Flyers vs. Maple Leafs - Mar. 19th, 7:00pm - TSN4, TSN 1050

[Bender]

That was lame for a lot of the game. Philly played without one of their forward lines. They had their chances but too little too late.

 

[Guilt Trip]

Good effort..too many posts lol

 

[Guilt Trip]

And I haven't seen it mentioned but I absolutely love the unselfishness of Matthews. That pass to Domi tonight and there was another on the PP last game where he had a chance to shoot but chose to pass it to a teammate. That tells me he really doesn't care about 70 or whatever. If all he cared about was goals, he'd be shooting from anywhere and everywhere.

 

[herman]

And I haven't seen it mentioned but I absolutely love the unselfishness of Matthews. That pass to Domi tonight and there was another on the PP last game where he had a chance to shoot but chose to pass it to a teammate. That tells me he really doesn't care about 70 or whatever. If all he cared about was goals, he'd be shooting from anywhere and everywhere.

I read it as, he?s not 100%

 

[dappleganger]

Woll wasn?t the back-up against the Flyers, which is interesting?

 

[Guilt Trip]

Woll wasn?t the back-up against the Flyers, which is interesting?

Nah. Just giving him the whole night off. He's in against the Caps

 

[herman]

Seems to me that the Leafs miss Marner more than any other forward when he's out, Matthews included.

But but but he sucks and we should trade him. Marner is the straw

I think this warrants some discussion. Marner is indeed the straw the stirs the drink in the Leafs playstyle and he is indeed exceptional on both sides of the puck.

But given that he is kind of easy to shut down (there are like 4 years of teams doing this in the playoffs: just cover Matthews), it makes the Leafs very easy to topple despite their plethora of weapons. It's not Marner's fault, this is coaching deployment and structure.

So the impetus behind trading Marner is not that Marner is bad, but it would break the team out from this style of play and free up a truckload of cap space to reconfigure into something more effective for the group. Like better puck moving defensemen and a two-way centre. Unless we find a different way to do this so we don't lose a hometown/grown superstar, or Marner wants to shift to RD, the Leafs are a plate spinning on a luxurious dowel.

 

[cabber24]

Seems to me that the Leafs miss Marner more than any other forward when he's out, Matthews included.

But but but he sucks and we should trade him. Marner is the straw

I think this warrants some discussion. Marner is indeed the straw the stirs the drink in the Leafs playstyle and he is indeed exceptional on both sides of the puck.

But given that he is kind of easy to shut down (there are like 4 years of teams doing this in the playoffs: just cover Matthews), it makes the Leafs very easy to topple despite their plethora of weapons. It's not Marner's fault, this is coaching deployment and structure.

So the impetus behind trading Marner is not that Marner is bad, but it would break the team out from this style of play and free up a truckload of cap space to reconfigure into something more effective for the group. Like better puck moving defensemen and a two-way centre. Unless we find a different way to do this so we don't lose a hometown/grown superstar, or Marner wants to shift to RD, the Leafs are a plate spinning on a luxurious dowel.

I struggle with how to proceed with the same core making even more money. I like the outside-of-the-box thinking about Marner playing D. Cale Makar has similar stats to Marner and is the same height and just 7 lbs heavier. If it worked it would be a massive step in the right direction.

I also think Nylander needs to play C full-time to drive a second line.

 

[herman]

I struggle with how to proceed with the same core making even more money. I like the outside-of-the-box thinking about Marner playing D. Cale Makar has similar stats to Marner and is the same height and just 7 lbs heavier. If it worked it would be a massive step in the right direction.

I also think Nylander needs to play C full-time to drive a second line.

Unfortunately the boat has sailed on converting Marner to D; it should've been done in Junior if they were going to, but no player is going to want that if they're already successfully productive as a forward (more $ from pts). Converting D to F is more possible than the other way around. Anyway, if you have kids in the game, RD is where the opportunity is at

Nylander needed to be groomed for centre in 2017, and again 2024 is probably a bit too late to instill the mentality of staying above the puck, especially for someone who's whole career and developmental path was to be an offense driver.