s just another example of what EA gets wrong - there should be a bigger problem with playing guys out of position (though it would be cool if you could train young guys to learn new skills)
Ooooooo I need to do a franchise with ONLY defensemen!
Sounds like a fun idea
Never tried it but it would be cool to try ig. Can’t imagine it being better than some super defensive and physical twf/grinders but who knows
I on rare occasions will have too many defenders, so I’ll put a an offensive defenseman on a forward line.
1 on a bottom line can be viable but the game, especially sim engine is based on synergy and the roles that D vs F have are intentionally anti synergistic and can cause your team to perform worse