ATLTimekeeper wrote:whysoserious wrote:ATLTimekeeper wrote:I still expect a fold around mid-February with so many rookies, but it's been a fun ride and we're as good as any team outside the top 5 in our conference.
I can see it happening but there are enough vets around the team that may be able to carry the load while the rookies adjust during that period before they get back on track before the playoffs. At the end of the day, it seems like a no-lose situation for the Leafs regardless of what happens the remainder of the season.
There are no vets on this team. All the vets have been a part of every Leaf late season collapse or the one year we made the playoffs and **** our pants in the 3rd period of game 7, unless Matt Martin and Matt Hunwick are the kinds of guys you're talking about.
Even Komorov has only been in the league 4 years.
By vets I mean more of the experienced players. Sure they've been part of collapses but they've also been carried this year by the rookies that guys like JVR, Bozack, Kadri could help carry the offensive load a bit during a downturn in production by Matthews and Marner.
I'm not saying for sure it happens but they haven't been so heavily relied on like those teams of the past that there is an opportunity for them to step up here and hopefully the rooks recapture their legs and produce towards the end of the season.