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2017-18 Toronto Maple Leafs - General Discussion

Zee said:
CarltonTheBear said:
https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/908486667702558721

I cried.

He's wrong, Auston Matthews would take that potato and pass it around, and the team would be amazed that there's enough food for the entire roster, coaches, training staff and management.  Jesus-style.

The poor humble potato.  :)
 
https://twitter.com/zeisberger/status/910990291863252992
www.twitter.com/zeisberger/status/910990291863252992

Thanks, Andersen!
 
https://theathletic.com/111725/2017/09/27/mirtle-is-the-nhls-shift-away-from-veterans-to-the-kids-a-good-thing/

Amidst the salary cap, free agency, and rookie count conversation, Mirtle touches on the biometrics the Leafs are using during practice and what the data might be telling them about peak performance curves.

We saw last season Nylander getting pulled from an upcoming game due to some mysterious ailment after a full practice. The theory at the time was something showed up weird in the monitors and they wanted to play it safe.

This point, in conjunction with Greening's remark that all the UFAs signed by the Leafs for the NHL roster are all upper 30s, but still in the league and considered effective piqued a theory.

Originally, when they were signed, my take was that they wanted playoff veterans who had the right playstyles to match the young roster; players who also had the 'intangibles' of living right, gyming hard, and eating properly. Having them in the room with the younger players to impart a lot of that through osmosis and mentorship, teaching them how to have longevity in a league that chews the majority of its players up, and in the case of Marleau how to handle being a highly touted star and staying grounded. They're also at the stage in their careers where they are right on the cusp between still-effective and overtake-able (hence the short contracts).

Now I believe there is an additional benefit: science! The Sports Science & Performance department is gathering oodles of biometric data on every player in the system, the elites, the primes, the prospects. Now they have a small sample of Methuselahs and can start finding data markers for what sets Marleau, Hainsey, and Moore apart from the rest of their cohorts that have since retired. It's not just right living and maintenance that gets some players up to their 40s playing a high speed contact sport effectively. The Leafs have a lot of technology at their disposal and now they also have some guinea pigs to really test their theories and techniques on for refining the development program and finding advantages in scouting.
 
Apparently, a rival team has been sniffing around our Leivo

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/josh-leivo-faces-uphill-climb-make-leafs-despite-strong-showing/

but our asking price was prohibitively high.
 
https://theathletic.com/112119/2017/09/29/dellow-maple-leafs-penalty-kill-had-it-coming-against-capitals-but-new-season-presents-opportunity-to-improve/

The most beautiful data slicing I've seen to date.

Pair it with this: https://theleafsnation.com/2017/09/26/the-leafs-need-to-make-some-changes-to-their-penalty-kill/ for an earthy flavour with citrus notes.
 
Maple Leafs Pre-season shot rates.  Per Sean Tierney  @ChartingHockey

pnclT3Krj
 
https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2017/10/3/16389488/should-the-leafs-keep-matthews-and-nylander-together-long-term-toronto-william-auston-mitch-marner

There's a good Krieger quote most would use in response to this.
 
herman said:
https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2017/10/3/16389488/should-the-leafs-keep-matthews-and-nylander-together-long-term-toronto-william-auston-mitch-marner

There's a good Krieger quote most would use in response to this.

The assumption has generally been that William Nylander will, at some point, move back from right wing to his natural position of centre, probably when Tyler Bozak leaves. This would give the Leafs a centre lineup of Matthews, Nylander, and Nazem Kadri, which very few teams this side of Pittsburgh can match.

I've always had this assumption too, but man is watching Matthews and Nylander fun. If we can get Bozak re-signed to a very team friendly contract I wouldn't be completely opposed to sticking with x-Matthews-Nylander | x-Kadri-Brown/Kapanen | x-Bozak-Marner long term. Flip Kapanen or Brown to the left side or use one as trade bait for a defenceman.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
The assumption has generally been that William Nylander will, at some point, move back from right wing to his natural position of centre, probably when Tyler Bozak leaves. This would give the Leafs a centre lineup of Matthews, Nylander, and Nazem Kadri, which very few teams this side of Pittsburgh can match.

I've always had this assumption too, but man is watching Matthews and Nylander fun. If we can get Bozak re-signed to a very team friendly contract I wouldn't be completely opposed to sticking with x-Matthews-Nylander / x-Kadri-Brown / x-Bozak-Marner long term. Flip Kapanen to the left side or use him as trade bait for a defenceman.

Yeah it does look like it'll be fun.

I don't think we need to keep Bozak, per se, because Aaltonen and Brooks are nice LH options coming up and we'll probably see one of them sooner rather than later. Bozak's body was being held together by duct tape by the end of the season. Neither of those two options are as good as Bozak is currently, but their development/effectiveness curves will intersect shortly.

If it becomes a bit of a line driving issue, I have no problems with running the suggested swap of Marner and Nylander, and giving Nylander wingers like Kapanen, Brown, Johnsson, Grundstrom, Timashov, Korshkov, etc.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
I've always had this assumption too, but man is watching Matthews and Nylander fun. If we can get Bozak re-signed to a very team friendly contract I wouldn't be completely opposed to sticking with x-Matthews-Nylander | x-Kadri-Brown/Kapanen | x-Bozak-Marner long term. Flip Kapanen or Brown to the left side or use one as trade bait for a defenceman.

I'd be happy to see them play out their ELCs on one line, but once you get a couple seasons out, Matthews and Nylander on one line with make this a two-line team (with all due respect to Bozak and Aaltonen). There's enough talent coming up on the wings that I don't think you'll need Nylander to give Matthews a top-9 forward to play with.
 
I'm sure a lot of this will become clearer after the last playoff game this year. The Leafs are actually good again. Last time I went into a season expecting playoffs and a 40-45 win campaign was 2004, the last year of the Pat Quinn era. 14 long years.
 
https://twitter.com/LeafDieHards/status/915577281246097408
https://twitter.com/LeafsMaz20/status/915540766965018624
https://twitter.com/LeafDieHards/status/915542016028807168
giphy.gif
 
disco said:
https://twitter.com/LeafsMaz20/status/915540766965018624
https://twitter.com/LeafDieHards/status/915542016028807168

Been waiting for this moment all summer long.  F-i-n-a-l-l-y here!!!  :) :) :) :)

GO LEAFS GO!!!
 
Interesting stats following out of last night's game situation.

Over the last 2 seasons while leading after 2 Chicago were 67-2-7
Over the last season while trailing after 2 Toronto were 3-22-2

Obviously only one game so pretty meaningless but a nice turn around
 

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