Hey let's talk about the Leafs

[Guest]

So, was it a good trade for Leafs?

Yes. Phil is a lazy, moody player that has to be in the background for a team to be successful. You don't want that kind of guy, with that kind of work ethic, around when bringing in young talent.

It takes a very specific situation for both the team and a guy like Phil to be successful at the same time. In fact, it took quite awhile for the Pens to be able to utilize his unique shooting talents. He couldn't play with Sid or Malkin, but finally gelled when they had Bonino do the lion's share of the grunt work and just feed Kessel pucks. It also helps that Pittsburgh has two other lines that have to be shut down before they even worry about Phil. Teams can't have their top D pairing on against 3 forward lines.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Guest

[Boges]

New goalie for the Leaves? All those picks paying off.

NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs Sign G Frederik Andersen to 5-Yr Contract; Acquired Earlier Today in Exchange for 2 Draft Picks (via http://ble.ac/teamstream-)http://teamstre.am/JewX82

[overthere]

Why was Phil Kessel such a "bum and disruptive" with the leafs and is now one of the major powers in the Penguin final for the Stanley Cup?

Leafs fans are just going to have to accept that 'Phil was just not that into you".

[Guest]

Leafs fans are just going to have to accept that 'Phil was just not that into you".

Phil is just not into work or effort. A Pat Kane or even Brett Hull from back in the day would have fared similarly in TO in place of Phil. They can't be the guy, they don't lead, they don't dig, they don't play D, they just finish. Phil was always, just going to be Phil...it wasn't his fault. It was Burke's.

[Boges]

Phil was great during that one playoff series, since the 2004 lockout, the Leafs got to play in. So he does have previous playoff pedigree.

[overthere]

Phil is just not into work or effort. A Pat Kane or even Brett Hull from back in the day would have fared similarly in TO in place of Phil. They can't be the guy, they don't lead, they don't dig, they don't play D, they just finish. Phil was always, just going to be Phil...it wasn't his fault. It was Burke's.

But Phil was most definitely the guy when it mattered: Stanley Cup playoffs. He excelled, and was in the Conn Smythe conversation. It wasn't his fault that his former team sucked so badly while he was there. He excelled then too, scored lots of goals for a shitty team. He wasn't much of a goalie though.

[Guest]

But Phil was most definitely the guy when it mattered: Stanley Cup playoffs. He excelled, and was in the Conn Smythe conversation. It wasn't his fault that his former team sucked so badly while he was there. He excelled then too, scored lots of goals for a shitty team. He wasn't much of a goalie though.

Phil was also on the ice for more than his fair share of goals against in Toronto. He is one dimensional, lazy, but talented finisher. He doesn't play D, he doesn't hit, he doesn't fore check well or often, he really just shoots accurately. It even took awhile for the Pens to find a situation in which Phil could succeed. Having him play on a third line with the hard working, digging, grinding, checking, setup guy in Bonino and the speedy fore checking Hagelin worked well. The ability to put a guy like Phil on a third line away from the attention of top D pairings isn't an option for most teams.

[overthere]

Hey that sounds Like Alex Ovechkin until Barry Trotz arrived.

Phil Kessel has played the same way his whole career. I don't blame him for that, since multiple teams have been willing to pay him a lot of money to play exactly like he does.

Brett Hull made a Hall of Fame career out of playing like Kessel. Fat, lazy, one dimensional and scored a boatload of goals. Note that he flourished much earlier than Kessel, when smart St Louis managemnt put him on a line that had Oates to set him up, and a variety of plugger wingers to get the puck.

What that means is not that Blues mgmt was great, it was that Toronto mgmt failed to recognize the situation or failed to correct it. Kessel scored 59 points this year in regualr season, yet somehow he is seen as a flop by Leafs fans. Far from it. He had a great year and earned all he achieved.

Phil was also on the ice for more than his fair share of goals against in Toronto.

his last year he was -34, which is terrible. Of course, Toronto was horrible overall. The 2 previous years he was -3 and -4, also on crap teams.

[Guest]

The physicality Ovie brought meant, that even at his most selfish, he was never one dimensional like Phil, but Hull is the perfect comparison. Brett refused to do anything but shoot. He ultimately went out on an embarrassing note after the lockout because he wouldn't keep himself in shape.

[Guest]

Take a look at the cap and salary numbers for the Leafs: http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams/TOR?year=2017

Is Horton really a $5.3M cap hit? I thought the Horton/Clarkson deal was done to free up cap space so Horton would cost the MLSE cash but not hurt the cap.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Guest

[overthere]

The physicality Ovie brought meant, that even at his most selfish, he was never one dimensional like Phil, but Hull is the perfect comparison. Brett refused to do anything but shoot. He ultimately went out on an embarrassing note after the lockout because he wouldn't keep himself in shape.

Ovie never backchecked in his career until Trotz came along.

[Boges]

MATTHEWS!!!

[Guest]

Ovie never backchecked in his career until Trotz came along.

Agreed and his shifts were too long, but he hit anything he could. Phil just floats and shoots and if he gets hit, he mostly shuts down.

[Guest]

MATTHEWS!!!

So will he be the first line center or will Stamkos take that job?

[Boges]

So will he be the first line center or will Stamkos take that job?

If they land Stamkos, he'll be it. Still. Have Bozak and Kardi with more experience.

But that's 4 "quality" centres.

[kimmy]

Take a look at the cap and salary numbers for the Leafs: http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams/TOR?year=2017

Is Horton really a $5.3M cap hit? I thought the Horton/Clarkson deal was done to free up cap space so Horton would cost the MLSE cash but not hurt the cap.

I think the there is a "long term injury relief" clause that lets the Leafs get the cap space back.

-k

[kimmy]

So apparently the Oilers caught a huge break by getting this Jesse Pululujarvi with the 4th pick. From what I gather the draft was supposed to be Mathews, then Laine and Pululujarvi, then everybody else. The Blue Jackets apparently didn't get the memo and went with some dude who was anticipated to go later, giving the Oilers a guy who might turn into the perfect winger to go with Connor McDavid.

-k

[Guest]

So apparently the Oilers caught a huge break by getting this Jesse Pululujarvi with the 4th pick. From what I gather the draft was supposed to be Mathews, then Laine and Pululujarvi, then everybody else. The Blue Jackets apparently didn't get the memo and went with some dude who was anticipated to go later, giving the Oilers a guy who might turn into the perfect winger to go with Connor McDavid.

-k

JP was the steal of the night! He could have easily been selected second, so picking him up 4th is a big win. Size, speed and talent. The Oil have several options now when trading for a number 1 D-man, like Shattenkirk.

[Boges]

OMG Hockey News today.

Habs trade PK Subban to Nashville for Shea Webber. Great trade for the Habs.

Apparently Stamkos is staying in Tampa.

Oh and the Oil traded Taylor Hall for a scrub no one's heard of from Jersey.

[kimmy]

Adam Larsson isn't some scrub. He's a 23 year old top-pairing defenseman.

However I'm still extremely heartbroken over this and will be spending the rest of the night drinking Saskatchewan Car Bombs if anybody needs me.

-k

[waldo]

Adam Larsson isn't some scrub. He's a 23 year old top-pairing defenseman.

top-pairing... right-shot... defenseman - the single-most point of (prior) Oiler deficiency. Now, the dominoes will fall; I expect Lucic will also sign with the Oilers - that (and changes yet to come) will allow some to forget about Hall. Besides, MLW member Boges is just miffed that the spotlight wasn't on the Maple Laughs for even just this short while!

.

Edited June 30, 2016 by waldo

[Guest]

The Florida hockey lifestyle is hard to leave. Golf on off days, go to practice in shorts, no press conferences after every game and relative anonymity so players can go out in public without being hounded. Compare that to Edmonton or Winnipeg in the winter or Buffalo/Detroit anytime of the year. After Tampa went deep into the playoffs even while missing Stamkos and some D, I expected he would stay.

I'm sad to see Hall go. I was looking forward to seeing him, McJesus and Puljujärvi on the power play together; maybe the fastest PP line in history. However, Adam Larsson is what the team needs and despite his talent and speed, Taylor also takes shifts and even entire games off.

[Boges]

top-pairing... right-shot... defenseman - the single-most point of (prior) Oiler deficiency. Now, the dominoes will fall; I expect Lucic will also sign with the Oilers - that (and changes yet to come) will allow some to forget about Hall. Besides, MLW member Boges is just miffed that the spotlight wasn't on the Maple Laughs for even just this short while!

.

Larsson has 9 career goals NINE!!!! 18 points last season.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/larssad01.html

+/- of 15 last year isn't awful but it's not elite.

Lucic is a goon.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Boges

[overthere]

Lucic is far more than a goon. He had 3(three) fights last year. The Oilers have had an urgent need to get tougher all over, they have been the softest team in the league and it shows in the loss column. Chiarelli has addressed that with adding Lucic(almost certainly), Maroon, Kassian and Gryba in his tenure. Nurse is also not adverse to getting nasty. Well done Peter.

Yesterday I was choked by the Hall trade. Today- much less . The Oilers filled a major void in their lineup. Their shopping list now is shorter: a backup goalie and another genuine NHL defenceman(perhaps Jason Demers). If free agency does not work out, they still have several trade pieces: Eberle, Pouliot, RNH, and any one of three young defencemen in Nurse,Davidson or Klefbom. They also have several throw-into-the-deal people like Reinhart, Yakupov , Fayne, Gryba, and Hendricks.

But this is a risky deal- he traded a proven offensive force in Hall for a defensive player that is still growing his game. But his hand is forced: he cannot go another season with a lineup that has simply failed over and over. Note too that in his junior career, Larsson was a solid offensive player. That all changed in New Jersey, who play a defence first game.

+/- of 15 last year isn't awful but it's not elite.

Larsson was first pairing Dman who was up against the very best on other teams. Given that NJ would deploy their checking line against the other teams first line, being +15 is outstanding.

Edited June 30, 2016 by overthere

[Guest]

Larsson was first pairing Dman who was up against the very best on other teams. Given that NJ would deploy their checking line against the other teams first line, being +15 is outstanding.

Exactly. According to the radio pundits Larsson is great at shutting down opposing top lines, like a Marc-Edouard Vlassic but with a bigger offensive upside.