Make the Leafs Tougher

[ToneDog]

Acquire Boone Jenner. He can be our not so loose cannon Tom Wilson and/or sign Schaller or Maroon. I'd be interested in Smith-Pelly for 2x$1.5M if Caps do not resign him.

 

[Notsince67]

We could trade Marner for Larsson.

 

[Hunter74]

I don't think we need to get tougher I think we need to get back to our more up tempo forechecking style.

Let's get the puck back attitude instead of this passive system Babcock switched to in the new year.

Copy cat league. Everyone is going to want a Wilson or play like the Knights.

 

[Mess]

guys I would be checking in on would be guys like Charlie Coyle/Chris Kreider/Anders Lee/Josh Anderson/Boone Jenner. see who of these guys might be available.

Chris Kreider is at the top of trade wish list for the Leafs ..

Krieder --- Matthews and Nylander would make a strong #1 line.

 

[Leafs1993]

they thought they were buying a big strong fast winger when they got Marleau and Babcock turned him into a marshmello , we got a big strong fast center in Fehr but Babcock got his feelings hurt and made him disappear even tho he really did go out an do the job he was hired to do every night .We had a five way battle for the last 2 D spots and went with a big strong fast kid in Borgy and Babcock sent him away in favour of a small playing euro D in Dermott , We brought up big strong fast Holl when Morgan Lebda was out and replaced him with Carrick when he came back .etc......
Can you people not see that Bobcock thinks he knows better than the actual winning teams and is going to prove it no matter how long we suck to his ego .

 

[desperateblue]

I couldn’t disagree more with an op
The last thing the leafs need is size and toughness from an ahl level skating ice clogger.
How many of you watched the playoffs and thought man why isn’t Martin on the ice?
I’d rather just keep and play Martin instead of maroon Lucic or anyone of that ilk.
A d man that makes the opposition hesitant I could understand but up front
No thanks

 

[Doc300c]

Extended Gards for Timo Meier if Nylander moves to C

 

[Coachcorner]

We will be getting John Tavares but I already started similar threads earlier this summa and told it so. We need one of these suckas real hard with our suckas. Boone Jonner or Pat Maroon should be examples we should be getting. Also T.J Brown for the dirty 4th line would be aaight. They some real cheap suckas. Doing hard thangs on mans.

But yeah, we needs and will get tougher. Also our D is getting a guy like De Haan or some otha sucka treal hard on that thang. Y'all see. And learn.

 

[Coachcorner]

It'll be a lil lil something like this y'all heard me:
Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Marleau - Tavares - Nylander
Maroon - Kadri - Johnsson
Kapanen - Aaltonen /Lindholm - J.T Brown

That would be cup caliber right thurr. Adding a real sucka like De Haan on that thang would really hit the mark hard. He would block the hell out of that small black puck.

 

[meefer]

We will be getting John Tavares but I already started similar threads earlier this summa and told it so. We need one of these suckas real hard with our suckas. Boone Jonner or Pat Maroon should be examples we should be getting. Also T.J Brown for the dirty 4th line would be aaight. They some real cheap suckas. Doing hard thangs on mans.

But yeah, we needs and will get tougher. Also our D is getting a guy like De Haan or some otha sucka treal hard on that thang. Y'all see. And learn.

Dude, I gotta ask, how long does it take you to write out these comments? It would take me hours to 'translate' the original thought into your style

 

[Coachcorner]

Not long sir, cause I only spits the real. I can only be that big bad kahuna on the block still. It's all about where you from and what you follow. I'ma leader miself so I'ma spit that hard ball on the real. But yeah we needs to be real too with our leafs. We needs to get tougher and harder. Bigger and heavier too. We needs that maroon, JT Brown type of a killa. Also that De Haan type of sucka too. They real hard ballers for life son. Y'all will be learning bout this thang soon enough. Babcock already lost and learned his. Now they needs to get tougher and fast. Even when the Tavares is brought in our rear ends will purchase that hard baller efect after that one. We'll get some real juicy suckas back. Brown, Maroon.... De Haano. Some of that Van Gogh type. Biting that ear off type of tyson dirt. Ya'll know what I'm talkin bout. That hard balla status. That big dogg status type of thang.

 

[Duffman955]

Boone Jenner
Chris Kreider
Jacob Trouba
Charlie Coyle
Marcus Foligno
Patrick Maroon
Alex Petrovic
DSP
Tom Wilson

There are so many players that can have a big impact

 

[Popeye7735]

We could trade Marner for Larsson.

Wishful thinking. No way Chia would do it.

 

[Paladin2799]

Not long sir, cause I only spits the real. I can only be that big bad kahuna on the block still. It's all about where you from and what you follow. I'ma leader miself so I'ma spit that hard ball on the real. But yeah we needs to be real too with our leafs. We needs to get tougher and harder. Bigger and heavier too. We needs that maroon, JT Brown type of a killa. Also that De Haan type of sucka too. They real hard ballers for life son. Y'all will be learning bout this thang soon enough. Babcock already lost and learned his. Now they needs to get tougher and fast. Even when the Tavares is brought in our rear ends will purchase that hard baller efect after that one. We'll get some real juicy suckas back. Brown, Maroon.... De Haano. Some of that Van Gogh type. Biting that ear off type of tyson dirt. Ya'll know what I'm talkin bout. That hard balla status. That big dogg status type of thang.

Completely agree.

We need a lot more bite in our game, a lot more jam in our syrup and toast.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Nylander moved for a real defenseman then a lot more of the grit and grind players brought in to fill the top9. Players like Kapanen and Johansen(spelling sorry) are already in the top9, we only need a couple more.

 

[Bluelines]

I don't think anyone can deny Wilson, Oshie, Smith-Pelly, Orpik were all significant contributors to the Caps Cup. What do all 4 have in common? They are hard to play against, they all like to be physical, they all intimidate through physical force. What do 3 of the 4 have, a high level of skill. Pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence alone is a 4th line scrub that is as effective in the press box as he is on the ice with his 5 min a game.

The tough thing is everyone is looking for a skilled power forward. the good thing is our top 2 center positions are filled , so our PF will come at the wings. It may sound very odd to say but Hyman was a beast in the Boston series, a few times he knocked around much bigger players and was a hound dog on the puck. He may not be at the level of Oshie but he has scored at a pace better than Wilson and Smith-Pelly.

Regular Season Comparison

Scoring
Player	Tm	Pos	From	To	Active	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	EV	PP	SH	GW	S	S%	TOI	G	A	PTS	S	OPS	DPS	PS	G	A	PTS
Zach Hyman	TOR	C	2015	2018	3	180	29	45	74	24	85	24	0	5	5	341	8.5	3043	0.16	0.25	0.41	1.89	2.6	3.9	6.5	30	47	77
T.J. Oshie	TOT	C/RW	2008	2018	10	665	187	277	464	117	340	129	50	8	32	1384	13.5	12362	0.28	0.42	0.70	2.08	36.7	19.2	55.9	212	305	517
Devante Smith-Pelly	TOT	RW	2011	2018	7	341	40	53	93	-35	122	37	1	2	8	471	8.5	4379	0.12	0.16	0.27	1.38	2.5	3.6	6.1	44	58	102
Tom Wilson	WSH	RW	2013	2018	5	391	35	69	104	22	806	33	1	1	2	459	7.6	4750	0.09	0.18	0.27	1.17	1.7	5.9	7.6	38	74	112

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Playoffs Comparison

Scoring
Player	Tm	Pos	From	To	Active	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	EV	PP	SH	GW	S	S%	TOI	G	A	PTS	S
Zach Hyman	TOR	C	2016	2018	2	13	2	6	8	-3	8	2	0	0	0	23	8.7	231	0.15	0.46	0.62	1.77
T.J. Oshie	TOT	C/RW	2008	2018	8	79	23	29	52	-3	58	12	11	0	5	167	13.8	1579	0.29	0.37	0.66	2.11
Devante Smith-Pelly	TOT	RW	2013	2018	3	48	13	3	16	-4	38	11	2	0	3	77	16.9	613	0.27	0.06	0.33	1.60
Tom Wilson	WSH	RW	2012	2018	5	62	8	12	20	3	103	8	0	0	1	72	11.1	818	0.13	0.19	0.32	1.16

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[TakeTheBody]

Lucic pass, too slow. Love Tom Wilson being a Plymouth whaler fan. He might be the cheapest way to go. Winning brings money issue in a salary cap world. Personally I have man love for Brady Tkachuk and would find a way to deal for him. You may pay a price but once he's yours he plays cheap for a few years. We'll need that.

 

[Cams]

Easy...play Martin. It's not like he is scrub like Colton Orr, Andrew Peters or going back aways like a player like Dave Brown. He provides a Tom Wilson type player, just won't put up the offensive numbers of Wilson. Plus, if you look at his numbers, in a very limited role, he was on a pace for career highs in assists and points. He is not as bad as many on here perceive or want him to be. Heck..he had 25G and 35G his last 2 years in Sarnia.

Just need a tougher guy on the blueline, a hard hitter. That may be Borgman.

Can't have Kadri and Hyman being the only guys willing to get involved physically.

 

[Notsince67]

Not long sir, cause I only spits the real. I can only be that big bad kahuna on the block still. It's all about where you from and what you follow. I'ma leader miself so I'ma spit that hard ball on the real. But yeah we needs to be real too with our leafs. We needs to get tougher and harder. Bigger and heavier too. We needs that maroon, JT Brown type of a killa. Also that De Haan type of sucka too. They real hard ballers for life son. Y'all will be learning bout this thang soon enough. Babcock already lost and learned his. Now they needs to get tougher and fast. Even when the Tavares is brought in our rear ends will purchase that hard baller efect after that one. We'll get some real juicy suckas back. Brown, Maroon.... De Haano. Some of that Van Gogh type. Biting that ear off type of tyson dirt. Ya'll know what I'm talkin bout. That hard balla status. That big dogg status type of thang.

Am jiggy wit ur coolspeak

 

[Knies iT]

The Leafs not only need to get meaner, but tougher to play against. Even a finesse player like Tavares could help expedite that process because of his strong board play and motor, replacing a guy like Bozak who is abysmal at board battles and competitiveness in general.

Options like Maroon will be too expensive for a player with poor foot speed early in his 30s. An under the radar option would be to sign Antoine Roussel to a 2-3 year deal for cheap (below 3 mill). He's a faster, more physical version of Komarov with a better scoring touch at this point in his career. Then, you can rotate Martin in on the 4th line as an injury replacement.

Graduating players like Grundstrom and Borgman will also add physicality to the wings and D. Other than that, the Leafs desperately need to add a big, physical defender for their top 4. Does that mean drafting Jett Woo (arguably the hardest hitter in the WHL)? Trading for Trouba's rights? This one will likely take a couple of years to solve.

 

[Cams]

Grundstrom and Borgman are not guaranteed to make the team though. By all accounts they should.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Acquire Boone Jenner. He can be our not so loose cannon Tom Wilson and/or sign Schaller or Maroon. I'd be interested in Smith-Pelly for 2x$1.5M if Caps do not resign him.

For the right price, I am totally down. I would even be willing to pay more if we got David Savard in the deal too.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Grundstrom and Borgman are not guaranteed to make the team though. By all accounts they should.

Borgman has done absolutely nothing to show why he deserves to be in the NHL at all, never mind guaranteed a spot. At this point Dermott, Rosen and Marincin all deserve to be up there before he does.

Ozhiganov can provide physicality if he is in the lineup. Although we are not going to look for toughness. They were more than content with sitting two of their tougher players (Carrick and Martin) for almost half of the season. Clearly it is not a priority.

 

[Cams]

Borgman has done absolutely nothing to show why he deserves to be in the NHL at all, never mind guaranteed a spot. At this point Dermott, Rosen and Marincin all deserve to be up there before he does.

Ozhiganov can provide physicality if he is in the lineup. Although we are not going to look for toughness. They were more than content with sitting two of their tougher players (Carrick and Martin) for almost half of the season. Clearly it is not a priority.

How do we know this though? Playing (limited minutes/games this year) in the KHL is a lot different than the NHL.

 

[ottomaddox]

funny how at the time I took those comments from Burke seriously...

fast forward all these years, and if I heard him say those things today I'd be like wtf is this guy smoking

I wonder if those "inglorious leafs" JPEGs are still around with Komisarek and Exelby

 

[Ricky Bobby]

I don't think anyone can deny Wilson, Oshie, Smith-Pelly, Orpik were all significant contributors to the Caps Cup. What do all 4 have in common? They are hard to play against, they all like to be physical, they all intimidate through physical force. What do 3 of the 4 have, a high level of skill. Pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence alone is a 4th line scrub that is as effective in the press box as he is on the ice with his 5 min a game.

The tough thing is everyone is looking for a skilled power forward. the good thing is our top 2 center positions are filled , so our PF will come at the wings. It may sound very odd to say but Hyman was a beast in the Boston series, a few times he knocked around much bigger players and was a hound dog on the puck. He may not be at the level of Oshie but he has scored at a pace better than Wilson and Smith-Pelly.

Hyman was indeed very good for us in the playoffs. Kadri is another player who brings an edge. Matthews needs to play more assertive but all the tools are there.

Management knows that we need players who are harder to play against whether it's throwing a big hit, being aggressive on the forecheck, driving the net with authority or protecting the front of our net. It's the exact reason why Polak, Martin and Komarov were given such long leashes. It's also the exact reason why Bozak & JVR will be allowed to walk this off-season.

Even though they aren't smash em' type players adding Marleau + Hainsey made us a lot tougher to play against last season. I expect the Leafs to target other vets on 1 or 2 years deals this off-season who make this team tougher to play against. Particularly a vet Dman and veteran 4th line center. Upgrading on Polak/Carrick won't take much. Think names like Orpik, Bieksa, Hamhuis who could be brought in on 1-year deals. At forward I expect a quality vet 4th line center to be a priority and in preferably someone with size. Whether it be bringing back Plekanec or someone like Letestu, Beagle, Ryan or Luke Glendening who the Leafs have been rumored to be interested in for a long time.