He really needs this badly, I hope for his sake he finds all the success in the world. If he discovers his game he should resign on decent contract. He will never get another opportunity like this. I know let’s not get ahead of ourselves but would be great to see him hit 30 again.
Practice lines
- Thread starter namttebih
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He really needs this badly, I hope for his sake he finds all the success in the world. If he discovers his game he should resign on decent contract. He will never get another opportunity like this. I know let’s not get ahead of ourselves but would be great to see him hit 30 again.
I doubt Galch sticks, but let's say he does for the sake of argument and Toronto adds a top 6 winger at the deadline to play on the 1st line, with Kerfoot going the other way... I'll use Rackell solely as an example...
A cool lineup to try might be...
Rackell-Matthews-Nylander
Galchenyuk-Tavares-Marner
Simmonds-Hyman-Mikheyev
Thornton-Engvall-Spezza
I think that could be an awesome lineup, with defined roles. Marner as the setup man for two guys that love to shoot would be sweep. That first line could handle itself lol. Third line would be toughhhhhh to play against.
A cool lineup to try might be...
Rackell-Matthews-Nylander
Galchenyuk-Tavares-Marner
Simmonds-Hyman-Mikheyev
Thornton-Engvall-Spezza
I think that could be an awesome lineup, with defined roles. Marner as the setup man for two guys that love to shoot would be sweep. That first line could handle itself lol. Third line would be toughhhhhh to play against.
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Leaftors
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Teeder Keon
Defeat does not rest lightly on their shoulders
The Best Leafs Ever
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Galy in for Vessey? I would have done it the day he got here. I think management wanted Galy to reflect on his current dire situation and wanted to prove himself in the Marlies. He has done that and earned this beautiful opportunity. Excited to see him play for blue and white.
The Best Leafs Ever
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123offtheglass
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Hopefully Galchenyuk all of a sudden is 10x better off the puck and retrieving it. Because anyone who thinks Nylander is bad at this is in for something else completely on a major level of bad. That said he's got lots of skill and upside. I think he's a terrible fit for the Leafs unless he all of a sudden changes his game (or is a Nylander replacement in the case he goes down down the stretch, or as PP insurance).
I liked Thornton on the JT-Willie line much more than with Matthews-Marner, from the little I saw. Although Kerfoot is better than Engvall I'd rather the line of Mikheyev-Engvall-Hyman over Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Hyman. Just keep Kerfoot as a luxury on the 4th line with special unit time and insurance to Engvall as 3C. Kerfoot may make that 4th line really dominate; we'd then be strong from lines 1-4. Kerfoot hasn't been a great fit anywhere so why not let the top 3 lines be good lines with better fits, while also making the 4th line a dominate one? He'd certainly add some speed to it especially if he happens to be more fresh. Maybe he'd be a guy to eat some minutes from Thornton as LW to Tavares-Nylander; that looks like a really good Kerfoot fit to the team for me, that or just insurance to Engvall + special unit time.
Really think that forward we want needs to be a top 6 LW to play with Matthews-Marner, where maybe even Hyman takes some shifts from Thornton and/or the 1st line LW. Granlund may be small but he's a smart skilled two-way forward that can play all 3 forward positions and is an excellent left shot passer. Imagine he & Marner dishing pucks to Matthews... I mean Rakell would be better but still a great option.
Once getting a forward I'd like to see this with what is described above:
X - Matthews - Marner
Thornton - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Engvall - Hyman
Kerfoot - Spezza - Simmonds or Simmonds - Kerfoot - Spezza
Come playoff time I hope they don't force him onto the top 3 lines. Tyler Johnson will likely be on Tampa's 4th line come playoff time for comparison.
I liked Thornton on the JT-Willie line much more than with Matthews-Marner, from the little I saw. Although Kerfoot is better than Engvall I'd rather the line of Mikheyev-Engvall-Hyman over Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Hyman. Just keep Kerfoot as a luxury on the 4th line with special unit time and insurance to Engvall as 3C. Kerfoot may make that 4th line really dominate; we'd then be strong from lines 1-4. Kerfoot hasn't been a great fit anywhere so why not let the top 3 lines be good lines with better fits, while also making the 4th line a dominate one? He'd certainly add some speed to it especially if he happens to be more fresh. Maybe he'd be a guy to eat some minutes from Thornton as LW to Tavares-Nylander; that looks like a really good Kerfoot fit to the team for me, that or just insurance to Engvall + special unit time.
Really think that forward we want needs to be a top 6 LW to play with Matthews-Marner, where maybe even Hyman takes some shifts from Thornton and/or the 1st line LW. Granlund may be small but he's a smart skilled two-way forward that can play all 3 forward positions and is an excellent left shot passer. Imagine he & Marner dishing pucks to Matthews... I mean Rakell would be better but still a great option.
Once getting a forward I'd like to see this with what is described above:
X - Matthews - Marner
Thornton - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Engvall - Hyman
Kerfoot - Spezza - Simmonds or Simmonds - Kerfoot - Spezza
Come playoff time I hope they don't force him onto the top 3 lines. Tyler Johnson will likely be on Tampa's 4th line come playoff time for comparison.
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Community
44 is Rielly good
I wanted Robertson in that spot because Vesey looked like the most replacement-level player ever. Did nothing good or bad and thats not good enough when you play primarily in the top 6 of a contender.
However, with Galchenyuk there (or a trade) instead of Vesey, it likely doesnt make sense for Robertson to be on the Leafs this year unless there is an injury. If we go the trade route, the most mentioned players are all likely better 2-way players than Robertson at the moment and I like what our bottom 6 wingers (Simmonds, Mikheyev, Spezza, Thornton/Hyman) bring over Robertson for this year.
Robertson will very likely start with the Leafs next year as we will likely lose multiple wingers (Possibly Thornton, Spezza, Galchenyuk, rental, etc.). He could still be called up if we get an injury/somebody underperforms, but no need to rush a super young kid onto what should be a contending team.
123offtheglass
Registered User
I hope Robertson ends up playing less than the max number of games that would eat a year of his ELC. He'd be the Leafs top 6LW for the next 3 years on an ELC and would have the 2nd best shot on the team I'd think (no disrespect to Nylander or JT). With the foreseeable flat cap future that's gold. All the more reason I hope they don't deal him.
The Best Leafs Ever
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I expect he will be at some point, but he certainly isn't today. I love Robertson. But have you been watching him with the Marlies? He doesn't look ready yet. And he hasn't looked like an NHLer when he's been called up either.
I'm high on him long-term, and I know injuries haven't helped recently, but he still needs more time to adjust to the pro game IMO.
The Iceman
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Backhand-forehand rip in a blink, low stick side is a highly skilled move
Going against the grain here, but were I Keefe, I'd be thinking about using Nylander on the PK. While we've all seen his lackadaisical efforts over the years, his past 10 games or so have been, perhaps, his best ever. He's been effective at back checking, his skating we know, he can steal pucks with the best of them, I've even seen him throw the odd bodycheck 
and of the C's Keefe is using on the PK, only Spezza (get off as soon as you can after the FO) has a winning percentage on the dot. Spezza, at 58.1% has been excellent in that regard. Willy is rocking a 57.1%, a solid 17% jump up from Kerfoot's work on the dot, up over 13% over Engvall's success rate, and a booming 25% better than Zach. Marner and Mykheyev are a combined 100%, but with 6 FO between them...
At just under 16.5 min TOI, using him on the PK certainly wouldn't hurt him. It would also take some of the strain Marner is experiencing playing 22.38 each night, with almost 2 min/ on the PK. Keefe has said that motivation is sometimes a problem for Nylander. We saw the positive impact benching him in the 3rd period a while back had on his play. Would a carrot now help? I believe he has the skills, can he be cajoled into offering the effort to become an effective PKer? Does the added responsibility make him a better player? I'd like to find out.
and of the C's Keefe is using on the PK, only Spezza (get off as soon as you can after the FO) has a winning percentage on the dot. Spezza, at 58.1% has been excellent in that regard. Willy is rocking a 57.1%, a solid 17% jump up from Kerfoot's work on the dot, up over 13% over Engvall's success rate, and a booming 25% better than Zach. Marner and Mykheyev are a combined 100%, but with 6 FO between them...At just under 16.5 min TOI, using him on the PK certainly wouldn't hurt him. It would also take some of the strain Marner is experiencing playing 22.38 each night, with almost 2 min/ on the PK. Keefe has said that motivation is sometimes a problem for Nylander. We saw the positive impact benching him in the 3rd period a while back had on his play. Would a carrot now help? I believe he has the skills, can he be cajoled into offering the effort to become an effective PKer? Does the added responsibility make him a better player? I'd like to find out.
Bluelines
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The guy has a shot, he can't skate, cant retrieve pucks, cant break out, but he can shoot, give him limited minutes and sit him on the 2nd unit PP.
Guided by Veseys
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More turnovers than you would expect. He was broadening his possession time down there and it would lead to him coughing it up at times (skating it out of the zone, curling through the offensive zone, etc). He wasn’t bad though, he’s going to be an excellent player. He’s just working on stuff that he needs to add to his pro game and playing with the Marlies is a perfect chance to get minutes in. If they call him up though I’ll be very excited to see him on the leafs.
Leafsforever89
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Yes but he's a free agent at the end of this season. Leafs would have to resign him.
ottomaddox
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It is possible. If he can contribute to the leafs then I'll be happy. I want him to prove me wrong in the worst way.
zeke
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To be honest I'm still expecting to see this tommorrow:
Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Thornton-Tavares-Nylander
Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Engvall
Gary Nylund
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Going against the grain here, but were I Keefe, I'd be thinking about using Nylander on the PK. While we've all seen his lackadaisical efforts over the years, his past 10 games or so have been, perhaps, his best ever. He's been effective at back checking, his skating we know, he can steal pucks with the best of them, I've even seen him throw the odd bodycheck
At just under 16.5 min TOI, using him on the PK certainly wouldn't hurt him. It would also take some of the strain Marner is experiencing playing 22.38 each night, with almost 2 min/ on the PK. Keefe has said that motivation is sometimes a problem for Nylander. We saw the positive impact benching him in the 3rd period a while back had on his play. Would a carrot now help? I believe he has the skills, can he be cajoled into offering the effort to become an effective PKer? Does the added responsibility make him a better player? I'd like to find out.
Not sure if I'm missing something but this seems like a really good idea!
Teeder Keon
Defeat does not rest lightly on their shoulders
Teeder Keon
Defeat does not rest lightly on their shoulders
Got to admit it , I never thought about that notion .I certainly think its worth a try, I think your on to something ..Going against the grain here, but were I Keefe, I'd be thinking about using Nylander on the PK. While we've all seen his lackadaisical efforts over the years, his past 10 games or so have been, perhaps, his best ever. He's been effective at back checking, his skating we know, he can steal pucks with the best of them, I've even seen him throw the odd bodycheck
At just under 16.5 min TOI, using him on the PK certainly wouldn't hurt him. It would also take some of the strain Marner is experiencing playing 22.38 each night, with almost 2 min/ on the PK. Keefe has said that motivation is sometimes a problem for Nylander. We saw the positive impact benching him in the 3rd period a while back had on his play. Would a carrot now help? I believe he has the skills, can he be cajoled into offering the effort to become an effective PKer? Does the added responsibility make him a better player? I'd like to find out.
On a related thought ..
I would like to see WN really given a shot at centre , don’t know why other than it might work !
