Training Camp Thread - Now with 100% more Tavares

[Bullfrog]

I really don't see how the AHL goalie of the year will go unclaimed through waivers. As good as he was last year, I think McBackup gets sent down (or possibly kept up and traded asap).

 

[Bender]

I really don't see how the AHL goalie of the year will go unclaimed through waivers. As good as he was last year, I think McBackup gets sent down (or possibly kept up and traded asap).

This is Dubas we're talking about. He's all about the rational approach rather than the old school in terms of team optimization. I heard Justin Bourne on the Leaf Report podcast that Dubas frequently tried to pull Lou back from making some old school mistakes but Lou would go ahead and make them anyway. Dubas was also pushing for Holl but Lou/Babs coveted Polak.

Kind of interesting. I think the hydra is gone and Dubas can really put his stamp on this team.

 

[Zee]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

 

[Redleaf]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

 

[Zee]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

I guess we'll find out in exhibition games!  With 8 games all 3 guys will get chances to prove themselves.

 

[ZBBM]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

I guess we'll find out in exhibition games!  With 8 games all 3 guys will get chances to prove themselves.

This is a tough one.  McElhinney did an excellent job last year, and knows how to play the backup role.  Sparks OTOH will not go through waivers and it's time to see if he's got what it takes.  But it won't do his game a lot of good unless they give Andersen fewer starts -- which I think they should.  He was not sharp vs. BOS.

So with reluctance I would choose Sparks IF Andersen plays less.

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

I guess we'll find out in exhibition games!  With 8 games all 3 guys will get chances to prove themselves.

This is a tough one.  McElhinney did an excellent job last year, and knows how to play the backup role.  Sparks OTOH will not go through waivers and it's time to see if he's got what it takes.  But it won't do his game a lot of good unless they give Andersen fewer starts -- which I think they should.  He was not sharp vs. BOS.

So with reluctance I would choose Sparks IF Andersen plays less.

Someone asked Babcock about playing Andersen less this coming season.  His answer was basically sounds good in theory, until you look at the schedule and the standings. 

Sometimes Babcock says and does things that make absolutely no sense.  ?\_(ツ)_/?

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

I guess we'll find out in exhibition games!  With 8 games all 3 guys will get chances to prove themselves.

This is a tough one.  McElhinney did an excellent job last year, and knows how to play the backup role.  Sparks OTOH will not go through waivers and it's time to see if he's got what it takes.  But it won't do his game a lot of good unless they give Andersen fewer starts -- which I think they should.  He was not sharp vs. BOS.

So with reluctance I would choose Sparks IF Andersen plays less.

Someone asked Babcock about playing Andersen less this coming season.  His answer was basically sounds good in theory, until you look at the schedule and the standings. 

Sometimes Babcock says and does things that make absolutely no sense.  ?\_(ツ)_/?

I can kind of see his reasoning behind that statement. As a coach you're trying to give your team the best chance to win every single night. So when you play the top few teams, 3 out of 4 nights, you kind of want your starter in every game. That means Andersen gets a back to back out of that.

I do agree though that Andersen should play less games next year.

 

[Zee]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

I guess we'll find out in exhibition games!  With 8 games all 3 guys will get chances to prove themselves.

This is a tough one.  McElhinney did an excellent job last year, and knows how to play the backup role.  Sparks OTOH will not go through waivers and it's time to see if he's got what it takes.  But it won't do his game a lot of good unless they give Andersen fewer starts -- which I think they should.  He was not sharp vs. BOS.

So with reluctance I would choose Sparks IF Andersen plays less.

Someone asked Babcock about playing Andersen less this coming season.  His answer was basically sounds good in theory, until you look at the schedule and the standings. 

Sometimes Babcock says and does things that make absolutely no sense.  ?\_(ツ)_/?

I can kind of see his reasoning behind that statement. As a coach you're trying to give your team the best chance to win every single night. So when you play the top few teams, 3 out of 4 nights, you kind of want your starter in every game. That means Andersen gets a back to back out of that.

I do agree though that Andersen should play less games next year.

I think with Dubas and the whole sports science geeks, they should really pressure Babcock to give Andersen more rest, show him stats that prove a better rested goalie performs at a higher level. 

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

Sparks has improved since then.  His only time with the Leafs was the tank year and since then he's worked on both his fitness as well as working closely with our goalie coaches.

I hope you?re right, because I?d prefer Sparks as the backup moving forward.

I guess we'll find out in exhibition games!  With 8 games all 3 guys will get chances to prove themselves.

This is a tough one.  McElhinney did an excellent job last year, and knows how to play the backup role.  Sparks OTOH will not go through waivers and it's time to see if he's got what it takes.  But it won't do his game a lot of good unless they give Andersen fewer starts -- which I think they should.  He was not sharp vs. BOS.

So with reluctance I would choose Sparks IF Andersen plays less.

Someone asked Babcock about playing Andersen less this coming season.  His answer was basically sounds good in theory, until you look at the schedule and the standings. 

Sometimes Babcock says and does things that make absolutely no sense.  ?\_(ツ)_/?

I can kind of see his reasoning behind that statement. As a coach you're trying to give your team the best chance to win every single night. So when you play the top few teams, 3 out of 4 nights, you kind of want your starter in every game. That means Andersen gets a back to back out of that.

I do agree though that Andersen should play less games next year.

Though Curtis showed that he was more than capable to win some games.  If he was a complete sieve, I'd agree, but you have a capable backup sitting on the bench and you are overworking your #1 goalie. Curtis played pretty much only in back to back situations.

Playing Freddie to the point of exhaustion, or playing your backup, you are still going to lose some games either way.  I think there were some games last year that Freddy didn't look sharp in, particularly in the playoffs that pointed to him being overworked. 

 

[Zee]

The whole debate with goalies, look at the last 5-6 teams to win the Cup, no starting goalie has played more than 60 games during the season in those Cup wins.  The last goalie that played over 60 in the regular season and won the Cup was Quick in 2011-2012 season when he played 69 games. 

 

[louisstamos]

The whole debate with goalies, look at the last 5-6 teams to win the Cup, no starting goalie has played more than 60 games during the season in those Cup wins.  The last goalie that played over 60 in the regular season and won the Cup was Quick in 2011-2012 season when he played 69 games.

Nice.

 

[Kin]

The whole debate with goalies, look at the last 5-6 teams to win the Cup, no starting goalie has played more than 60 games during the season in those Cup wins.  The last goalie that played over 60 in the regular season and won the Cup was Quick in 2011-2012 season when he played 69 games.

I wonder if that's more a reflection on the need for a goalie to be relatively well rested or a reflection on the idea that teams that are successful aren't going to be spending a ton of money on a superstar goalie.

 

[wnc096]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

in the last game he played...a 5-1 loss to the Devils the Leafs lineup features NHL stalwarts Sam Carrick, Andrew Campbell, Byron Froese , Colin greening, Tobias Lindberg, TJ Brennan and Frank Carrodo.  In fact only Nylander, Reilly and Gardiner are still on the team today .  Wouldn't read too much into his stats in the Tank season

 

[Highlander]

He was left out to dry and has become a much better athlete and Goalie since then.

 

[Zee]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

in the last game he played...a 5-1 loss to the Devils the Leafs lineup features NHL stalwarts Sam Carrick, Andrew Campbell, Byron Froese , Colin greening, Tobias Lindberg, TJ Brennan and Frank Carrodo.  In fact only Nylander, Reilly and Gardiner are still on the team today .  Wouldn't read too much into his stats in the Tank season

That loss secured last place for the Leafs and the winning of Auston Matthews.  I'd shake Sparks's hand for that.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1041767410263572480

Tavares line and Kadri line and Rielly and Dermott pairs + Marlies

 

[Zee]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1041767410263572480

Tavares line and Kadri line and Rielly and Dermott pairs + Marlies

Seeing Tavares in a game with a Leafs jersey on still seems surreal to me.

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

I say let the exhibition games determine who the back-up goalie will be, regardless of their age. Sparks looked great last year in the ?A? but  looked average during his cup of coffee with the Leafs. You never know how good a goalie really is until he faces better shooters on a consistent basis.

in the last game he played...a 5-1 loss to the Devils the Leafs lineup features NHL stalwarts Sam Carrick, Andrew Campbell, Byron Froese , Colin greening, Tobias Lindberg, TJ Brennan and Frank Carrodo.  In fact only Nylander, Reilly and Gardiner are still on the team today .  Wouldn't read too much into his stats in the Tank season

That loss secured last place for the Leafs and the winning of Auston Matthews.  I'd shake Sparks's hand for that.

I would kiss him on the lips.  With a little bit of tongue too. 

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1041767410263572480

Tavares line and Kadri line and Rielly and Dermott pairs + Marlies

Seeing Tavares in a game with a Leafs jersey on still seems surreal to me.

I hope they cheekily trot out Semyon Der-Arguchintsev as the 1C.