2019-2020 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

[herman]

https://twitter.com/leafsnews/status/1211774531804811264

With this being a young team that is offensively gifted, is teaching defense a little harder? Would you say that is fair?

Keefe: Yeah, I do think that is fair. However, I think if you really look at it, a lot of our issues that have come up that have cost us goals against, it is easy to say they are defensive issues because it is going into our net, but we think they are offensive issues. They are turning the puck over in a bad spot. You can?t have any structure defensively when you turn the puck over in a bad spot. We think it is overdoing it a little bit on offense and then you leave yourself exposed.

This is how you frame your coaching for this team

 

[CarltonTheBear]

From Friedman's 31 Thoughts:

12. I went to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final in 2018 (Toronto beat Texas that night for the championship in a packed, crazed rink ? was a fun night). During one of the intermissions, I ran into the great Rich Clune, who was not dressed for the game. He pointed to the person standing next to him and asked, ?Have you ever met Jeremy Bracco?? I hadn?t. He said, ?You?re going to see plenty of him.? Bracco only dressed for four games in that run, but finished second in the AHL in scoring last season and is fifth in assists this year.

His path to the Maple Leafs is blocked by some elite, elite skill and he wants to see if there?s a better opportunity somewhere else. Toronto is willing to accommodate, but have not been shy in their asks, apparently. I?m curious to see what the market is. I?m also curious to see if this could be part of a bigger deal. Ben Harpur and Dmytro Timashov have also asked Toronto to see what?s out there for them.

He talked about this on last Saturday's headlines as well, but clarifies that Dubas is shopping these players because they've asked to be shopped. Again, this makes sense for Bracco and Harpur but I'm even more confused by Timashov being in this conversation now.

 

[Guilt Trip]

From Friedman's 31 Thoughts:

12. I went to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final in 2018 (Toronto beat Texas that night for the championship in a packed, crazed rink ? was a fun night). During one of the intermissions, I ran into the great Rich Clune, who was not dressed for the game. He pointed to the person standing next to him and asked, ?Have you ever met Jeremy Bracco?? I hadn?t. He said, ?You?re going to see plenty of him.? Bracco only dressed for four games in that run, but finished second in the AHL in scoring last season and is fifth in assists this year.

His path to the Maple Leafs is blocked by some elite, elite skill and he wants to see if there?s a better opportunity somewhere else. Toronto is willing to accommodate, but have not been shy in their asks, apparently. I?m curious to see what the market is. I?m also curious to see if this could be part of a bigger deal. Ben Harpur and Dmytro Timashov have also asked Toronto to see what?s out there for them.

He talked about this on last Saturday's headlines as well, but clarifies that Dubas is shopping these players because they've asked to be shopped. Again, this makes sense for Bracco and Harpur but I'm even more confused by Timashov being in this conversation now.

Timashov probably thinks he belongs in the top 9? Can't blame Bracco though. I would still like to see him get a shot here just to see what he can do. Hate to see him get developed here and leave for a pick.

 

[disco]

https://twitter.com/leafsnews/status/1211774531804811264

With this being a young team that is offensively gifted, is teaching defense a little harder? Would you say that is fair?

Keefe: Yeah, I do think that is fair. However, I think if you really look at it, a lot of our issues that have come up that have cost us goals against, it is easy to say they are defensive issues because it is going into our net, but we think they are offensive issues. They are turning the puck over in a bad spot. You can?t have any structure defensively when you turn the puck over in a bad spot. We think it is overdoing it a little bit on offense and then you leave yourself exposed.

This is how you frame your coaching for this team

He's well aware of the fine line between keeping this team creative/possessive and being gun-shy. They completely lost their confidence to make plays under the old regime. I've noticed that since the creative juices are always flowing the powerplay has improved simply because of the fact they don't have to "turn on" the creativity anymore. A difficult thing to do.

I noticed on two goals last game Marner was filling in for pinching D but not far enough back, leading to odd-man rushes. That kind of thing can be easily corrected with better situational awareness.

 

[Chris]

From Friedman's 31 Thoughts:

12. I went to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final in 2018 (Toronto beat Texas that night for the championship in a packed, crazed rink ? was a fun night). During one of the intermissions, I ran into the great Rich Clune, who was not dressed for the game. He pointed to the person standing next to him and asked, ?Have you ever met Jeremy Bracco?? I hadn?t. He said, ?You?re going to see plenty of him.? Bracco only dressed for four games in that run, but finished second in the AHL in scoring last season and is fifth in assists this year.

His path to the Maple Leafs is blocked by some elite, elite skill and he wants to see if there?s a better opportunity somewhere else. Toronto is willing to accommodate, but have not been shy in their asks, apparently. I?m curious to see what the market is. I?m also curious to see if this could be part of a bigger deal. Ben Harpur and Dmytro Timashov have also asked Toronto to see what?s out there for them.

He talked about this on last Saturday's headlines as well, but clarifies that Dubas is shopping these players because they've asked to be shopped. Again, this makes sense for Bracco and Harpur but I'm even more confused by Timashov being in this conversation now.

Timashov probably thinks he belongs in the top 9? Can't blame Bracco though. I would still like to see him get a shot here just to see what he can do. Hate to see him get developed here and leave for a pick.

Not sure what to make of Timashov. He's produced reasonably well considering his usage. He's quick, physical for his size, seems to have decent skills. I'd consider rearranging the lines, put Kerfoot back at 3rd C, move Engval up with Tavares, and try Timashov on the 3rd line. See what he can do with more time and responsibility.

 

[Highlander]

From Friedman's 31 Thoughts:

12. I went to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final in 2018 (Toronto beat Texas that night for the championship in a packed, crazed rink ? was a fun night). During one of the intermissions, I ran into the great Rich Clune, who was not dressed for the game. He pointed to the person standing next to him and asked, ?Have you ever met Jeremy Bracco?? I hadn?t. He said, ?You?re going to see plenty of him.? Bracco only dressed for four games in that run, but finished second in the AHL in scoring last season and is fifth in assists this year.

His path to the Maple Leafs is blocked by some elite, elite skill and he wants to see if there?s a better opportunity somewhere else. Toronto is willing to accommodate, but have not been shy in their asks, apparently. I?m curious to see what the market is. I?m also curious to see if this could be part of a bigger deal. Ben Harpur and Dmytro Timashov have also asked Toronto to see what?s out there for them.

He talked about this on last Saturday's headlines as well, but clarifies that Dubas is shopping these players because they've asked to be shopped. Again, this makes sense for Bracco and Harpur but I'm even more confused by Timashov being in this conversation now.

Timashov probably thinks he belongs in the top 9? Can't blame Bracco though. I would still like to see him get a shot here just to see what he can do. Hate to see him get developed here and leave for a pick.

Not sure what to make of Timashov. He's produced reasonably well considering his usage. He's quick, physical for his size, seems to have decent skills. I'd consider rearranging the lines, put Kerfoot back at 3rd C, move Engval up with Tavares, and try Timashov on the 3rd line. See what he can do with more time and responsibility.

I second this idea, even though I would be interested to see Engvall with Matthews and Willie. 

 

[Zee]

Holy cow the Habs were 5 points up with a game in hand on the Leafs when Babcock was fired. They're now 7 points back of the Leafs. What a swing.

 

[disco]

I see it as a race between Leafs, Bolts and Panthers for those two ATL spots behind Boston. Buffalo has fallen well behind with a -10 goal differential and Montreal has lost a lot of ground. The Metro continues to look strong for those two wild-card spots. Half a season left and the Leafs are fun too watch again!

 

[Kin]

3 Statements about William Nylander:

1) He's now on pace for a 34 goal, 70 point season
2) Most of us probably agree that he's got another gear in him
3) There were people on this board within the last month saying he should have been traded last year because of the contract negotiations.

 

[herman]

The PP is way better when Willy gets more touches.

 

[herman]

It?s also funny that people here harp on Nylander?s consistency issues but have also consistently voted him into MoTM accolades despite the handful of people who always deliberately never vote for him.

 

[Zee]

3 Statements about William Nylander:

1) He's now on pace for a 34 goal, 70 point season
2) Most of us probably agree that he's got another gear in him
3) There were people on this board within the last month saying he should have been traded last year because of the contract negotiations.

I've said it since his deal was signed , he'll end up being the best contract when you take production into account. I still think he can be a point a game player

 

[L K]

8 more points in 13 fewer games than last year.  His shooting percentage is up from his career at 15.3.  Not including last season where his shooting percentage was down at 5.3% he is a career 11% so it's likely just course correction from last year.  His 36 goal pace is probably going to dip down to 28-30 with a normalized shooting percentage but that's something I'm very happy with.

 

[Bender]

The PP is way better when Willy gets more touches.

But the sign said do not touch Willy.

 

[herman]

The PP is way better when Willy gets more touches.

But the sign said do not touch Willy.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1212425948295057418

Gives the team an extra forward. Hope he gets a game in Winnipeg. A Marchment-Brooks-Timashov line could be fun. Or Goat for Brooks if we want to keep icing a forward who clearly doesn't belong on this team.

edit: saw someone point out on twitter that Mason's dad was drafted by the Jets and started his NHL career there. He didn't play for them very much and Mason wasn't even born until a few years after he left so I'm not sure how much of an emotional connection there might be there.

 

[Zee]

Keefe won't be satisfied until every player he coached on the Marlies gets at least 1 call up

 

[Guilt Trip]

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1212425948295057418

Gives the team an extra forward. Hope he gets a game in Winnipeg. A Marchment-Brooks-Timashov line could be fun. Or Goat for Brooks if we want to keep icing a forward who clearly doesn't belong on this team.

Saw Marchment play yesterday, he looks ready for the NHL. Much like Engvall. Big guy who can skate well, plays his position well and plays in all scenarios. Looks like he's in pretty good game shape as well considering he missed 2 months or so.

 

[Guilt Trip]

Keefe won't be satisfied until every player he coached on the Marlies gets at least 1 call up

I think they're rewarding hard work and good play on the Marlies while auditioning guys for the big club. Many here thought Marchment could make the 4th line out of camp but got injured.

 

[dekedastardly]

Does this guy still play with an edge? Many fights under his belt? Wants to hit everything in sight? I'm hoping. The team looked like they could have used an answer to Foligno last night. I didn't like the one run he took at Dermott.