Proposal: The Sky is Not Falling

[PhillyFrisco]

Any team that misses 2/3 of it's top three centres is going to run into problems.

It is however, quite apparent that our defence could benefit from a minor overhaul and, replacing Ranger with a reliable, tough-to-play against, minute-munching d-man could work wonders.


With all the injuries that have ****ed us right now, Carlyle will need to get this team to play trap hockey in order to survive the upcoming 10+ game storm - elite opponents galore.

Getting thru the rest of 2013 by playing .500 hockey would be a significant accomplishment as doing so keeps us in the hunt.

Priority #1 right now is to land a smart & physical d-man. Now might be a good time to start trading some futures.









and Rielly is gonna be a stud.

Click to read more...

 

[Dreakmur]

Any team that misses 2/3 of it's top three centres is going to run into problems.

It is however, quite apparent that our defence could benefit from a minor overhaul and, replacing Ranger with a reliable, tough-to-play against, minute-munching d-man could work wonders.


With all the injuries that have ****ed us right now, Carlyle will need to get this team to play trap hockey in order to survive the upcoming 10+ game storm - elite opponents galore.

Getting thru the rest of 2013 by playing .500 hockey would be a significant accomplishment as doing so keeps us in the hunt.

Priority #1 right now is to land a smart & physical d-man. Now might be a good time to start trading some futures.









and Rielly is gonna be a stud.

Why does a new defenseman have to be physical? I'd much rather have a rock-solid guy who can skate and make a smart pass.

Ryan McDonagh, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Dan Hamhuis, Paul Martin, Jonathan Ericsson

 

[Holymakinaw]

Of course the sky is not falling. We're just decimated with injuries right now, and "on the ropes". We need to hang on until we get everyone back.

- Hard to say what's going on with Bozak.
- Lupul is, predictably, always injured. His groin injury does NOT seem good right now.
- Bolland is maybe 3 weeks away.
- Kessel left practise early with something bothering him & may not be 100%.
- Orr & McLaren both seem to have some nagging injuries.
- Franson is just coming back from some lower body thing.

Nothing we can do, but "hang on" right now. We're slumping pretty badly, but every team does.

I agree that a good, mobile but tough top-4 D-Man would be a welcome addition right now. A real shut down sort of guy. We're relying too much on our offensive D-Men, and not enough guys are really playing GOOD D. After Dion, it's pretty slim pickings.

 

[Center Ice Scrum*]

 

[King85Kong]

Any team that misses 2/3 of it's top three centres is going to run into problems.

It is however, quite apparent that our defence could benefit from a minor overhaul and, replacing Ranger with a reliable, tough-to-play against, minute-munching d-man could work wonders.


With all the injuries that have ****ed us right now, Carlyle will need to get this team to play trap hockey in order to survive the upcoming 10+ game storm - elite opponents galore.

Getting thru the rest of 2013 by playing .500 hockey would be a significant accomplishment as doing so keeps us in the hunt.

Priority #1 right now is to land a smart & physical d-man. Now might be a good time to start trading some futures.









and Rielly is gonna be a stud.

Isn't trading some of our futures is what got us in this spot in the first place? Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is insanity. Stay the course and don't make any rash decisions. Reilly, Gardiner, JVR, Kadri, Kessel, and our first should all be close to untouchable. Yes we could use a mobile defensive dman, but try with other peices. Same could be said for 1/2C, but lets see how Holland does. Another good young player, with lots of upside. We should let our young players develop. Things are going to ve alright.

 

[thewave]

Untimely injuries mask Leafs defensive woes and offer more excuses to fans; buying Carlyle time.

 

[AvroArrow]

The problem isn't really the centers. The problem is, we're not playing team defense. It's a 5 man unit on the ice, everybody has to be on the same page. Obivously missing Bolland/bozak and Kadri for a little while is an issue, but the main problem is the chemistry.

 

[Wheels]

Unpopular opinion alert: the centres that we're missing aren't that great to begin with. Missing Lupul, on the other hand, is a major problem.

 

[Kessley Snipes*]

Untimely injuries mask Leafs defensive woes and offer more excuses to fans; buying Carlyle time.

This.

Injuries are not the problem. The issue is that Nonis/Carlyle brought in players who are on inflated contracts and have yet to prove their worth. We get constantly outshot because we are not a possession team and as a result we are always unable to sustain any zone time against our opponents.

Our best possession players (Mac/Grabo/Frattin/Komarov) were run out of town by a Coach and GM, who are both out of touch and preache a system/style of hockey that does not suit this team. Our big offseason acquisition can be referred to as a "clog"; yes not even a "plug", because a plug has usefulness whereas a clog does not.

Until we move on from Randy Carlyle and until Dave Nonis stops appeasing his every whim (i.e. providing him with the resources to dress two enforcers on the 4th line every night for some reason), we will continue to plummet down the standings.

I still can't comprehend how the casual fan does not understand this simple concept.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Any team that misses 2/3 of it's top three centres is going to run into problems.

It is however, quite apparent that our defence could benefit from a minor overhaul and, replacing Ranger with a reliable, tough-to-play against, minute-munching d-man could work wonders.


With all the injuries that have ****ed us right now, Carlyle will need to get this team to play trap hockey in order to survive the upcoming 10+ game storm - elite opponents galore.

Getting thru the rest of 2013 by playing .500 hockey would be a significant accomplishment as doing so keeps us in the hunt.

Priority #1 right now is to land a smart & physical d-man. Now might be a good time to start trading some futures.

and Rielly is gonna be a stud.

We need a # 2 or 3 Dman isn't a minor overhaul.

Ranger only make 1 million which isn't the problem. It's that we need him to do far to much cause he isn't slotted properly.

Ranger is a useful # 6 or 7 at this point except we're using him as a # 4 or # 5 far too often.

Rielly is going to be a stud and him maturing will help a lot. I still think in addition to Phaneuf and Rielly developing we need one more high end Dman.

 

[Bluelines]

Of course the sky is not falling. We're just decimated with injuries right now, and "on the ropes". We need to hang on until we get everyone back.

- Hard to say what's going on with Bozak.
- Lupul is, predictably, always injured. His groin injury does NOT seem good right now.
- Bolland is maybe 3 weeks away.
- Kessel left practise early with something bothering him & may not be 100%.
- Orr & McLaren both seem to have some nagging injuries.
- Franson is just coming back from some lower body thing.

Nothing we can do, but "hang on" right now. We're slumping pretty badly, but every team does.

I agree that a good, mobile but tough top-4 D-Man would be a welcome addition right now. A real shut down sort of guy. We're relying too much on our offensive D-Men, and not enough guys are really playing GOOD D. After Dion, it's pretty slim pickings.

Is this the Holymak from SNET forums?

 

[mcleex]

If there was ever a time to land that stud #1 Center the Leafs have been needing the past 6+ years it is now

 

[mikeyz]

If there was ever a time to land that stud #1 Center the Leafs have been needing the past 6+ years it is now

The problem is we won't get that unless we give up something significant and then we will likely have a problem at that position

 

[mcleex]

The problem is we won't get that unless we give up something significant and then we will likely have a problem at that position

I'd rather have a problem at any other position than #1 C (except maybe goalie)

Any other piece can easily be drafted and traded for. Not so easy to draft a #1 C

 

[blueberrie]

Unpopular opinion alert: the centres that we're missing aren't that great to begin with. Missing Lupul, on the other hand, is a major problem.

True but the fact that they are out of the lineup means that we have Kadri, McClemment, Holland, Smith as our C depth. It's more who's replacing them.

 

[KuleminFan41]

Untimely injuries mask Leafs defensive woes and offer more excuses to fans; buying Carlyle time.

Lets see where Pittsburgh would be without Kunitz and Malkin. Vancouver without The Sedins. Detroit without Datsyuk and Zetterberg etc

 

[leafs in five]

Leafs entered the season with a razor thin margin for injuries at centre after dealing Colborne. it's pretty common over a full season to lose important players to injury so we knew this was a risk, and Bolland hasn't played 80 games in a season since 08-09. and the excuse that we look like one of the worst teams in the league because our third line C is out is pretty rich.

 

[leafs in five]

Lets see where Pittsburgh would be without Kunitz and Malkin. Vancouver without The Sedins. Detroit without Datsyuk and Zetterberg etc

Pittsburgh has had to play for large parts of numerous seasons without Crosby. they don't suddenly turn into a team that looks completely outmatched night after night after night.

nevermind that Bozak and Bolland aren't the Sedins, aren't Datsyuk and Zetterberg, aren't even ******* close.

 

[tmlfan98]

If we do trade for a defenseman, he should be a RD. It doesn't matter if he's left or right handed as long as he plays on the right side. He should also be defensively responsible, and can consistently play top 4 mins (20 mins+ a night).

Right now the only defensmen we have that can play on the right side are Phaneuf and Franson (who is a defensive black hole)

 

[rdawg1234]

Pittsburgh has had to play for large parts of numerous seasons without Crosby. they don't suddenly turn into a team that looks completely outmatched night after night after night.

nevermind that Bozak and Bolland aren't the Sedins, aren't Datsyuk and Zetterberg, aren't even ******* close.

When you have Malkin(arguably a top 3 centre in the league) and a while back Staal as your backup C then it wont hurt you at all.

Bolland is a great 3rd C though I dont get the jab there, but Bozak is pretty mediocre in the top 6.

 

[The Brightside]

This.

Injuries are not the problem. The issue is that Nonis/Carlyle brought in players who are on inflated contracts and have yet to prove their worth. We get constantly outshot because we are not a possession team and as a result we are always unable to sustain any zone time against our opponents.

Our best possession players (Mac/Grabo/Frattin/Komarov) were run out of town by a Coach and GM, who are both out of touch and preache a system/style of hockey that does not suit this team. Our big offseason acquisition can be referred to as a "clog"; yes not even a "plug", because a plug has usefulness whereas a clog does not.

Until we move on from Randy Carlyle and until Dave Nonis stops appeasing his every whim (i.e. providing him with the resources to dress two enforcers on the 4th line every night for some reason), we will continue to plummet down the standings.

I still can't comprehend how the casual fan does not understand this simple concept.

Its very simple yet there is only one true winner per season among 30 teams. its so simple that everyone can build a successful team that pays off. the coach that you are complaining about is the one who took this team after just being here for a year into the playoffs last year with HIS system. he hasn't been here for two full seasons yet. you discredit him base on your knowledge (which is simply base on results that they are not getting right now) yet the guy has a ring that he won as a coach. what qualifies you to assume that you know better than him?

 

[The Caveman]

Until this team can figure out how to breakout of its own end, the sky will continue to fall and the Leafs will have trouble winning games.

It is the single biggest problem we have.

 

[Holymakinaw]

Is this the Holymak from SNET forums?

Yup.

 

[achtungbaby]

Pittsburgh has had to play for large parts of numerous seasons without Crosby. they don't suddenly turn into a team that looks completely outmatched night after night after night.

nevermind that Bozak and Bolland aren't the Sedins, aren't Datsyuk and Zetterberg, aren't even ******* close.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I said this in a thread a few years back when Crosby was injured and the Penguins kept humming along: Being able to rattle off the names of our AHL team isn't depth. Depth is losing a key guy without your team skipping a beat.

 

[Al14]

Oh, the sky is falling, and it keeps hitting or running into our players, left, right, and centre. Especially Bozak and Lupul, can't they duck out of the way???