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Leaf Rumours

MindzEye said:
Taking a "Bozak" over a "Ribeiro" is not just full potato. It is many potatoes.
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As Bozak scores 15 mins later.

Im just saying that i would take a guy that plays both ends and produces 50ish points over a guy that is a pansy but produces 70 points.

ideally neither would be my teams 1st line center.
 
I want to see how Clarkson plays when he gets Bolland back as his center. They looked decent the few games they played together.
 
Yeah that's kinda my last hope for Clarkson this season ...getting Bolland back should help him. McClement is a very limited player.

That said, if we're hoping our prized off-season signing can get going in a 3rd line role with Bolland ... that itself is pretty sad.
 
I don't believe this is what we'll see from Clarkson for the next 7 years.

He can play. But Carlyle has him as a checker with two guys who haven't been lighting it up lately.

I still would like a Lupul-Kadri-Clarkson line to be given a long leash to see what they can do.
 
Not sure where to put this but...

Hockey Central ‏@SNHockeyCentral 3m
Lieweke on Leafs: "The issue is not the coach. This issue is, October was not a fluke." Must get back to playing that way.

Hockey Central ‏@SNHockeyCentral 3m
Lieweke: Leafs have bad track record of knee-jerk, band-aid solutions. "We won't do that anymore."

Hockey Central ‏@SNHockeyCentral 7m
Lieweke: "Cast no doubt on where I lay my loyalty, and that's to Dave (Nonis)." #TMLtalk
 
That is a good quote,

however, the one thing about October was that we were a team that used speed and an amazing counter punch/rush offense.

it's like we started listening to all the Corsi talk and started to try to focus on limiting shots, and limiting shots, instead of coming back playing D and then blazing up the ice.
 
Carlyle et al... He started mentioning what the media kept talking about it.. Even Nonis had to have that presser regarding possession numbers... it was near that time we started to focus on that instead of playing our speed game
 
Nah, I think what happened was more of a structural decision by our opposition. Our break out is so stretched that opposition coaches started forechecking like mad to short circuit it. You show me another team in the league that even passive forecheck teams like the Devils get 3 man deep against on the forecheck. It's almost un****ing heard of.

As soon as we figure out a way to actually start stretching the opposition defence and attacking with speed, creating defensive half board turnovers and using those to push odd man rushes and speed through the neutral zone, we'll get back to pumping teams with our speed. The problem right now is that when we exit the zone it's usually with a 100 foot pass that just gets tipped deep (which leads to a clean break out coming the other way, because our puck retrieval is poor), or a long pass to a lone ranger rush against a structured defence, usually with an active backcheck. With the amount of speed and puck skills we have, our breakout should be in moderate triangles moving in units together (which I saw a few times last night...and **** me, they work) and our game into the offensive zone should be to carry it whenever possible, to chip and chase (with the guy doing the chipping being the primary man on the forecheck) when opposition defences are able to successfully hold the blueline.
 
The board play is huge as you mention... if we get to it first, and get it either chipped out or better yet tipped to the rushing D after it comes off the board, we cause problems for their D.

Our board play has been horrid by our wingers.
 
October was not a fluke? We were getting badly outplayed and outshot most games that month, only two differences between now and then was our goalies stood on their heads and the PK was a bit better then it is now.
 
Hoss said:
The board play is huge as you mention... if we get to it first, and get it either chipped out or better yet tipped to the rushing D after it comes off the board, we cause problems for their D.

Our board play has been horrid by our wingers.
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Look at our wingers though- JVR is a cherry picker, Kessel is allergic to the corners, Lupul tries I'll give him that, Raymond is a permieter player. Clarkson tries but could be better given his rep, Kulemin is solid along the wall though easily our only winger willing to muck it up on a consistent play.
 
Pronger84 said:
Look at our wingers though- JVR is a cherry picker, Kessel is allergic to the corners, Lupul tries I'll give him that, Raymond is a permieter player. Clarkson tries but could be better given his rep, Kulemin is solid along the wall though easily our only winger willing to muck it up on a consistent play.
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D'Amigo is alright too but in the limited 4th line role.
 
I don't think NHL coaches need forever to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. It's not like our opponent just figured out our weakness along the board and in the corner starting this November. We had very much the same strengths and weaknesses last season, and we were not outshot like we are this season, so I don't buy that excuse at all.

Gleason said in an interview as a member of the Canes last season, there were 2 teams they really didn't look forward to playing last season - the Leafs, and the Bruins. He said it was no surprise to him the 2 teams went 7 games in the first round, because the combination of physicality, speed, scoring, tire-less forecheck, work ethics .... somehow all those are gone this year. We are not physical. We don't forecheck as hard as we did. We were very much a counter-attack team in the beginning of the year even when we're winning, and since November we have been badly outshot and outscored the odd nights out goalies don't stand on their heads.
 
Feyd said:
D'Amigo is alright too but in the limited 4th line role.
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Shit forgot about him, yea hes a decent guy who gos all out as well. The problem with this team if you want to play a crash/bang game then your top 6 wingers need to be doing just that because their lines are out there most of the game, I'd gladly trade a guy like a JVR or a Raymond or even a Lupul and replace them with mean tough sob players who are solid offensively and defensively.
 
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