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BallPuckFellow10

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Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 14, 2021 at 8:27 p.m.
Thread: How Well is Burke Following His Own Philosophy
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BallPuckFellow10</b></div><div>That is what I figured. Does Marino have another offensive level to unlock in his game, or is he basically going to be what he is now offensively? I would imagine a Pettersson-Marino pair would be good if Marino can improve offensively.</div></div>

Marino has another gear offensively. His numbers were down this past year cause he played a good chunk of the season with Matheson. So he had to be the defensive stalwart on that pair cause, well Matheson is terrible defensively. Once he was paired with Pettersson again like he was the whole year before, he played just as good, if not better than his rookie season. He and Pettersson just work so well together. However Marino can play competently both ways.
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 14, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.
Thread: ARZ flips Timmons to add to the 1st and 3rd round picks for Kuemper
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BallPuckFellow10</b></div><div>I think Timmins is exactly the type of player Arizona hopes can take huge steps during their rebuilding process. I am not saying that he is slam-dunk by any chance, but he has the chance to form a great defence pairing with Chychrun for a long time. I don't think Arizona really considers moving him, and I most definitely don't think MTL would give up all those assets for him. He is still young (not in his prime) and has 33 NHL games under his belt. 45 if you include playoffs. MTL would be absolutely crazy to throw those assets on him.</div></div>

Ylonen has the same potential but is a bigger risk. Primeau is a legit goalie prospect. Its already too much then 2 more decent picks. Its laughable. Devon Toews went for 2 2nd rounders yet Timmons gets so much more?!
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 14, 2021 at 4:13 p.m.
Thread: Offseason draft and team outlook
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BallPuckFellow10</b></div><div>I think trading for Bob is smart. He obviously needs to waive to go to Arizona, but it is not like AZ is the worst place to live in either. Convincing him will be the hard part. He will eat a good bunch of your cap until the team is ready to move out of the rebuild. Someone like Vlasic would make sense too. He is a great pro that has had a great career and can mentor the young guys coming through. He is obviously not a $7M defenseman, but he can still play at the NHL level on a third pairing. Will probably be beneficial to someone like Söderström. Just like Bob, he has a NMC, so you will have to convince him to come. I am sure the Sharks would love to get out of that contract. That would at least be a good start to eat up some cap during the rebuild. I'd prefer them to go that route rather than offering guys like Cole $4M as that would send a message to the league that you can come to Arizona if you want to make money. Not sure if that is good for team spirit.

It will be a long and painful road, but if Arizona does it right, they can come out looking exciting like Ottawa and LA does now.</div></div>

They could get a lot of good assets to take on bob.
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 14, 2021 at 2:34 a.m.
Thread: How Well is Burke Following His Own Philosophy
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Pensfan89</b></div><div>Well Hallander is a winger and not going to be a center in the nhl.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Poehling</b></div><div>Why not move up Blueger 3C, move Carter on the RW and McGinn on the LW
Heinen and ZAR can both play on their offside so whoever is better
Rodrigues and Lafferty fight for the 4C with Hallander</div></div>


When completely healthy the open spot will be the 3rd line Wing. The 4th line will be ZAR/Blueger/McGinn.

3rd line: Hallander, Poulin, Legare, Lafferty, E-Rod, Zohorna, O’Connor, D.Simon and maybe Angello will compete for that open wing spot on the 3rd line. Except, I don’t see Angello playing on the 3rd line.

Even though I’m a Angello fan, I wish he would of gotten more PT or get more PT. I actually wish they replaced Tanev from within instead of with McGinn.

Should have taken that 2.75M from McGinn and added another 1M or 1.25M and would have paid someone like Nick Foligno(who got 3.8M with Boston) 3.75M-4M per for 2-3 seasons. And use Angello/Zohorna on that 4th line of ZAR/Blueger/Angello. And Foligno could be a top 6 wing with Geno instead of Zucker, or a 3rd Line Wing with Carter and Heinen.

But anyways, when completely healthy, that 3rd line will be Carter and Heinen and then one of those 8 players I mentioned(if the roster stays as is). If they would sign Bozak for example. When completely healthy the 3rd line would be Heinen/Carter/Bozak.

But Heinen has the scoring potential and is more of a mid 6 than McGinn. McGinn will take Tanev’s spot. ZAR/Blueger/McGinn will be the 4th line and play close to 3rd line minutes still. But Heinen takes McCanns spot. McGinn takes Tanev’s.

Heinen had 16 goals 47 points in 16-17. And 11 goals and 34 points in 17-18. And then 10 goals, 26 points in 18-19 in 58 games when he got traded to Anaheim. Then just had 7 goals and 14 points last season in 43 games with Ana.

He needs to get back to the production he had playing in Boston. Production and numbers took a hit the last 2 seasons in Anaheim(It’s why his contract was cheap). But 47 points and 34 points in his two seasons with Boston is very solid 3rd line production. Anaheim was a dumpster fire the last two years. Wasn’t his fault his numbers suffered.
Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsSep. 14, 2021 at 1:44 a.m.
Thread: Is Mitch Marner Overpaid
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BallPuckFellow10</b></div><div>Firstly, I have to say that the way you constructed your response is exemplary. An extremely great read with some very valid points that you backed up nicely with facts. I can't really dispute much you said as it all makes sense, but I have some things I want to discuss.

I have to say that your point regarding bridging Marner makes sense the more I think about it. If his contract expired next summer, he would be paid the exact same amount as he is paid now, So for these 3 years if he was bridged around $7.5-$8M, we would have had some extra cap space to play with. I really didn't think about it that way before you mentioned it.

Secondly, I do disagree with your opinion on the contract putting too much pressure on Marner. Since his draft year, Marner has not been anything other than a stud. He even had an excellent rookie campaign in the OHL almost hitting a ppg while actually doing it in the playoffs for the London Knights, a team that is known for making their young talent have to work and earn that spot in the top six. He did it in his rookies year with players 4 years older than him. His draft year he was the best player on the team when there still was players 3 years older than him. Max Domi who was picked 12th overall in the draft 2 years earlier, was outshone by Marner. We don't even have to talk about the season after his draft year, the numbers a pure comedy, especially in the playoffs. He already had all that pressure built on him when entering the league and still managed to produce an excellent rookie season in the NHL (61 points in 77 games). He survived that kind of pressure, in addition to having Mike Babcock as a coach who at stretches played Mitch on the 4th line. He showed to me at least that he wasn't the kind of player that gets fazed when the pressure builds up. I think he has proven since then that he can handle pressure very well. Somebody has to be the highest paid player on their position, why can't it be Mitch, from a psychological perspective?





While playing him 25 minutes a game in the playoffs is a little bit ridiculous, I don't think Keefe was wrong in riding him and Matthews. They are our two best players without question, and I want them on the ice as much as possible, especially in the playoffs. What I would question is why Nylander is playing more than 7 minutes less, the difference between the two isn't 7 minutes a game different. I didn't view it as Keefe saying ''you wanted that contract, now deliver.'' In my view, it was more of a ''please, bail me out here, I don't know what to do.'' I do like Keefe as a HC, but he couldn't really adapt to JT going down, in a series we were up 3-1 in without him. I don't think Mitch has got too much too soon, I think that is the media narrative around him. From what I have read and seen, he seems like a very humble young man that works extremely hard to improve at a sport he already is one of the greatest currently active at playing it. He never comes off as rude, selfish, childish, spoiled or ignorant that you would link to someone that has got too much in life too early on.

At one point, I would completely agree with you and not have Mitch Involved with the PK anymore. I think it was a waist of his energy and would negatively impact his offensive impact. But, if you look at his production levels during the regular season, he has been on 90+ point pace the least 3 season with the most recent season having a pace for 30 goals and 100 points. This idea I am about to present doesn't have anything statistically to back it up with. It is more of a hunch that I have. I believe Marner is one of those players that just feeds of being involved in the game at all the time, it almost is as if he doesn't have enough time to sit down and think about what is happening, he can sort of just ''feel'' the game if that makes sense to you at all? His hockey IQ is actually through the roof, he must surely be in the top 10 of players in the league with the highest hockey IQ, something I would think defensemen and players that play in the middle would top. My point is that, by playing him in all situations, which won't make you worse at a team at all due to his high intelligence will only benefit him and you as a team, because he almost always impacts the game in a positive way, by making the right play or the impossible play that us casuals could only dream of executing. I wonder if the Leafs ever would give Marner and Kerfoot a chance to play together shorthanded. Their IQ's are of the chart's. I think they could expose some power plays that aren't sharp. Not suggesting that they would lead the league in shorthanded points, but it would also not surprise me.
</div></div>

I will start with saying that there's ALWAYS more pressure playing hockey in a Canadian city. Now add in the negotiations Marner had and the eventual contract signed, yeah the pressure is ratched up because it's suddenly "put up or shut up" time.

Back during contract negotiations, I was saying similar things to what <a href="/users/leaflet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@leaflet</a> said in the above post. <a href="/users/Aadoyle" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@Aadoyle</a>'s post also very nicely sums up why players get paid more playing for Canadian teams despite taking home less money than players south of the border.

The pandemic really messed things up for Dubas because as others have pointed out, had the cap risen Marner's contract (or Nylander's/Matthews') wouldn't be quite the issue they seem to be ATM.

Lastly, I want to make a point about this site but particularly the people posting here on a daily basis. When Marner's contract was being negotiated, every single non Leafs fan was coming into Leafs discussion threads and saying how Marner deserves the rumored 10 million but as soon as he got that contract, man... the turncoats came rushing out to point out how overpaid Marner is.

There's quite a few hypocrites on this site and they all have something in common. Can you figure out what that is?
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 13, 2021 at 11:10 p.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 13, 2021 at 9:36 p.m.
Thread: Burke Challenge
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BallPuckFellow10</b></div><div>Nice team! My only concern would be playing someone like Watson on the third line as I see him more as a 4th liner. Chychrun isn't really a 2nd pairing defenseman either, he is someone you can fit in there due to his contract being excellent. I like your additions of Whitecloud and Robertson, I haven't seen them on any other team yet.

Overall great job, thanks for taking on this challenge!</div></div>

Thanks! I didn't really like Watson and Chychrun where they are either. I moreso just put them there because they fit the role Burke asks for.

I was commenting with someone on another one of these posts about how other gms seem to build teams. I'll probably be guessing a roster as to how they would. No promise on it's accuracy though.
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 13, 2021 at 8:43 p.m.
Thread: Building a Team According to Brian Burke V2
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>JackAce91</b></div><div>It all sounds about right. I mentioned that Burke doesn't seem to be very successful lately and his plan seems to be missing something. I think the difference between him and other gm's really is size. I'm making my own roster with these guidelines, and the desire for grit everywhere is pretty demanding. I'm scrolling through these lists of advanced analytics, basic stats, etc, and it seems like Burke (and probably) Lou would pass over better players just for grit. It's how guys like Debrincat drop so far. So, my own honest opinion, I think that is the drawback of Burke's plan.</div></div>

For sure. Too many guys are selected for their size when in reality it means very little. You can find clips of Barzal knocking over ristolainen, for example. And you can find clips of Yamamoto working way harder than Tage Thompson to win puck battles. Balance, technique, and timing/sense are much more valuable than being tall and having a reach. Sure it's nice when an elite player has size (like a Hedman or Ovi) but it would be a mistake to overlook guys that have other facets to their game just bc they're short (like the Burke construction does). That opportunity seems to be dwindling more and more each draft, but it still exists.
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 13, 2021 at 8:33 p.m.
Thread: Building a Team According to Brian Burke V2
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>A_K</b></div><div>Quickly, I would say Bowman is all about a skilled core and cycling through the role players.

Sakic has made pretty much every move to add speed, the slower/sandpaper guys came for cheap acquisition costs.

Lou probably isn't too different from Burke, altho he doesn't seem to value height as much as two-way mentality.

Yzerman is pretty interesting - I don't think he's building Detroit similar to his TB. He's getting a lot more size and balance to his prospects.

Things I've noticed about Armstrong - he values having more than 1 center per line, and we'll probably see that in his Team Canada again. And his defense has become oriented around a small puckmover and a big tree on each pair... I just wished he valued team speed more.

It would be interesting to make some armchair challenges for the m.o.'s of certain GMs.</div></div>

It all sounds about right. I mentioned that Burke doesn't seem to be very successful lately and his plan seems to be missing something. I think the difference between him and other gm's really is size. I'm making my own roster with these guidelines, and the desire for grit everywhere is pretty demanding. I'm scrolling through these lists of advanced analytics, basic stats, etc, and it seems like Burke (and probably) Lou would pass over better players just for grit. It's how guys like Debrincat drop so far. So, my own honest opinion, I think that is the drawback of Burke's plan.
Forum: Armchair-GMSep. 13, 2021 at 8:25 p.m.
Thread: Building a Team According to Brian Burke V2
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>JackAce91</b></div><div>This is pretty interesting. I usually don't equate Burke with success, especially anything recently (that I'm aware of), but it is definitely interesting to see how he builds his team. I'd love to see other gm's opinions on this, like Stan Bowman, Lamoriello, Sakic, or Yzerman.</div></div>

Quickly, I would say Bowman is all about a skilled core and cycling through the role players.

Sakic has made pretty much every move to add speed, the slower/sandpaper guys came for cheap acquisition costs.

Lou probably isn't too different from Burke, altho he doesn't seem to value height as much as two-way mentality.

Yzerman is pretty interesting - I don't think he's building Detroit similar to his TB. He's getting a lot more size and balance to his prospects.

Things I've noticed about Armstrong - he values having more than 1 center per line, and we'll probably see that in his Team Canada again. And his defense has become oriented around a small puckmover and a big tree on each pair... I just wished he valued team speed more.

It would be interesting to make some armchair challenges for the m.o.'s of certain GMs.
Forum: Toronto Maple LeafsSep. 13, 2021 at 8:01 p.m.
Thread: Is Mitch Marner Overpaid
Good effort putting all this argument together.

I don't dispute that Marner is the highly talented winger you describe. Most people don't. But I still think it's a bad signing. And I'm not saying this with the benefit of hindsight: I was saying the exact same thing before the contract was signed and the pandemic started! Many reasons.

- If the AAV price was about 11M during negotiations, higher than any winger in the league, management had to bridge. That's what most Canadian GMs did, rightly so. The reasoning is that even after the bridge and without COVID, the AAV for wingers would have increased to the level his agent was asking for, at best. So, you gain cap space for 3-4 years.

- Psychologically, it's not desirable for a young player not named McDavid to become the highest paid player at his position (nobody is at McDavid's level). Too much pressure. I said that before: exceeding expectations always feels better, more motivating. Maybe the blame is other people's greed. But if Marner had a 9M AAV right now, nobody would have a negative thing to say about him. It would feel great for him.

The last playoffs are a good example. Keefe played him 25 minutes a game. It's like he was saying: you wanted that contract, now deliver. The reality is, however, this level of ice time is well beyond optimal.

In short: you can spoil the development of young players by raising the bar too high, too soon. Mitch throwing the puck in the stands is not him failing the fans. It's the people around him who failed him in his development, from his agent to the GM.

- You mentioned the PK several times. It's great. I like defensively reliable players, too. But to be frank, Marner should not play on the PK in the first place. Other players can do it, and fill that role with the same efficiency, if not more. Being a reliable defender at even strength is more than sufficient for Marner. Unless you change the entire system of the team, and become like Boston. But the Leafs aren't Boston. With regards to special teams, his focus should be the PP.

- Rantanen, Kucherov are comparables. Rantanen doesn't fill the same defensive role, but he has physicality and a better goal scoring touch. That's worth something. Kucherov is at another level entirely: his play under pressure and intense coverage is unparalleled. The way Tampa supported his development was exemplary. They went step by step, and of course, he was bridged. In fact, both players are better managed, because they have realistic expectations. And their cap hit is about just right.

With all that said, I like your attitude. I'm tired of cap discussions anyway, especially after the fact, since we can't change that anymore. So it may be better to see the glass half full.