Toronto Maple Leafs 2013

[DunkinDerozan]

Figured I'd get the 2013 thread going. What is everyone's expectations for this season? I honestly have no clue what to expect. We've shown with this lineup (for the most part) that we can be a playoff team, but we can also be a bottom feeder. Hard to say. I'm hoping Carlyle turns the ship around.

[Phightins]

Brian Burke fired, but staying in the organization.

[Check my Stats]

So ignorant.

[DunkinDerozan]

I was absolutely stunned when I heard the news. Pure shock. Although many disagreed with me, I loved Brian Burke. The only reason I'm ok with this is I think Dave Nonis is just as good, if not better of a GM. Huge news though. Although we never won much with Burke at the helm, I still much enjoyed him.

[Built Ford Tough]

Lombardi dealt to the Yotes for a 4th round pick (3rd if he re-signs with Phoenix).

 

I like the move as it opens up a roster spot for one of the younger players like Kadri and it won't have to be Kadri or Frattin like it likely would've been prior to this trade.

[DunkinDerozan]

Great move! I'm happy with a 4th rounder for him, and I won't be surprised if he signs in Phoenix since he played there before so we will hopefully get a 3rd.

[Check my Stats]

Connolly on waivers. Pretty surprised honestly. I think he was really misused last year, was solid in the first 30 games (when we were winning). Then got hurt, struggled, and got put in 3rd/4th line roles. Oh well, just ensures Kadri (YESSSSSSSSS) is 99% going to have a spot on this team.

[DunkinDerozan]

I'm so happy Kadris is going to get his shot. The kid deserves it. He's got just as much offensive abilities as just about anyone on this team besides Kessel IMO. I've loved him since he was drafted, and have gotten to meet him in person. Can't wait to see him next year. I'm assuming he'll be in the top 6, but I'm curious where he'll play. First line of Lupul-Bozak-Kessel will probably stick. Second line LW/RW might be his spot along side Grabovski and JVR? We'll see.

[DunkinDerozan]

Leafs lines today at practice:

 

Lupul-Bozak-Kessel

Macarthur-Grabovski-Kulemin

JVR-Kadri-Komarov

Brown-McClement-Orr

 

Kostka-Phaneuf

Komisarek-Gunnarson

Franson-Liles

 

Not a fan of Komisarek on the second pairing. Maybe he's improved? I like the sounds of the JVR-Kadri-Komarov line though.

Edited January 18, 2013 by DunkinDerozan

[DunkinDerozan]

Great way to start the season!

 

We controlled the first 2 and a half periods, but started to lose it with about 12 minutes left in the third. Luckily we were able to keep the lead and get the first W. Kadri played really well and got his first goal of the season which is awesome. Kessel was solid too and got two assists. Kostka had an assist in his first career NHL game and he played a ton of minutes. I was dissapointed with how Grabo and Kulemin played considering they were playing games in Russia during the lockout. Kulemin failing to dump the puck when he easily could have on the PK cost us our only goal against. Grabo really just didn't do anything offensively. The defense was the biggest difference I noticed from last season. They were solid for most of the night, making it very hard for the Habs to get a good scoring chance, especially on the break. Surprisingly, even Komisarek looked good. I hope that keeps up.

[Built Ford Tough]

Lupul signed to a 5 year extension this morning. I haven't read anything that confirms exactly what the money looks like, but Dreger said something about a front loaded contract that averages out to a $5.25M cap hit over the length of the deal.

 

I'm not sure what to think about this. If Lupul can duplicate his production from last year prior to his injury, I like the deal. Him and Kessel work well together and his big body and board work compliments Kessel's game really well. However, Lupul hasn't exactly been the model of consistency throughout his career. There have been plenty of times where he would follow up a good season with a mediocore one. Yeah, a lot of that has to due with injury problems, but still, it is a valid concern.

[DunkinDerozan]

I think we overpaid him. I think we shouldn't expect more then 50 points from him per season on average, and I think 5 million+ per year is too much. Reminds me a lot of the type of deals we always seem to sign that end up being awful. Hopefully Lupul proves me wrong.

[Phightins]

Lupul signed to a 5 year extension this morning. I haven't read anything that confirms exactly what the money looks like, but Dreger said something about a front loaded contract that averages out to a $5.25M cap hit over the length of the deal.

 

I'm not sure what to think about this. If Lupul can duplicate his production from last year prior to his injury, I like the deal. Him and Kessel work well together and his big body and board work compliments Kessel's game really well. However, Lupul hasn't exactly been the model of consistency throughout his career. There have been plenty of times where he would follow up a good season with a mediocore one. Yeah, a lot of that has to due with injury problems, but still, it is a valid concern.

 

 

Yep, I unfortunately know this all too well. Hopefully it works out for you, but 5 years seems a bit high.

[Built Ford Tough]

So it looks like the Leafs holding a 2-0 lead is the equivalent of the Raptors holding a double digit lead in a game. It is a guaranteed comeback for the opposing team.

 

Although, to be fair, even in the first period Toronto got thoroughly outplayed by the Rangers and the 2-0 score heading into the intermission was not indictive of who the better team was. I was fully expecting the Rangers to come back.

[DunkinDerozan]

Ya I was a lot more pissed off at the Islanders game. I went into the Rangers game expecting to lose.

 

On another note, I think Kostka is getting way too over-rated. Don't get me wrong, he's a good defenseman and should be in the NHL. I just haven't seen anything from him that warrants him being on the top pairing getting so many minutes. He turns over the puck a lot and has a pretty god awful slapshot. Plus he makes a lot of mistakes in his own end. I think he should be on the 2nd or 3rd pairing.

[Built Ford Tough]

I wasn't upset about the Islander game since I'm 100% committed to Tank Nation this year. Sneaking into the playoffs this year would be awful. They really need to get one of those top 5 centres this year. Obviously MacKinnion would be ideal, but I'd be fine with Barkov, Monahan, Linholm or Drouin (if you think he can play the middle in the NHL). Seth Jones would be nice as well, assuming you are in a position to draft him.

It was why I was completely content for the lockout to wipe out the whole season because it would've put the Leafs as one of the few teams with the highest chance of winning the lottery.

[DunkinDerozan]

I love Barkov, I'd be thrilled to get him. I really like Drouin too but don't see him playing centre in the NHL. I don't see us being in a position to draft either of them anyways though. I'm guessing we're going to have a pick in the 10-14 range unfortuenately.

[Check my Stats]

[expletive] tanking we're signing Getzy and Perry this year.

[Built Ford Tough]

I love Barkov, I'd be thrilled to get him. I really like Drouin too but don't see him playing centre in the NHL. I don't see us being in a position to draft either of them anyways though. I'm guessing we're going to have a pick in the 10-14 range unfortuenately.

 

They said the same thing about Claude Giroux playing the middle in the NHL and he has adjusted just fine.

 

As for your projection for where they'll finish, what makes you think that? They were the 5th worst team in the league last year and are returning pretty much the same team. They still have shaky as can be goaltending, their defense is inconsistent at best and Lupul is out for most of the season.

 

On top of that, they aren't running Wilson's gimmicky run and gun system so I imagine the offensive output is going to go down as well. Of course, the goals against will likely decrease as well, but I don't see too many games this year where they'll be able to simply outscore their problems like they did last year.

 

I don't think they finish bottom 3 or end up in a position to draft MacKinnion or Jones, but I really don't see them fighting for a playoff spot either.

[DunkinDerozan]

They said the same thing about Claude Giroux playing the middle in the NHL and he has adjusted just fine.

 

As for your projection for where they'll finish, what makes you think that? They were the 5th worst team in the league last year and are returning pretty much the same team. They still have shaky as can be goaltending, their defense is inconsistent at best and Lupul is out for most of the season.

 

On top of that, they aren't running Wilson's gimmicky run and gun system so I imagine the offensive output is going to go down as well. Of course, the goals against will likely decrease as well, but I don't see too many games this year where they'll be able to simply outscore their problems like they did last year.

 

I don't think they finish bottom 3 or end up in a position to draft MacKinnion or Jones, but I really don't see them fighting for a playoff spot either.

 

You have to remember that for more then half the season last year this team was a playoff team or atleast border line playoff team. It was one huge slump that was the reason for why we finished so low. I think there are a lot of little factors that will change that from last year.

 

For one, although its only been a couple games, Reimer seems to be back on his game, which he didn't have after coming back from injury last season. That can deffinetly be big as far as winning more. Plus, I think you are underestimating the difference between Wilson and Carlyle.  Wilson was all out offense where as Carlyle is offense through defense.  Plus he won't allow a collapse like we had last season where Wilson just completely lost the room. Not to mention the new top 9, bottom 3 set up which I think is much more effective.

 

Theres lots of reasons why I don't see us being as bad as we were last season.

[Built Ford Tough]

Why does the first half count more than the second half collapse? You can easily make the argument that it was one scorching hot sreak where they were outscoring their problems to start the season that resulted in the Leafs not finishing even worse than they did. Personally, I think the 2nd half was much more reflective of the Leafs than the first half was considering past years results with a similar core in place.

 

As far as Carlyle not allowing any sort of collapse, well, we've seen two complete meltdowns in a row already and the Leafs have only played 5 games. He didn't exactly set the world on fire after taking over for Wilson last year either. He has coached 23 games for the Leafs and extrapolated over an 82 game season, he is on pace for a remarkably mediocore 67.7 points, so rounded up to 68. Over the last 4 years, that point total would find the Leafs with the 2nd worst record every year.

 

I agree that he is a better coach than Wilson, but Wilson's system may actually be better for a crappy team because it featured a so much more wide open game. In a way, it similar to NBA teams that just look to run, run and run to mask their overall inefficiency and lack of talent.

 

I just don't see it. This team still has so many huge problems that I just don't see how they are going to go from a bottom 5 finish to a borderline playoff team. Their defense still sucks, their goaltending still sucks and their offense is going to be wildly inconsistent as it is dependent on streaky players like Kessel and Grabovski as well as inexperienced youngsters like Kadri and JVR. They'll probably improve a bit, but not to the degree you seem to anticipate.

[Check my Stats]

I know Reimer's stats aren't gaudy but he has looked decent IMO.

[DunkinDerozan]

I know Reimer's stats aren't gaudy but he has looked decent IMO.

Agreed. He's allowed a few softies here and there but for the most part he's been solid.

 

Why does the first half count more than the second half collapse? You can easily make the argument that it was one scorching hot sreak where they were outscoring their problems to start the season that resulted in the Leafs not finishing even worse than they did. Personally, I think the 2nd half was much more reflective of the Leafs than the first half was considering past years results with a similar core in place.

 

As far as Carlyle not allowing any sort of collapse, well, we've seen two complete meltdowns in a row already and the Leafs have only played 5 games. He didn't exactly set the world on fire after taking over for Wilson last year either. He has coached 23 games for the Leafs and extrapolated over an 82 game season, he is on pace for a remarkably mediocore 67.7 points, so rounded up to 68. Over the last 4 years, that point total would find the Leafs with the 2nd worst record every year.

 

I agree that he is a better coach than Wilson, but Wilson's system may actually be better for a crappy team because it featured a so much more wide open game. In a way, it similar to NBA teams that just look to run, run and run to mask their overall inefficiency and lack of talent.

 

I just don't see it. This team still has so many huge problems that I just don't see how they are going to go from a bottom 5 finish to a borderline playoff team. Their defense still sucks, their goaltending still sucks and their offense is going to be wildly inconsistent as it is dependent on streaky players like Kessel and Grabovski as well as inexperienced youngsters like Kadri and JVR. They'll probably improve a bit, but not to the degree you seem to anticipate.

I guess all I have to say to that is that from what I've seen from the team this season they don't look like a bottom 5 team. We have played well in the majority of our games, and that's with our best offensive player playing like crap. Assuming Reimer can atleast be solid and we don't have any serious injuries, I still think we'll be picking around 10-12 in the draft and be around 10 or 11 in the conference.

[DunkinDerozan]

25% into the season, currently sitting at 7-5 and 5th place in the Eastern Conference. Not bad.

[EastCoastNiner]

Goons gunna goon.