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Preseason GDT 4: Leafs vs Sabres L2-1

Bender said:
armche123 said:
BlueWhiteBlood said:
I don't know what managements plans are, but I think they need to give Mike Zigomanis a little bit more of a shot to show that he may be able to play the 4th line role better than Dupuis and or Boyce. I expect Wilson to insist on Boyce making the team, as he seems to have endeared himself to Wilson, but I also think they should decide on Dupuis or Zigomanis for the 12th or 13th man position on the big club.

I read an article this morning that stated, which I forgot, that the Leafs were 5-2-1 with Zigo to start the season and promptly lost the next 7 or so games after they demoted him last year. Coincidence? Not sure, but he knows how to win draws and kill penalties and that I think shouldn't be overlooked, I know Carlton will agree with me.
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I guess Ron does as well. Bozak's out Zigi's in (TSN)
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Mostly because Bozak has a minor injury.
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That's another reason
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
I don't know what managements plans are, but I think they need to give Mike Zigomanis a little bit more of a shot to show that he may be able to play the 4th line role better than Dupuis and or Boyce. I expect Wilson to insist on Boyce making the team, as he seems to have endeared himself to Wilson, but I also think they should decide on Dupuis or Zigomanis for the 12th or 13th man position on the big club.

I read an article this morning that stated, which I forgot, that the Leafs were 5-2-1 with Zigo to start the season and promptly lost the next 7 or so games after they demoted him last year. Coincidence? Not sure, but he knows how to win draws and kill penalties and that I think shouldn't be overlooked, I know Carlton will agree with me.
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Often, he was one of the best Marlies after he was sent down. So I don't think it was the guy just getting hot for a few games.

Two others who got a game but I was interested in more of a look were Scott & Hamilton. I thought they played really well as checking forwards for the Marlies.

I guess the theme this year seems to be to assemble the roster asap to develop as much cohesive team play as they can in order to give them the best chance to get off to a good start.
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
I don't know what managements plans are, but I think they need to give Mike Zigomanis a little bit more of a shot to show that he may be able to play the 4th line role better than Dupuis and or Boyce. I expect Wilson to insist on Boyce making the team, as he seems to have endeared himself to Wilson, but I also think they should decide on Dupuis or Zigomanis for the 12th or 13th man position on the big club.

I read an article this morning that stated, which I forgot, that the Leafs were 5-2-1 with Zigo to start the season and promptly lost the next 7 or so games after they demoted him last year. Coincidence? Not sure, but he knows how to win draws and kill penalties and that I think shouldn't be overlooked, I know Carlton will agree with me.
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My man-crush on Ziggy is pretty evident ever since the Marlies first signed him to that PTO in 2009. The season before he had a spot on Pittsburgh's 4th line, and was playing pretty good in that role before an injury ended his season after 22 games. That team ended up winning the Stanley Cup, and while he still got his name on the Cup and a ring, he's never had a NHL job since then. I think he could have probably done everything that Brent did for the Leafs last year, but it was Brent who ended up with the job in the end and now he's got a shiny new contract while Ziggy is still fighting for a spot on a NHL team. 

Unfortunately, I think the emphasis on having some size on the 4th line will likely exclude Zigomanis from contention. He's certainly not a small player, but he doesn't really use his size like Boyce or Dupuis would. Who knows though. From what I remember Ziggy kind of had a quiet training camp last year until the final game or two, so history could repeat itself.
 
Honestly I've always liked ziggy and I hope he can secure a job on the 4th line this season.  Even if he is playing wing his playstyle will help the Leafs improve.
 
cw said:
Two others who got a game but I was interested in more of a look were Scott & Hamilton. I thought they played really well as checking forwards for the Marlies.
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I didn't catch too much of Hamilton the other night, but to be honest, Scott was horrible. He didn't play well at all IMO, he couldn't hit a pass to save his life and didn't skate well, definitely an AHL player and will never make the NHL. I suppose he could have some incredible development this season, but I doubt.

I guess the theme this year seems to be to assemble the roster asap to develop as much cohesive team play as they can in order to give them the best chance to get off to a good start.
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I get that, but Zigomanis could end up being better in that 4th line role than either of Boyce or Dupuis. I think we have the room to keep 2 of the 3 of them, if we keep Orr as the 13th or 14th man, depending on how many defensemen we keep.

I believe Burke is going to have to decide what he is going to do with the extra blueliner, now that Gardiner is showing that he is very close to being able to handle the NHL. One of Komisarek, Gunnarsson or Franson have to go IMO. Obviously as I've said before, Komisarek is the elephant on the ice.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Unfortunately, I think the emphasis on having some size on the 4th line will likely exclude Zigomanis from contention. He's certainly not a small player, but he doesn't really use his size like Boyce or Dupuis would. Who knows though. From what I remember Ziggy kind of had a quiet training camp last year until the final game or two, so history could repeat itself.
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I'm hoping that his experience and his face-off abilities are what keep him in the line up. Also, if Burke and Wilson are serious about improving the PK as they say they are, Zigomanis is a guy that can not only help, but also set a good example for our young players, by listening to him on the ice and watching what he does on a shift by shift basis.

If what cw is saying is true and the management/ coaching is getting serious this season, Zigomanis should be there over both the other guys IMO.
 
Bender said:
So I don't really know what the answer is here... but what happens when a team exceeds the cap?

http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=8

Buffalo looks like they're way over. They'd have to dump at least Kotalik and another cheap player.
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Punishments for not being in line with the cap include forfeiting games, losing draft picks, massive fines and so on.
 
Buffalo made some good moves in the off season. They're definitely going to be contending for a top spot....which is going to make things more difficult for us. :/
 
Propellertop said:
Buffalo made some good moves in the off season. They're definitely going to be contending for a top spot....which is going to make things more difficult for us. :/
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I think they overpaid enormously for Leino but getting Regher (spelling?) and Erhoff (spelling again -- sorry!) and Roy back is huge.  I think they win the division.
 
Feeling that Gunnarsson's going to have a breakout season this year.  I've thought he has been really steady so far this preseason
 
princedpw said:
I think they overpaid enormously for Leino but getting Regher (spelling?) and Erhoff (spelling again -- sorry!) and Roy back is huge.  I think they win the division.
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I think you guys are overdoing it a bit here. Yes, they are a few good players, but I don't think these guys are game breakers by any means. I didn't like Buffalo's defense to begin with, so adding a couple good players only puts them where they probably should be and Leino hasn't proved anything yet. Roy back is probably their best move, as he is better than all three of the other players IMO.
 
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