As much as I want the Leafs to be a legitimate contender, a top five forward will get them into the playoffs, but it will take a bit more to put them into the top five teams in the East.
The Leafs ... 2
- Thread starter Ironhead
- Start date
Will be watching to-night's game with mixed emotions. Love to see how the "new look" Leafs fare against the red hot Senators but Brian Burke's personal tragedy will be in the back of my mind.
I know some Leaf fans are compalining about the 2 trades...but the media in Anaheim, and Calgary, are complaining about their teams getting fleeced by Burke.
Gotta disagree on the conclusion. He might not be missed on a better team or a deeper organization, but for the Leafs, I think he's huge. It just drops the talent level further on a team that's already talent starved. There's nobody in the organization to promote whos even half as good an NHLer any time soon.
Well I think the Devils 56+ minute non-effort made the leafs look pretty good - at times it looked like the NJ didn;t even belong in the same leauge as them - but it only took 3 minutes of pressure to expose the Leafs for what they really are.
For the balance of this season and the next one, I see Burke's trancastions resulting in a marginal improvement defensively but a significant loss of net offense. If Giguere plays the best hockey of his life, it might result in 2-3 extra points a month. If not, they may well be worse off than before.
There is alot of upside with Phaneuff who is plenty younge enough to improve and have many good years. But Toronto fans and media can run a highly paid guy out of town once they lose patience with unmet expectations - that, and the burden of being the No.1 D-man, may nto be the healthiest growing environment for a guy who needs to relax more and simplify his game.
For the balance of this season and the next one, I see Burke's trancastions resulting in a marginal improvement defensively but a significant loss of net offense. If Giguere plays the best hockey of his life, it might result in 2-3 extra points a month. If not, they may well be worse off than before.
There is alot of upside with Phaneuff who is plenty younge enough to improve and have many good years. But Toronto fans and media can run a highly paid guy out of town once they lose patience with unmet expectations - that, and the burden of being the No.1 D-man, may nto be the healthiest growing environment for a guy who needs to relax more and simplify his game.
I'd say 2 wins and 1 shoulda' been.
Burke is building the team from the net out. A legit 1st string goalie, a solid defense and now they need more firepower.
J.S. Giguere is the first goalie in Leaf history to record back to back shutouts in his first two games as a Leaf. While shutouts are nice, what is more important is that the team plays with a high level of confidence when J.S. is in the net.
And what will they do with them after they've won the Sharks? Keep Thornton or trade him?
As well, once the Leafs have won the Sharks, do they have to pay tax on the acquisition?
Like Kadri??? WTF was he doing there? lol I realize they traded away a shit load of forwards but are they that desperate to go to the O ? I guess he did ok, no bad plays but i just dont get him being an "emergency call up"
The Leafs had a number of players out with flu, and the Marlies are out of town, so he was next on the list of available players.
thanks for the explanation. I didnt hear anything about him playing tonight all day. Sat down to watch the game and was surprised to see him. Guess the fact he didnt mess up big time is a bonus
He did good for a first game and against a "top 6" team. These Sharks (Great Whites?) look HUGE. I think the NHL should have a cap on size of players.
Kadri did not look out of place on the ice against one of the best, if not thee best, faceoff teams in the NHL. He realized he has more to learn.
I liked what I saw even though he made some mistakes and was a little behind the play at times. I am told that the speed of the game is what you need to get used to immediately. It takes almost everyone by surprise.
I liked what I saw even though he made some mistakes and was a little behind the play at times. I am told that the speed of the game is what you need to get used to immediately. It takes almost everyone by surprise.
