yave1964 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 The Leafs have simply got to be the softest team I have seen in years. In an era in which fighting and hitting are at an all time low, the Leafs are taking it extreme. The Leafs have a grand total of two (Two!!!) fights all season, one by Holl and one by Dermott, none since md December. They also have the least amount of total penalty minutes in the game which means no roughing, no hitting. And this. They are 30th in penalties drawn which means that in spite of enormous skill up front they dont do the dirty work necessary to draw penalties from other teams. With the Wings being unwatchable I have watched the Leafs quite a bit this season they never fail to amaze me with their lack of oomph that they bring on a nightly basis. Last night in a game against the Panthers, a team in which they will almost certainly be battling it out with all season for a playoff spot the Panthers hit star goaltender Frederik Andersen was knocked out with, depending upon who you believe either a potential concussion or a neck injury. Vatrano bowled him over with a minute and a half to go in the first, previous to that Andersen was jostled by the Panthers at least two other times in the period. He did not return for the second, Michael "the arson squad" Hutchinson came in and gave up the badly needed two points as he coughed the game away. You would figure the team would come out with some fight in them and blood in their eye after seeing the teams most important player knoecked out of the game. Nope. Oh they scored a few, in fact they took a 3-1 lead in the third before almost literally being knocked off of every puck and outmuscled and outhustled, the Panthers putting up a 4 spot to win 5-3. The only penalty being a very bad hook by Marner which led to the tying goal on the power play. Babcock was not the problem. This team has no heart and no guts. Tavares was often criticized in New York for his passive play, he is at fault as are the rest of these guys. Way too much talent not enough desire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) @yave1964 He's not a perfect player, but the Leafs are missing Nazem Kadri in a big way, imo. Because of their fun on free agent day, they had to deal a good depth who's a very good faceoff man, whose Give a Sh|t/60 is off the chart, and was signed to a very team-friendly contract. Speaking purely from an Oilers perspective, when the Leafs threw him over the boards at Connor McDavid, he made 97's life miserable for the entirety of the game, and that has been noticeably lacking from the Leafs. There's no place for goons in today's game, but SOMEbody has to take the body, and SOMEbody has to be difficult to play against. There's not much of that left in TO. Edited February 4, 2020 by JR Ewing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: The Leafs have simply got to be the softest team I have seen in years. In an era in which fighting and hitting are at an all time low, the Leafs are taking it extreme. This is why I find them so dull to watch at times, despite all the goal scoring. When they're not scoring goals, they're not doing anything else. 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: The Leafs have a grand total of two (Two!!!) fights all season, one by Holl and one by Dermott, none since md December. They also have the least amount of total penalty minutes in the game which means no roughing, no hitting. The league may have a Hart trophy but the Stanley Cup is the Heart trophy. 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: And this. They are 30th in penalties drawn which means that in spite of enormous skill up front they dont do the dirty work necessary to draw penalties from other teams. With the Wings being unwatchable I have watched the Leafs quite a bit this season they never fail to amaze me with their lack of oomph that they bring on a nightly basis. Yeah it's either the league conspiring to keep the Leafs down or what you said. 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: Last night in a game against the Panthers, a team in which they will almost certainly be battling it out with all season for a playoff spot the Panthers hit star goaltender Frederik Andersen was knocked out with, depending upon who you believe either a potential concussion or a neck injury. Vatrano bowled him over with a minute and a half to go in the first, previous to that Andersen was jostled by the Panthers at least two other times in the period. He did not return for the second, Michael "the arson squad" Hutchinson came in and gave up the badly needed two points as he coughed the game away. You would figure the team would come out with some fight in them and blood in their eye after seeing the teams most important player knoecked out of the game. Even my patience has run out with Hutchison. Andersen hasn't been great this season but now he has the added pressure of knowing he has no support. 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: Nope. Oh they scored a few, in fact they took a 3-1 lead in the third before almost literally being knocked off of every puck and outmuscled and outhustled, the Panthers putting up a 4 spot to win 5-3. The only penalty being a very bad hook by Marner which led to the tying goal on the power play. Which is why this team is dreaming if they think they can defeat Boston. Come playoff time (if they get there) they don't have what it takes to grind out wins and battle another team physically. 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: Babcock was not the problem. This team has no heart and no guts. Tavares was often criticized in New York for his passive play, he is at fault as are the rest of these guys. Way too much talent not enough desire. Islanders improved immediately after trading away Tavares. If you believe the GA/60 stat, Tavares is the Leafs worst defensive player. He's on the ice for an average of 4 goals against per 60 minutes of play. That's hard to believe in today's NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 2 hours ago, JR Ewing said: There's no place for goons in today's game, but SOMEbody has to take the body, and SOMEbody has to be difficult to play against. There's not much of that left in TO. There is nobody on the Leafs roster that is difficult to play against besides Frederick Andersen. None of the defencemen are physical or imposing. None of the forwards throw their weight around or really care that much about defending. I think most teams would love to face Toronto in the first round because after beating the Leafs they'll be healthy/injury free for round two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddy the 13th Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Freddy is the man. Toronto likes to blame to coach and goalies. I think Toronto can win a Stanley cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 57 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said: This is why I find them so dull to watch at times, despite all the goal scoring. When they're not scoring goals, they're not doing anything else. The league may have a Hart trophy but the Stanley Cup is the Heart trophy. Yeah it's either the league conspiring to keep the Leafs down or what you said. Even my patience has run out with Hutchison. Andersen hasn't been great this season but now he has the added pressure of knowing he has no support. Which is why this team is dreaming if they think they can defeat Boston. Come playoff time (if they get there) they don't have what it takes to grind out wins and battle another team physically. Islanders improved immediately after trading away Tavares. If you believe the GA/60 stat, Tavares is the Leafs worst defensive player. He's on the ice for an average of 4 goals against per 60 minutes of play. That's hard to believe in today's NHL. The isles also added the Stanley cup winning defensive coach. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 3 hours ago, JR Ewing said: @yave1964 He's not a perfect player, but the Leafs are missing Nazem Kadri in a big way, imo. Because of their fun on free agent day, they had to deal a good depth who's a very good faceoff man, whose Give a Sh|t/60 is off the chart, and was signed to a very team-friendly contract. Speaking purely from an Oilers perspective, when the Leafs threw him over the boards at Connor McDavid, he made 97's life miserable for the entirety of the game, and that has been noticeably lacking from the Leafs. There's no place for goons in today's game, but SOMEbody has to take the body, and SOMEbody has to be difficult to play against. There's not much of that left in TO. That's my favorite line of the week FYI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 1 hour ago, J0e Th0rnton said: That's my favorite line of the week FYI Not to be confused with Had to Sh|t/60, such as the time when I had my sister-in-law's "homemade" Hamburger Helper. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 3 hours ago, Freddy the 13th said: Freddy is the man. Toronto likes to blame to coach and goalies. I think Toronto can win a Stanley cup. I appreciate the optimism, but I think they need to make some changes before that can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 5 hours ago, Freddy the 13th said: Freddy is the man. Toronto likes to blame to coach and goalies. I think Toronto can win a Stanley cup. Welcome. 1-9-6-7!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddy the 13th Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 1 hour ago, WordsOfWisdom said: I appreciate the optimism, but I think they need to make some changes before that can happen. I will admit I don’t know the Leafs team inside and out, I just watch about 15 of their games per season. Unfortunately, I am a Ducks fan and we suck this year. But when we picked Gibson over Freddy I was so mad. I always liked Toronto but that trade made me a bigger fan of the Leafs! He is my favorite goalie, in Anaheim we would joke he was the Danish Canelo, always so calm and stoic in net. He can stick handle the puck and shoot as good as I’ve seen. As for the Leafs, I agree with others they need to be more physical imposing. I watched Jake Muzzin play in LA his entire career (cause I get their games locally) and when jake was traded I totally disagreed with the headlines saying “Toronto beefs up” etc etc. Jake is a great D man but I used to watch him shy away from the fights and physical play. Maybe the criticism is unfair but he’s a big dude and can play a lot heavier if he chooses. If they can get another veteran D-Man I think Toronto can go far. The only thing that makes me less optimistic is they’ll end up playing Boston in the playoffs. I’m not a fan of the new playoff format. I understand they want more divisional rivals but I think the 2 best teams should meet in the conference finals. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Mats Sundin would have fit right in on this team. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 4 hours ago, flyercanuck said: Mats Sundin would have fit right in on this team. Mats Sundin would be too violent and too physical for this team, and that's really saying something. He'd probably be reprimanded by the coach the first time he threw a body-check. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 9 hours ago, Freddy the 13th said: I understand they want more divisional rivals but I think the 2 best teams should meet in the conference finals. When Boston faces Washington, it will be the two best teams meeting in the conference finals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 1 hour ago, WordsOfWisdom said: When Boston faces Washington, it will be the two best teams meeting in the conference finals. Nope. Th i s is stamkos year. Tampa is on a mision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 1 hour ago, yave1964 said: Nope. Th i s is stamkos year. Tampa is on a mision Possibly, but the Bruins are like a Swiss watch..... outstanding precision, flawless design, and always performing perfectly. Our sun will explode one day and swallow up this planet, but the Bruins will still be making the playoffs and playing .600 hockey. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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