Brad Treliving is doing a great job.

[sxvnert]

A tale of two seasons so far for Tre.

A pretty rough start, but things finally look like they're settling in nicely, primarily because Bert and Domi look like they've started to click with the team much more; I'd be fine if both end up with extensions. Klingberg remains a big miss, and Reaves is still meh, even though he's sometimes useful.

Got the Nylander deal sorted and the Mccann extension looks like a tidy bit of business.

The tdl outcome still way too early to judge, but things look interesting.

I'd say I've upgraded my view of him from skeptical to (very) cautiously optimistic. His next offseason will be the bigger test given he's now had a whole year with the organization at that point.

The key to this off season will be convincing Tavares to take a hike @ 50% retained.

 

[Donnie740]

Hits/60

18/19: 17.19 (29th)
19/20: 16.72 (29th)
20/21: 17.77 (27th)
21/22: 21.08 (24th)
22/23: 21.45 (22nd)
23/24: 26.31 (3rd)

Massive improvement over previous years.

Those are the kind of statistics that Kyle Dumbass and the Fan Boi Club just ignored.

Who knew hockey was a physical game after all?

 

[darrylsittler27]

We don't have much to lose. Seek and destroy and that means Reaves plays.

 

[Clyde Brewer]

Hits/60

18/19: 17.19 (29th)
19/20: 16.72 (29th)
20/21: 17.77 (27th)
21/22: 21.08 (24th)
22/23: 21.45 (22nd)
23/24: 26.31 (3rd)

Massive improvement over previous years.

Do you know how those stats correlate to their possession numbers?

I love seeing a more physical team, especially along the boards and in front of the net- it's been great watching them improve there and the added nastiness was greatly needed.

But keep in mind that we're only throwing hits when we don't have the puck. If a rise in quantity of hits coincides with equal or superior possession numbers, then we're miles ahead.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Hits/60

18/19: 17.19 (29th)
19/20: 16.72 (29th)
20/21: 17.77 (27th)
21/22: 21.08 (24th)
22/23: 21.45 (22nd)
23/24: 26.31 (3rd)

Massive improvement over previous years.

For the record, we were 4th in the playoffs in hits last year, with 40.41 hits/60.
Top-7 in hits in the playoffs in 5 of our 7 years, and have outhit our playoff opponent in half of our series.
It's funny how much focus there is on something so irrelevant, especially considering that we were already pretty good at it when it mattered.

 

[Apex Predator]

For the record, we were 4th in the playoffs in hits last year, with 40.41 hits/60.
Top-7 in hits in the playoffs in 5 of our 7 years, and have outhit our playoff opponent in half of our series.
It's funny how much focus there is on something so irrelevant, especially considering that we were already pretty good at it when it mattered.

You can say the same to posters who post all those Jfresh charts and XG. End of day it all comes down to how they do in the playoffs. Everyone can manipulate the stats to prove this year is different. I want to see a couple playoff round wins to truly show me it’s different.

 

[Donnie740]

You can say the same to posters who post all those Jfresh charts and XG. End of day it all comes down to how they do in the playoffs. Everyone can manipulate the stats to prove this year is different. I want to see a couple playoff round wins to truly show me it’s different.

Exactly.

Physical play is ALWAYS what wins in the playoffs. This is the NHL - - not women’s hockey.

Only a clueless gimp like Kyle Dumbass would consider body checks to be irrelevant and focus on some worthless stat like “expected high danger chances”.

What a difference it makes to have a professional GM like Treliving instead of a useless intern from Brock University.

 

[Dekes For Days]

You can say the same to posters who post all those Jfresh charts and XG.

They add a lot more value and relevant information about a team or player and their quality than hits/60, which is more of a badly regulated playstyle and possession measure than a quality measure. If anything, it has historically had more of an inverse correlation with quality.

Weird how nobody seems to care that Carolina is last in the league in hits/60. Or that Dallas is 2nd last. Or that Colorado is 6th last.
I wonder if people are aware that Calgary was 27th in hits/60 over Treliving's tenure.

 

[Apex Predator]

They add a lot more value and relevant information about a team or player and their quality than hits/60, which is more of a badly regulated playstyle and possession measure than a quality measure. If anything, it has historically had more of an inverse correlation with quality.

Weird how nobody seems to care that Carolina is last in the league in hits/60. Or that Dallas is 2nd last. Or that Colorado is 6th last.
I wonder if people are aware that Calgary was 27th in hits/60 over Treliving's tenure.

Again I think my point was missed or ignored. All these stats that every side pushes will mean nothing if they lose in the first round again. We can all argue what stat is better or what style is better. If they lose in the first round again it doesn’t matter because what matters is winning in the playoffs.

 

[GrizzGreen]

Klingberg remains a big miss

feel like he was a boom/bust situation regardless. Unfortunately, the latter hit.

 

[Ports]

Do you know how those stats correlate to their possession numbers?

I love seeing a more physical team, especially along the boards and in front of the net- it's been great watching them improve there and the added nastiness was greatly needed.

But keep in mind that we're only throwing hits when we don't have the puck. If a rise in quantity of hits coincides with equal or superior possession numbers, then we're miles ahead.

The reality is no matter how much a team possesses the puck they need to forecheck hard and control the corners and net front in the dzone. Physical play is needed to keep goals out of your net and to get the puck back. Winning board battles to gain possession and defending the net front have long been a team weakness and improving there will help what’s most important. Scoring and preventing goals.

 

[Ports]

They add a lot more value and relevant information about a team or player and their quality than hits/60, which is more of a badly regulated playstyle and possession measure than a quality measure. If anything, it has historically had more of an inverse correlation with quality.

Weird how nobody seems to care that Carolina is last in the league in hits/60. Or that Dallas is 2nd last. Or that Colorado is 6th last.
I wonder if people are aware that Calgary was 27th in hits/60 over Treliving's tenure.

Physicality is a style of play and way of defending and dominating an opponent (both physically and mentally). There’s too many examples of it being used successfully against the Leafs in the playoffs to list here but an example of the Leafs using it to their advantage was the game against the Oilers where their strategy was to pound the Oilers top players at every opportunity. It definitely took the Oilers off their game in the first two periods and you could see how they weren’t prepared to play on a game like that because the Leafs star players are normally the ones being run. Treliving didn’t bring Benoit, Edmondson and Lyubushkin because they have active sticks. Opponents need to understand that they’ll pay the price along the boards and in front of the net in the Leafs zone.

 

[Menzinger]

feel like he was a boom/bust situation regardless. Unfortunately, the latter hit.

That's fair to an extent, but the bust side definitely had the higher odds even from the moment of signing. He hadn't played well since he left Dallas.

Tre did well in keeping it to a one year deal, but I also think it's fair to wonder how else that money could have been spent

 

[ToneDog]

Tre appears to have passed all his tests. Now we wait to see if he passes his exams.

 

[Ports]

Looks like Steve Simmons is still hating on the Leafs:

"I have a list of nine teams that can win the Stanley Cup. The number goes to 10 if you include the Winnipeg Jets.

In my order, the Stanley Cup will be won by one of the Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes;, Dallas Stars,; Vancouver Canucks, Vegas, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. Then Winnipeg. Then Tampa Bay. That’s 11. That puts the Leafs at No. 12 among Stanley Cup contenders.

And the reason I rank Tampa ahead of Toronto, despite the standings: They still have Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal, Victor Hedman on defence, big gamer Nikita Kucherov up front and Jon Cooper coaching. By comparison, the Leafs have I don’t know in goal, Morgan Rielly as their best defenceman, Auston Matthews up front (most playoff goals in a season, five) and Sheldon Keefe coaching."

Like most old guys, he’s seen the Leafs and especially this version lose too many playoff series over the years. I would rank Leafs top ten but they have as tough a path as any team just trying to get out of their division likely needing to beat two of Florida, Boston or Tampa.

 

[Ports]

That's a very optimistic view. We don't have a lot of draft picks and I wouldn't say we're a "top team", especially in the playoffs.

As for JT, if we sign him after next year, it had better be for no more than $1.5. Better all round if the sign him as a faceoff coach instead of as a player.


Good - let him do it from behind the bench.

I’ve been down on JT as much as anybody especially given what they’re paying him. They’ve got a year to find a 2C because right now they don’t have one or even a reliable 3C. He’s probably worth re-signing at low price short term if they haven’t found his replacement but he shouldn’t be wearing the C after this season.

 

[Ports]

Foligno was garbage and didn't deserve a big pay day

Foligno was injured when he played for the Leafs which raises a bunch of other questions but why did Dubas give up a 1st round puck for him if he was such a terrible player.

 

[ToneDog]

Foligno was injured when he played for the Leafs which raises a bunch of other questions but why did Dubas give up a 1st round puck for him if he was such a terrible player.

Because Dubas gets body bagged in trades.

 

[Ports]

I agree that he was garbage....but the fact that Dubas lowballed him is the interesting part when others are claiming O'Reilly, Schenn and Acciari were almost automatic re-signs here and Tre let them all get away because he doesn't know what he's doing.

He couldn’t pay them what they got from other teams. O’Reilly hated the coach and didn’t like playing in the fish bowl and they got outbid on Schenn who they couldn’t afford. Acciari who cares.

 

[horner]

I agree that he was garbage....but the fact that Dubas lowballed him is the interesting part when others are claiming O'Reilly, Schenn and Acciari were almost automatic re-signs here and Tre let them all get away because he doesn't know what he's doing.

ORielly didn't want to play here
Schenn 2.75 m * 3 yrs overpayment
Accuri 2 mil * 3 yrs overpayment
Kerfoot gad he is gone

 

[Racer88]

Foligno was injured when he played for the Leafs which raises a bunch of other questions but why did Dubas give up a 1st round puck for him if he was such a terrible player.

Dubas……say no more

 

[aingefan]

Tre appears to have passed all his tests. Now we wait to see if he passes his exams.

Mid terms and finals.
Why hasn’t this analogy caught on?

 

[horner]

Foligno was injured when he played for the Leafs which raises a bunch of other questions but why did Dubas give up a 1st round puck for him if he was such a terrible player.

He was injured before we traded for him

 

[Dekes For Days]

Physicality is a style of play and way of defending and dominating an opponent (both physically and mentally). There’s too many examples of it being used successfully against the Leafs in the playoffs to list here but an example of the Leafs using it to their advantage was the game against the Oilers where their strategy was to pound the Oilers top players at every opportunity. It definitely took the Oilers off their game in the first two periods

Physicality and hitting is just one of many characteristics that can be used to achieve a hockey objective. Some people personally enjoy it, and so they attempt to put it on a pedestal over other characteristics that achieve the same objective, but it's not special, and is in no way a prerequisite for being successful. There are no examples of teams that hit us in the playoffs to victory, and if we do end up going on a run this year, it certainly won't be because of our regular season hits/60 increasing. Edmonton generated quite a bit in that game, and Draisiatl scored while McDavid got 3 points, so not sure it's the best example.

Using physicality to help the team is great. It can be an effective tool, and it stands out and is a lot more fun than things like good positioning or stickwork. But too often the physicality itself becomes the focus, and we ignore the entire rest of the toolbox, and what the actual task is.

He was injured before we traded for him

We don't need that misinformation again. He got injured while with us on May 3rd after going PPG and playing well through his first 4 games.
We saw it happen. The team told us. We saw the behind the scenes. Foligno himself told us.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

He was injured before we traded for him

No he wasn't that happened after.