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Matthew Lombardi update/information thread

Saint Nik said:
Bender said:
To be fair, Reichel and Renberg wern't so hot that year, but Francis and Nieuwy were good that year. Nolan had some respectable numbers too. Was that year he injured his knee?

Well, Reichel was always more of a defensive presence/third centre so his scoring numbers aren't terribly indicative of his play and I didn't even mention Renberg.

But if we're inclined to pick those guys apart like that then I'd maybe hold off a bit on getting too worked up over Bozak and Lupul too.

I didn't think I was being overly critical, but the point remains that we have young depth now as opposed to aging depth in '04.
 
Bender said:
I didn't think I was being overly critical, but the point remains that we have young depth now as opposed to aging depth in '04.

Old or young if we're inclined to break it down as to who is actually contributing to the team's "depth" there are a lot of guys on this year's Leafs who may stretch the definition. Far more so than Reichel, who won 53% of his draws and was the team's #1 Pking centre that year.

And you're free to try and direct the conversation to young vs. old if you like, I was just responding to the idea that it was hard to remember a Leafs team with more depth up front. That's only true by virtue of the fact that the Leafs have stunk post-lockout.
 
Erndog said:
Deebo said:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2011-08-11-matthew-lombardi-injured-players_n.htm

"He says he is going be at training camp, and our guys believe he will," Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said.

That's great news!  Much better than reading "we don't know if Lombardi will play this year."  We really can't ask for anything more at this point.  Hopefully he can come in, stay healthy and win a top 9 job.  If healthy he should and could even play with Lupul and Kessel if Connolly doesn't work there.

I don't remember the Leafs ever having this much depth.  Our 3rd line could be Kadri-Lombardi-Armstrong and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they were our best line on any given night.  We have 9 forwards who are, for the most part, interchangeable in lines and combinations.  It used to be Mats/Gary/Alex and everyone else.... then it became just Mats.  Now it's a solid 9 who, while none are as good as Mats, could all play at a very high level. 

I still think we are lacking that #1 center and perhaps a true power forward but things up front have shaped up nicely.

I liked our depth in '03-'04.

Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny, Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, Owen Nolan, Darcy Tucker, Nik Antropov, Robert Reichel, Ron Francis , Alexei Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan, Mikael Renberg.

That's twelve forwards right there.
 
I sure hope this talk is more than just blind optimism. I think, when healthy, he'll be an excellent addition to this team. You just can't have enough speed on a team and he seems versatile.

While Connolly/Grabovski/Lombardi/Bozak isn't the best centre group in the league (mostly due to lack of an elite talent) it's certainly a group with some depth and decent scoring punch.

I really hope he can play for the Leafs.
 
Starting training camp is better than not being able to start training camp.  Hopefully this is for real, that trade could end up being steal of the century if he can play.
 
Zee said:
Starting training camp is better than not being able to start training camp.  Hopefully this is for real, that trade could end up being steal of the century if he can play.
All it took was to trade Lebda and a prospect ,this is  for those years when we were or seem to be the loser on trades , I would of taken a bag of pucks for Lebda
 
I know I'd much rather see Lombardi play zero games with the leafs than see him play and play great, which I'm sure he would, but end his career in the NHL in 6 months or a year or whenever carted off the ice with another concussion.  If Lombardi was my child, I'd simply forbid him to ever play another game.
 
13th fan said:
Zee said:
Starting training camp is better than not being able to start training camp.  Hopefully this is for real, that trade could end up being steal of the century if he can play.
All it took was to trade Lebda and a prospect ,this is  for those years when we were or seem to be the loser on trades , I would of taken a bag of pucks for Lebda

We also have a GM that's rather adept at trades as well, that certainly helps.
 
princedpw said:
I know I'd much rather see Lombardi play zero games with the leafs than see him play and play great, which I'm sure he would, but end his career in the NHL in 6 months or a year or whenever carted off the ice with another concussion.  If Lombardi was my child, I'd simply forbid him to ever play another game.

If I was your child and was 29 years old, I'd probably tell you to stay the hell out of my business. I would find it quite humourous being forbidden to do anything.
 
Zee said:
Starting training camp is better than not being able to start training camp.  Hopefully this is for real, that trade could end up being steal of the century if he can play.

I'm pretty sure that it doesn't count as a steal if you pay full price.
 
Saint Nik said:
Zee said:
Starting training camp is better than not being able to start training camp.  Hopefully this is for real, that trade could end up being steal of the century if he can play.

I'm pretty sure that it doesn't count as a steal if you pay full price.

Lebda and Slaney is full price?
 
Tigger said:
:) I'll try to do better but I don't think that's what Zee was talking about...

That's my point. It's a little disingenuous to say that a move where Nashville was dumping salary is a "steal" because the Leafs were able to take on that salary. David Poile isn't stupid. He knew it wasn't a great hockey deal. He was a motivated seller and the Leafs were a willing customer.

Lombardi/Franson weren't stolen. They were bought.
 
Saint Nik said:
Tigger said:
:) I'll try to do better but I don't think that's what Zee was talking about...

That's my point. It's a little disingenuous to say that a move where Nashville was dumping salary is a "steal" because the Leafs were able to take on that salary. David Poile isn't stupid. He knew it wasn't a great hockey deal. He was a motivated seller and the Leafs were a willing customer.

Lombardi/Franson weren't stolen. They were bought.

It's pretty near impossible to "steal" a good player in a cap system. Most teams will trade similar amount for similar amount.

If it's not a good to great hockey deal (for one team) it qualifies as at the least, close to a steal (for the other). This is even more the case if Lombardi plays effectively, as was originally stated.

 
Anyone see "The Town", Burke should have been in that movie with Affleck as he steals as well as any Irish Boston wiseguy. Phaunef and Aulie for Stajen and White and some also rans and now this and all the other great "Steals" of his career. Watch out, as we is coming!
 
Saint Nik said:
Tigger said:
:) I'll try to do better but I don't think that's what Zee was talking about...

That's my point. It's a little disingenuous to say that a move where Nashville was dumping salary is a "steal" because the Leafs were able to take on that salary. David Poile isn't stupid. He knew it wasn't a great hockey deal. He was a motivated seller and the Leafs were a willing customer.

Lombardi/Franson weren't stolen. They were bought.

One could say Franson was bought at the expense of Lombardi at the time but if Matthew plays in any significant way I think it moves into the steal category, talent wise. 
 
Tigger said:
One could say Franson was bought at the expense of Lombardi at the time but if Matthew plays in any significant way I think it moves into the steal category, talent wise.

It was always a lopsided exchange of talent, with or without Lombardi. Both sides went into the deal fully aware of the fact.
 
Saint Nik said:
Tigger said:
One could say Franson was bought at the expense of Lombardi at the time but if Matthew plays in any significant way I think it moves into the steal category, talent wise.

It was always a lopsided exchange of talent, with or without Lombardi. Both sides went into the deal fully aware of the fact.

You really think the deal could have happened without Lombardi?
 

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