This is a super team meant to be a proof of concept for a team built around a number of ideas: that the best players should play on the same line and as often as possible, that rolling forward lines is beneficial, that "third lines" play better with a physical agitator and 2 skilled possession drivers (but not necessarily scorers), and that defensemen should be deployed in trios rather than in pairs. The idea was to see if this concept is viable under the salary cap, so no players on ELCs were used.
The first line should be playing about 20 minutes a game, including half the total PP time. They should be put on the ice in favorable offensive situations like OZ faceoffs or against the opposing 4th line. As valuable as rolling one's lines is, it seems better to put all of one's best players together than to spread them out onto 3 different lines so they are not handcuffed by less talented players or having their ice time limited unnecessarily.
The other 3 lines play the other 40 minutes, spread equally such that each plays 13-14 minutes. This setup means that there is never a weaker fourth line on the ice so the coach never needs to worry about forward match-ups, and that each line is always fresh and ready to go. All of these forwards should fill in on both the PP and the PK (keeping the PK fresh and the PP unpredictable), as well as playing a sizable role at even strength. With the first line doing most of the scoring, these lines exist to wear down the opposition by making them play in their own zone (the two skill players on each line) and by hitting them into submission (the grinder on each line).
In the first trio, Karlsson can be counted on to play huge minutes, and a coach should have no issue playing Ouellet or Dillon for only 15 minutes and giving him 30 in any given game, or playing them more and him less to rest him. Karlsson and the next best offensive defenseman (either Ouellet or Gudas) would be the pointmen on the PP.
In the other defense trio, the defensemen are roughly equal in skill, and so they can be "rolled" more often, with each one taking turns who sits when their trio is sent on the ice. Hjalmarsson can also be used as a shadow/matchup defender, so this justifies his higher paycheck, even if he doesn't actually play more than Gudas or Miller.
All of the defensemen should be capable of playing on the PK. That, combined with having defense trios, means that there are two three-man defensive units who have chemistry together, and who can be used on a 5 on 3 PK or sent out with 2 forwards at the end of a game to hold a lead.
Given how unpredictable goaltending is, the idea was essentially to go cheap on that position, and hope for average or near-average play from Raanta or Vasilevskiy
Although a team can only carry 23, this team has an extra in each role: goalie, defenseman, skill forward, and a disruptive forward. Gudlevskis would be assigned to the minors, with the others being scratched.
As specific as these players are, I think most teams could assemble this way if they wanted by balancing out their bottom 3 lines with a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th liner each, and by assembling their defensemen into trios (either more like the Karlsson trio if they have an elite defender or more like the Gudas trio if they have depth at D). It may be more difficult to get a good salary structure and to have a team with 9 actual third liners on it, but if a coach and GM agreed to this as a long-term plan, then players with the right contracts could be brought in over the summer so there aren't overpaid second liners or under-qualified fourth liners playing an inappropriate amount of ice time.
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