How do you screw up that bad

Like why did 3 forwards go out for the PK

Seriously these guys lack coordination at times

But they killed it lul

Still early but now the 4th line I think is set with Reaves out

Now the focus can be Dman/improving Dcore and working on the PK

Who knew 3 changes would fix the bottom 6 this well

Also remember when people said Robertson should not be called up

Well 2 goals and assists in 4 games changes that lul

Amazing what not having to play with Ryan Reaves can do to a line. Loving that we’re finally getting some depth scoring going, Robby looks legit, Domi has found his stride as well.

Still glad they gave him at least a bit of catch up runway in the AHL but yea he has been a stud. Here’s to joking he can stay healthy.

Well he took that Cole hit like a champ

And hes got a bodyguard on his line to

Honestly man that third line has been arguably one of the best. Now if we can just get Domi a goal lul

Like hes earned one by now

That was Toronto's best game by far

Didnt allow 4 goals

Sammy besides goal 2 looked good

PK still needs work but hey they killed at least 4 of the 6

Defense good but still could use that net front presence

Bottom 6 is contributing and looks good

And they defended one another


They should just continue to replicate this but with better PK results.

Comical how much better the 4th line was. Hilarious even. Get Reaves on waivers yesterday

Leafs 4th line was much better with Reavo out. Depth scoring was much better. Heck they even fought more ironically.

Waive Reaves

Funny how 4th line went from unplayable to great lol

What the leafs did with Reaves was what Avs fans said to do with him and they were right

This is what they should do when there is no enforcer on the other team. When they plan to use one throw him in

As they dont need him for a game like this as they got other guys who can step it up

But against actual enforcers like M. Foligno, Xhekaj, etc thats where he has his use

Honestly Avs fans were right Macdermid treatment is perfect

Dont need him in every game. Only very specific games like WPG!!!!!!!

I will admit I was wrong but I'm happy I'm wrong about Robertson

I think this game could be a turning point. That's hopeful I think but who knows. To me this was a classic trap game for Vancouver. They were on a heater, and came to TO to beat up on a dysfunctional Leafs squad that was going to allow goals at will. They scored early and then coasted and just weren't engaged. They played how the Leafs do when playing bad teams. TO won but Vancouver didn't have a good game at all.

Yes Reeves out was really good for the whole team but the Leafs still get caught running around in our zone way too much. There just doesn't seem to be structure in our zone, too many guys running around out of position. That has to stop.

Robertson looks really good though. His arrival would be a massive boon. Even if it just increases his value to a high level

Still early and a 1 game sample for the 4th line

But I think forward's figured out

Now whats left is Dcore. Now maybe getting healthy will help but idk how long Liligren will be out along with Timmins.

They really could use a net front guy rn. But the problem is the guy available is a lefty and I dont want to take Gio out lul

Tough choices ahead

PK as well needs work. Was 4/6 but still not great start

And while Klingberg was not god awful he also was not noticeable offensively. Like at this point you could just have Timmins do his job

Man got to hate FLA for ruining the trade market for third pair Dman

As thanks to that Chiarot trade everyone thinks Zadorov is worth that

News flash last TDL only 2 rental D got a 1st and they were better

3rd pair guys all got 3rd + 5th returns

Last year, Leafs had PK = 81.9% (12th) and PP = 26.0% (2nd). Sum = 107.9% (4th).
This year PK = 72.0=% (29th) and PP = 28.3% (6th). Sum = 100.3% (17th).

What's different - a lack of Justin Holl, who kills penalties and happens to be +7 this year. (although I wouldn't have paid him $3.5M).

Gio is better than McCabe. If any lefty is going to sit, that's the weak link right now. He can't play the right side and he's been brutal all season. Zadorov is a good add but he's also not a true top 4 guy.

Yeah you can't pay Holl 3.5 but his PK ability is certainly missed. What the team really needs is a new Muzzin. A two way guy who's physical and smart.

Losing 1 guy would not cause this big of a drop

Its just structure and when listening to analysts they are right. One guy is either out of position, they scramble to much, are missing that net front clearer, fail to clear it out of their zone, or other issues

In general they look lost at times.

But as we saw after Van scored twice the structure improved as they started getting more aggressive and communicating.

Also when you see how DET is using Holl they almost sheltering him lul. The minus will be there by January

The weak link is not leftside at all its right side. Their top 2 LD are set (Rielly and McCabe). Meanwhile on the right side besides Brodie they got nobody to rely on. Klingberg is not good and Liligren cant be relied on in a second pair role as we saw when he was away from McCabe and than got hurt in Boston. Thats where the priority should go finding a top 4 RD to slot into the 2nd pair role with McCabe.

But also lets be real come playoffs Gio probably sits as you dont want a 40 year old in those kinds of games. We saw it last year he was tired and not good. McCabe vs TBL good layed out guys did his job and they were good. Most likely if they can they will probs find someone to put Gio out to keep him as a depth option

Gio's playing great rn but we also got to consider he didnt miss time with a groin injury or also consider hes not playing on his offside. Against Van both guys looked good. As other than the fight no difference. Both had strong defensive plays and after first 2 PK's were good especially when we consider ones on his offside lul

Yeah I agree that the right side is weaker but last night McCabe was the worst defenceman on the ice for TO. He's just not aware of where he needs to be. As for our top 2 LD, we are not a contender with McCabe in the top 4. Almost every contender has a much better player than McCabe. He should be 3rd pair and honestly I don't think he's better than GIo so if we add 2 defenceman, the hope would be to solidify the 2nd pair with 2 guys that improve our team and make it a defender. A Muzzin like trade where we get a legit top pair defenceman is absolutely a must. Righty or left works for me, maybe both. Either give Rielly a better partner and move Brodie to his strong side where he absolutely is better at this stage of his career. Him with a legit top pair Righty makes a legit shutdown pair. Or a better lefty and a righty to form a good 2nd pair is a must.

No he wasnt lul

https://twitter.com/KPapetti/status/1723539132666761359

If he was bad Pappetti would not have been saying that lul. Worst Dman still be Klingberg for the fact he does nothing for this team. Cant be sheltering a guy making 4.15m

Had a quiet game but has shown hes replaceable. Timminns for 3.05 m less could play third pair and be PP unit 1/2

Also

https://twitter.com/BudsAllDayCast/status/1723532988716052542

We all know who they referring to for 8-10

Cause yea when he was out they were pretty bad

1-3-2

27 goals allowed

He comes back

2-0-0

6 goals allowed

Soon as he comes back 2 wins b2b and one against the hottest scoring team in the NHL rn.

Pretty clear they missed him and if he can do more of what we saw vs. Van were good just get him on his strong side on we will see even better results.


At this point 2nd pair RD is whats needed as even if Liligren and Timmins come back they aint it.

Vancouver didn't show up. It was a trap game for them. They were on a heater and the Leafs have been struggling. They came in thinking it was going to be easy and played down to their opponents. It's what happens to TO way too often. So don't put too much stock in last night's win. Some good signs, Samsonov playing well, not having Reeves is huge.

But no, McCabe is not at all the reason why we won 2 games. He made mistakes that cost us vs Calgary and is a terrible penalty killer. If he's on the 3rd pair that's fine at 2 million but he's just not very good. And can't handle top 4 minutes on a true contender. They didn't miss him, he's irrelevant.

I agree that Timmins is at the very least as good as Klingberg and I would swap those two immediately but Klingberg being replaced doesn't make the defence contender worthy they need more. They need 2 better players. 1 if Liljegren becomes a true top 4 defender. But to think McCabe as the "shutdown" defender is contender worthy is just silly. He's not that and isn't close.

I know some like him because he hits a lot but even that is his greatest weakness, constantly puts himself out of position trying to hit someone and really is not good at clearing the crease. Which is the absolute most important thing for a shutdown defender. He isn't one. I'd love to play against a guy like him. Yeah it'll hurt sometimes but you know he will go for a big hit and open up major lanes that will hurt him

Van showed up for the most part. They looked the same vs. OTT and won

Difference here Toronto played with heart and Passion thats it. Along with realizing they dont need an enforcer 24/7

Sammy had something to prove

Team had something to prove especially 4th line

Everyone had something to prove

Demko also hates playing in Toronto as we saw by SN stats.

In general we saw it Toronto's D after 2nd Van goal looked good top to bottom. Bottom 6 was doing good, top 6 good

And saying McCabe is a bad penalty killer is silly. Since he came back PK was 6/8. The main issue with PK is structure from all fronts. Forwards dont help Dman and Dman dont cover for forwards. But yea last night he looked good. Against CGY was his first game back and he was on his offside it happens. But he and the D in general rebounded nicely the next game.

But as of rn the issue is Klingberg. For 4.15m should not be third pair and should be doing more PP stuff. But its been not been enough to justify the cap hit

Timmins or Liligren coming will make things interesting but yea rn the argument is RD needs fixing. There is a hole 2nd pair RD

Liligren is still not 100% ready and Timmins cant do it. Find a guy who can (Tanev, Larsson, Andersson, Weegar, etc)

If you have the space 3rd pair LD to rest Gio can be looked at to

But yea 2nd pair RD rn should be priority

Vancouver was an inferior team though... It was obvious last night as TO had all the chances minus playing on the PK 6 times to 2... And look at VAN's schedule, they faced the struggling Oilers 3 times, the Sharks once, the Sens once, the Blues once and the Preds twice out of their 10 wins and they lost to the Flyers... That's 8/10 wins that they should have had no matter what, minus injuries... You might counter with: "Well the Leafs lost to the Preds and Sens" but both games were bad on the Leafs end with no depth on the back end... That's why reinforcing the depth would be huge...