• For users coming over from tmlfans.ca your username will remain the same but you will need to use the password reset feature (check your spam folder) on the login page in order to set your password. If you encounter issues, email Rick couchmanrick@gmail.com

2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/status/1408079046769008644
https://twitter.com/reporterchris/status/1408078969442820098

Top 4 "insiders" in the game all reveal the same information within the span of about a minute.
 
herman said:
Please Please Please Please
Click to expand...

I'm not going to lose any sleep over an assistant coach leaving but I also don't really agree that this is something to be excited about. Hakstol seemed to do a good job with the defence/PK (yes improved personnel helped too ... edit: but as we've seen with the PP having the personnel there isn't everything). Losing both him and Hyman could be a tough blow to our PK in particular.

If he does go I wonder if Malhotra gets moved to that side of things instead of handling the forwards/PP.
 
He?s really not the guy I was hoping our bench would lose.  The defense/PK were better when Andersen wasn?t in net playing hobbled.  I really don?t care to see Malholtra back given what the powerplay did with absolutely no adjustments
 
CarltonTheBear said:
herman said:
Please Please Please Please
Click to expand...

I'm not going to lose any sleep over an assistant coach leaving but I also don't really agree that this is something to be excited about. Hakstol seemed to do a good job with the defence/PK (yes improved personnel helped too ... edit: but as we've seen with the PP having the personnel there isn't everything). Losing both him and Hyman could be a tough blow to our PK in particular.

If he does go I wonder if Malhotra gets moved to that side of things instead of handling the forwards/PP.
Click to expand...

I had a post in draft that I decided not to publish earlier, but the gist of it was:
- PK wasn't anything special
- defensive improvements were very obviously personnel + system tweak to 1-1-3 NZ forecheck that automatically brought 3F down to support the D; i.e. not Hakstol-specific

My excitement is largely about shifting Malhotra over to the D side (even though he played forward), and getting a new brain that knows Nylander is the correct PP choice to give Matthews more room to operate.
 
herman said:
PK wasn't anything special
Click to expand...

I think our PK was pretty good this season. NST had our xGA 5th best in the league and EH had it 8th. HockeyViz's heatmap for the PK also painted a pretty good picture. The raw efficiency number wasn't very flattering largely because of one individual who Hakstol had no control over and who I'm trying not to harp on that much anymore so I'll leave it at that.

herman said:
My excitement is largely about shifting Malhotra over to the D side (even though he played forward), and getting a new brain that knows Nylander is the correct PP choice to give Matthews more room to operate.
Click to expand...

I get this but at the same time it's entirely possible that Dubas/Keefe have absolutely no intention of making that switch and Hakstol's replacement for the PK might be getting picked by the same person who chose Malhotra to run the PP.
 
Malhotra running the PK side of things would be a pretty natural fit for him. He was an excellent penalty killer as a player.
 
The one thing that does get me a little excited is... does this re-open the possibility of Boudreau joining the Leafs as an assistant? There's only two head coaching vacancies left (Arizona and Buffalo).
 
CarltonTheBear said:
The one thing that does get me a little excited is... does this re-open the possibility of Boudreau joining the Leafs as an assistant? There's only two head coaching vacancies left (Arizona and Buffalo).
Click to expand...

Sure, and heir apparent if Keefe shits the bed again.
 
herman said:
CarltonTheBear said:
herman said:
Please Please Please Please
Click to expand...

I'm not going to lose any sleep over an assistant coach leaving but I also don't really agree that this is something to be excited about. Hakstol seemed to do a good job with the defence/PK (yes improved personnel helped too ... edit: but as we've seen with the PP having the personnel there isn't everything). Losing both him and Hyman could be a tough blow to our PK in particular.

If he does go I wonder if Malhotra gets moved to that side of things instead of handling the forwards/PP.
Click to expand...

I had a post in draft that I decided not to publish earlier, but the gist of it was:
- PK wasn't anything special
- defensive improvements were very obviously personnel + system tweak to 1-1-3 NZ forecheck that automatically brought 3F down to support the D; i.e. not Hakstol-specific

My excitement is largely about shifting Malhotra over to the D side (even though he played forward), and getting a new brain that knows Nylander is the correct PP choice to give Matthews more room to operate.
Click to expand...

Is there reason to think Malhotra would have success running the PK? I'm not denying it, just have no clue.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
I think our PK was pretty good this season. NST had our xGA 5th best in the league and EH had it 8th. HockeyViz's heatmap for the PK also painted a pretty good picture. The raw efficiency number wasn't very flattering largely because of one individual who Hakstol had no control over and who I'm trying not to harp on that much anymore so I'll leave it at that.
Click to expand...

For sure, but Hakstol handled PK previously too, where they were 12th in 4v5 xGA60 in 2018-19 (under Babcock) and then up to 6th in 2019-2020 largely under Keefe.
 
I'm not gonna lie, that this year's exit was a lot harder to live with than the other decades of disappointment but one
thing to me is very apparent - this version of the Leafs would have had little chance to go much further than the 2nd round.

The standard of officiating and the league's very apparent blessing of dead-puck hockey and allowing the 4th liners to
dictate the game with blatant acts that would be a penalty all day in the regular season just proves how much of a
2nd rate league the NHL will continue to be. Boggles my mind that they prefer this crap as opposed to allowing the
speed and excitement to shine.  ::)  >:(
 
herman said:
CarltonTheBear said:
I think our PK was pretty good this season. NST had our xGA 5th best in the league and EH had it 8th. HockeyViz's heatmap for the PK also painted a pretty good picture. The raw efficiency number wasn't very flattering largely because of one individual who Hakstol had no control over and who I'm trying not to harp on that much anymore so I'll leave it at that.
Click to expand...

For sure, but Hakstol handled PK previously too, where they were 12th in 4v5 xGA60 in 2018-19 (under Babcock) and then up to 6th in 2019-2020 largely under Keefe.
Click to expand...

I think my general opinion is just that Keefe, Hakstol, and the players all deserve some praise for the improvements we've seen to our defence and penalty killing over the last year and a half. And to have the assistant coach who oversaw that and the teams best defensive/PK forward likely leaving this offseason means there's some important holes to fill there. I just hope we don't see the team take a step back in those areas next season.

But I do agree that there's a silver lining in that even though Hakstol didn't deserve to lose his job the team probably needed some kind of shake-up behind the bench and obviously Keefe isn't going anywhere right now and they don't seem interested in turfing Malhotra after 1 season. Hopefully they make the most of this opportunity.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
herman said:
CarltonTheBear said:
I think our PK was pretty good this season. NST had our xGA 5th best in the league and EH had it 8th. HockeyViz's heatmap for the PK also painted a pretty good picture. The raw efficiency number wasn't very flattering largely because of one individual who Hakstol had no control over and who I'm trying not to harp on that much anymore so I'll leave it at that.
Click to expand...

For sure, but Hakstol handled PK previously too, where they were 12th in 4v5 xGA60 in 2018-19 (under Babcock) and then up to 6th in 2019-2020 largely under Keefe.
Click to expand...

I think my general opinion is just that Keefe, Hakstol, and the players all deserve some praise for the improvements we've seen to our defence and penalty killing over the last year and a half. And to have the assistant coach who oversaw that and the teams best defensive/PK forward likely leaving this offseason means there's some important holes to fill there. I just hope we don't see the team take a step back in those areas next season.

But I do agree that there's a silver lining in that even though Hakstol didn't deserve to lose his job the team probably needed some kind of shake-up behind the bench and obviously Keefe isn't going anywhere right now and they don't seem interested in turfing Malhotra after 1 season. Hopefully they make the most of this opportunity.
Click to expand...

Did you CC Bruce Boudreau on this post?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

About Us

This website is NOT associated with the Toronto Maple Leafs or the NHL.


It is operated by Rick Couchman and Jeff Lewis.
Back
Top