Go Leafs Go!!
- Thread starter PHNINE
- Start date
i saw that happen a few times in the preseason already... not in the shootout but in the regulation time... i guess a few facilities like the acc don't have the crew operating the overhead goalie cams that are needed for goal review under the NHL rules.
BTW- i loved the fact that Paul Maurice elected to shoot first and put Mats up first. It was a good test of Mats leadership potential... good on him.
BTW- i loved the fact that Paul Maurice elected to shoot first and put Mats up first. It was a good test of Mats leadership potential... good on him.
if not for anything, I think Suglobov should be kept on the 4th line just as a designated scorer. let's face it... the game has changed. Our 2nd line is a good grinding line... no need to make a grinding 4th line. they won't see much ice anyways. i'm with you PHNINE, though i think Sugar should not be put in any situations where his defensive game will be called into question... it purely stinks. but, boy can that kid dangle and score!
That boy better be perfecting his shoot out skills. His defence is weak, but as long as he can score goals at the same rate he screws up on defence, his addition to the team is definitely positive.
Speaking of defence, do you notice that McCabe's shot is almost being forced in power plays. He needs to use it more wisely. Love to see that cannon fired though.
Speaking of defence, do you notice that McCabe's shot is almost being forced in power plays. He needs to use it more wisely. Love to see that cannon fired though.
it would be great to have a shootout specialist, wouldn't it. I think he'd be the closest bet. (suglobov, that is.) actually, the only true shootout specialists so far are goalie Marty Turco and JUSSI JOKINEN, VIKTOR KOZLOV, MIROSLAV SATAN, SERGEI ZUBOV, MATT CULLEN, BRAD RICHARDS, JAROSLAV BALASTIK, ALEXANDER OVECHKIN
the problem with McCabe's shot is that he uses it in the same manner as he did last season... that's old news now, they gotta develop a new strategy on the PP. Maybe a slight pinch to the top of the circle with a quicker release non-slapper will catch 'em off guard. That or he can deliberately miss the net in a designated area to be tipped. not my favourite. I'd personally like to see the puck come to him from off the wall and have him step into it and really let er go- which only works if the other D-man is defensive minded... make 'em pay for blocking shots...but, either way, everyone is on to him, now. Something's gotta change.
Maybe he's expendible now.
the problem with McCabe's shot is that he uses it in the same manner as he did last season... that's old news now, they gotta develop a new strategy on the PP. Maybe a slight pinch to the top of the circle with a quicker release non-slapper will catch 'em off guard. That or he can deliberately miss the net in a designated area to be tipped. not my favourite. I'd personally like to see the puck come to him from off the wall and have him step into it and really let er go- which only works if the other D-man is defensive minded... make 'em pay for blocking shots...but, either way, everyone is on to him, now. Something's gotta change.
Maybe he's expendible now.
it's one thing to say you need to change... but don't forget- it's hours and hours of perfecting play in a certain way to the point where it becomes a perfectly executed habit... it'll take a while to deprogram himself.PHNINE said:
Name me one player aside from Sundin on the current Leafs roster that has proven track record to be a legit NHL scorer? Mind you when i say big time scorer i meant an average of 30 goals and 70 points per season.guyroch said:
I know Bondra is closing towards the limelight years of his career. But he still managed to score around 30 goals last year. With all the rule changes, in the new NHL, I think Bondra still has the potential to score 30+ especially if paired with a big time center like Sundin.
I can already see the press conference at the end of the season when the coach is telling us that we had a young squad and we needed time to gel. It is hard to be fully optimistic as a Leaf fan, but I am still going to try. No single addition to the team will win the cup for us. No budding young rookie will lead our team into the playoffs. However, a team regardless of their talent, that plays well together and adapts to the new NHL will have a good season. With a new coach on the bench we are definitely headed in that direction. As I said before, fingers are always crossed, but not holding my breath. 
i still think the team looks o.k.. they will score goals this season... i'm betting they'll be about 7th in Goals For. Last season they were the 4th worst in 5 on 5 play but, number 1 in the league in the 5 on 3..., so... they need to bring their even strength play up a little... which means less relying on the defense for offensive oportunity and switching up the play of the forwards to a more intense attack and smarter puck control...
they will never be #1 in 5 on 5... not even in the top 15. that comes from having a stacked team of humble salaries... ie. Ottawa, Detroit, Colorado, Carolina, San Jose and Buffalo... all teams that pass the puck very quick and also have better players for their $ spent...
this is where JFJr's management sucks. overpaying for underperformers... it sucks because it takes years to get out of that money pit. All the above mentioned teams draft incredibly well and have much better performance/dollar ratios.
though, you'll never see the leafs in the top 15 for 5 on 5 play, they could possibly improve to even 16th best... that would be incredible, if done- they could actually go deep into a playoff run... much like Edmonton did last season...
they will never be #1 in 5 on 5... not even in the top 15. that comes from having a stacked team of humble salaries... ie. Ottawa, Detroit, Colorado, Carolina, San Jose and Buffalo... all teams that pass the puck very quick and also have better players for their $ spent...
this is where JFJr's management sucks. overpaying for underperformers... it sucks because it takes years to get out of that money pit. All the above mentioned teams draft incredibly well and have much better performance/dollar ratios.
though, you'll never see the leafs in the top 15 for 5 on 5 play, they could possibly improve to even 16th best... that would be incredible, if done- they could actually go deep into a playoff run... much like Edmonton did last season...
There's some room left on the cap
If I am not mistaken, they have not exceeded their salary cap yet. I believe they are at 42.5 million US right now. That means they've got around 2.5 million US left. JFJ did mentioned that he want to leave some cap space for during the season in case he needs to do some fine tuning to the roster.21pro said:
right. and now is not mid season.
the leafs website states they are at $42.952M of active players. Plus commitments it means that they currently have less than $2M remaining.
Bondra is a 1 dimensional player... an old 1 dimensional player at that. and his specialty is the Power Play... that's it.
on the other hand, as i said above, the leafs need to increase their 5 on 5 goals for (last season they were 4th worst @ even strength play)... however, they were already #1 on the 5 on 3 last year... Why would you tamper with that? the leafs need even strength guys.
If the leafs fail this season, it will probably come down to the overpaying of Bryan McCabe. In no way should he be making more than Joe Thornton. He is not worth more than any of Chris Pronger, Rob Blake, Ilya Kovalchuk, or Scott Niedermayer. It's not the only problem, but probably the most recent significant mistake made.
In my opinion, if JFJr wanted to do something smart, he should wait till about November/December and see which team is drastically and unexpectedly underperforming... He could possibly be in the hunt for a blockbuster deal if he's not afraid to move some popular players on the leafs squad.
the leafs website states they are at $42.952M of active players. Plus commitments it means that they currently have less than $2M remaining.
and it's not simply a matter of fitting him on the payroll, as they could probably sign him for under 1M... that's not the issue. with only $1M and change, available , the leafs are handcuffed to make changes in the event of injury to a key player or dissatisfaction with underperformance of a player(s)...www.mapleleafs.com dated October 2nd said:
Bondra is a 1 dimensional player... an old 1 dimensional player at that. and his specialty is the Power Play... that's it.
on the other hand, as i said above, the leafs need to increase their 5 on 5 goals for (last season they were 4th worst @ even strength play)... however, they were already #1 on the 5 on 3 last year... Why would you tamper with that? the leafs need even strength guys.
If the leafs fail this season, it will probably come down to the overpaying of Bryan McCabe. In no way should he be making more than Joe Thornton. He is not worth more than any of Chris Pronger, Rob Blake, Ilya Kovalchuk, or Scott Niedermayer. It's not the only problem, but probably the most recent significant mistake made.
In my opinion, if JFJr wanted to do something smart, he should wait till about November/December and see which team is drastically and unexpectedly underperforming... He could possibly be in the hunt for a blockbuster deal if he's not afraid to move some popular players on the leafs squad.
...you gotta have a little faith. I believe your comments about JFJr... but, it is the leafs ownership that fubbed up by hiring the inexperienced guy. And the reason behind hiring the new manager was a bad business decision.
let's not forget, JFJr was hired as a statement of insult to Pat Quinn. not on his merit as a good hockey team manager. designed to fail from the getgo as they say...
There is so much not to like about the MLSE organization, it is a mystery to why there are so many devoted fans. I can't whole heartedly cheer for them... my cheering for them is for the players and coach that try and 'bring it' every night with not much to go to game with. Other than that, my top priority team to cheer for is the Pittsburgh Penguins. I've always been a Pens fan, even before I moved to the GTA- it just kinda sticks with you... Leaf die-hards can understand.
but, still have a little faith... Paul Maurice is going to do what he can to improve from last years stats. They were 9th in Goals For (not that bad, really) so, moving up to 7th might be a possibility... especially if they get Sundin Shooting the puck... it's probably only a matter of scoring another 15 goals for the overall team...
let's not forget, JFJr was hired as a statement of insult to Pat Quinn. not on his merit as a good hockey team manager. designed to fail from the getgo as they say...
There is so much not to like about the MLSE organization, it is a mystery to why there are so many devoted fans. I can't whole heartedly cheer for them... my cheering for them is for the players and coach that try and 'bring it' every night with not much to go to game with. Other than that, my top priority team to cheer for is the Pittsburgh Penguins. I've always been a Pens fan, even before I moved to the GTA- it just kinda sticks with you... Leaf die-hards can understand.
but, still have a little faith... Paul Maurice is going to do what he can to improve from last years stats. They were 9th in Goals For (not that bad, really) so, moving up to 7th might be a possibility... especially if they get Sundin Shooting the puck... it's probably only a matter of scoring another 15 goals for the overall team...
Jeff O'Neill
He will be in the line-up for tomorrow's season home opener. He will be starting on the 4th line. According to Paul Maurice, O'Neill's conditioning is not at a level that he is capable of as yet. He had 2 major shoulder surgeries over the last few years plus the lockout year therefore he needs time to work through his conditioning and get back to the level that he showed while popping 40+ goals as a member of Hurricanes. Even though Paul Maurice would not admit this through his recent interviews with the media, I personally think he sat out O'Neill the last 2 pre-season games as a message saying that if you don't work hard during practice and games you will not play. And judging by O'Neill's pre-season performance he clearly showed that he is not fully into it and at times looked slow and lazy.
He will be in the line-up for tomorrow's season home opener. He will be starting on the 4th line. According to Paul Maurice, O'Neill's conditioning is not at a level that he is capable of as yet. He had 2 major shoulder surgeries over the last few years plus the lockout year therefore he needs time to work through his conditioning and get back to the level that he showed while popping 40+ goals as a member of Hurricanes. Even though Paul Maurice would not admit this through his recent interviews with the media, I personally think he sat out O'Neill the last 2 pre-season games as a message saying that if you don't work hard during practice and games you will not play. And judging by O'Neill's pre-season performance he clearly showed that he is not fully into it and at times looked slow and lazy.
Contenders or Pretenders
All the speculation is a little pre-mature at this point. We will have a better idea once they get thru the first 20 games or so. Who knows, should they somehow sneak into the playoffs.....anything can happen. Just look at teams like Carolina, Buffalo, and Edmonton and the distance they went in last years playoffs. Prior to start of last season, no one predicted a Stanley Cup finals between Carolina and Edmonton.
All the speculation is a little pre-mature at this point. We will have a better idea once they get thru the first 20 games or so. Who knows, should they somehow sneak into the playoffs.....anything can happen. Just look at teams like Carolina, Buffalo, and Edmonton and the distance they went in last years playoffs. Prior to start of last season, no one predicted a Stanley Cup finals between Carolina and Edmonton.
