List of ice hockey line nicknames

In ice hockey, three forwards – centre, right wing and left wing – operate as a unit called a line. The tradition of naming the lines extends back to the inaugural 1917–18 [NHL season], when Didier Pitre, Jack Laviolette, and Newsy Lalonde of the Montreal Canadiens were dubbed the "Flying Frenchmen Line".

Lines with nicknames

Line name	Members	Team	League	Description	Date
That 70s Line	Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	Pearson wore the number 70 on his jersey; Carter the number 77; and Toffoli the number 73. Named in reference to That '70s Show.	2013-2018
The Black Aces	Herb Carnegie, Ossie Carnegie, Manny McIntire	Quebec Aces	Quebec [Senior Hockey League\|QSHL]	The first all-black line in the Quebec Senior Hockey League.	1940s
The Century Line	Syl Apps Jr., Lowell MacDonald, Jean Pronovost	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	Named by their team publicist after the line scored over 100 goals in the 1973–1974 season.	1973–1976
The Coneheads	Mark Pavelich, John Harrington, Buzz Schneider	United States Men's National Team		Part of the Miracle on Ice team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. All three grew up playing pickup games on ponds in the Iron Range of Northeast Minnesota. They named themselves after the Saturday Night Live sketch.	1980
The Dynasty Line	Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Pete Mahovlich	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		1970s
The Espo Line	Wayne Cashman, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge	Boston Bruins	NHL	Named after their center, Esposito.	1967–1975
The French Connection	Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Rene Robert	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	Named after the Oscar-winning 1971 film, as all three players were French-Canadian.	1972–1979
The GAG Line	Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield	New York Rangers	NHL	The name is an acronym for "Goal-A-Game", in reference to the line's high average scoring output.	1966-1974
The Grind Line	Kris Draper, Joe Kocur, Kirk Maltby	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		late 1990s-early 2000s
The Grumpy Old Men	Kirk Muller, John MacLean, Mike Keane	Dallas Stars	NHL	Named after a reference to the 1993 film Grumpy Old Men. When the three veterans played for the Dallas Stars in 2001, they had 105 years and five Stanley Cup wins between them.	2001
The HBK Line	Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, Phil Kessel	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	While technically the Penguins’ third line during their 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championship seasons, the name is taken from the first letters of their last names. Their most famous fan was pro wrestler Shawn Michaels, aka “The Heartbreak Kid”.	2016-2017
The Kid Line	Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau, Charlie Conacher	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	At the time of the line's formation, Primeau was 23 years old, while both Conacher and Jackson were only 18.	1930-1938
The KLM Line	Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov	Soviet national team		The KLM Line was the top line on the dominant Soviet national teams of the 1980s. They won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics. Together with the top defensive pairing of Slava Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov, the five of them were collectively known as "The Green Unit" because of the green jerseys they wore in practice.	1980s
The Kraut Line	Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, Bobby Bauer	Boston Bruins	NHL	Named for the German ancestry shared by all three, who grew up together in Kitchener, Ontario.	1936–1947
The Legion of Doom	Eric Lindros, John LeClair, Mikael Renberg	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL	Named as all weighed over 220 pounds, ranged from 6'2" to 6'4" tall, and had a very physical playing style.	1994–1997
The LILCO Line	Billy Harris, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier	New York Islanders	NHL	Named after the Long Island Lighting Company because they lit the lamps so often with their goal-scoring.	1970s
The Mafia Line	Phil Esposito, Don Maloney, Don Murdoch	New York Rangers	NHL	Named for the "godfather" Phil Esposito and his two "dons", Don Maloney and Don Murdoch.	late 1970s
The Perfection Line	Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrňák	Boston Bruins	NHL		2014–2022
The Pizza Line	Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa Senators	NHL	In 2005, the Ottawa Senators ran a promotion with Canadian pizza restaurant Pizza Pizza where fans in attendance at home games would get free slices of pizza if the Senators scored five or more goals. Due to the line's extremely high scoring output, the promotion went into effect much more often than anticipated.	2005-2009
The Pony Line	Doug Bentley, Max Bentley, Bill Mosienko	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	All three players on the line stood less than 5'10" and weighed under 160 lbs.	1940-1943, 1945-1948
The Production Line	Sid Abel, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	Named in reference to their prolific goal production as well as the automotive industry in Detroit. The line was put together by head coach Tommy Ivan in 1947.	1947-1952
The Punch Line	Hector "Toe" Blake, Elmer Lach, Maurice "Rocket" Richard	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	The trio was the top line on the Montreal Canadiens from 1943 to 1948 and won two Stanley Cups.	1943–1948
The S Line	Nels Stewart, Babe Siebert, Hooley Smith	Montreal Maroons	NHL		1927–1932
The Triple Crown Line	Dave Taylor, Charlie Simmer, Marcel Dionne	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	Named after their achievements; in 1980–81, the trio combined for 328 points to become the first line in NHL history where each player scored 100 points or more in the same season.	1979–1984
The Trio Grande	Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier	New York Islanders	NHL	The Trio Grande won four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders in the 1980s, and all three are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.	1980s
The Uke Line	Johnny Bucyk, Bronco Horvath, Vic Stasiuk	Boston Bruins	NHL	Named for their common Ukrainian heritage.	1957–1961
The West Coast Express	Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison, Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	Named as a reference to the local commuter rail service of the same name.	2000–2006