Freddy "The Goat" Gauthier

[SHANNYPLAN]

Id experiment with Marleau-Gauthier-Marner. Bozak is not reliable, rarely shows up.

that would be a solid line

 

[firstemperor]

Thank goodness someone finally agrees with me. Yes, exactly this, been saying it or so long now.

I'm surprised this board and fanbase wasn't more up in arms with Moore winning the job over Fehr. It wasn't even close to me who won out the job. We might have turned on Fehr eventually but he was good given the context of how we were using him- particularly compared to Moore. His size was definitely a game-breaker at times out there.

Hopefully this is Goat's job to lose from here on out. He looked real good in an all-situations role the last 2 games. For a player his size, he covered the points great and his long stick and size were a huge disruption in the passing/shooting lanes.....which says more than the personnel we have right now covering the points (Hyman, Brown, Komarov) + his ability to not get cleaned out on the dot. Though it's too small of a sample size to make any sweeping conclusions, I think Komarov is definitely one of our best PK guys historically. It's the rest of his usage that is perplexing.

 

[IPS]

I don't find him to be particularly amazing for a 4th liner but he's way better than Moore.

 

[Muston Atthews]

Id experiment with Marleau-Gauthier-Marner. Bozak is not reliable, rarely shows up.

Absolutely not. Gauthier has little to no hands at this point. Playing great on the fourth line though

 

[thewave]

I'm surprised this board and fanbase wasn't more up in arms with Moore winning the job over Fehr. It wasn't even close to me who won out the job. We might have turned on Fehr eventually but he was good given the context of how we were using him- particularly compared to Moore. His size was definitely a game-breaker at times out there.

Hopefully this is Goat's job to lose from here on out. He looked real good in an all-situations role the last 2 games. For a player his size, he covered the points great and his long stick and size were a huge disruption in the passing/shooting lanes.....which says more than the personnel we have right now covering the points (Hyman, Brown, Komarov) + his ability to not get cleaned out on the dot. Though it's too small of a sample size to make any sweeping conclusions, I think Komarov is definitely one of our best PK guys historically. It's the rest of his usage that is perplexing.

Fehr was a victim of Big Mouth - Bab-Ego and Impatience. He probably would have been in over Moore if just went through the cycles a couple more times and shut his cake hole.

I really think Lou, Babcock and Shanahan all believe in The Goat. Usually guys that get the nicknames like this are the ones you end up seeing down the line. Especially the guys in the AHL with NHL nicknames. When there is no terms of endearment watch out... Leivo (even though he deserves a shot somehow, he probably won't get it because our depth).

 

[PromisedLand]

 

[thewave]

He is actually the Goat hunter... He will shut down and kill the Greatest of all time. It's his destiny I say! Just look at that pick... Click click

 

[TheProspector]

He was terrible.

On the ice for both GA, and was absolutely annihilated on flow of play (40% CF).

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

He was terrible.

On the ice for both GA, and was absolutely annihilated on flow of play (40% CF).

So you are blaming him for Andersen's brain cramp?

 

[Kiwi]

He was terrible.

On the ice for both GA, and was absolutely annihilated on flow of play (40% CF).

Andersen made a monumental mistake and Gauthier had his guy tied up in the slot exactly as he's supposed to on the first

Neither of those goals has anything to do with him

 

[Captain14]

He was terrible.

On the ice for both GA, and was absolutely annihilated on flow of play (40% CF).

Sometimes, analytics don't tell the whole tale. in his 2nd start after a horrible leg injury, I think he has done an admirable job.
His size is certainly noticeable and I can see him easily progressing into a solid role player.

 

[Knies iT]

I've liked the GOAT on the 4th line so far and believe he's a better option than Moore. Very difficult to be immediately thrown on to the PK against teams like Tampa and San Jose and succeed. Give him some games to get his bearings straight.

One thing to note is that for a huge guy, he needs to develop better lower body strength. He gets brushed off of pucks and angled off way too easy for his size. Either way, he's looking like a young Boyle.

 

[IBeL34f]

Gauthier was the first player that I had researched and wanted the Leafs to get that they actually went out and got - I've been thrilled since day 1 to have him in the organization, and really hope he gets a full-time look for the rest of the season. He's gonna be such a monster for us once he fully develops, he's gonna give teams fits for days.

 

[TimPeel]

In my ideal world Goat will center a fourth line flanked by Kapanen and Shoshnikov. Moore will contribute offensively for sure, but he is a tire fire at this point defensively, and we need to inject some youth into our bottom 6.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Andersen made a monumental mistake and Gauthier had his guy tied up in the slot exactly as he's supposed to on the first

Neither of those goals has anything to do with him

Yup. And possession numbers measure results of the unit on the ice, relying on large sample sizes to find trends that can be attributed to the particular player. They are really not all that useful on a single-game basis.

 

[Kiwi]

Yup. And possession numbers measure results of the unit on the ice, relying on large sample sizes to find trends that can be attributed to the particular player. They are really not all that useful on a single-game basis.

Yeah I'd agree with that, I think he's an upgrade on Moore and should settle in with a decent stretch of games, then I'd look at his possession and usage figures

 

[Menzinger]

Yup. And possession numbers measure results of the unit on the ice, relying on large sample sizes to find trends that can be attributed to the particular player. They are really not all that useful on a single-game basis.

True, though while it’s still a small sample size, his NHL numbers overall haven’t exactly been stellar though.

Id be willing to give him more time to adjust (don’t like making any decisions based off one or two games especially for rookies), but even from the eyetest POV I’m not as enthused about his last couple games as some are on here. He looks very slow out there, and I’d like to see him play with more aggression since he’s never going to be much of a puck mover.

 

[Rogie]

He was terrible.

On the ice for both GA, and was absolutely annihilated on flow of play (40% CF).

I saw it completely the opposite. I thought he played really well; was all over the ice - GREAT defensively, breaking up plays, getting his stick in lanes, applying pressure on the forecheck (just by virtue of his size and his speed is pretty good actually).
So, yeah, I didn't see him get annihilated ANYWHERE, very much the opposite - very very strong playing a 200 foot game.

Edit: don't think his line was hemmed in the own Dzone for very long if at all.
I think they ended up in a mismatch -maybe in the 3rd, but, it could of been Babcock giving him a chance against the Coutour line. But, in the first 2 periods, I thought his line was better than the line they were put out against pretty much each shift; about 5 or 6 shifts in each of the 1st and 2nd periods.

 

[dubplatepressure]

One thing I noticed about Freddie that wasn't apparent last year was that his puck skills are much better now. He used.to handle the puck like a hot potato. He looks much more comfortable while making quick plays now. Great to see that.

 

[sanfordn]

Couple lousy shifts tonight and that was it.

Seamed to be skating hard, just bad bounces, brain fart give aways.

 

[HomerJLeafs]

Still loving him over Moore.

 

[sanfordn]

Still loving him over Moore.

Frig yeah.

Moore can go.

 

[hd1344]

Like Babcock said WRT Dermott, if he doesn't notice him then it's a good game.

With our 4th liners and role players, this is the key, If Goat wins his fair share of faceoffs and plays well positionally, we don't notice, but if he gets dominated in the dot and has a few brain farts, then we'll notice.

I just don't think his role is something to be nit-picking on a game-to-game basis, especially with advanced stats (given the role the coach wants for this line).

IMO, if the Goat goes a stretch without being noticed good or bad, that is exactly what Babs wants

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

I don't find him to be particularly amazing for a 4th liner but he's way better than Moore.

I thought he did better than Boyle last season...

 

[Gallagbi]

Like Babcock said WRT Dermott, if he doesn't notice him then it's a good game.

With our 4th liners and role players, this is the key, If Goat wins his fair share of faceoffs and plays well positionally, we don't notice, but if he gets dominated in the dot and has a few brain farts, then we'll notice.

I just don't think his role is something to be nit-picking on a game-to-game basis, especially with advanced stats (given the role the coach wants for this line).

IMO, if the Goat goes a stretch without being noticed good or bad, that is exactly what Babs wants

He's noticeably in how often his line is pinned in their end and how often he looks like he's just trying to keep up. Looks like a fringe NHLer at this point.