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Pens were the best
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Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsDec. 11, 2020 at 2:20 p.m.
Thread: My Hot Take On The Leafs This Season
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Lyle_Bubas</b></div><div>no but fr, last year we had high expectations on hutch and barrie, we thought ceci could be passable, we hoped babs could reverse the team trending downward after january 2019. we were excited to see the big 4 all in the lineup at 100% at once, given that either willy was out or not himself the previous year, matthews struggled with injury etc. it was still concerning that dermott/hyman were out to start the year, but we hoped it wouldn't matter

as it turns out, ceci sucked, barrie struggled under babs, babs sucked, hutch was an ECHL goaltender, kappy and johnsson had down years in the first seasons of their new contracts, tavares/marner got hurt, hyman being out seriously hurt the top 6, mikheyev was a pleasant surprise, only to get injured

last year was a comedy of errors, the team was injury cursed, new acquistions were far worse than expected etc. etc.

this year, I could see it turning south real fast if andersen or campbell struggles, thornton/simmonds lose a step, spezza isn't the awesome player he was last year, bogosian reverts to buffalo form

there's a lot that could go wrong with this year, but idk, I'm optimistic</div></div>

Well said, last year we expected a lot of players to perform better than they actually did. Not to mention last year the Leafs had 27th best save percentage after Keefe took over despite generating average defensive results. It’s definitely possible that this season something similar happens but it seems on paper the new additions seem to be better fits than the guys they had last year.
Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsDec. 11, 2020 at 2:14 p.m.
Thread: My Hot Take On The Leafs This Season
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>aadoyle</b></div><div>Underdogs often do better in the playoffs and I find being the cup fav often affects the outcome

2020 Dallas who couldnt score in the regular season goes on a hot streak and beats the 2 cup favs (Colorado and Vegas) out of the bubble but sadly the 4th fav (Tampa) came out on top ruining arguably the best underdog story seen for years lul

2019 St Louis goes from bottom feeding almost selling at the deadline to Binnington led champions

Even if the leafs were to face Boston in the playoffs I like their chances now as Keefe would have not been so predictable as Babcock was and the Dcore is much much better than it was the last time we faced em.

There is also the deadline and I have a feeling Dubas may move someone like Holl to bring in a veteran Dman from a rebuilding team to solidify his Dcore come playoff time</div></div>

Good point. A lot of people are writing off the Leafs or laughing at their cap situation but they might end up surprising them with this underrated team.

Obviously it would be nice to get an upgrade over Holl, but I feel if he plays as well as he did during last regular season the Leafs will already have solidified their top 4.
Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsDec. 11, 2020 at 2:11 p.m.
Thread: My Hot Take On The Leafs This Season
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>palhal</b></div><div>I like the Leafs more than last year.
Last year, the Leafs had to dig themselves out from such a poor start under Babcock. I expect Keefe and his new staff to be better coaches than the group from last year.
Leafs who had little NHL Dman depth had Reilly and Muzzin on LTIR. The Leafs two worse Dmen from last year are gone (Barrie and Ceci). So with a little bit of injury luck and the current group of Dmen, that group should be better.
Forward group about the same quality as last year.

So that being said, the Leafs should be a playoff team

Now since the Leafs are in a mix of lower end play off teams...maybe some many being equal, gonna be difficult to for the Leafs or virtually any team to reach win the Conference. Leafs winning the first round, iffy because they are competing against an equal competent team. So do win round one...coin toss, round two very iffy or even round three doubtful.</div></div>

Yes I agree, the defence core is much improved from last season when they relied heavily on Barrie, Ceci &amp; Marincin. I feel the offence should be improved as well if Marner has a bounce back season, we all know what he can deliver at his best.
Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsDec. 11, 2020 at 1:31 p.m.
Thread: My Hot Take On The Leafs This Season
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>MitchMarnerElite </b></div><div>I decided to make this post because I want to give my expectations and overview on the Leafs team for this upcoming season.

I actually feel pretty optimistic about this roster as in my opinion, it is the strongest and most complete team they’ve had since the rebuild finished. Although I don’t think they are as stacked as the favourites Tampa or Colorado, I do think they have enough quality on paper to be contenders and compete against other teams.

Analyzing the roster, they have an excellent forward group. All four of their big guns (Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander) are elite. This can be proven from their high production and play driving rates throughout their careers. As long as they each play at their best level, generating goals should not be an issue.

Furthermore, I feel the Leafs have built themselves to become a tougher team to play against. They now have several forwards (Thornton, Hyman, Mikheyev, Vesey, Simmonds, Anderson and Barabanov) who are known to be hardworking players. These guys will go to the dirty areas and win puck battles so that the team gets possession back. In the past, the team has always been criticized of being too soft. It seems like they went down the Tampa route to add grit.

Another area of weakness has been the Leafs’ defence. I feel it has also been strengthened this offseason. Looking at their on ice results, the top 4 (Rielly, Muzzin, Brodie and Holl) are all pretty solid. 3 of those guys are top pair level guys as they have done well in that role. The bottom pair is rather cheap but both Dermott and Lehtonen have a lot
of hype around them. Bogosian is a weak spot, but if he performs like how he did during the first 3 rounds of the playoffs for Tampa, I wouldn’t be upset.

I’m not going to talk about goaltending cuz I’m pretty confident in them. Overall looking at their roster on paper, they have all the pieces to a contender. The one glaring weakness is that they only have enough cap space to run a 21 man roster. If they struggle and disappoint like they did last season, it will be because their top guys underperformed. One of their guys (Marner) is known to be pretty lazy and cancerous. If he demonstrates his antics again it will be detrimental to the team.

Overall I think the Leafs did a great job improving their team under the flat cap circumstance but this will probably be their only chance to win a cup with this core. They have to make it count.</div></div>


What'd you guys think of my analysis on the Leafs? What points do you agree or disagree with?
Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsDec. 11, 2020 at 1:28 p.m.
Thread: My Hot Take On The Leafs This Season
I decided to make this post because I want to give my expectations and overview on the Leafs team for this upcoming season.

I actually feel pretty optimistic about this roster as in my opinion, it is the strongest and most complete team they’ve had since the rebuild finished. Although I don’t think they are as stacked as the favourites Tampa or Colorado, I do think they have enough quality on paper to be contenders and compete against other teams.

Analyzing the roster, they have an excellent forward group. All four of their big guns (Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander) are elite. This can be proven from their high production and play driving rates throughout their careers. As long as they each play at their best level, generating goals should not be an issue.

Furthermore, I feel the Leafs have built themselves to become a tougher team to play against. They now have several forwards (Thornton, Hyman, Mikheyev, Vesey, Simmonds, Anderson and Barabanov) who are known to be hardworking players. These guys will go to the dirty areas and win puck battles so that the team gets possession back. In the past, the team has always been criticized of being too soft. It seems like they went down the Tampa route to add grit.

Another area of weakness has been the Leafs’ defence. I feel it has also been strengthened this offseason. Looking at their on ice results, the top 4 (Rielly, Muzzin, Brodie and Holl) are all pretty solid. 3 of those guys are top pair level guys as they have done well in that role. The bottom pair is rather cheap but both Dermott and Lehtonen have a lot
of hype around them. Bogosian is a weak spot, but if he performs like how he did during the first 3 rounds of the playoffs for Tampa, I wouldn’t be upset.

I’m not going to talk about goaltending cuz I’m pretty confident in them. Overall looking at their roster on paper, they have all the pieces to a contender. The one glaring weakness is that they only have enough cap space to run a 21 man roster. If they struggle and disappoint like they did last season, it will be because their top guys underperformed. One of their guys (Marner) is known to be pretty lazy and cancerous. If he demonstrates his antics again it will be detrimental to the team.

Overall I think the Leafs did a great job improving their team under the flat cap circumstance but this will probably be their only chance to win a cup with this core. They have to make it count.
Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 11, 2020 at 1:07 p.m.
Thread: If They Kept Kadri
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>faulkmydzingel</b></div><div>Prime Tavares</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Saskleaf</b></div><div>Prime Tavares.

Out of curiosity, what does that have to do with this team?</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Lyle_Bubas</b></div><div>you say prime as if he isn't still in his prime lol

crosby, malkin, kane, toews, getzlaf, marleau were/are all still basically excellent at 32-33.

tavares JUST turned 30, being one of the top 10 goal scorers of the last decade, I'd put him in the category of guys not likely to fall off a cliff, he's a fitness/hockey freak

I'd attribute his down year to being a new dad, a broken hand, and an oblique injury - not age imo</div></div>

Yes I agree. The thing is, Tavares was averaging 35 goals and 78 points per 82 games during his time with NYI. I feel that is more impressive than Point because he was playing with guys like Okposo and Moulson whereas Point gets to play with Kucherov and Stamkos.

I asked this because I feel people have been writing off Tavares as a top player for some reason, very few people outside Toronto rate him.
Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 11, 2020 at 10:50 a.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 10, 2020 at 12:45 p.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 9, 2020 at 5:52 p.m.
Thread: If They Kept Kadri
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Barilko14</b></div><div>Whoever has responsibility for the opposing C in the defensive zone is the C. They could have flipped around in transition or the o-zone a bit, it doesn't mean Marner was the C.

Kadri was never hanging around the right side in Dzone chipping pucks out.</div></div>

Yeah Marner was the C in the offensive zone.

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Barilko14</b></div><div>They obviously would not have prioritized Gardiner over Marner. Do you not remember the end of that season? Everyone knew (media, fans, etc.) that Gardiner was gone.

Aging Gardiner was not a good fit anymore for the $$ he was going to make.

Just like JVR and Bozak were not staying even if we didn't sign Tavares considering they were playing lowest min of their career in a sheltered role.</div></div>

I mean, considering he only got 4 Million, I don’t think it’s all that bad. His overall on ice impacts for Toronto were pretty good even though he played with the anchor Zaitsev.