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hanley6
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
674 Posts |
 Posted - 11/09/2016 : 15:18:24
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Poll Question:
Are the Maple Leafs finally heading into the right direction?
...And the LEAFS Win the CUP
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hanley6
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
674 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2016 : 17:08:23
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First off I'd like to say hi to all my old buddies here. It sure has been awhile since i have posted back in the please get rid of Toskala days lol...
Now I'd like to point out yes i believe the Maple Leafs are headed in the right direction but I don't believe they have what it takes to make a playoff push this season... The Leafs have a very young team it will take a year or so for them to really gel but it is a start of a promising future.
first steps to improving the Leafs began when then got rid of Carlyle, Nonis, Clarkson and late last season Dion Phaneuf. Lets face it Leafs fans Phaneuf was a nightmare trying to be someone he isn't (Bobby Orr) and carrying the puck causing too much giveaways and not having the speed to get back.
Phaneuf was highly overrated and he's showing that with Ottawa.
Seth Griffith being the only skater who has dressed up to not get a single point yet this season only dressing 3 times in Maple Leafs uniform this early is a good sign of how well all 4 forward lines and 3 defence pairs are contributing on the scoreboard.
3 rookies really standing out with the Leafs right now and are currently leading the team in points and surprisingly holding up with the best in the league William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. These guys are very hard workers both ends of the ice which is something the Leafs have lacked for over a decade and its very refreshing to see a possible bright future in the next couple seasons.
Im also impressed with Bozak, JVR and Kadri play so far this season. Bozak is working very well with Marner. Without Kessel last season and due to injuries JVR didnt seem like himself so its good to see how well hes starting out this season and Kadri is playing the best hockey i ever seen from him since 2012-13. Lets hope they can keep it up.
Not to mention the Marlies have some good future for the leafs Kapanen, Leipsic, Froese, Nielsen, Valiev, Dermott and Campbell
...And the LEAFS Win the CUP |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2016 : 14:18:25
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| yeah pretty much sums it up Hanley . But the leafs D core as a group SUCK bigtime. Reilly and Zatislev will be great... Gardiner is Wayyyyyyy too soft in front of the net, he is a pushover, AND creates terrible turnovers. Marincin , well lets just say ECHL is more his thing. Polak is tough but WAYYYY too slow, time he gets to the play its over....Hunwick and Carrick are TOOOO small , opposing players just reach around them , forwards now are huge and these guys just cant handle them......leafs need 4 Defenseman , until this is addressed , theyre not winning anything . |
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2016 : 21:15:08
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Welcome back Hanley.
Yep . . . the Leafs are on the right track for sure. Starts with management and flows downward.
I'm ecstatic with our top 3 of Matthews, Marner and Nylander. They've all played above my lofty expectations so far . . . and I never thought that all three at once could do that. Team as a whole is playing well I think for where they're at . . . and it's still early to judge, as they are super young and with so many new faces from last year, takes a while for the dynamic to sort itself out.
They'll probably gun for a playoff spot and then fall short; hopefully a contender within two years or so if timelines fall into optimal slots.
Here's hoping!
Don't Leaf me hanging, Buds! |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 11/14/2016 : 17:03:47
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The poll is obviously heading in one direction only. The first two options could really tied together as I think there's a shot they push for a spot, but either way, a year or two down the road is where this team should shine. Basically, there's no way they aren't better in 2 years than they are today, but they could still manage a good push to make the post season this year?
The kids have looked great at times, but I think they all need a year or two and we'll see them really shine! Matthews is gonna be a beauty I'm sure, but what I really look forward to is the battle between him and Laine in the years to come. Laine seemed cocky with his "I should be drafted first" attitude but let's face it, he's done nothing but put his money where his mouth is! To this point, he'd hands down be the Calder winner. This is not to say he'll be better over his career, but he's looking more and more and more like a young OV every day! This could end up being Crosby vs OV all over again with these two!!! Will be a fun decade to watch. Throw in McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Nylander, Draisaitl, etc and the Leafs and Oilers will eventually be pushing for some more Canadian content in the playoffs! And I haven't even touched on the current (co-) league leader in points, Mark Schiefele!!! This kid is good!!! Exciting hockey for years to come.
And the Canucks, well, errrr, nevermind....... |
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JOSHUACANADA
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2308 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2016 : 14:02:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Alex116
The poll is obviously heading in one direction only. The first two options could really tied together as I think there's a shot they push for a spot, but either way, a year or two down the road is where this team should shine. Basically, there's no way they aren't better in 2 years than they are today, but they could still manage a good push to make the post season this year?
The kids have looked great at times, but I think they all need a year or two and we'll see them really shine! Matthews is gonna be a beauty I'm sure, but what I really look forward to is the battle between him and Laine in the years to come. Laine seemed cocky with his "I should be drafted first" attitude but let's face it, he's done nothing but put his money where his mouth is! To this point, he'd hands down be the Calder winner. This is not to say he'll be better over his career, but he's looking more and more and more like a young OV every day! This could end up being Crosby vs OV all over again with these two!!! Will be a fun decade to watch. Throw in McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Nylander, Draisaitl, etc and the Leafs and Oilers will eventually be pushing for some more Canadian content in the playoffs! And I haven't even touched on the current (co-) league leader in points, Mark Schiefele!!! This kid is good!!! Exciting hockey for years to come.
And the Canucks, well, errrr, nevermind.......
I have to agree, league wide the prospects are having huge impacts early. Would be nice to see it last the season. I wish my team had one of these stud prospects scoring right now, as I watch my team with 11 games in a row with 2 goals in regulation or less. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2016 : 16:18:51
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Lets not forget that Laine is playing on the 1st line....alongside M.Schif and Wheeler  .......Matthews is playing 3rd line with 2 rookies....makes a difference |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 11/22/2016 : 14:37:37
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
Lets not forget that Laine is playing on the 1st line....alongside M.Schif and Wheeler .......Matthews is playing 3rd line with 2 rookies....makes a difference
Fair enough, but my only questions would be "why"? If Matthews is supposed to be so good, NO WAY he should be on the 3rd line with a couple of rookies. 2nd line, maybe. But 3rd? That's insane. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 11/22/2016 : 17:51:55
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Why is a good question Alex ?
Hopefully he will one day be on the leafs first line Lol
Guess Babcock got a plan
Me personally.... Fire out Matthews , Marner and Nylander ..... There's ur new first line and 1st PP unit.... They're ur future , let them play ..... Why should any other forward on that team take that away from them ?..... What has any other leaf forward done the past 2 or 3 seasons to deserve 1st line minutes over these 3 ??... I haven't seen it. They are the ONLY 1st line forwards the leafs have |
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The_Gipper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
285 Posts |
Posted - 11/23/2016 : 05:46:03
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but what's the rush? sure he was a highly touted 1st overall pick, but he's still only a rookie and only 19 years old. both Kadri and Bozak have much more NHL experience, so to me it make sense for now to have Matthews on the 3rd line. a bit less pressure for him, and it allows him to get his feet wet and prove himself first.
this is the new Shana-plan boyz. Patience is key. get used to it. |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 11/23/2016 : 07:38:53
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
Why is a good question Alex ?
Hopefully he will one day be on the leafs first line Lol
Guess Babcock got a plan
Me personally.... Fire out Matthews , Marner and Nylander ..... There's ur new first line and 1st PP unit.... They're ur future , let them play ..... Why should any other forward on that team take that away from them ?..... What has any other leaf forward done the past 2 or 3 seasons to deserve 1st line minutes over these 3 ??... I haven't seen it. They are the ONLY 1st line forwards the leafs have
I don't mind spreading the wealth a bit and JVR and Bozak have been pretty darn good thus far. But 3rd line? I could understand 2nd line. But hey, I'm not an NHL coach and rather just a keyboard coach/GM who knows better than all the experts!  |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 11/24/2016 : 04:31:30
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Bozak and JVR have what they got because MARNER is making them shine.... Yes MARNER is that good , matter of fact , he is amazing .
I don't believe in bumping up young players who are not ready BUT Matthews is ready. He clearly shows this every shift , he is big and doesn't seem to have any issues handling the grind. This is Nylanders 3rd season , counting the AHL... Marner is clearly the most intelligent player I've ever seen play with leafs , and he is just gettin his feet wet..... Cut them loose and let them play |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 11/24/2016 : 04:41:20
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| Leafs achillies heel is defense.... Major , major problems here. By far the worst defense in the league in my opinion .... Huge concern here and needs big time fixing. They need to bring in a leader PLUS 2 more defensive D-men.... Yes they need 3 defenseman to fix they're woes. Andersen will pan out fine in goal.... Enroth , too small , get rid of him. Can't cover enough net . Even when he covers the angles , 60 % of the net is still open , too short also , can't see around anyone. Just don't cut the mustard , bad signing |
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hanley6
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
674 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2016 : 07:17:58
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I'm just glad we don't have to worry about Toskala anymore lmao
had to say it
...And the LEAFS Win the CUP |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2016 : 17:24:10
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| Yeah agree. Or red light raycroft. Lol |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2016 : 17:31:43
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| You know it's funny about Raycroft . As bad as he got on the last of it , I think he holds the leafs record for most wins in a single season over all other leaf goalies ... Funny ..... Another crazy stat is John Fergerson Jr ( dumb dumb moves he made ) I think holds the highest win % of all GM,s the leafs ever employed. Lol. Go figure....I guess he was always around .500 , no highs , no lows .... Just status quoa..... Guess they're more winning GM,s were also there for terrible seasons too , bringing down their winning % |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2016 : 08:41:41
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
You know it's funny about Raycroft . As bad as he got on the last of it , I think he holds the leafs record for most wins in a single season over all other leaf goalies ... Funny ..... Another crazy stat is John Fergerson Jr ( dumb dumb moves he made ) I think holds the highest win % of all GM,s the leafs ever employed. Lol. Go figure....I guess he was always around .500 , no highs , no lows .... Just status quoa..... Guess they're more winning GM,s were also there for terrible seasons too , bringing down their winning %
On April 3, 2007, Raycroft tied the Leafs' franchise record for most wins by a goaltender in the regular season (37), previously held by Ed Belfour in 2002–03 (Raycroft played more games than Belfour and earned three shootout wins, which did not exist prior to the 2005–06 season). |
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The_Gipper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
285 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2016 : 11:20:48
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
Leafs achillies heel is defense.... Major , major problems here. By far the worst defense in the league in my opinion .... Huge concern here and needs big time fixing. They need to bring in a leader PLUS 2 more defensive D-men.... Yes they need 3 defenseman to fix they're woes. Andersen will pan out fine in goal.... Enroth , too small , get rid of him. Can't cover enough net . Even when he covers the angles , 60 % of the net is still open , too short also , can't see around anyone. Just don't cut the mustard , bad signing
well it looks like you got your wish Duke. Enroth was officially waived today. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2016 : 17:23:25
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| Well good for them Gipper. A backup goalie plays an integral part on a playoff bubble team. If another guy can muster up 4 or 5 more points more than Enroth is capable of .... Could take a team from 10 th place into 8th ...... Goals scored off deflected shots from the point play a major scoring role in today's game. Many of these picks will hit a 6'4'' goalie while he is in the butterfly position , with his shoulders at cross bar height. This does not apply to Enroth. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2016 : 11:15:39
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This expansion thing causing a huge Dilemma for what some NHL teams want to do right now.
Take the leafs for instance.
Expansion rules are teams can protect 1 goalie and either :
1 )...... 3 defenseman plus 7 forwards........( total of 10 skaters )....or
2) .......and combination of 8 total skaters , regardless of position
so
As of now the leafs can protect , (1) Reilly ( 2) Gardiner (3) Zatisilev....who cares about the rest of their D.........and 7 forwards , which will do just fine to a point
BUT the Dilemma is .....
The leafs desperately need a top D-man to make a playoff push this year and they have plenty of trade bait to get one. Now if they bring in the 4th guy , WHO do you NOT protect in the expansion draft ???.....obviously if you give up maybe JVR , a prospect , a draft pick for a stud D-man , youre gonna KEEP that ( protect ) stud D-man.........SO , in order to protect your 7 forwards you can only protect 3 D-man , which means that either Reilly , Gardiner or Zatislev will go to Vegas for free via the expansion draft...who wants that ??...........
other option is protect 4 D-men but then you can only protect 4 forwads....so then one of their integral future forwards is gone.......well , well
So
in essence , adding a stud D-man may very well put the leafs into the playoff picture this season but will cause them major grief through the expansion draft......guess theyre better off adding this summer after the UFA hits
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2017 : 09:00:56
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Duke....This expansion draft and the upcoming trade deadline will be very interesting. Normally it'd be easy to say "hey, just throw in another guy or two in a deal for that stud dman rather than a prospect or pick" but the team you're dealing with, also has to be able to keep those players otherwise their value in the deal is extremely low.
I'm not sure in the Leafs case where they'd be going for a "stud" dman? I think a guy like Lindholm in Ana is prob available? But is he what you call a "stud dman"? I dunno if that's the kind of guy you seek for your Leafs or if you're implying more of a Keith, Doughty, Subban, Pietrangelo, etc type? Those guys will likely cost you more than JVR, a pick and a prospect, but it would obviously depend on the pick and prospect!
If I were the Leafs, and I could get a really solid dman, I would have no problem aiming a little higher and including a guy like Gardiner in the deal. That way you add value to hopefully increase the odds of landing an even better dman AND you have a spot to keep him? Again, the team you're dealing with needs the space to keep Gardiner in this situation (and JVR).
What are your thoughts on who the Leafs may or should target? |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2017 : 09:59:16
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| Yes it would make more sense ( with the expansion situation ) for the leafs to trade Gardiner and just protect their 3 remaining d men ....reilly , zatis...plus new pickup....Not really sure who they should target in particular but they need and edm type deal when they brought in Larson. A solid guy to play againist the other teams top lines. Leafs need 2 d men really , good ones. Couple players maybe pushing 30 yrs old with experience, One to pair with reilly and one to pair with Zatislev..... but of course , again with the expansion draft, this will prob be a summer thing . One for now will help them big time. |
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The_Gipper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
285 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2017 : 11:39:46
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Duke there is a simple solution to all this......don't make any trades. then you get to protect all of Reilly, Zaitsev and Gardiner. IMO all three of these guys are valuable pieces to the team going forward. Gardiner specifically, from what I've seen, has been particularly good this year and really seems to be thriving under Babcock. he's on pace for a career high in points; currently leads the team in +/- with a +10; and is averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time.
but looking past all that, do the Leafs really need to make the playoffs this year? I'd say no. Personally I'd rather see them finish the season without making any major roster moves at all (no-brainer trades aside). let's see what this team can do down the stretch while they currently sit in a playoff position. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2017 : 12:36:09
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| yes Gipper that is true for the long run. The leafs have so many good young forwards that they have no choice but to protect 7 forwards.....therefore they can only protect 3 Defensemen ... so giving up assets now for a D man who they may very well lose in the expansion draft doesnt make sense . But if they can use a 2nd round pick to bring in a guy whose contract is out after this season , maybe not be a bad move.. maybe then this player can be signed and brought back later this summer. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2017 : 12:40:53
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| Was goin to mention , this team is playing so well up front , its almost a crime not to help them out on the blueline. they need help BIGTIME on the back end. If the Defense keeps letting the forward group down game after game , this is not a healthy situation for the team , kills everyones confidience and will actually regress theyre forwards. |
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Leafs Heading in the Right Direction? 
