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Line-up changes

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Wilson's neck is on the block. If he thought Franson could help him win the first two games better than someone else, he would have been in the lineup. (not that I'm agreeing with Wilson as I haven't seen enough of Franson as a Leaf to be sure).

I don't care whether the fans whine about it or not. It's their right.

But I am a little concerned for Franson. Going to the media knocks heads with his coach some as it basically questions his judgement and he did it in remarkably short order. And ice time is always a sensitive issue with teammates - the majority who just shutup, take one for the team and deal with it behind closed doors.

Franson's wick in Toronto just got a little shorter. If he gets beaten badly defensively against Calgary, he's in purgatory. Hopefully, he rises to the increased pressure he's placed upon himself.
 
cw said:
Wilson's neck is on the block. If he thought Franson could help him win the first two games better than someone else, he would have been in the lineup. (not that I'm agreeing with Wilson as I haven't seen enough of Franson as a Leaf to be sure).

I don't care whether the fans whine about it or not. It's their right.

But I am a little concerned for Franson. Going to the media knocks heads with his coach some as it basically questions his judgement and he did it in remarkably short order. And ice time is always a sensitive issue with teammates - the majority who just shutup, take one for the team and deal with it behind closed doors.

Franson's wick in Toronto just got a little shorter. If he gets beaten badly defensively against Calgary, he's in purgatory. Hopefully, he rises to the increased pressure he's placed upon himself.
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Really. It's not like he's buried in the AHL. He's clearly going to get time up here. Hell, Keith Aulie got sent down after playing with Dion for half a year. I'm sure he's not happy but understands that the road isn't always smoothly paved.
 
Franson could end up being the "depth" that gets traded for something, rather than Gunnar. At this point, I might be alright with that. He certainly needs to not talk to the media about this issue.
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
Franson could end up being the "depth" that gets traded for something, rather than Gunnar. At this point, I might be alright with that. He certainly needs to not talk to the media about this issue.
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Sure... but I don't think that potential trade would have the slightest thing to do with his comments.
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
Franson could end up being the "depth" that gets traded for something, rather than Gunnar. At this point, I might be alright with that. He certainly needs to not talk to the media about this issue.
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They have an excess number of right shot dmen who are in shorter supply in the league. I doubt Phaneuf & Schenn are going anywhere. Komisarek's contract eliminates him as a potential candidate to be moved. If Aulie, a lefty comes up, he's probably replacing Gardiner, a leftie. So trying to peddle Franson might make some sense.

A good 7th might be Lashoff who is more versatile in situations he can play and more experienced than the other kids. He'd probably love the NHL bucks (more than double his pay) and ride the pine quietly.

The problem with trying to move a disgruntled dman is his trade value has been depressed a little. But that's not the end of the world and wouldn't stop Burke. Ask Versteeg if Brian is slow on the draw to fix situations that don't work out.
 
cw said:
BlueWhiteBlood said:
Franson could end up being the "depth" that gets traded for something, rather than Gunnar. At this point, I might be alright with that. He certainly needs to not talk to the media about this issue.
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They have an excess number of right shot dmen who are in shorter supply in the league. I doubt Phaneuf & Schenn are going anywhere. Komisarek's contract eliminates him as a potential candidate to be moved. If Aulie, a lefty comes up, he's probably replacing Gardiner, a leftie. So trying to peddle Franson might make some sense.

A good 7th might be Lashoff who is more versatile in situations he can play and more experienced than the other kids. He'd probably love the NHL bucks (more than double his pay) and ride the pine quietly.

The problem with trying to move a disgruntled dman is his trade value has been depressed a little. But that's not the end of the world and wouldn't stop Burke. Ask Versteeg if Brian is slow on the draw to fix situations that don't work out.
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That's where I'm at with all this. Of course he could shut up and come in and put his play where the mouth is and prove his comments right. My issue is with doing it in public. All this talk of Gunnarsson leaving, when all he does is play solid hockey, keep his mouth shut and enjoy getting better everyday. To add to that, like you say Gunnarsson plays the left side, which, while replaceable with Aulie, isn't the guy I'd rather trade at this point and Franson isn't making that a tougher decision.

I'm sure Franson can play hockey, but there is more than just how good you are that determines your security on a team, as your example of Versteeg will attest to.
 
I like Gunnarsson's versatility for this present lineup. When these guys either develop or they add guys who are more well rounded in playing various situations, I could change my mind.

Hurrah!!! :
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/10/13/leafs-turn-to-talent-over-truculence/
Heck, even the most skilled teams in the league do not do that.

Detroit, which had a league-low 13 fights last season, does not employ a fourth-line brawler. Neither does Pittsburgh, San Jose, Boston or many other top teams. Instead, they ask their fourth-line forwards to go out and play hockey.
...
?Who?s had the fights this year? It?s been Brownie,? said Wilson, who added that Orr and Rosehill would not be sitting up in the press box for too long.

?I have to keep everyone involved. That?s what we?re trying to do.?

The enforcers are going to sit at least one out. Long, long overdue in my opinion. Along with this third line that can score, they must have been reading my posts from summer 2010!! (now RickC knows where the old site went) ;D
 
Oh thank the heavens they finally realized this.

I think a lot of it has to do with our late season surge last year when Orr was concussed.  He didn't play for months and his spot was essentially taken up by guys like Boyce/Crabb, etc and the team played a lot better.  Depth forwards like Brent, Boyce were useful (PK, chipped in some offence), got the puck out of the zone, forechecked, etc while Orr was pretty useless.  I don't mind having him on the roster and playing every so often (mostly against other teams with heavyweights) but he can't take a regular shift. 

Either way, I'm pleased they finally realized that going with guys like Dupuis, Brown, Boyce, Steckel etc on the 4th line is a lot more condusive to winning that Orr, Rosehill, etc.
 
cw said:
I like Gunnarsson's versatility for this present lineup. When these guys either develop or they add guys who are more well rounded in playing various situations, I could change my mind.

Hurrah!!! :
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/10/13/leafs-turn-to-talent-over-truculence/
Heck, even the most skilled teams in the league do not do that.

Detroit, which had a league-low 13 fights last season, does not employ a fourth-line brawler. Neither does Pittsburgh, San Jose, Boston or many other top teams. Instead, they ask their fourth-line forwards to go out and play hockey.
...
?Who?s had the fights this year? It?s been Brownie,? said Wilson, who added that Orr and Rosehill would not be sitting up in the press box for too long.

?I have to keep everyone involved. That?s what we?re trying to do.?

The enforcers are going to sit at least one out. Long, long overdue in my opinion. Along with this third line that can score, they must have been reading my posts from summer 2010!! (now RickC knows where the old site went) ;D
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Boston doesn't have a brawler?  This writer hasn't watched a Bruins game in a while I suspect. Lucic, Thornton, Chara, Horton, Marchand, Boychuck, Ferrence (pretends).  3 of those guys are light-heavyweights or better. 

Pittsburgh has Engelland, Asham, and had Rupp as well last year.

I get the difference between players who fight and guys who are just fighters, but the teams mentioned do make sure they have a lot of toughness and guys who can drop them at any time when needed. 
 
?They?re trying to change the style of the fourth line, get guys that can play and put up some numbers,? said Dupuis, who played with typical fourth-line enforcers Cody McLeod and David Koci in Colorado last season.

?You won?t see two really tough guys on the fourth line anymore that can?t play. The guys that we have on the team now, they?re all real good hockey players. We can all play and be good out there.?

I imagine Orr and Rosehill are chuffed hearing that from Dupuis in the article...
 
Tigger said:
?They?re trying to change the style of the fourth line, get guys that can play and put up some numbers,? said Dupuis, who played with typical fourth-line enforcers Cody McLeod and David Koci in Colorado last season.

?You won?t see two really tough guys on the fourth line anymore that can?t play. The guys that we have on the team now, they?re all real good hockey players. We can all play and be good out there.?

I imagine Orr and Rosehill are chuffed hearing that from Dupuis in the article...
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I think he may have been referring to either (a) last season with Colorado, or (b) that you won't see that anymore league-wide.
 
I think this is just the start of what's probably going to be a pretty league-wide philosophy on fighting. The Leafs are pretty well positioned to take that sort of stance because with Schenn, Brown, Phaneuf, Komisarek and Grabo in the line-up they have enough guys who, should the need arise for a fight, can step up and get involved. There's really no need to burn a roster spot on a guy for that purpose.
 
Saint Nik said:
I think this is just the start of what's probably going to be a pretty league-wide philosophy on fighting. The Leafs are pretty well positioned to take that sort of stance because with Schenn, Brown, Phaneuf, Komisarek and Grabo in the line-up they have enough guys who, should the need arise for a fight, can step up and get involved. There's really no need to burn a roster spot on a guy for that purpose.
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Part of the reason why Biggs could (COULD) be a very excellent pick.
 
Tigger said:
?They?re trying to change the style of the fourth line, get guys that can play and put up some numbers,? said Dupuis, who played with typical fourth-line enforcers Cody McLeod and David Koci in Colorado last season.

?You won?t see two really tough guys on the fourth line anymore that can?t play. The guys that we have on the team now, they?re all real good hockey players. We can all play and be good out there.?

I imagine Orr and Rosehill are chuffed hearing that from Dupuis in the article...
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Well, at least in my mind Rosehill can play....playish, at least, he's got decent wheels. :P
 
Potvin29 said:
I think he may have been referring to either (a) last season with Colorado, or (b) that you won't see that anymore league-wide.
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Fair enough and Orr did get a goal the other night, still it has to be somewhat gear grinding for them.

Not that I disagree with the notion at all.
 
Floyd said:
Part of the reason why Biggs could (COULD) be a very excellent pick.
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I don't think it's the sort of value you want to look for in a first round pick. Especially because, as I said, the Leafs are already pretty well positioned for that.
 
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