|
The Official TOTA Toronto Maple Leafs/Hockey Talk Thread (pg. 125)
|
View this Thread in Original format
| Spam |
| quote: | Originally posted by Schadenfreude
I don't see why you guys would be disappointed. After a really slow start this team is actually overachieving imo. They can actually squeeze into the playoffs if they go on a run due to the extreme parity in the East after the top seeds. It is anyone's ball game for the second half. An Olympic break almost means a new season, lighten up a bit. |
Have you been paying attention for the last 3 years? It's clock-work buddy, and I think it may even be a 4-year tradition:
The All-Star (Olympic?) break only serves one purpose...
It cues up the inevitable 8-game losing streak to set the pace for the rest of the Leaf's season. |
|
|
| TheVrk |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
there is a big difference between taking quality shots and just shooting it because you don't know what else to do with it. |
Isn't that what Ovechkin does?
Seems he has a shoot-at-all-costs mentality and no one complains about him doing it.
Granted he's a much better and more dangerous player than Kessel but...
I think the ppl who have something against Kessel is that he was traded for so much
and that he isnt as good a player as all the picks he was traded for, which is def true.
But it wasn't him who made the trade, it was Burke, and all he's done since coming to TO is play hard
and play very well, in turn making the Leafs a very competitive team. |
|
|
| ChemEnhanced |
| Kessel is only good at two aspects of the game.....shooting and skating. He cannot read a play, his positioning isn't great, he is a defensive liability, and he can't check. There are more negatives to Kessel then positives....unfortunately people just look at his goal scoring and think he is the next superstar leaf. When a player is as one dimensional as Kessel is he becomes very easy to shut down...especially when he doesn't have a superstar playing with him. He is the type of player that succeeds when playing with a superstar but without one he becomes a run of the mill second liner. |
|
|
| Schadenfreude |
Thomas Pleknanec is 6th overall for point getters in the league. This guy has the best passing ability in the NHL when he wants to, and has speed and a shot to boot! Last year he sucked, even referred to himself as playing like a "little girl" in the media, but man oh man has he carried this team this year.
The line of Cammillieri - Pleks - A. Kosyn is tearing it up right now, and is among the best in the NHL point production wise. If this team had a better 2nd line, it could be a contender. If Bob Gainey does not sign Pleks to a long term contract before he has a chance of testing the free agent market, he should be tarred and feathered. (saku who? scott what?) Sign him for 8 years and you will be able to get him for 4.5 to 5 mill per year instead of 5.5 to 6.5 per year with a short term contract. We have no choice to give him number 1 center money, because that is exactly what he is right now. He is on pace to be the first Hab since Mats Naslund to record a 100 pt season, which dates back to 1986!!!!!
Brian Gionta coming back will help tons, but there is still something missing. Hopefully Bob can get something decent for Halak to bolster it more. Halak's value is higher than ever, and the time to trade is now. He has won his last 3 starts facing 147 total shots, which is quite the feat. Over the last 2 years, he has better numbers than price in every category other than wins (he obviously plays less games.).
Detroit, Philly, and St Louis seem to be to me the places that need goaltending the most. A rumour had Halak to Philly for Claude Giroux or Scott Hartnell. I would love this trade.
I would even be open to trading Carey Price. We could get a lot more for him than Halak, due to the invariable potential factor. It won't happen though, because he is Bob's golden boy. He is having a good year, so i'll forgive him.
Benoit Pouliot looked good last night. He skates better than Latendresse, and seems to be harder to take off the puck. It will be curious to see if the change of city will help him live up to his 5th overall pick hype.
I know, I know, this is the Leafs thread, but if I can talk about a team I hate objectively, you guys can do the same:p |
|
|
| Schadenfreude |
ps. It is amazing how much Andrei Markov means to this team. He has not missed a beat since coming back from a long injury, and the puck possession game has gotten drastically better because of him. Russian officials must be over joyed with the Olympics on the horizon.
I can safely say that he is in the top 5 best defencemen in the world right now, and his return will mean a playoff birth. Special teams are on fire. We went from worst in the league in penalty killing, to 6th.
Our power play is firing finally. Bergeron and Markov at the point is insane.
Markov can make anyone he plays with look like a star, you guys know that all too well because of Komisarek.:p |
|
|
| ChemEnhanced |
The habs should trade price over Halak but you are right...Price is Bob's boy and won't be going anywhere. Philly would be a good fit but if they are not in playoff contention I don't see them making a move for a goalie.
I haven't been able to watch much habs action but they seem to be playing better. I still think its going to be hard to get into a playoff position....its just too hard to move up the standings. |
|
|
| Schadenfreude |
The Flyers are still in playoff contention. Now would be the best time to pull a move, because goaltending is their downfall (which has always been the case with Philly who have not had a superstar goalie since Pelle Lindburg...Hextall was ok, but not good enough).
The Flyers are way better than their point total. They just have had a lot of bad bounces, issues in the media, and atrocious goaltending stand in their way.
Out of all the teams battling for those last spots (the East is so crazy this year!), they have the most raw talent. Remember Pittsburgh last year? They were in a similar position to the Flyers come All Star break, but with the return of the injured, and a few trades to address the missing elements...well, we all know how that story ended up.:)
I'm not anointing Halak as one of the top NHL goalies at all either. He has proven that he can steal games on his own, that he can play in a pressure cooker, and that he can maintain solid numbers all while facing tons of rubber. He IS the best goalie available right now though...another team that could use one is Dallas.
If the Flyers can squeeze into the post season healthy, and with a goalie that can give them a chance, I can guarantee you that they would be the team the top seeds fear the most, and would rather play someone else.
A lot of people thought the Flyers would go all the way this year (haha i know the curse this comes with, I lived it last year), and they still have many of the pieces of the puzzle to make it happen. If they had a goalie, they would not be where they are right now, no doubt about it at all.
As far as the Habs, they managed to get through the injury fest (they lost top players, not small roll players.) with a 500 record. That is not enough for the playoffs, but the stats should improve with a healthy squad, a long time to heal bones during the Vancouver Games break, an increased chemistry between players, and the possible addition of a big winger to give Gomez a target on the second line.
Gomez has been pretty bad, but in all fairness to him, since he lost his number 1 center peg, he has no one to pass to. Gionta has been gone for too long, once he gets back it will help out his little smurf buddy quite a bit. If you add a big winger to give a little grit to the line and make some room, it could be very good.
On a leafs related note: After watching so many Habs games vs Atlanta (it seems like we are always playing them)...it amazes me the niche Nik Antropov has carved out for himself there. I never really saw this more dominant side to him in Toronto, I guess playing with Kovalchuk is just what the career needed.
He is doing all of the small things right, and once he is in front of that net, not too many d men can move him. Good for him. When i saw him play for TO he was just a half asser, now I would kill for a player like that on my team. |
|
|
| ChemEnhanced |
Antropov or the Big Stupid Giant as I liked to call him has finally been healthy for a couple years....his injuries killed him while in Toronto. He is probably one of the best players in the league for deflecting pucks infront of the net. You really got to see it last year. He has also learned how to keep control of the puck along the boards....he use to be so affraid of being hit because he was always getting hurt. I am glad he is finally getting things together.
I am shocked that Philly is tied with the leafs right now. They have dug themselves a deep hole...just like the leafs. When the teams infront of you are getting points in so many games it makes it difficult to move up the standings one point at a time. |
|
|
| Schadenfreude |
I am pretty shocked as well. They have way (and way is an understatement) talent and depth than the Leafs. Like I said, do not write them off yet, because if the Flyers get hot they will be very very dangerous.
The Leafs have actually surpassed my expectations of them so far. The future, while not immediate certainly looks a little brighter, with a glimmer of hope. The senseless trading of draft picks though will make the rebuild that much longer, but they are still on the right path. Who do you guys have on the farm right now anyways? I follow the big leagues closely for my pools, but have no time for AHL. (although Curtis Sanford is playing well with the Bulldogs and looks like he will be a more than adequate back up if one of our top 2 are dealt. He did ok replacing Bobba Lou in Van city during his injury last year. A very nice insurance policy that Bob picked up there for sure.)
As far as Antropov goes, good for him. Sometimes a change of city will light that fire under someone and make them finally realize their potential. (i've seen it too many times myself...see: John Leclair and a gaggle of other habs that never did anything here, but built very nice careers for themselves. Francois Beauchemin was one of our write offs and look what he did.)
Then you have the other side of the coin, where a player moves to a new city and has no one to make them look like they deserve the big contract. See: Mike Komisarek:p
It goes to prove my statement that Markov can make anyone look better because he is just that damn good.:p
You also have to consider that Antropov has wayyyyyyy less pressure on him in ATL. He can just show up to the rink and do what he is paid to do, without all of the other bull that playing in a big hockey market brings.
It makes a big difference to players with suspect confidence levels for sure. |
|
|
| ChemEnhanced |
Typical leafs.....get back in the game and fall apart in overtime.
Although Blake isn't producing like he is expected to I personally think he is the hardest worker and has the most heart on the team. If all the leafs played with the heart that Blake has maybe they would win a few more games.
Kessel was once again left pointless.....5 games in a row now. I am so tired of his game. |
|
|
| Schadenfreude |
:toothless |
|
|
| ChemEnhanced |
| Halak saved the day for the Habs....they seriously should consider trading Price over Halak. |
|
|
|
|
