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Leaf Rumours

People make a bigger deal out of it than it is.

Gardiner sat for 2 weeks around the same time his rookie year and then was stellar the rest of the way when he got back in. Kaberle played 57 games his rookie year. 19 year old rookie dmen are going to sit at times. He'll get back in the lineup and play a lot this year.
 
leafman101 said:
People make a bigger deal out of it than it is.

Gardiner sat for 2 weeks around the same time his rookie year and then was stellar the rest of the way when he got back in. Kaberle played 57 games his rookie year. 19 year old rookie dmen are going to sit at times. He'll get back in the lineup and play a lot this year.
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People are upset because they feel Rielly can help us more. If we were playing well and you couldn't make a case to take anyone out, then by all means sit the kid.
 
Rielly can help us. But he was also on the ice for every ES goal scored against the Leafs the last two games he played. He's going to have his struggles, and he's going to sit. But he'll get back in again. He always has. No reason to think he won't.
 
leafman101 said:
Rielly can help us. But he was also on the ice for every ES goal scored against the Leafs the last two games he played.
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My issue isn't that Rielly sees the press box from time to time for his mistakes. It's that others seem to make just as many, bring fewer positives and seem immune.

He's going to have his struggles, and he's going to sit. But he'll get back in again. He always has. No reason to think he won't.
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Yeah, I get that.
 
Yeah, don't get me wrong I'm not saying Mark Fraser is awesome and needs to play or anything like that.

It just seems crazy to me that every time Rielly sits for a game it becomes this thing, and then people talk about the WJC and sending him back to junior. On the radio this morning they were talking about how great he'd look in Kelowna.

Its just a huge overreaction to a pretty routine handling of a teenage dman.
 
leafman101 said:
Yeah, don't get me wrong I'm not saying Mark Fraser is awesome and needs to play or anything like that.

It just seems crazy to me that every time Rielly sits for a game it becomes this thing, and then people talk about the WJC and sending him back to junior. On the radio this morning they were talking about how great he'd look in Kelowna.

Its just a huge overreaction to a pretty routine handling of a teenage dman.
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Oh crap, this whole time I thought you were talking about the reaction HERE.

I'm with you, they should STFU about the WJC and Kelowna. But he should be getting into some games here more - he doesn't need to play every game but when the blueline is playing like it is, there's no reason to be in the press box every night.
 
worm said:
nah

if he isnt going to play in the NHL let him play at the WJHC
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Listen, I love watching the World Junior tournament, but it's become ridiculously overrated as a development tool. Morgan Rielly is an NHL-calibre player. Practicing with NHL players and NHL coaches, and playing NHL games in December (because he's not going to sit out the whole month) is going to be a lot more valuable to him than sending him back to play against a bunch of teenagers again when he's already dominated at that level.

I also don't see how it's in the best interests of this hockey club to choose to make a guy who at times has played like a top-4 defenseman unavailable to us for the rest of the month. Especially with the way our players have been dropping like flies to injuries and suspensions.
 
WJC is great hockey, but most teams don't release the player once they've made the NHL - especially top 5 picks.
 
LeafGm said:
Listen, I love watching the World Junior tournament, but it's become ridiculously overrated as a development tool. Morgan Rielly is an NHL-calibre player. Practicing with NHL players and NHL coaches, and playing NHL games in December (because he's not going to sit out the whole month) is going to be a lot more valuable to him than sending him back to play against a bunch of teenagers again when he's already dominated at that level.

I also don't see how it's in the best interests of this hockey club to choose to make a guy who at times has played like a top-4 defenseman unavailable to us for the rest of the month. Especially with the way our players have been dropping like flies to injuries and suspensions.
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oh....i care zero about riellys development
haha...just want canada to win :p
 
BG said:
WJC is great hockey, but most teams don't release the player once they've made the NHL - especially top 5 picks.
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it is rare unless the player is really struggling (Grigs in BUF)...more as a confidence booster

or lockout ((bergeron, hopkins)
 
I'm just going to post a bold prediction rumour. If Ottawa keeps faultering and are out of it by the deadline, I could see Nonis making a play for Spezza and he will give them Kadri.

Kadri has all the talent, but he is showing that he can't play that number one spot yet. I know there is time and such, but.....

Murray may want to shed Spezza's salary and could still have that hardon for Kadri. Even building around him for less money.

It was just a thought, but I can't see Nonis wanting to go into the playoffs with Bozak, Kadri and Bolland.

Spezza is one of the top 5 setup centres in the league still and would allow for Kessel and JVR to maintain consistency. Spezza, Bozak, Bolland/Holland and McClement would be a vast improvement.
 
I think its pretty clear that we aren't winning the cup this year so I wouldn't be in a rush to trade away our top young players for vets.

Gotta be patient.
 
Yep. Though you always hope it is, growth usually isn't a strictly linear process. Some ups, some downs. At this point, with the injuries and generally poor level of play the last 6 weeks, I'll be happy with a 2nd straight playoff appearance. I do think this core is capable of more than that, but we're just not getting the secondary performances that we need from the guys like Kulemin, Clarkson, Ranger, Franson, etc to make up for the loss of Bozak/Bolland and the general inconsistency of Kadri/Gardiner/Rielly. That was the team's great strength going into the season, it had a tremendous amount of depth to supplement the handful of elite players we have. A bunch of that depth simply hasn't performed or been injured over the last 6 weeks. A strong 2nd half and a playoff appearance will show that they can handle adversity.
 
the leafs need a centre who can bull his way around the ice. last night vermette and hanzal were easily able to skate the puck from the blueline to behind the net to establish the cycle. the leafs don't really have anybody who can do it.
 
Did JohnnyHolmes hijack your account Hoss?

Trading Kadri for Spezza would be an unbelievably stupid move. If Ottawa does throw in the towel on re-signing him before he hits UFA after next season and decides to move him, no team in the league will give them a young, quality NHL player like Kadri in return for him. He'll get the same package as every other player in his position: a good prospect, a b-prospect/depth NHLer and a 1st round draft pick.
 
mbow30 said:
the leafs need a centre who can bull his way around the ice. last night vermette and hanzal were easily able to skate the puck from the blueline to behind the net to establish the cycle. the leafs don't really have anybody who can do it.
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Agreed. I expect Gauthier to develop into that type of Martin Hanzal centreman at some point, but yeah it's needed. That's part of what bothered me so much about the Bozak extension. Dude is a passable centre, but in the top 6 Kadri is clearly the more desirable of the two, and we need a little bit of size at the centre spot if we're going to tangle with the big boys through multiple playoff rounds.
 
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