Is there any concern for the Leafs' lack of toughness heading into playoffs?

[Bluelines]

Looks like JVR has a little "toughness" , HAHAHA ... so dirty but at the same time ...

 

[GoonieFace]

Leivo is better than Martin. When Martin is out there they just avoid getting hit by him. When Leivo is out there they need to watch for a pass and a pretty wicked shot.

Leivo is much better than Martin especially considering every time you see him he hasn't played in a month and still manages to get by.

Does he though? He cant manage to keep his spot in the lineup, so he cant really be doing much to impress.

 

[thewave]

Does he though? He cant manage to keep his spot in the lineup, so he cant really be doing much to impress.

He has a fantastic shot and do you not see him on the PP? He is an excellent passer. Lacks a little speed but is not slow.

 

[yubbers]

Yup. We won't make it out of the 1st round this soft. Hopefully addressed in the offseason.

 

[Pookie]

Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin?

Oh ya those guys are prime examples of "tough players" because they prolly got in what their 2nd to 3rd career fight?

The Pens werent considered big or tough by anyone.

They were unanimously praised for their incredible team speed and skill.

If Kapanen, Kadri and say Dermott get into fights this playoffs does that all the sudden make us a tough team?

If players play tough then yes it does.

 

[Pookie]

You honestly don’t think the leafs have been better since the lineup change?

I mean the extended slump the team had been in more or less ended soon after.

Babcock certainly seems to think the team is much better since he’s shown no signs of considering to reverse his decision. Martin remains stapled to the press box.

Thought it ended when Kadri finally broke the slump.

 

[LeafFever]

Yup. We won't make it out of the 1st round this soft. Hopefully addressed in the offseason.

We own Boston but we can't beat them?

 

[Menzinger]

Thought it ended when Kadri finally broke the slump.

It was the result of several different factors - the lineup change was one (not the only).

Babcock wants to win games, Martin is reportedly a very good guy in the dressingroom and he’s still been a healthy scratch with no sign of that ending. Simplest explanation is Babcock thinks the Leafs are a better team without him.

 

[yubbers]

We own Boston but we can't beat them?

If losing in game 7 is owning them sure

You know hockey gets different in the PO. When Boston starts bangin, we in trouble

 

[Pookie]

It was the result of several different factors - the lineup change was one (not the only).

Babcock wants to win games, Martin is reportedly a very good guy in the dressingroom and he’s still been a healthy scratch with no sign of that ending. Simplest explanation is Babcock thinks the Leafs are a better team without him.

Sure. I don’t have an opinion either way on whether Matt Martin is specifically critical
to playoff success. And certainly wouldn’t use regular season games as evidence one way or another.

I do however have an opinion that if you have two equally matched teams, the team with the desire to drive the net, win puck battles and wear down the opponents over a long series is probably going to win most of the time.

 

[FreeBird]

Yea, it not having "tough" guys really hurt the Pens in the past two years.

They have team toughness, starting with Crosby who will shove his stick right up your spleen to make room to dangle, Malkin is almost unmoveable around the Net. And their unheralded forwards who will take the body every chance they get.

 

[highslot]

are we talking about toughness or grit? because with grit, you can still go into the corners, fight for the puck, dig and not get intimidated.

in that case we have: dermott, brown, borgman, komorov, kadri, hyman, kapanen.

also still have martin and polak like mentioned if you are talking about pure toughness or size with violence.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

They have team toughness, starting with Crosby who will shove his stick right up your spleen to make room to dangle, Malkin is almost unmoveable around the Net. And their unheralded forwards who will take the body every chance they get.

You are correct. Toughness is taking a hit to make a play. Or just determination to retrieve a puck. Even the smaller Leafs when they are have the proper mindset are really bull dogs on the puck. I don't worry about their toughness at all.
The last game against Boston, I thought the Bruins played with great intensity, they seem play the "angles" so well on the Leafs coming out of their own zone and as result seemed to be Leafs faces all game. Bruins weren't so much tougher but smarter that game.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

If Leafs had a Wendel Clark right now we could have another 1993 and 1994 type runs again, but this time with a happy ending.

I always like a "Happy Ending".

 

[OVO16]

Yeah its a concern. I hope we dont get bullied. Especially the youngins. Bruins gonna take a plethora of dirty cheap shots at Nylander/Mathews/Marner all series long

 

[Leafidelity]

Not a concern at all. The minute we try to play tough, we’re playing into another teams game.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Grit is good. But you have to have more than Grit. Players like Martin have no business being in the lineup over someone like A.Johnson.

JVR - Matthews - Nylander
Marleau - Kadri - Marner
Hyman - Plekanec - Brown
Kapanen - Bozak - Johnson

 

[nuck]

Yeah its a concern. I hope we dont get bullied. Especially the youngins. Bruins gonna take a plethora of dirty cheap shots at Nylander/Mathews/Marner all series long

I am a bit worried about Matthews. The two hits that knocked him out were not Scott Stevens crushes. I wont say they will head hunt but I can see the Bs try to pound him a bit. Unless you have him centering Lucic and Tom Wilson I'm not sure he can be made hit proof so he really needs to keep his head up.

 

[skacore]

Just watched last night's game on PVR... very frustrating to see a guy like Tom Wilson taking liberties with Dermott. With such a young team I think having a guy like Martin in the line up really can give them an added boost of confidence. He's no worse than Komorov that's for sure.

 

[Torontonian]

Was disappointing to see Wilson go after Dermott and Polak was the only one willing to step in and help him out as well with Ovie running over Mcbackup and all we did is give him a little tap on the head. I'm not saying we needed to go all out and get into a brawl, but just let the other team know were here and not going to back away.

Come playoff times teams are going to do everything they can to get under our skin and play rough with us. A little toughness would be nice.

 

[stuart5035]

Before you jump all over me, yes I know, it's 2018 and the game isn't quite what it used to be. But are we "tough enough" for a long playoff run? With Martin out, and Polak in/out that easily puts us amongst the "weakest" or least physical teams in the league. With Komorov's falling out we have no one left who hits with any UMPH and absolutely no one who will step up and drop the gloves or at least get in the face of an opponent if necessary. Could a tougher team bully our big 3 and get under their skin? I'm afraid to say I feel it's coming...

I liked your post and completely understand your point.

I had a similar post awhile back and many smart and insightful comments were posted, I quickly realized there were some very knowledgeable people on this site.
The insight that most caught my attention was someone pointing out that toughness wasn’t having a few goons good with the fists, or having a lot of big players, what mattered was did Leaf players go to the “hard places”, were they willing to pay the price? Thinking about it I have to say the Leafs are tough enough, how often do we see the Hymans, Browns, Komarov, even Nylander, doing just exactly that. I don’t think toughness is an issue now.

However, I have concerns about our lack of physically punishing defensemen, not their talent. Especially with playoffs approaching. I cringe watching opposing forwards “launch” themselves into our frail defenders. I played the game and would take extra liberties if there was no physical threat around the opposing net.

Today I read an article in the Toronto Star that says exactly that; opposing forwards know there is this impunity-the article talks about how other teams are now aware of this and the best way to beat the Leafs is to crash into Anderson (which we saw Buffalo do). It throws him off his game, frustrates him, can lead to injury.

I vividly recall last years push to get into the playoffs; some goon with Pittsburgh ran over Anderson-no reprisal.

Our playoff hopes could easily revolve around this issue, I can see burly opponents taking runs at Anderson, a very minimal penalty versus a potential great benefit.

He needs protection! I wish we had a big physical type with attitude (or two). I know speed is the way now but surely we need to somehow protect our biggest asset