Halfway mark team report card

[LuncheonMeat]

There's only one thing left to do. Trade Phaneuf for Weber as both players obviously need a fresh start.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

There's only one thing left to do. Trade Phaneuf for Weber as both players obviously need a fresh start.

Maybe if Nashville throws in a 1st.

 

[bustaheims]

Do you live in a world where you think other D, even top D, don't get burned during the season? 

Do you really think it is fair to cherry pick two plays to form an opinion on a player?

Don't you know? All goals scored against the Leafs are someone's fault. All goals Leafs score are either great plays or lucky bounces. Other teams don't make mistakes.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

EDIT: I don't get all the Shea Weber love:

You picked a bad example as that is a pretty fair statement

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

EDIT: I don't get all the Shea Weber love:

You picked a bad example as that is a pretty fair statement

Is he considered overrated?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Is he considered overrated?

Analytics aren't very kind to him. He's largely just overrated because of how highly others see him. He probably shouldn't really be mentioned in the top-5, and his play is starting to decline.

 

[dappleganger]

Do you live in a world where you think other D, even top D, don't get burned during the season? 

Do you really think it is fair to cherry pick two plays to form an opinion on a player?

EDIT: I don't get all the Shea Weber love:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z4ql1PNZd0[/youtube]

If your defense of Phanuef is other players are bad too, than we can agree Phaneuf is a bad player? 

I'm sorry Potvin, but those two plays are from games I've watched in the last few weeks and are extremely irritating. Just surprised by all the positive Phaneuf comments.

I don't hate the guy, I just don't think his play has improved. I think he's just been more isolated.

 

[Peter D.]

Analytics aren't very kind to him. He's largely just overrated because of how highly others see him. He probably shouldn't really be mentioned in the top-5, and his play is starting to decline.

Here I thought I was the only one who didn't get the Weber lovefest.

 

[AvroArrow]

Phaneuf....deserves the C, an effective leader.

Weren't you saying the exact opposite last year (apologies if it wasn't you - you can disregard)?  What changed that suddenly makes him an effective leader?

 

[ZBBM]

Phaneuf....deserves the C, an effective leader.

Weren't you saying the exact opposite last year (apologies if it wasn't you - you can disregard)?  What changed that suddenly makes him an effective leader?

Yes, it was me.

I suppose it's this: finally working under a coach and a system that the players understand and support has provided him with objectives that he can help convey to the team more effectively.

 

[Kin]

Phaneuf....deserves the C, an effective leader.

Weren't you saying the exact opposite last year (apologies if it wasn't you - you can disregard)?  What changed that suddenly makes him an effective leader?

Yes, it was me.

I suppose it's this: finally working under a coach and a system that the players understand and support has provided him with objectives that he can help convey to the team more effectively.

Another thing that maybe comes into this is that it seems like Phaneuf has cut down sharply on the mental mistakes which I always thought were a bigger issue in terms of him setting an example for the rest of the team.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Rielly's definitely getting handed the tough assignments/zone starts.  Even still he's got the same 5v5 points as Doughty, Phaneuf, Weber, Stralman to name a few.  I think his usage is making his offensive contribution seem less than it maybe has been.

Yeah I did my classic "look things up after I hit post" maneuver and was actually surprised to see how many points Rielly has. On pace for just under 40, which is pretty great considering his lack of regular powerplay time. I'm just not seeing him carry the puck into the offensive zone or attack as much as I did in October. I mean, he hasn't forgotten how to do it, it still happens from time to time. Especially late in games when we're trailing. So again that would suggest he might have been told to play a little more conservative.

Rielly's probably the personification of the pain Babcock was talking about in the rebuild. He's being forced to adjust to top pairing, top competition minutes. Maybe it's hurting his play today but in the long-term he'll hopefully be better because of it.

Speaking of Rielly, thought you might find this article interesting: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/is-morgan-rielly-trending-to-be-a-no-1-defenceman/

 

[hobarth]

I wonder how these ratings were derived, are they based on people's expectations of what those players are able to do with the Leafs or are they a reflection of how they would be perceived against their peers that aren't Leafs.

I would agree that Reimer is an A, his stats reflect elite, his W-L record not so much but that would be a team failing, not his.

TO just played NJ and Carolina who are both ahead of TO in the standings, I don't think their players are better than TO's so I think their coaches deserve As, Babs a B+.

TO has spent the bulk of the year at or around the bottom of the league, it has an excellent coach so the responsibility for the poor showing should rest with the players. As 1st liners Koma and Kadri sure aren't scoring at a 1st line pace, if they were as productive as they are as the 2nd line of better teams they would probably receive B- grades. If Koma were playing on a 3rd line somewhere and scoring like he is, he'd be an A but he's not.

 

[Boston Leaf]

A  to most Leaf fans for buying into plan and remaining patient

 

[Highlander]

We have no other options as fan..we are buying in as we finally believe with Shanahan, Babcock, Dubas, Hunter and Lou that we have a management team in place to build a winner.

 

[losveratos]

As 1st liners Koma and Kadri sure aren't scoring at a 1st line pace, if they were as productive as they are as the 2nd line of better teams they would probably receive B- grades. If Koma were playing on a 3rd line somewhere and scoring like he is, he'd be an A but he's not.

Pretty sure you did absolutely nothing to substantiate that (Specifically Komarov)  claim other than the tugging of information from between your buttcheeks.

Seeing as he's currently 42nd in goals scored and 79th in points. and I'm pretty sure that it takes 90 forwards to make up the leagues 30 first liners, deserving of the title or not.

I'm certainly not however going to argue with you about kadri though.

 

[hobarth]

As 1st liners Koma and Kadri sure aren't scoring at a 1st line pace, if they were as productive as they are as the 2nd line of better teams they would probably receive B- grades. If Koma were playing on a 3rd line somewhere and scoring like he is, he'd be an A but he's not.

Pretty sure you did absolutely nothing to substantiate that (Specifically Komarov)  claim other than the tugging of information from between your buttcheeks.

Seeing as he's currently 42nd in goals scored and 79th in points. and I'm pretty sure that it takes 90 forwards to make up the leagues 30 first liners, deserving of the title or not.

I'm certainly not however going to argue with you about kadri though.

He's getting 1st line minutes and he's 79th in scoring so based on that, his stats are close to the bottom of the league in productivity as a 1st liner he's a C-. If you look at all the other things he brings you could concede that maybe he's a C+ but 1st liners need to score, that has to be their primary responsibility.

 

[Bullfrog]

I'd give Komarov a solid A with reference to reasonable expectations. You can't compare him to other, legit 1st liners. He's a solid third liner/second liner on any other team. If he's a 1st liner, it's only as a complementary piece to some high-end scorers.

 

[Highlander]

Komarov reminded me of Gordie Howe last night??.really?..I mean Gordie's elbows