The Summit in 1974
1974

 

THE BEST HOCKEY LINES

The All-Time Finest Lines
Listed as left wing-center-right wing

By Michael Farber
Sports Illustrated (January 2003)

 1. Ted Lindsay-Sid Abel-Gordie Howe
Red Wings, late 1940s through early '50s.
The Production Line finished 1-2-3 in the league in scoring in '49-50 and had two of the top three scorers in three of the next four seasons.
 
 2. Toe Blake-Elmer Lach-Maurice Richard
Canadiens, mid-1940s.
The Punch Line, featuring the indomitable Rocket, went 1-2-3 in scoring in '44-45.
 
 3. Esa Tikkanen-Wayne Gretzky-Jari Kurri
Oilers, mid-to-late 1980s.
The Great One and Kurri, the best partnership since Bogart and Bacall, soared no matter who rode shotgun.
 
 4. Clark Gillies-Bryan Trottier-Mike Bossy
Islanders, mid-1970s through early '80s.
Perfectly constructed No. 1 line: fabulous scorer (Bossy), dominant two-way player (Trottier) and a banger (Gillies).
 
 5. Woody Dumart-Milt Schmidt-Bobby Bauer
Bruins, late 1930s through mid-'40s.
The so-called Kraut Line was the first to finish 1-2-3 in scoring, doing so in '39-40.
 
 6. Steve Shutt-Jacques Lemaire-Guy Lafleur
Canadiens, mid-to-late 1970s.
The Flower's glitz carried this unit, but Shutt buried his chances, and Lemaire did the dirty work.
 
 7. Vladimir Krutov-Igor Larionov-Sergei Makarov
Central Red Army, 1980s.
Moscow old-timers might prefer the trio of Valeri Kharlamov, Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov, but no line had a more acute understanding of hockey's geometry than the KLM.
 
 8. Wayne Cashman-Phil Esposito-Ken Hodge
Bruins, late 1960s through mid-'70s.
The line was led by Esposito, who dominated heavy traffic in the Boston Garden bandbox.
 
 9. Rick Martin-Gilbert Perreault-René Robert
Sabres, mid-to-late 1970s.
Sparked by the underappreciated Perreault, the French Connection dazzled.
 
10. Busher Jackson-Joe Primeau-Charlie Conacher
Maple Leafs, early to mid-1930s.
Kid Line went 1-2-4 in scoring in '31-32; Jackson and Conacher won scoring titles three times in a four-year span.
 

 


 
 

 

 

The Summit in 1974