Hey saw some discussions on here about Shane or Ilya playing wing for each other. And I wanted to add my own two cents to it as a massive irl hockey fan.
Winger isn't necessarily an easier or less prestigious position than center. It just all comes down to team dynamics and what the team needs. Alexander Ovechkin (arguebly one of best players of his generation and the guy Ilya is based on) plays winger. It really isn't a "lesser" position by defenition. Lots of generational/elite players are wingers. Most centres (not all depends on the person and the playstyle) can make the switch if needed to play winger (Though switching from winger to centre is generally seen as harder) It's NOT an demotion. It's more so what your used to doing on the ice/where your strong suits lie, and what the team needs.
And something else to consider as much as I love the idea of husband line as a concept (also fun fact there is an irl version of this called wife line in the phwl) i do think that if i were the coach of ottawa and I had THE two star centres on my team i would put them on differnt lines as 1a and 2a centers because that would be WAY more effective and dangerous. Because that way you have two lines that are both deadly instead of one, which means you can spread out the pressure and play them more and have more ice time, instead of having all your best players on one line. You see this irl aswell with Mcdavid and Draisatill and my personal favorite Crosby and Malkin(in his prime). All these men are or were star centres and most of the time they are not on the same line.
(The difference with irl wife line is that Stacey has always played winger and MPP has always played centre so their positions lend themselves better to playing on the same line) And then when the game asks for it you could switch it up if you want some extra pressure or during the powerplay/penalty kill (then the units are different anyway.) Though you do see elite star centres switch to play winger but it is mostly a one off thing for a tournament. Most recent example I can think of is Crosby playing winger for Celebrini during worlds
So sorry for the random hockey yap but hope this gives you all some context!
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