Why Do The Sharks Like The Chernyshov-Misa-Toffoli Line?

The San Jose Sharks' combination of Igor Chernyshov, Michael Misa, and Tyler Toffoli seems a bit unconventional upon first glance.

It's one of the Sharks' fastest players between two players with below-average top speed. Importantly, Chernyshov is quick for his size, but he's still been below the 50th percentile in top speed during his time in the NHL. He has quite a bit of power and his 6-foot-3 frame makes him look like a bullet train at times despite the official numbers.

Toffoli on the other hand, has slowed down quite a bit due to age but he was never the fastest player on the ice to begin with and he showed on Saturday why he can still be effective despite his reduced foot speed. His perfectly placed breakout pass allowed Chernyshov to split the defense and score his first goal of the season on a breakaway.

"I saw him waving his stick at me. So if I didn't give it to him, I think he was going to kill me," Toffoli said of the play with a laugh. It was just a kind of a broken play. Obviously he's an amazing skater, split the D and [had a] heck of a backhand."

"Great pass. I don't know what [else] I need to say here," Chernyshov said regarding Toffoli's breakout pass. "Great pass. I think for him it's so easy."

The Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky then spoke about why he felt Toffoli was a good fit alongside the two youngsters on Saturday night. 

"Toff's got some composure with the puck, and that's that's what we like with with those guys," Warsofsky said. "He can help those young guys, especially in the defensive zone, understand where they need to be. Toff's got some poise in the walls to make plays, understand what's going on. As a veteran guy that's been around a long time and seen winning hockey, we're trying to really kind of press our group on that."

Toffoli's experience does speak for itself. He's one of just three players on the Sharks to have won a Stanley Cup, doing so 12 years ago with the Los Angeles Kings.

Of course, points aren't everything in the NHL, but the fact that two members of this line are currently producing at or above a point-per-game pace to start the season shows that the combination has been effective. While Warsofsky will likely get some grief on social media for keeping them together, there's no reason to fix something that isn't broken. While winning is more of a priority this season, development is still a key thing to consider at this stage and Toffoli can help teach his young linemates quite a bit.