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2018 NHL Draft Thread

he was 3rd in ice time for Dmen

I made this same mistake a few weeks ago in a conversation here.. Not 5 on 5 he wasn't. 5 on 5 he was a 3rd pairing defender who got butter soft usage (and performed pretty meh in said butter soft usage when he should have dominated given his reputation).

Matchup pair: Morrissey-Trouba
2nd pair: Enstrom-Buff
3rd pair: Kulikov-Myers
 
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he was 3rd in ice time for Dmen

when all healthy in the playoffs he played on their 3rd pair, behind Morrissey-Trouba and Enstrom-Buff.

but I am also happy to dive into more advanced numbers to show he is poopy.
 
I think Gardiner may be traded on the draft floor. And I would be very okay with that. I don't think he's worth Detroit's pick, but who knows, Holland may be desperate for help now.

I also heard that Green is likely to resign in Detroit, FWIW.
If Lou was still in charge I believe it but I really dont know what to expect with Dubas



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when all healthy in the playoffs he played on their 3rd pair, behind Morrissey-Trouba and Enstrom-Buff.

but I am also happy to dive into more advanced numbers to show he is poopy.

no need i dont think he is very good

but he was third on the team in Dman ice time (overall)
 
Now is the time to sell high on Gardiner. 50 point year, still has a season left on his deal.

I'm not convinced that

1) We can't get an undervalued replacement for him in a Gardiner trade
2) Dermott isn't a reasonable enough facsimile that we'd barely notice
 
Agree with your dermott comment.
I would take another dman with half the points if he would only have a small percentage of his (gardiners) giveaways.
I too like the gudas idea. And i believe we could get a really good draft pick for gardiner.
Finally, it is never a bad choice to have alot of good draft choices..... even if you are a contender, which i dont think the leafs are yet.
 
the only thing about the Leafs that isn't contending is their defence corps. They have enough scoring and you don't need an elite tender to win a Cup, although obviously it helps.
 
the only thing about the Leafs that isn't contending is their defence corps. They have enough scoring and you don't need an elite tender to win a Cup, although obviously it helps.

I'll believe that Freddy can get us there when I see it. I rate him as a bigger limiting factor that the blueline easily. Call me when Freddy doesn't suck shit in a series for us. Holtby throwing up a .921 this year, Fleury a .939. Matt Murray putting up .920-.930+ for the 2 Penguins cup runs, Martin Jones put up a .923 when the Sharks ran to the finals. Rinne a .930 when the Preds made the finals last year.

.896 isn't going to get it done regardless of what we put out there in front of him.
 
I'll believe that Freddy can get us there when I see it. I rate him as a bigger limiting factor that the blueline easily. Call me when Freddy doesn't suck shit in a series for us. Holtby throwing up a .921 this year, Fleury a .939. Matt Murray putting up .920-.930+ for the 2 Penguins cup runs, Martin Jones put up a .923 when the Sharks ran to the finals. Rinne a .930 when the Preds made the finals last year.

.896 isn't going to get it done regardless of what we put out there in front of him.

Really? I'm no Freddy fan but I don't think it's even close. I prefer to look at larger samples and by and large the sucking chest wound that is the right side of our D is by far the bigger issue.
 
Really? I'm no Freddy fan but I don't think it's even close. I prefer to look at larger samples and by and large the sucking chest wound that is the right side of our D is by far the bigger issue.

Our right side is a lot easier to fix than Freddy is imo. Rookie Zaitsev, an upgrade on Polak (not hard), and not playing Hainsey against top competition every minute of his season is already a pretty significant improvement. Schmidt-Engelland-Miller is the right side currently tied in the finals. Hainsey-Schultz-Daley the right side of the Stanley Cup champions last season. Building something significantly better than either isn't much of a chore imo.

Our right side can easily change pretty drastically over the next 12 months with Polak likely gone now, and Hainsey gone after next season. We're not remotely locked in to it and we have the assets to make additions there. We're just not going to get the stud most of the hockey world wrongfully thinks that we need.
 
The biggest problem with the D this year wasn't Gardiner though. Its that half the D cant play with the puck (Hainsey, Polak, Zaitsev) and constantly turn it over keeping the play in their own end. Moving Gardiner only exacerbates that.

The real interesting question about Dubas and the D is what does he do about guys like Hainsey, Zaitsev and Polak.
 
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And about Vegas' D, the takeaway for me is about who they use as their top shut down pair. McNabb and Schmidt were never anything before this year. The didn't play big minute, shut down roles. They weren't gritty vet dmen. But they were both possession driving dmen, with elite shot generation analytics against lesser competition.

That is the new NHL shut down dman you need, not guys like Hainsey and Hjalmarsson. It is more important to have dmen that are forced to defend less, rather than dmen who are better defenders.
 
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Agreed 100%. Let's be honest, majority of our core stunk and that's why they lost to BOston. I would argue Washington is, on paper, weaker now than they have been in years. But does it matter? Their core players are stepping-up in the playoffs unlike past years. Kuz has been complete shit in the playoffs and now he's playing like a star.
 
@scottcwheeler
Jack Drury on his interview with the Leafs: “Their new GM was on point. I liked going back and forth with him. He was one of the smarter men I met this week.”

Not the first player to make that point today.

Good.
 
Freddy is an average player that played poorly in the series, but is a proven .918 goalie. also, we didn't lose to the Bruins because of goaltending.

the right side of our defence is comfortably below average, period.
 
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