2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

[CarltonTheBear]

Since I think everybody probably needs a laugh right now this was a real trade suggestion in the Athletic today:

Leafs acquire defenceman Adam Larsson, forward Calle Jarnkrok
Seattle Kraken acquire Leafs 2023 1st round pick, Leafs 2022 2nd round pick, defenceman Topi Niemela, defenceman Timothy Liljegren, forward Joey Anderson, conditional draft pick

A NHL executive apparently said it was a "fair deal" but that Seattle would ask for Sandin.

 

[L K]

Probably have to throw Nylander in for that to make sense.  Wait, I just read that article....WTF?

Pretty much the only one I'd really want is the DeMelo + pick swap for Holl move.

 

[bustaheims]

Since I think everybody probably needs a laugh right now this was a real trade suggestion in the Athletic today:

Leafs acquire defenceman Adam Larsson, forward Calle Jarnkrok
Seattle Kraken acquire Leafs 2023 1st round pick, Leafs 2022 2nd round pick, defenceman Topi Niemela, defenceman Timothy Liljegren, forward Joey Anderson, conditional draft pick

A NHL executive apparently said it was a "fair deal" but that Seattle would ask for Sandin.

Every deal proposed in that article is varying levels of absurd. It reads like something on HFBoards.

 

[herman]

I want to be an anonymous executive when I grow up

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Every deal proposed in that article is varying levels of absurd. It reads like something on HFBoards.

The Winnipeg one isn't totally awful, but I've always been a DeMelo stan. A 2nd rounder AND Steeves alongside Holl is pushing it though, especially since Winnipeg never really seemed to play DeMelo enough.

 

[Bill_Berg]

I know I'm still bitter about last year, so I really hope I'm just super negative these days, but holy moly I am worried.

Tavares isn't playing up to his contract, which has three more years after this one. That 11 million is very restrictive. And there's no way they trade him.

Goaltending is iffy. Defense is iffy. Muzzin is declining and may continue to decline with these injuries. 

I am struggling to feel confident about their chances this year and beyond.

 

[Joe S.]

I really don?t think the defence is that bad. Sadly I think the weakest link is goaltending. Which is the hardest position to fix.

Is mentioned it in the game day thread but I would love to see the leafs take a big swing and go for fleury. I know it won?t happen and will be impossible to fit under the cap, but that?s the kind of swing for the fences move that the leafs need to make. I?m ok with this roster going to the playoffs with a proven goalie.

 

[bustaheims]

I really don?t think the defence is that bad. Sadly I think the weakest link is goaltending. Which is the hardest position to fix.

Is mentioned it in the game day thread but I would love to see the leafs take a big swing and go for fleury. I know it won?t happen and will be impossible to fit under the cap, but that?s the kind of swing for the fences move that the leafs need to make. I?m ok with this roster going to the playoffs with a proven goalie.

It's a little of both. The Leafs seem to be allowing a little more space for the opposition. It certainly feels like they're setting up screens for their goalies more than they were earlier in the season.

The goaltending has regressed, but the defence is also not providing them with as much help as they were earlier in the season. When it first started, Campbell was still playing well and covered up some of those issues, but since the COVID break, the team is making more/bigger mistakes and more are ending up in the net. Both need to improve.

 

[Bill_Berg]

I really don?t think the defence is that bad. Sadly I think the weakest link is goaltending. Which is the hardest position to fix.

Is mentioned it in the game day thread but I would love to see the leafs take a big swing and go for fleury. I know it won?t happen and will be impossible to fit under the cap, but that?s the kind of swing for the fences move that the leafs need to make. I?m ok with this roster going to the playoffs with a proven goalie.

Tavares is more of a long term concern for me.  He could easily have a great playoffs. 

The defense I'm still worried about if Muzzin struggles.

Goaltending is so damn random. Fleury would be interesting, but ya that damn cap. Which leads us back to Tavares.

 

[Bullfrog]

I'm not worried about Tavares at all. We all knew he'd likely not be getting full value near the back half of his deal. Despite his brutal slump, he's still tied for 36th in league scoring and he's pretty solid defensively. I'm not saying he's a defensive star, but how often do you hear complaints about him in the defensive zone? Almost never.

His cap hit will be a concern if the cap ceiling doesn't improve, but his play is solid.

 

[Guilt Trip]

I really don?t think the defence is that bad. Sadly I think the weakest link is goaltending. Which is the hardest position to fix.

Is mentioned it in the game day thread but I would love to see the leafs take a big swing and go for fleury. I know it won?t happen and will be impossible to fit under the cap, but that?s the kind of swing for the fences move that the leafs need to make. I?m ok with this roster going to the playoffs with a proven goalie.

Tavares is more of a long term concern for me.  He could easily have a great playoffs. 

The defense I'm still worried about if Muzzin struggles.

Goaltending is so damn random. Fleury would be interesting, but ya that damn cap. Which leads us back to Tavares.

I'm not concerned with JT. Guy works his ass off out there, wins faceoffs, plays defence. That will never change with him. I'm more concerned with Willy who I think is the biggest issue for that line right now. As for the team D? Yup not as tight but you can also see they're playing scared out there. They're afraid of making a mistake because it is ending up in the back of the net too many times. We all know what happens when you play like that, you end up making more mistakes. Both goalies haven't been very good. Jack has been worse though. Last 7 starts, .867SV%, 23 goals against. Mrazek .894SV% 19 goals against. I think Oldtimer mentioned it yesterday that Mrazek needs to play to get his timing back after being out so long with an injury...he's played just 7 games since coming back in early Jan. Might be time to play him a bit here or just simply go, you win, you're in.
Fun stat. Leafs are 7-1-1 without Muzz and 7-2-1 without Holl.

 

[L K]

I'm not worried about Tavares at all. We all knew he'd likely not be getting full value near the back half of his deal. Despite his brutal slump, he's still tied for 36th in league scoring and he's pretty solid defensively. I'm not saying he's a defensive star, but how often do you hear complaints about him in the defensive zone? Almost never.

His cap hit will be a concern if the cap ceiling doesn't improve, but his play is solid.

I mean their line hasn't been great defensively over the last two months.  I think that's the thing that has been frustrating.  They aren't really doing much 5 on 5.  Last night was certainly a much better night for the line.  He's still great at face-offs but I think the 2nd line has been a real problem in terms of getting hemmed in their own zone.

 

[herman]

I think the goaltending issue is that the defense has been too good, somewhat ironically. Our goalies don't get much chance to build up a rhythm on some early easy saves, and when something does come through, it's usually a fastbreak counter attack off an OZ turnover and usually with a numerical disadvantage.

With Tavares and Nylander, I think they feel the slump and are both trying a bit too hard to make something happen for each other. When Tavares struggles, he isn't holding onto the puck as well as he used to (remember he enjoys and seeks out 3-on-1 coverage), so the offensive cycle chain is often disrupted. All three of them seem to be crashing a bit too deep in the OZ (over forechecking), so turnovers are turning into odd-man rushes going the other way, rather than into the 1-1-3 umbrella, and subsequently DZ time. Nylander is the designated blow-out winger as the least defensive of the 3, but arguably most offensively capable, on that line (a la JvR/Kapanen of Babcock era), so that takes away his valuable NZ transport ability a lot of the time.

All the older players look a bit slower coming out of the COVID pause, which feels like, from afar, some of those symptoms might be lingering, or at the very least their conditioning rhythm has been thrown off. Even very mild cases are coming back months later with significantly diminished air capacity and respiratory ailments.

 

[ZBBM]

The problem with this team is its 5 on 6 play.

They have to learn that it's not enough to outscore the other team.  They have to buckle down and outscore their own goalie.  It's basic hockey, and they just aren't executing.

 

[Kaberle15]

On that mini slump, there is one player that is always on the compete level and it is Bunting, Spezza comes close as a second one, those guys never give up and always play their best, this is showcasing now on this mini-slump.

 

[Guilt Trip]

On that mini slump, there is one player that is always on the compete level and it is Bunting, Spezza comes close as a second one, those guys never give up and always play their best, this is showcasing now on this mini-slump.

Matthews, Marner, Liljegren, Sandin, Kerfoot, Mikheyev, Engvall, Kampf, Kase, Simmonds....the list goes on. I totally disagree with the suggestion that these and other guys aren't competing. That's simply not true. They may not be getting the results but they're all trying out there.

 

[L K]

On that mini slump, there is one player that is always on the compete level and it is Bunting, Spezza comes close as a second one, those guys never give up and always play their best, this is showcasing now on this mini-slump.

Matthews, Marner, Liljegren, Sandin, Kerfoot, Mikheyev, Engvall, Kampf, Kase, Simmonds....the list goes on. I totally disagree with the suggestion that these and other guys aren't competing. That's simply not true. They may not be getting the results but they're all trying out there.

Yeah as much as I have been down on the play from Nylander/Tavares the last few weeks, effort isnt' the thing I have been frustrated with.  Decision making at times, absolutely but those are more mental mistakes rather than lack of effort.  It's not like Nylander is dogging it on the ice.  There has been a few times I have wondered if he is playing hurt because he hasn't been breaking away from guys with his skating like he was earlier in the year but again, I don't see a lack of effort.

 

[bustaheims]

On that mini slump, there is one player that is always on the compete level and it is Bunting, Spezza comes close as a second one, those guys never give up and always play their best, this is showcasing now on this mini-slump.

Matthews, Marner, Liljegren, Sandin, Kerfoot, Mikheyev, Engvall, Kampf, Kase, Simmonds....the list goes on. I totally disagree with the suggestion that these and other guys aren't competing. That's simply not true. They may not be getting the results but they're all trying out there.

Yeah as much as I have been down on the play from Nylander/Tavares the last few weeks, effort isnt' the thing I have been frustrated with.  Decision making at times, absolutely but those are more mental mistakes rather than lack of effort.  It's not like Nylander is dogging it on the ice.  There has been a few times I have wondered if he is playing hurt because he hasn't been breaking away from guys with his skating like he was earlier in the year but again, I don't see a lack of effort.

I feel like a lot of people have a very narrow definition of what effort on the ice should look like. Some guys just look like they're working harder because things don't come quite as naturally for them, but that's about talent, not effort. The Leafs have a lot of players that make things look effortless, even when they're putting in serious effort. They're just much more fluid than the guys who look like they're working hard. It's often entirely optics, not effort.

 

[Guilt Trip]

Fun fact...The Leafs have given up the 4th fewest scoring chances against yet are 2nd worst in SCGA and the worst SCSV%. They have also given up the 5th least HDCA yet have the 2nd worst HDSV% and the 2nd worst SV% since 2022 rolled around. Only the Devils have a worse SV%. The D and breakdowns aren't as bad as it's made out to be. Subpar goaltending is this teams biggest issue right now.

 

[herman]

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