Leafs Regular Season Discussion

[Raps in 4]

I just realized the Jets are in the Southeast division. Why not just swap them with Nashville or something? It seems kind of stupid this way.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I hope that Phaneuf hit on Da Costa shuts a lot of people up for a while.

Back to the game... weak ending, but probably a good reality check going into the week off.

[J-Roc]

I just realized the Jets are in the Southeast division. Why not just swap them with Nashville or something? It seems kind of stupid this way.

They'll change up the divisions for next season.

[J-Roc]

I hope that Phaneuf hit on Da Costa shuts a lot of people up for a while.

Back to the game... weak ending, but probably a good reality check going into the week off.

Best part about that hit was Da Costa didn't get a concussion. But if he had got hurt, that would have been a suspendable hit. Same old story of a skater's head being at the same height as a defenseman's shoulder.

[Crowned]

The Leafs were incredible in the first 2 periods. The powerplay was fluid, solid passing, excellent defensively....and then it all went down the drain in the 3rd. Regardless, they showed signs of being a good team, and that's progress over what we had for much of the season last year.

[Brew666]

Bad 3rd for the Leafs but they get by.

Sounds like Kadri is coming back quicker than expected. I expect him to start with the Marlies and hopefully he plays his way on to the big team.

MacArthur will be back next game so my guess is we either place Orr on waivers or send Rosehill back down. I guess Frattin is a possibility too but I see him just getting moved down in the lineup b/c he wasn't expected to start playing with our #1/2 line.

Seems like a good opportunity with the week off for the Leafs to make a deal and clear out some of the log jam we have on the blueline and up front. Gunnar and Bozer have been the most common names mentioned in articles but who else do you think could be on the block?

Personally, I'd rather wait a few more games and see where Gardiner truly is. After watching the first 2 regular season games, it seems like some time in the AHL wouldn't neccesarily be a bad thing. If we send him down, we don't have to deal anyone on the backend to create space. It gives us more time to assess the individuals we have and less likely to make a bad deal if we have a better understanding of what we have. It's nice to have Liles up here to teach Gardiner a thing or two but I'd rather hold on to most of our defensive unit as opposed to trading away one of them before having an accurate assessment on what their potential may truly be. This excludes Komisarek b/c I just don't see Burke dealing him. Burke has playoffs on his radar and I see him more likely to deal prospects for a proven player as opposed to the other way around.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Yeah, I kind of agree with sending Gardiner down. I feel bad for him, though, he played great in the pre-season, but then they say, okay, now try playing that well with half the minutes... okay, one more thing, your defence partner is Komisarek. He has no chance.

[Crowned]

With Franson playing on Saturday, it'll be interesting as to who they'll be sitting. If Gardiner isn't seeing a minimum amount of time each game, I'd send him down. There's absolutely no reason to rush Gardiner into the lineup. Sure, he played great in pre-season, but playing with the Marlies would be just as good for his development.

Once MacArthur and Connolly come back, they'll have to make a few more decisions up front. Does Frattin and Kadri get sent back down to make room? Do we get rid of Rosehill? Who sits in the pressbox...Dupuis? I could honestly see Frattin back in the AHL, with Kadri gettin a few games with the big club before a decision is made with him as well.

[_venom_]

So Macarthur will be back for Saturdays game which means Fratting gets bumped down. Connolly won't be ready (oh boy...) so Frattin can stay up for now and play on the 3rd line. When/if Connolly get's back then you have to consider sending Frattin down cuz he shouldn't be playing 5-8 min with the big club. Kadri I assume will go to the Marlies for conditioning but I don't see how he can get onto the big club if everyone else is fully healthy. When Connolly is healthy I assume the lineup will be something like:

Lupul/Connolly/Kessel
Kulemin/Grabovski/MacArthur
Lombardi/Bozak/Armstrong
Dupuis/Steckel/Brown

EX: Orr/Rosehill

As for the D, Franson will be in so I would hope either Komisarek or Gunnarrson (he has not impressed me at all so far) will sit. It would be absolutely stupid to make Gardiner sit. If you're going to do that then send him down to play with Aulie. You could potentially have these guys all on the ice together learning: Kadri/Colborne/Frattin and Aulie/Gardiner.

[s e n s i]

this 6 day layoff is ridiculous

[YogiStewart]

Kadri I assume will go to the Marlies for conditioning but I don't see how he can get onto the big club if everyone else is fully healthy. When Connolly is healthy I assume the lineup will be something like:

Lupul/Connolly/Kessel
Kulemin/Grabovski/MacArthur
Lombardi/Bozak/Armstrong
Dupuis/Steckel/Brown

EX: Orr/Rosehill

As for the D, Franson will be in so I would hope either Komisarek or Gunnarrson (he has not impressed me at all so far) will sit. It would be absolutely stupid to make Gardiner sit. If you're going to do that then send him down to play with Aulie..

you can do the above line-up and not make the playoffs, or you can put together the Ottawa Senators' line-up, which is full of rookies, not make the playoffs, but give your players NHL experience so they can improve.

if Kadri is an NHL player, you trade any of the above players (because none of them have a theoretical ceiling anywhere near that of Kadri's) to fit Kadri into the line-up.

you say its stupid to let Gardiner sit. the leafs have shown little fortitude when it comes to giving rookies minutes at the expense of their record. instead, they give vets minutes and end up falling short.

ask yourself honestly: does a line of Kessel/Lupol/Connoly scare any good NHL team?

[Crowned]

Kadri I assume will go to the Marlies for conditioning but I don't see how he can get onto the big club if everyone else is fully healthy. When Connolly is healthy I assume the lineup will be something like:

Lupul/Connolly/Kessel
Kulemin/Grabovski/MacArthur
Lombardi/Bozak/Armstrong
Dupuis/Steckel/Brown

EX: Orr/Rosehill

As for the D, Franson will be in so I would hope either Komisarek or Gunnarrson (he has not impressed me at all so far) will sit. It would be absolutely stupid to make Gardiner sit. If you're going to do that then send him down to play with Aulie..

you can do the above line-up and not make the playoffs, or you can put together the Ottawa Senators' line-up, which is full of rookies, not make the playoffs, but give your players NHL experience so they can improve.

Having 'NHL' experience doesn't necessarily benefit players by any means. It's stunted the development of many young players throughout the league. Look at kids like Gagner, Turris and Cogliano, playing in the NHL didn't help them in any way. If you take your time with your youth in the AHL (or even OHL, NCAA, etc), it's just as valuable. Playing an 82 game season with grown men at a high level when you're 19 or 20 years old takes a toll on them. I agree that Kadri could give it a run in the NHL, but in what roll? He's not good enough to play big minutes over players on our top 2 lines. Then you have Jake Gardiner, who played in the NCAA last season. Let me tell you, there's a significant difference between playing college hockey and in the NHL. Let them play in the AHL with the Marlies, and when they're ready, we'll know it. I'm not convinced that Gardiner could maintain his play throughout the entire season. He's a heck of a player, and has been one of the better players in pre-season, but he's still extremely young.

Ottawa isn't trotting out a substantial amount of fresh prospects. The ones the have on the team at the moment, is a big mistake. There's no way Zibanejad is anywhere near ready. I'm not convinced Cowen is either.

ask yourself honestly: does a line of Kessel/Lupol/Connoly scare any good NHL team?

[/quote]

No, but a 2nd line of Kulemin, Grabovski and MarArthur does. A 3rd line of Lombardi, Bozak and Armstrong is very strong as well. The Leafs don't have a dangerous first line, but they make up for it with an excellent 2nd line, and depth on their bottom lines. Again, if the Leafs can find a top line center, would a first line of Lupul- (Spezza?)- Kessel change your mind? Or even Kadri- Spezza-Kessel in a year or two?

[Brew666]

Kadri I assume will go to the Marlies for conditioning but I don't see how he can get onto the big club if everyone else is fully healthy. When Connolly is healthy I assume the lineup will be something like:

Lupul/Connolly/Kessel
Kulemin/Grabovski/MacArthur
Lombardi/Bozak/Armstrong
Dupuis/Steckel/Brown

EX: Orr/Rosehill

As for the D, Franson will be in so I would hope either Komisarek or Gunnarrson (he has not impressed me at all so far) will sit. It would be absolutely stupid to make Gardiner sit. If you're going to do that then send him down to play with Aulie..

you can do the above line-up and not make the playoffs, or you can put together the Ottawa Senators' line-up, which is full of rookies, not make the playoffs, but give your players NHL experience so they can improve.

if Kadri is an NHL player, you trade any of the above players (because none of them have a theoretical ceiling anywhere near that of Kadri's) to fit Kadri into the line-up.

you say its stupid to let Gardiner sit. the leafs have shown little fortitude when it comes to giving rookies minutes at the expense of their record. instead, they give vets minutes and end up falling short.

ask yourself honestly: does a line of Kessel/Lupol/Connoly scare any good NHL team?

I don't think throwing rookies in the NHL is always the best way though. I look at a team like the Oilers who have been basement dwellers for awhile and they always seem to put their young rooks on the big team ASAP. Some work well like Hall but others like Gagner probably could've used more time in the OHL or AHL at least. Then you look at a team like Detroit who takes their time with their players and doesn't rush them into the league. Obvisously it helps when you Yzerman, Lidstrom, etc on the club but players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg weren't rushed into the league. They were 22-23 in their rookie seasons. Fairly picky with my choices but it seems that well managed teams are rarely full of rookies and seem to be brought in when they're ready.

Another downside bringing in players who aren't ready is the risk of injury. Why rush a player to a bigger faster game if they're not ready yet?

Not saying what Ottawa is doing won't work but I feel it's risky. Let the rooks take over when they're ready. I agree about Kadri, if he's an NHL player and he's apart of your future, get rid of the stop gaps in front of him. Don't let players rot in the AHL but don't throw them in the fire either.

I don't know their games enough, but having a possible Kadri-Colborne-Frattin line come through the system can't be a bad thing either. Kind of like having all the Jays prospects go through the system together.

[_venom_]

Kadri I assume will go to the Marlies for conditioning but I don't see how he can get onto the big club if everyone else is fully healthy. When Connolly is healthy I assume the lineup will be something like:

Lupul/Connolly/Kessel
Kulemin/Grabovski/MacArthur
Lombardi/Bozak/Armstrong
Dupuis/Steckel/Brown

EX: Orr/Rosehill

As for the D, Franson will be in so I would hope either Komisarek or Gunnarrson (he has not impressed me at all so far) will sit. It would be absolutely stupid to make Gardiner sit. If you're going to do that then send him down to play with Aulie..

you can do the above line-up and not make the playoffs, or you can put together the Ottawa Senators' line-up, which is full of rookies, not make the playoffs, but give your players NHL experience so they can improve.

if Kadri is an NHL player, you trade any of the above players (because none of them have a theoretical ceiling anywhere near that of Kadri's) to fit Kadri into the line-up.

you say its stupid to let Gardiner sit. the leafs have shown little fortitude when it comes to giving rookies minutes at the expense of their record. instead, they give vets minutes and end up falling short.

ask yourself honestly: does a line of Kessel/Lupol/Connoly scare any good NHL team?

I agree that most of the players ahead of Kadri on the depth chart aren't mainstays and aren't guys we necessarily need to keep for the future (Lupul, Connolly, Bozak) but Kadri has to show more than he's shown in order to get the minutes he needs at the next level. Kadri playing 10 minutes a game with Bozak and Armstrong for example does less for his development imo than playing in the AHL 20 minutes a game with Colborne and Frattin while getting plenty of PP time. If Kadri gets sent down this week as expected and completely dominates then yes you bring him up and move another piece around to see what he can do but the bottom line is that he needs to perform.

Plus him being sent down isn't the end of the world. There will be injuries as the season goes and he'll get a chance again, probably in a role better suited for him (top 2 lines).

[TR50]

This hiatus is too much!

[hsb]

Great goal by Kessel to tie the game. Did his best to stay in front of the defence and shot it up and in.

[J-Roc]

Great goal by Kessel to tie the game. Did his best to stay in front of the defence and shot it up and in.

Not a lot of skill in that goal, imo, but he scored by using his advantage....speed. He has to somehow create consistent opportunities from his speed.

[hsb]

Agreed, he took some contact in that one too.

Kessel with another one to take the lead.

[5DOM]

3-0 lol
Kessel's going for the Hart Memorial

[s e n s i]

kessel is dominating...my gawd. that point blank drop pass to lupul was dirty too...coulda been another 4 point night if lupul buried that.

frat boy has been a pleasant surprise. still a bit reckless but he has speed in tight corners.