Unofficial 2012/2013 Armchair GM

[Britishbulldog]

Seeing Komarov set up perfectly in the slot and missing the net over and over on the same shift has soured me towards him. Its wierd, I know.  It is just the way I am. Hot and cold.

The difference between Brown and Komarov even in those instances is that Komarov at least gets in position for those plays in the slot.  Brown fumbles the puck on open plays up the ice on the other hand.

Komarov definitely has a better hockey IQ than Brown and I accept your point that he has better skill then Brown as well. 

Brown and Orr have established themselves as 2 of the best fighters in their weightclass.  After Rinaldo turned down Brown, Tye McGinn (who has 7 fights this season) ponied up and Brown broke the kid's orbital bone with the last jackhammer Brown threw when Brown switched hands.

Last night again, end of the 3rd with the scramble around NYI's net Komarov couldn't even come close to connecting with the puck near the crease.  As OTH mentioned, Komarov has stone hands.  He seems to have great character though and loves to throw hits but I wonder if Ryan Hamilton at half the cap hit would be a better option?

 

[Corn Flake]

As OTH mentioned, Komarov has stone hands.  He seems to have great character though and loves to throw hits but I wonder if Ryan Hamilton at half the cap hit would be a better option?

With Hamilton you gain hands but you lose big time on speed and tenacity as far as using his size goes.  Hamilton is all about hustle, but is too slow to make it work at the NHL level.

I think players like Komarov are key to building a winning team.  You need role guys who forecheck like lunatics and get under the skin of opponents, not to mention who are defensively sound and kill penalties like he does.  All attributes you can't get from every player but have to have somewhere in the lineup. 

 

[bustaheims]

I think players like Komarov are key to building a winning team.  You need role guys who forecheck like lunatics and get under the skin of opponents, not to mention who are defensively sound and kill penalties like he does.  All attributes you can't get from every player but have to have somewhere in the lineup.

Yeah. Komarov is, as far as I'm concerned, the ideal 4th line winger. Speed, tenacity and physicality without taking a high number of costly penalties. In fact, he likely draws more penalties than he takes.

 

[Britishbulldog]

I think players like Komarov are key to building a winning team.  You need role guys who forecheck like lunatics and get under the skin of opponents, not to mention who are defensively sound and kill penalties like he does.  All attributes you can't get from every player but have to have somewhere in the lineup.

Yeah. Komarov is, as far as I'm concerned, the ideal 4th line winger. Speed, tenacity and physicality without taking a high number of costly penalties. In fact, he likely draws more penalties than he takes.

Those are good points guys.  Infact, as the Leafs make the playoffs this year and no trades are made I would see the forward lineup being:

JVR / Bozak / Kessel
Lupul / Grabovski / Kulemin
MacArthur / Kadri / Frattin
Komarov / McClement / Brown

No McLaren or Orr.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Are we not thinking of writing Komarov off a tad early? He's played 20 NHL games. Perhaps those stone hands come around?

Though, by looking at his stats in other leagues, I'm not entirely sure what we should of expected.

 

[Jalili]

If the Leafs were playing game 1 of a playoff series, the forward lines I'd be partial to would be

Lupul - Bozak - Kessel
JVR - Kadri - Frattin
MacArthur - Grabovski - Kulemin
Brown - McClement - Komarov

I've probably only seen half a dozen games so far though, so my opinion is a grain of salt or whatever.

 

[lc9]

Under no circumstances should Brown be in the lineup.  There is just no room for a guy who takes stupid penalty after stupid penalty and contributes nothing otherwise.

 

[lc9]

I would ice these lines when everyone returns....

Lupul Bozak Kessel
JVR Kadri Frattin
Kulemin Grabbo MacArthur
McClaren McClement Komarov

I like it.

 

[Britishbulldog]

Under no circumstances should Brown be in the lineup.  There is just no room for a guy who takes stupid penalty after stupid penalty and contributes nothing otherwise.

I really believe that Brown can reel it in.  His speed, defensive play and hard hitting would make him a better 4th liner than Orr or McLaren. 

Brown and Fraser could handle any rough stuff in the playoffs.

 

[leafplasma]

I would ice these lines when everyone returns....

Lupul Bozak Kessel
JVR Kadri Frattin
Kulemin Grabbo MacArthur
McClaren McClement Komarov

I like it.

Yep great looking lines.  Now what happens to Steckel, Orr and Brown.  With 7 dman, one of these 3 guys will need to be cut loose to get the roster to 23 men.  With RC's love affair with Orr, he likely slots into McClaren's spot and we see Steckel sent to the Marlies judging by how little he has been in the lineup.

Edit: I was forgetting that we have 8 D up currently so we must also cut a dman.  My guess is it is Holzer as he is waiver exempt.  Liles gets back in the lineup and Komi rots in the pressbox.  Not sure Holzer to the farm is best for the team though.

 

[Andy007]

I really think Bozak would excel at, and is more suited for the 3rd line. I'd love to see:

Lupul      Grabovski  Kessel
JVR        Kadri        Frattin
Kulemin  Bozak        Komarov
MacArthur  McLement  McLaren

 

[Redleaf]

MacArthur  McLement  McLaren

McENERGY line?

 

[Strangelove]

I really think Bozak would excel at, and is more suited for the 3rd line. I'd love to see:

Lupul      Grabovski  Kessel
JVR        Kadri        Frattin
Kulemin  Bozak        Komarov
MacArthur  McLement  McLaren

Problem with thatt first line is that it would be a complete disaster defensively.  And I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Mac's chemistry with Kadri.  Truly he has one of the best quick-releases on the team and is able to score points in limited minutes.

As far as I'm concerned Lupul has to earn top minutes, big contract or not.  He looked pretty terrible before he got injured.

 

[TML fan]

I actually think that line would be better defensively. They might actually spend some time in the offensive zone.

 

[Bullfrog]

I really think Bozak would excel at, and is more suited for the 3rd line. I'd love to see:

Lupul      Grabovski  Kessel
JVR        Kadri        Frattin
Kulemin  Bozak        Komarov
MacArthur  McLement  McLaren

Problem with thatt first line is that it would be a complete disaster defensively.  And I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Mac's chemistry with Kadri.  Truly he has one of the best quick-releases on the team and is able to score points in limited minutes.

As far as I'm concerned Lupul has to earn top minutes, big contract or not.  He looked pretty terrible before he got injured.

How would that line be terrible defensively by placing one of the best defensive forwards in the centre position? Grabovski is at least as good as Bozak defensively and is decent on face-offs too.

Lupul doesn't have to earn much in my opinion. it's his spot to lose, though I'd imagine he has some competition from the guy who's tied for 4th in league goal scoring.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

As far as I'm concerned Lupul has to earn top minutes, big contract or not.  He looked pretty terrible before he got injured.

I would say 2.5 games is a pretty short sample size to make a player earn back the position he excelled at the season before.

 

[Strangelove]

I really think Bozak would excel at, and is more suited for the 3rd line. I'd love to see:

Lupul      Grabovski  Kessel
JVR        Kadri        Frattin
Kulemin  Bozak        Komarov
MacArthur  McLement  McLaren

Problem with thatt first line is that it would be a complete disaster defensively.  And I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Mac's chemistry with Kadri.  Truly he has one of the best quick-releases on the team and is able to score points in limited minutes.

As far as I'm concerned Lupul has to earn top minutes, big contract or not.  He looked pretty terrible before he got injured.

How would that line be terrible defensively by placing one of the best defensive forwards in the centre position? Grabovski is at least as good as Bozak defensively and is decent on face-offs too.

Lupul doesn't have to earn much in my opinion. it's his spot to lose, though I'd imagine he has some competition from the guy who's tied for 4th in league goal scoring.

Hence, in my opinion, why he shouldn't have the spot handed back to him, and should have to earn it.  Of course he's proved he can score, but now is not the time to let a guy who is out of game shape figure things out in first line minutes.

As for Grabovski, I guess I just don't see it.  To me he's frequently out of position and/or weak on the guy he's supposed to be covering in his own end, which can lead to a lot of scrambly-type play.  The fact that he played defensive minutes with limited success isn't enough to convince me that he's a particularly good two-way forward.

In the end, I worry that Grabo/Kessel/Lupul would be so weak on the puck that their offensive capabilities would be held in check.  Though I guess the present first line is having similar issues.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

The fact that he played defensive minutes with limited success isn't enough to convince me that he's a particularly good two-way forward.

By which measure has he played defensive minutes with limited success?

 

[Strangelove]

The fact that he played defensive minutes with limited success isn't enough to convince me that he's a particularly good two-way forward.

By which measure has he played defensive minutes with limited success?

I don't really know what answer you're looking for here.  I just don't think, having watched just about every game, that he has shown any particular defensive prowess overall.  He's been good the past few games, though.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

The fact that he played defensive minutes with limited success isn't enough to convince me that he's a particularly good two-way forward.

By which measure has he played defensive minutes with limited success?

I don't really know what answer you're looking for here.  I just don't think, having watched just about every game, that he has shown any particular defensive prowess overall.  He's been good the past few games, though.

That's what I was wondering - if it was just your opinion or if there was something objective you were looking at that told you he wasn't particularly successful defensively.