This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - CarltonTheBear
1
« on: Yesterday at 11:45:12 PM »
Pretty dumb move by Eaton there to go for his stick.
2
« on: Yesterday at 10:23:25 PM »
I watched the 3rd period of the Penguins-sens game tonight. First period of hockey I've watched since game 7. I didn't want to watch much of the playoffs, especially in the East, because I truly thought that the Leafs could have beaten any of the remaining Eastern teams in a 7- game series. Not because I think the Leafs are a Stanley Cup contender, but because I didn't really think any of the East teams left are. This is probably the weakest conference I remember in a really long time. And the 20 minutes that I watched, and the fact that the Bruins put up 5 against the Rangers and Lundqvist, don't really change my opinion on this.
Whatever team that comes out of the East will get steamrolled by LA/Chicago. I just really thought it could have been the Leafs.
3
« on: Yesterday at 10:16:54 PM »
Alfy ties the game, shorthanded, with 28 seconds left.
Penguins looked like they were coached by Carlyle in the last 2 minutes there.
4
« on: Yesterday at 10:05:12 PM »
Cooke high sticks Karlsson with no penalty.
Aaaannnd heeerrre come the pretzels.
5
« on: Yesterday at 10:03:56 PM »
Neil can't tie the game with a wide-open net. Stupid senators.
6
« on: Yesterday at 09:37:58 PM »
Scrolled through the potential free agent market. Like I've said before, it pretty much sucks. I think we need to target three areas: third line winger, 4th line winger, 4-6 defenceman.
Nik Antropov - A name nobody has really discussed here. I was admittedly a big fan of his when he was a Leaf, so they might be a sentimental pick. Did a quick read of a Jets forum to see what they thought of his performance this season. Everybody pretty much agreed that he's lost a step since his Leafs days, but he still provided a positive contribution. Had to play many roles and seemed to fit on the 3rd line. He was also a little more physical than they were used to. I think he would look pretty good beside Grabovski and Kulemin on a 3rd line that can score if Carlyle gives them a little more freedom and opportunity.
Andrew Ference - Ignoring his elbow to Grabovski, I grew pretty appreciative of his play during our series. The Bruins have 3 veteran top-4 defencemen already under contract, plus McQuaid taking up a spot on the bottom pairing. Their injuries in the playoffs have also shown that a lot of their younger defencemen are ready for a larger opportunity, with Hamilton being the biggest name but Krug and Bartkowski have also made a big statement. I think he'll be available. He's a little old, but the defence needs a veteran presence like him, and his playoff experience could be vital.
Boyd Gordon - Unlike the other two, this name has been brought up a few times already. He would hopefully be a mini-McClement. His mere presence, along with Komarov's, should force Carlyle into playing an actual hockey player on the 4th line when we're healthy.
van Riemsdyk-Kadri-Kessel
Lupul-Colborne-Frattin
Antropov-Grabovski-Kulemin
McClement-Gordon-Komarov
McLaren
Gunnarsson-Phaneuf
Ference-Franson
Gardiner-Liles
Kostka-Holzer
Reimer
Scrivens
Now for some more explanations on the line-up. Starting with the defence, Ference is a huge upgrade over Fraser, but still allows Carlyle to keep two defencemen together whose last name starts with the letter 'F'. I can only image that's the only reason he kept Fraser-Franson together for so long. Ideally we would have a more defensive presence next to Gardiner, but I still think Liles is a legit NHL defenceman and that pairing looked alright during the season. They would be the 3rd pairing and thus face the weakest competition so that should help cover for what they're lacking defensively. Either Holzer and Kostka are the perfect spare defencemen in my opinion, but both should not be in the line-up at the same time. They could rotate in and out for Liles if need be. Perhaps at some point Holzer would steal Liles' spot away on a permanent basis. I'd re-sign Fraser but I'd have him waived and sent to the Marlies.
As for the forwards, it's basically the late playoff line-up with the next guys added in. As noted elsewhere, if we let Bozak walk and don't sign anybody to replace him, it leaves us dangerously thin down the middle if injuries strike. That's why it's no coincidence that both the forwards I brought in can play centre. Colborne becomes eligible for waivers this upcoming season so it's sink or swim time for him. And based on his play in the playoffs I think he's ready. Even if he's not, I'm not sure the AHL has anything left to teach him. If he struggles early Grabovski and McClement are capable of being bumped up a spot each, leaving Colborne on the bottom line for awhile. Faceoffs are obviously an issue, but if Kadri and Colborne want to become legitimate players they're going to have to learn that art eventually. Gordon is also terrific on the draw. One think that I liked about Wilson was when he used Steckel to take draws on the top-line and then skate off. If that becomes necessary I'd like to see Carlyle emulate that maneuver with either Gordon or McClement.
I didn't punch any numbers here, but I don't think we'd have any trouble fitting this line-up under the cap, especially with Komisarek bought out. We could probably get Antropov at fair value, as I don't think he would be in huge demand and might want to come back. An overpayment might be necessary for the other two, but I'd accept that.
edit: I originally had McClement at centre on the 4th line, but after thinking about decided I'd rather switch him with Gordon. Both are natural centres, but we know McClement can play wing as we've seen him do it on the Grabovski line. I don't know how Gordon would transition to the wing. Gordon also has better face-off stats than McClement.
7
« on: Yesterday at 06:48:38 PM »
Speaking of moving somebody to centre though, I do wonder if a full training camp and season will mean JVR will get that look at centre that Carlyle once spoke about. It would depend on what the Leafs do in the offseason, but if they let Bozak go and bring in a winger instead of a centre, maybe it'll happen.
I suppose but, I mean, did he do much of anything this year that made you think his game would translate well? I'm just curious because my recollection is that he didn't really show much other than a pretty good ability to score from in close.
While his face-off stats are of course very limited, they did look good. Winning 55% of 43 taken. He's also a lot more defensive responsible then I was expecting, as shown by the amount of PK time Carlyle gave him. And I thought he was pretty good at carrying the puck up the ice and entering the offenzive zone, something that Bozak wasn't very strong at. He may not be the ideal candidate, but I think if Bozak leaves and nobody is brought in, JVR will get as much of a look as Kadri or Grabovski to fill his position.
8
« on: Yesterday at 06:13:52 PM »
Speaking of moving somebody to centre though, I do wonder if a full training camp and season will mean JVR will get that look at centre that Carlyle once spoke about. It would depend on what the Leafs do in the offseason, but if they let Bozak go and bring in a winger instead of a centre, maybe it'll happen.
9
« on: Yesterday at 12:55:17 PM »
JVReemer21: Hey @Bozie42 , can we get one on you around July 5th?? #chaching
I guess Bozak signed an extension.
Here's their full exchange: Tyler Bozak @Bozie42 19m Would love if they always had a hidden camera on the powerball winners when they checked their tickets for the first time. #richierich James van Riemsdyk @JVReemer21 17m Hey @Bozie42 , can we get one on you around July 5th?? #chaching It doesn't sound like they just pulled a Wilson. JVR is just joking that Bozak is going to get a big payday on July 5th, regardless of where he signs.
11
« on: Yesterday at 12:15:36 PM »
Jason Blake V2
Yes, that seems likely.
Since 2007-2008, Riberio has the 11th highest points per game ratio among centres in the NHL with a minimum of 250 games played. He might falter at some point during his next contract, but he's anything but a one-hit wonder.
12
« on: Yesterday at 12:09:42 PM »
Looking ahead to the draft, the Leafs have a couple of conditional 2013 draft picks that were part of previous trades. The first is a conditional 4th from Anaheim to complete the Beauchemin trade and the second is a conditional 4th going to Nashville to complete the Franson trade. What were the parameters of the trades and where have the picks ended up?
For the Nashville trade, the pick was conditional on Lombardi playing 60 games over the course of the next two seasons. He hit that target, so Toronto's 4th rounder in 2012 will go to Nashville. The Beauchemin one is a little tricky but this is what Pierre LeBrun tweeted at the time of the trade: "Explaining the parameters of the conditional 4th-round pick in trade: If Lupul is not on the Toronto’s "reserve list" for 40 or more regular season games in the 2012-13 season then Anaheim trades its 6th round pick in 2013 instead of 4th round pick in 2013." A reserve list is essentially all the players a team has rights to. The Leafs had Lupul's rights for 40 or more regular season games in the 2012-2013 season, so the Leafs will receive Anaheim's 4th round draft pick instead of their 6th round pick. The tricky part is that some posters don't agree with LeBrun's explanation since it doesn't make sense that the Ducks would give up less in this case. But LeBrun even confirmed his explanation on twitter a few times because people kept questioning him about it. This trade makes it pretty clear that the Leafs had to take Lupul on as a salary dump in this trade, and Burke set that parameter up because he was hoping to be able to move this salary dump elsewhere within a season. If he was "stuck" with Lupul's contract then Anaheim would give up the higher draft pick. Obviously, Lupul turned out much better than either side was expecting.
13
« on: May 17, 2013, 04:57:36 PM »
Marlies currently trail Grand Rapids 2-1. Game 4 is tonight and 5 on Saturday. The winner of this series will now have home ice in the Western Conference final as the #5 seed OKC Barons eliminated the #1 seed Texas Stars last night. The Barons won that series 4 games to 1.
Something will likely get done, but there's a chance that they play next season without an AHL affiliate and have their prospects just scattered across the league. Which would be hilarious and should have Gillis fired instantly.
14
« on: May 15, 2013, 11:05:33 PM »
I don't think there's a limit to how much a team pays their coaches. Leafs have no salary cap to at least try and retain Eakins.
I'd be surprised if he wasn't the highest paid coach in the AHL right now. But I don't think money would be enough to keep him from advancing in his career.
15
« on: May 15, 2013, 11:03:01 PM »
Hindsight thought: Surprised Carlyle didn't call timeout at any point in the last 5:00.
I didn't want to be the first to mention it, and I'm surprised it took someone else so long.
|
|
Show Posts