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larter232

larter
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Jul. 31, 2021
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Toronto Maple Leafs
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Forum: Armchair-GMAug. 7, 2021 at 7:49 p.m.
Thread: Leafs With No kerfoot
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>larter232</b></div><div>Ill go in order from top to bottom just to keep it clean

Very fair not to like it, and i dont really have a good option right now for deadline targeting because well its not the deadline and i have no idead who is actually gonna be a good team this year.

That LW is the weakest spot on the roster which is why i wouldnt hate trying to really buff it up at the deadline, i think the team will be good enough to make the playoffs despite the lw.

Robertson had been cleared of injury and ritchie on line 2 i think only happens if kerfoot is traded, but i think he can make it there his speed becomes less of an issue on the second line as its not a particularly fast line.

Frankly most of this post was to see the value of anderson and abramov, this is genuinly the first im hearing of either of them being close to nhl level, which knowing that i wouldnt trade them at all.

The only part i disagree with is the picks value at the deadline picks are pretty important to getting good players while retaining depth, now those specific picks may be weaker but they act as a suppliment to the 3 picks the leafs actually have.


All in all i enjoy the discussion, and appreciate the points you have made!</div></div>

I would want to make room for Robertson as well, I just don't know if they want to do that. Overall I would just be worried if Robertson starts in the AHL and Ritchie can't play in the top6 (consistently at least). In that case I would go Kerfoot-JT-Nylander. I liked the look of that line before and think Kerfoot's skill is a good fit next to them. Totally agree with you about getting someone at the deadline for LW. And your argument of moving Kerfoot has merit in case you can't build enough cap to get someone like Forsberg, Gaudreau, Domi, or whoever. In that case the other team has to take Kerfoot back or you have to move him in a different deal. Maybe that's tough at the deadline. I should not have dismissed that so quickly.
Forum: Armchair-GMAug. 6, 2021 at 6:54 a.m.
Thread: The leafs actually got better
Can 26 yr old Bunting show that he is good, after just 20 some games, is that enough to say hes a late bloomer or is he just a borderline AHL/NHLer who was in the right time/right place to produce in a very small sample size? (21 yr old wade allison scored 7pts in 14 games, but I dont think that qualifies him as a 40+ pt guy for example). Is Bunting just a Mikheyev/Engvall, average bottom 6 guy?
After hardly playing and having major concussion issues, is Kase a good bet over an 80 game season? (his best season was just 38 pts back in 2017)
Can Spezza and Simmonds find the fountain of youth and play a full season (Simmonds couldn;t last yr, and the team desperatyely needs simmonds physicality)?
Is Ritchie the 137 pts in 350 pts a solid all around 3rd line guy, or could he play more minutes and deliver offensively more than 35+ pts?
Can Dermott play RD with Sandin? Is Sandin ready and able on both sides of the puck? Muzzin is a year older, can the younger guys take some minutes off him?
Can Kampf provide enough offense to be a third liner? He never has. Hes never scored 20 pts in a season, or even played 80 games.
Can robertson play top 2 lines? Does Kampf alone provide defense in the bottom 6?
Is Robertson ready?

Overall, collectively I like the moves they're made, and believe the forward corps is better than last year, but theres alot of ifs.

A lot of the team on the last year of their team favourable contracts, with most looking for pay increases (Reilly, Campbell, liljegren, sandin, kase) with no wiggle room. Still very thin after the top 4 forwards and top 3 dmen (but better) and big questions in the 5-7th dman corps. Tougher division and one last ride before Dubas has to alleviate cap issues and deal one of the big 4?

I would say the biggest problem of last year was team depth, with little offense outside of top 5 forwards, on paper they're better, but theres alot of questions and I really believe the division will be much tougher.
Forum: Armchair-GMAug. 6, 2021 at 6:58 a.m.
Thread: The leafs actually got better
Matthews and Marner were one of the best lines in the league when Thornton played with them at the start of last season. Losing Hyman doesn't really hurt them. The only downtime that line had was when Matthews couldn't shoot the puck for a month. They will be a top 5 line once again, no matter who ends up there.

Willy and JT are lights out as well. I think people are dumping Engvall and Mikheyev too quickly. Both had moments last year and are at the very least good defensively and effective depth guys.

Injuries will happen and when they do, having good replacement players will be key. I bet at least 1 of the new guys doesn't pan out. Bunting's 21 games where he shot 25% could be a good sign or a flash in the pan. Trading away two guys we know can play before we find out what we actually have is awfully short sighted
Forum: Armchair-GMAug. 6, 2021 at 7:06 a.m.
Thread: The leafs actually got better
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Hammerwise</b></div><div>Can 26 yr old Bunting show that he is good, after just 20 some games, is that enough to say hes a late bloomer or is he just a borderline AHL/NHLer who was in the right time/right place to produce in a very small sample size? (21 yr old wade allison scored 7pts in 14 games, but I dont think that qualifies him as a 40+ pt guy for example). Is Bunting just a Mikheyev/Engvall, average bottom 6 guy?
After hardly playing and having major concussion issues, is Kase a good bet over an 80 game season? (his best season was just 38 pts back in 2017)
Can Spezza and Simmonds find the fountain of youth and play a full season (Simmonds couldn;t last yr, and the team desperatyely needs simmonds physicality)?
Is Ritchie the 137 pts in 350 pts a solid all around 3rd line guy, or could he play more minutes and deliver offensively more than 35+ pts?
Can Dermott play RD with Sandin? Is Sandin ready and able on both sides of the puck? Muzzin is a year older, can the younger guys take some minutes off him?
Can Kampf provide enough offense to be a third liner? He never has. Hes never scored 20 pts in a season, or even played 80 games.
Can robertson play top 2 lines? Does Kampf alone provide defense in the bottom 6?
Is Robertson ready?

Overall, collectively I like the moves they're made, and believe the forward corps is better than last year, but theres alot of ifs.

A lot of the team on the last year of their team favourable contracts, with most looking for pay increases (Reilly, Campbell, liljegren, sandin, kase) with no wiggle room. Still very thin after the top 4 forwards and top 3 dmen (but better) and big questions in the 5-7th dman corps. Tougher division and one last ride before Dubas has to alleviate cap issues and deal one of the big 4?

I would say the biggest problem of last year was team depth, with little offense outside of top 5 forwards, on paper they're better, but theres alot of questions and I really believe the division will be much tougher.</div></div>

The depth wasn't the issue last year. They pitched in with timely goals. Engvall would have had double digits in goals over a full season. You'd think Mikheyev would have potted a few of his several breakaways he gets a game over a full season. Spezza was the best value contract in the game. Simmonds was doing well before he took a puck to the wrist and broke it which limited him the rest of the season. Thornton even scored 10+ points. The depth this year is going to be fine. Good enough to score the odd point. While the top 2 lines score 2-3 points a night. The defence is solid and I bet Liljegren steps up. Goaltending is better than last year as well.

Kase has been good when healthy, but will he be able to stay healthy. He's the most intriguing guy we signed. Everyone is writing him off but I think he could have a resurgence....or he'll be gone fast. Bunting will either be good and show promise, or he'll be in the AHL and cost us nothing. Ritchie I think will spend time all over the lineup. If Barb Underhill can fix his skating and he can manage his PIM's he could be an interesting piece. He's a big guy and would crash the net like no one else in TO. That mayhem should help Matthews get goalies off kilter more than ever.
Forum: Armchair-GMAug. 6, 2021 at 7:37 a.m.
Thread: The leafs actually got better
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood</b></div><div>Matthews and Marner were one of the best lines in the league when Thornton played with them at the start of last season. Losing Hyman doesn't really hurt them. The only downtime that line had was when Matthews couldn't shoot the puck for a month. They will be a top 5 line once again, no matter who ends up there.

Willy and JT are lights out as well. I think people are dumping Engvall and Mikheyev too quickly. Both had moments last year and are at the very least good defensively and effective depth guys.

Injuries will happen and when they do, having good replacement players will be key. I bet at least 1 of the new guys doesn't pan out. Bunting's 21 games where he shot 25% could be a good sign or a flash in the pan. Trading away two guys we know can play before we find out what we actually have is awfully short sighted</div></div>

Agree with you and "larter", the forward corps is better PERIOD. And while there is no Hyman level replacement, collectively they are much better.

I think alot of fans need to temper some of their expectations, not you two, but many: Kampf is a solid Faceoff/defensive forward, but has never shown he can contribute offensively enough to be a 3rd liner and most Leafs fans have him there (he could be, if offensive guys kase and and say, kerfoot are his wings).
Kase is a real big worry, not just because of his injury concern, but because his career high was 4 yrs ago in 2nd line time and it was only 38 pts, I think some fans have unrealistic expectations.
Gabriel is a 25 game a season goon, I wouldn;t dare call him Simmonds-lite.
Simmonds has been on the downhill for almost 4 seasons, and expecting more than 12 minutes a night or 60 games is risky at best, but some fans have him as a third liner.
Ritchie is intriguing. I like him, but in 4-5 nhl seasons he hasn;t been able to show more than 3rd line abilities.
To be fair with Robertson, anybody should produce on the top 2 lines on this team, and thats where I put him. Can he do it, or is he jaremy bracco? Put ritchie or kerfoot on 3rd line with kase and kampf, and bunting with spezza/brooks and simmonds.

Again, much better squad than last year, but alot of question marks and fingers crossed. Deadline last season was all about grit, physicality and leadership, and I think they have more than last year.
Forum: Armchair-GMAug. 2, 2021 at 4:22 a.m.
Thread: Hockey Knowledge
Good landing spots for Engvall and Mikheyev to play higher in the lineup. But Mikheyev and Brooks have combined a bigger value than a 6th; even if BUF won't tossing around with picks.

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>larter232</b></div><div>i don't really enjoy the Staal signing personally 3 million for a guy who was -30 last year is concerning, to say the least. Yes, i am fully aware it's not a great state, but i feel at -30 it is large enough to show he's not really good anymore defensively and he also didnt exactly put up a ton of points. He was only even in faceoffs in Montreal and he only had 8 points in 21 games in the playoffs. I feel there is a better use of the cap space there in just keeping mo and puting Kampf there and bringing up Robertson to play the left-wing. Mo only makes 5 million so without staal and soucy you still have almost 4 million in cap. To get a player or a few at the deadline.</div></div>

Totaly agree. Besides his few points, Staal didn't show up in the playoffs. And Dubas found a cheaper 3rd line shutdown center in Kämpf. Very good in face-offs. And a true SH Center TOR had not in years. He will not play the wing. Spezza will likely move to RW instead. Therefore they will need Brooks. He is such a great fit in TOR. Would not trade him anyways.