Toronto Maple Leafs - 2016/17 Season

[shack]

If I were in charge of setting the rules in the NHL here's what I would do:

Staged fighting - 5 minute penalty, 3 game misconduct, 3 strike rule.

Spontaneous fighting - same as above but no 3 strike rule.

Cross checks above the shoulders, high sticking, boarding and charging - 5 minutes, if the player is injured 2 automatic game misconduct. Additional games depended on severity of injury.

Elbowing to the head, 5 minutes. This is a tough one since flagrant headshots (Stevens vs Lindros) have declined noticeably.

With those penalties I suspect that the players will amazingly learn how to control their actions even though they are "warriors" and so many things happen in "the heat of the action".

BTW, for all those that claim there will be an increase in stickwork you could throw in similar penalties for spearing and flagrant high sticks. I also agree with slightly lesser penalties for spontaneous fighting.

It will still be an aggressive, hard hitting game for very big, strong and well conditioned men, just less goonery and codes of conduct.:frusty:

 

[GameBoy27]

That is goon hockey reminiscent of the 70's Flyers. That was a good clean hit, which IS part of the game. Retaliation was totally inappropriate.

Not if the principle point of contact was the head.

 

[Frankunderwood]

It's not always easy to determine if a fight was staged or spontaneous. Leaving this up to the referees is a recipe for disaster. As for determining the severity of an injury, you would find that in certain situations, a player's injury is mysteriously more serious than initially predicted. Especially if it meant keeping a key player for an opposing team on the sidelines for longer. Penalties should be enforced irrespective of intent or result. It's the best way to curb the undesired behaviour.

 

[SkyRider]

At first I thought it was a typo but Montreal beat Colorado 10-1. How rare is a 10 goal game? I think Montreal was on the wrong end of a 10 goal game earlier this year.

 

[bemeup]

Leafs 3 points behind Boston for a playoff spot, and have 3 games in hand. Interesting.Wouldn't surprise me at all to see them battling for a playoff spot right until the final game of the season.

 

[SkyRider]

A win is a win is a win but I wish the Leafs will just do it in regulation and deprive the other guys of a point.

 

[Ironhead]

Centennial Outdoor game was great, except for the collapse. Matthews was there with a little backhand flip to win in OT.
This game was more entertaining then I thought it would be.

Matthews now leads rookies in goals and points ... what if he did not have that prolonged slump ?

 

[smuddan]

Centennial Outdoor game was great, except for the collapse. Matthews was there with a little backhand flip to win in OT.
This game was more entertaining then I thought it would be.

Matthews now leads rookies in goals and points ... what if he did not have that prolonged slump ?

We've been warned of the growing pain and blowing leads will be something the team needs to learn to avoid. Also remember that this is not a finished product yet, and getting one or two big shut down d men will certainly help. There are no shortage of mistakes but the skills, speed and enthusiasm are what make them so fun to watch.

As I'm writing Matthews just made an awesome play to set up a Komarov goal. That's much more pretty to watch than a 40 foot slap shot imo.

2 goal lead going to 3rd and looking good, but can they hold on this time ?

 

[shack]

2 goal lead going to 3rd and looking good, but can they hold on this time ?

Negatory.

 

[smuddan]

Negatory.

The rookies did alright and Matthews was awesome, but the veterans let the team down.

Komarov lost his man on the ot ov goal. Reilly, Bozak, JVR, Kadri and KOMAROV were combined -12.

 

[tribunus]

The winning and fire wagon hockey is great and all but they need to stick to the plan: move out guys that aren't part of the future. That means Komarov & Bozak for sure, and Kadri & JVR if someone wants to overpay.

 

[SkyRider]

The NHL needs to shorten the game to 50 minutes.

 

[glamphotographer]

The rookies did alright and Matthews was awesome, but the veterans let the team down.

Komarov lost his man on the ot ov goal. Reilly, Bozak, JVR, Kadri and KOMAROV were combined -12.

Sure but Marner was on the ice for 2 goals against.

 

[smuddan]

Sure but Marner was on the ice for 2 goals against.

Did you see the terrible checking job by Bozak on those two goals ? At least Marner scored. Bozak and JVR were invisible except when Washington scored. Reilly was awful all night.

 

[eznutz]

 

[superstar_88]

The games and competition gets tougher second half of the season but these Leafs don't seem like a team that will fall off the 18 wheeler.

 

[glamphotographer]

Did you see the terrible checking job by Bozak on those two goals ? At least Marner scored. Bozak and JVR were invisible except when Washington scored. Reilly was awful all night.

Sure but in the grand scheme of things it's a team game. Easy as outsiders to point fingers at this guy and that guy but it's a team game and every player looks out for each other.

 

[glamphotographer]

The games and competition gets tougher second half of the season but these Leafs don't seem like a team that will fall off the 18 wheeler.

44 games to go a lot could happen.

 

[shack]

The games and competition gets tougher second half of the season but these Leafs don't seem like a team that will fall off the 18 wheeler.

What they lack in experience is made up for by the lack of fear that comes with youth.

 

[Calgacus]

As a life long Leaf hater I told some friends a while back that I was not liking Brendan Shanahan. He appeared to know what he was doing and had an actual plan to rebuild the team unlike some of his predecessors. Would not be surprised if Tavares ended up signing with Leafs now as the Islanders are in a sad state presently