GDT: Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs | 10/11/2018 | 7:30PM ET | FSD

[Reddwit]

Great game for the slow, decrepit Kronwall to shake off the rust.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

I was at this game for a bachelor party sitting between the 2 biggest leaf fans youll meet. If I remember correctly that goal was with like 10 seconds left in OT and it was a Zetterberg one timer that went 5 hole from the top of the circle. The Leaf fans on that trip spent a lot of money after that that night lol

It went off Bernier's toe and off the left post, but yeah. That's the goal.

 

[BAM]

Typical "should be a blowout" type game that might as well end up with a 2-1 win for us. Toronto ain't gonna score 7 every game and it wouldn't be a shock if they come out with a flat effort against a team like the Wings.

Toronto's scored 3 goals twice and 7 goals twice...I really don't think they'll be held to one goal LOL if they lose to the Wings it'll be some crazy 5-4 stuff

 

[raymond23]

Toronto might drop a ten spot on us. Good test I guess.

 

[HIFE]

Abdelkader practicing on the top line!

I honestly feel bad for Blashill and the roster he has to work with.

 

[Fil Larkmanthanasiou]

Abdelkader practicing on the top line!

I honestly feel bad for Blashill and the roster he has to work with.

I honestly feel bad for the Red Wings' players and the coach they have to work with.

 

[jkutswings]

without cholowski our passes out of our zone will take a hit. Which means the puck will be in our zone 70% of the time. we won't have the time to score goals ^^

Couple that with the struggles on faceoffs, and it could be a brutal night for possession stats.

 

[SuperScript29]

in 3 years Babcock make Toronto cup contender . He did it with Ducks , he did it with Wings and now Toronto . I believe he will be great general manager to , hope we will get him

It helps when your team drafts a franchise center in Matthews, and a few other significant top-10 first rounders in Marner, Nylander, and Rielly. Ohh, and on top of all of this talent, you add another franchise center in Tavares.

Babcock is a great coach, but he saw the writing in the wall here and decided to bolt instead of rebuild. His top talented guys were pushing in age and the Wings were not crappy enough to win lotteries, he left at the right time. Our current line-up sucks regardless of coach.

 

[bert2z]

All I hope is that Abdelkader does one of his random and unnecessarily rough open ice hits on Someone. Like the one on Lydman or the one at the IIHF a few years ago

 

[newfy]

It helps when your team drafts a franchise center in Matthews, and a few other significant top-10 first rounders in Marner, Nylander, and Rielly. Ohh, and on top of all of this talent, you add another franchise center in Tavares.

Babcock is a great coach, but he saw the writing in the wall here and decided to bolt instead of rebuild. His top talented guys were pushing in age and the Wings were not crappy enough to win lotteries, he left at the right time. Our current line-up sucks regardless of coach.

Yeah Toronto has 6 top 7 picks (7 top 9 if you count Nylander) on that roster 4 of which were drafted by them recently because they were so bad. 2 guys were picked 1st overall, one 2nd overall (although older now). In comparison Detroit has 1 top 9 pick of their own (Rasmussen) and Vanek was 5th overall. Babcock hasnt really done much to improve that team, they just sucked for a really long time and acquired a lot of talent through the draft by picking in spots where its hard to screw up. They have other guys on their team like Kapanen who was also a first rounder that was acquired basically by trading Dougie Hamilton and Tyler Seguin. Babcock has them as one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Theyre really good but lets not act like Babcock played some massive role in it. They were just really bad for a long time and Babcock saw that and jumped ship. Its hard to be jealous of the Leafs for me after coming off a 25 year playoff streak when they still havent won a playoff round

 

[Henkka]

Toronto's scored 3 goals twice and 7 goals twice...I really don't think they'll be held to one goal LOL if they lose to the Wings it'll be some crazy 5-4 stuff

Will be an expensive roster with that scoring... they have all the forward talent but no cap space ever to fix the defence... Nylander -case is not the first and last case, when guy thinks too much about himself.

I could think that "perfect" rebuild will be screwed up because of that sky-high scoring, and they will win zero Cups. Salary raises for "too good scorers" will push them to mediocrity, before they win. It will be a nice team carried by two expensive stars, with no caphit bargains, like other winners like Chicago had in the past. "Almost there" every year, but that's it. Other contenders are constructed better and more balanced.

Of course that offence is fun to watch, but Maple Leaf fans should prepare for long history of 2nd and 3rd round exits. The dream will sell (Maple Leafs rocking, but not winning), good business for NHL. Maybe once they'll push all the way, but there will be no dynasties or anything.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Will be an expensive roster with that scoring... they have all the forward talent but no cap space ever to fix the defence... Nylander -case is not the first and last case, when guy thinks too much about himself.

I could think that "perfect" rebuild will be screwed up because of that sky-high scoring, and they will win zero Cups. Salary raises for "too good scorers" will push them to mediocrity. It will be a nice team carried by two expensive stars, with no caphit bargains. "Almost there" every year, but that's it. Other contenders are constructed better and more balanced.

Of course that offence is fun to watch, but Maple Leaf fans should prepare for long history of 2nd and 3rd round exits. The dream will sell (Maple Leafs rocking, but not winning), good business for NHL. Maybe once they'll push all the way, but there will be no dynasties or anything.

That's almost exactly what I told the Leafs fans on /sp/ the day Tavares signed. Deflated a lot of party balloons because they even acknowledged that was the likely case. In addition to the salary/ego/defense problems it is worth mention that having the dynamic duo of Tavares and Matthews might cause some of the young kids to relax and take their foot off the gas. If Shanahan is wise, he needs to start scoping out a good locker room motivator to bring in at the trade deadline and maybe figure out a way to sign Nylander and flip him for a good defenseman (or even 2 mediocre ones). Although, if he grows some balls, he could just send Andersen and someone and a draft pick to Columbus for Bobrovsky at the deadline and just win the cup this year with no defense.

 

[Frk It]

Will be an expensive roster with that scoring... they have all the forward talent but no cap space ever to fix the defence... Nylander -case is not the first and last case, when guy thinks too much about himself.

I could think that "perfect" rebuild will be screwed up because of that sky-high scoring, and they will win zero Cups. Salary raises for "too good scorers" will push them to mediocrity, before they win. It will be a nice team carried by two expensive stars, with no caphit bargains, like other winners like Chicago had in the past. "Almost there" every year, but that's it. Other contenders are constructed better and more balanced.

Of course that offence is fun to watch, but Maple Leaf fans should prepare for long history of 2nd and 3rd round exits. The dream will sell (Maple Leafs rocking, but not winning), good business for NHL. Maybe once they'll push all the way, but there will be no dynasties or anything.

Don’t you always say you can just trade forwards for defense and you don’t really need a #1... and etc, etc?

 

[Henkka]

Don’t you always say you can just trade forwards for defense and you don’t really need a #1... and etc, etc?

Yeah, Dubas should push the button pretty soon, until those forward caphits will go out of hands, and there's no room for a big-salary defenceman.

Maybe Nylander is the piece for a D, but I don't know is there anybody else on the market than Faulk. I have hard time to see him play anymore under Mike Babcock's eyes.

Babcock would absolutely hate that kind of guy, like it was with Hudler and other salary demanders. Nylander signs now, and he will be on the Mike's doghouse for the rest of the contract.

 

[BAM]

Will be an expensive roster with that scoring... they have all the forward talent but no cap space ever to fix the defence... Nylander -case is not the first and last case, when guy thinks too much about himself.

I could think that "perfect" rebuild will be screwed up because of that sky-high scoring, and they will win zero Cups. Salary raises for "too good scorers" will push them to mediocrity, before they win. It will be a nice team carried by two expensive stars, with no caphit bargains, like other winners like Chicago had in the past. "Almost there" every year, but that's it. Other contenders are constructed better and more balanced.

Of course that offence is fun to watch, but Maple Leaf fans should prepare for long history of 2nd and 3rd round exits. The dream will sell (Maple Leafs rocking, but not winning), good business for NHL. Maybe once they'll push all the way, but there will be no dynasties or anything.

They have Kadri and their 1D locked up on those bargain deals, that's their shutdown top 6 center for 4.5 million and a top 15-20 1D locked up for 5 million. In the worst case scenario that the Leafs have to move Nylander, they go from a big 3 of Matthews, Marner, Nylander to Matthews, Tavares, Marner + whatever defensive upgrade they get for Nylander. Not to mention, if they're paying Matthews and Marner that kind of money, they'll have become 90-100 point players, and on top of that they still have an elite franchise center in Tavares. With those 3 and Kadri, you don't really need much else in terms of star power up front, they can fill out the roster with Brown, Hyman, Leivo, Kapanen, Bracco, Grundstrom, Lindholm...all cheap ELC players.

Their core going forward is Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Kadri, Rielly, Andersen. Obviously Nylander would be a core piece if he's retained but those first 3 are all superstars that will put up the numbers for the Leafs to be great offensively for a long time.

In a year's time, Gardiner will be off the books and it just so happens that the Leafs top prospect is a d-man in Liljegren. He looks like he can be Gardiner minus all the brain farts which is actually pretty damn good. The Leafs also have Sandin who was their first rounder last year who looked great in preseason, he might have a shot at a bottom pairing spot next year as well. The Leafs have heavily drafted defensemen over the past 2 years, for this very reason. Having Rielly on a sweet heart deal and your 2 top prospects being ready next year saves them a ton.

Either way, having too many good offensive players is a problem every team would love to have.

 

[Invictus12]

in 2015 Toronto was worst NHL team , then they trade away their best player Kessel

Yes but they also had pics and prospects coming in. Babcock didn't turn them into anything. You thinking Shanahan.

 

[Henkka]

Yes but they also had pics and prospects coming in. Babcock didn't turn them into anything. You thinking Shanahan.

Shanahan aquired did rebuild the management, Dubas, Hunter, Lamoriello. All great hockey minds who did affect on the organization on their own way. Did build a whole new culture and management structure. Added probably the best possible coach. There was also some great drafters/scouts which are gone now. Hunter left and some of his assistants went to Arizona. Dubas should be the "Stan Bowman" now and start making moves. "Tallon job" (acquiring the talent gold-mine) is done.

 

[Syckle78]

Toronto's scored 3 goals twice and 7 goals twice...I really don't think they'll be held to one goal LOL if they lose to the Wings it'll be some crazy 5-4 stuff

Toronto section is to your left.

 

[Henkka]

In a year's time, Gardiner will be off the books and it just so happens that the Leafs top prospect is a d-man in Liljegren. He looks like he can be Gardiner minus all the brain farts which is actually pretty damn good. The Leafs also have Sandin who was their first rounder last year who looked great in preseason, he might have a shot at a bottom pairing spot next year as well. The Leafs have heavily drafted defensemen over the past 2 years, for this very reason. Having Rielly on a sweet heart deal and your 2 top prospects being ready next year saves them a ton.

Either way, having too many good offensive players is a problem every team would love to have.

But don't fool yourself with those defensive prospects, if you are banking a success that comes with them. If they are trade baits for a proven defenceman, then I'm all in.

Like last season:

Capitals had in-prime defence
Vegas had in-prime defence
Jets had in-prime defence, which Vegas did beat
Tampa had in-prime defence, which Capitals did beat
Nashville had in-prime defence, which Jets did beat
San Jose had in-prime defence, which Vegas did beat
Pens had in-prime defence, which Capitals did beat
Boston had some mix of kids and vets and inprime, which Tampa did beat.

The Top8 pretty much has 100% in-prime defences, and I could bet against every kid-defence-team, that there's no chance go past 2nd round in NHL.

So if Maple Leafs ever wants to win, you trade those nice kids on the defence away, and then we can start talking about winning a Cup. You have Rielly and Zaitsev there, and shuld extend Gardiner. They are in prime. But 3 pieces are missing, and 50% of cheap kids on D are not the winning answer.

If you are planning to pay for you offensive stars and make cap savings with ELCs on defence, I don't think that's a winning plan. Those teams just won't ever exist on Conference/Division finals. They are all rebuilding or getting experience of early round losses.

Trading for proven defence would be THE plan.

 

[Invictus12]

Shanahan aquired did rebuild the management, Dubas, Hunter, Lamoriello. All great hockey minds who did affect on the organization on their own way. Did build a whole new culture and management structure. Added probably the best possible coach. There was also some great drafters/scouts which are gone now. Hunter left and some of his assistants went to Arizona. Dubas should be the "Stan Bowman" now and start making moves. "Tallon job" (acquiring the talent gold-mine) is done.

Thats entirely fair and I did fell intomentalityof crediting one guy when plenty of credit should go around. Just in case, to be clear, I wasn't knocking on Babs at all. Just felt the praise was mis-aligned. You canbe the greatest driver in the worldbut if you're sitting in a Honda Civic facing off against a Ferrari Spider, you'll still lose..

 

[ArGarBarGar]

"These players are so good they won't be able to afford them all" is such a silly statement to make if you are trying to keep a fan of a team from being excited about the future.

Also Toronto fans don't need to come in here to talk up their players. The main board is bad enough as it is.

 

[ANDI P IS CUTE]

we dont need Nylander, he will be traded for a top 4 RHD.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Until they fix their back-end I don't think the Leafs are going to win a big thing. Matthews is probably the second best player in the league now though behind McDavid, he is a monster. But I am not a huge believer in Rielly who is like an upgrade on Keith Yandle for me in that he is a little better than Yandle at everything but still finds a way at least a couple times a game to make me wonder if he understands hockey. I really believe there is no more overrated player in the league than Rielly. But even if he was everything the Leafs hope for he still needs a lot more help. Gardiner really is a fourth forward type and everyone else is pretty meh with Hainsey getting older and being abused by Babcock minutes wise at this point.

I don't get it. I understand they are going to light up some scoreboards. But I don't have faith in the Leafs to beat a team like Pittsburgh, Tampa heck I am not sure they passed Boston but just got closer with Tavares. Tampa and Boston have some good young players too so they aren't going anywhere. Florida and Buffalo are pretty good and gaining now in my opinion in particular the Panthers. If the Leafs don't fix their back-end they aren't going anywhere and it is going to be interesting how that market will react.

 

[SCD]

I am flying into town and I am going to catch my first game at the LCA.

I purposely bought tickets to watch Cholowski in the D zone 1st and 3rd periods. This really sucks that he is not playing.....but I guess I will be watching a lot of scoring.

 

[WingedWheel1987]

I really can't understand why Kronwall is even playing anymore. The guy basically needs a week of maintenance just to play one game. If Kronwall wants to keep playing, why isn't someone within the organization stepping in and telling him that is isn't in his or the organization's best interest to keep "playing"?