Rumor: Dubas big game hunting? Where there is smoke there is Jakob Chychrun?

[myleafs]

Not true at all. They faced adversity at the beginning of the season, maybe the fact that they dealt with it so convincingly is a big part of why they've been steamrolling ever since.

What often works out for teams in the end, is going into the playoffs on a roll. Still a long way to go but if Boston doesn't fall off much over the last 30 games, I wouldn't expect it to happen when the playoffs start.

Totally agree with everything your saying. I went from hating Boston to respecting them. How many yrs have I been reading about how the bruins are getting old and on the downslide and yet they keep on truckin. ( Boston has a very clear identity and if you dont fit you are gone. I love the way Boston plays and wish we would learn a few things from them)

I find the responses to your posts funny. its like youve insulted someones newborn or something. Boston is the favorite right now period, Not sure what the argument is and why its so triggering for some to hear that...and like you said sure leafs could beat em but until they show they can when it counts then they cant as far as Im concerned. LeafsTop end skill is there at least for the top 2 lines...after that it gets a little murky for me..but more importantly its the top down philosophy that I think sets the Bruins a apart from the Leafs.

On a side note leafs better focus on Tampa and not Boston. I think Tampa is gonna be back to their old selves this playoffs. Clearly they were not their usual selves last yr without Point and with their superstar goalie playing like a mere mortal. Not to take anything away from the leafs who were overall better than previous yrs but Tampa was off last yr and we still couldn't beat em so should be interesting....

 

[Sypher04]

Totally agree with everything your saying. I went from hating Boston to respecting them. How many yrs have I been reading about how the bruins are getting old and on the downslide and yet they keep on truckin. ( Boston has a very clear identity and if you dont fit you are gone. I love the way Boston plays and wish we would learn a few things from them)

I find the responses to your posts funny. its like youve insulted someones newborn or something. Boston is the favorite right now period, Not sure what the argument is and why its so triggering for some to hear that...and like you said sure leafs could beat em but until they show they can when it counts then they cant as far as Im concerned. LeafsTop end skill is there at least for the top 2 lines...after that it gets a little murky for me..but more importantly its the top down philosophy that I think sets the Bruins a apart from the Leafs.

On a side note leafs better focus on Tampa and not Boston. I think Tampa is gonna be back to their old selves this playoffs. Clearly they were not their usual selves last yr without Point and with their superstar goalie playing like a mere mortal. Not to take anything away from the leafs who were overall better than previous yrs but Tampa was off last yr and we still couldn't beat em so should be interesting....

You guys do understand that being a favorite, which I don’t think anyone had argued with, doesn’t inherently make the series any less of a toss up, right? I know on the surface those sound like competing things, but they really are not. Favorites lose. A lot actually

My main point is that the perceived separation between us and Boston, based on their standing, is overblown.

 

[notbias]

Hey we've all seen the President Trophy winning teams team roll through the regular season and then are out in the 1st round. It can happen but this team is scary, everyone know what they are going to do, 1) control the boards 2) find open ice 3) find the trailer 4) multiple cross seam passes. Everyone and theiri dog knows their game plan, yet seemingly they still do it at will.

They don't do it at will.

This month and last, they went 6-4 against play off teams.

 

[myleafs]

You guys do understand that being a favorite, which I don’t think anyone had argued with, doesn’t inherently make the series any less of a toss up, right? I know on the surface those sound like competing things, but they really are not. Favorites lose. A lot actually

My main point is that the perceived separation between us and Boston, based on their standing, is overblown.

Is it a toss up or are the Bruins the favorite? Can it be both? Of course any team can beat any other team in any given game. Bruins with this core have shown they can have playoff success, the leafs have not ....as of yet. To call it a toss up seems weird to me...no offense.

 

[NHLInjuryViz]

As of Feb 5th they were bottom 10 in man games lost, while we were number 1. I haven’t seen updated numbers since

What I had through 9 February:

Anything putting the Leafs much higher is more than a little illusory, since they have over 130 games “missed” by Abramov, Amirov, Dahlström, Kressler, Rindell and Woll while on Season Opening IR.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Totally agree with everything your saying. I went from hating Boston to respecting them. How many yrs have I been reading about how the bruins are getting old and on the downslide and yet they keep on truckin. ( Boston has a very clear identity and if you dont fit you are gone. I love the way Boston plays and wish we would learn a few things from them)

I find the responses to your posts funny. its like youve insulted someones newborn or something. Boston is the favorite right now period, Not sure what the argument is and why its so triggering for some to hear that...and like you said sure leafs could beat em but until they show they can when it counts then they cant as far as Im concerned. LeafsTop end skill is there at least for the top 2 lines...after that it gets a little murky for me..but more importantly its the top down philosophy that I think sets the Bruins a apart from the Leafs.

On a side note leafs better focus on Tampa and not Boston. I think Tampa is gonna be back to their old selves this playoffs. Clearly they were not their usual selves last yr without Point and with their superstar goalie playing like a mere mortal. Not to take anything away from the leafs who were overall better than previous yrs but Tampa was off last yr and we still couldn't beat em so should be interesting....

Yeah people were talking several years go even about Boston getting old, they may as well start rebuilding etc. and it just hasn't happened. And it sure would be nice if we learned something from them! I have no idea why some people are triggered, Boston is the obvious favorite but I've also said many times that of course it's possible we beat them, not sure why people are so sensitive.

I agree 100% about TB. Even if we play our best, we could still lose to them. They have as much or more talent as we do, they have the best goalie in the world and they're also an experienced bunch that knows perhaps better than any other team what it takes to win the cup. Whoever gets home ice will probably be slight favorites but on neutral ice, I'd say you have to objectively give the nod to them so absolutely, there no point in even thinking about Boston right now in terms of them being a potential playoff opponent.

You guys do understand that being a favorite, which I don’t think anyone had argued with, doesn’t inherently make the series any less of a toss up, right? I know on the surface those sound like competing things, but they really are not. Favorites lose. A lot actually

My main point is that the perceived separation between us and Boston, based on their standing, is overblown.

Maybe it's the terminology that's causing the divide between us. To me, a tossup means 50/50, or at least very close to that. I think last time we played Boston the bookies had Boston as the clear favorite, I think they had them at about 57% to beat us. I thought that was a little bit high but whatever. This time, barring major developments between now and then, I think Boston will be given a bit more than 60% chance to beat us but whatever it ends up being, Boston will definitely be favored so that's what I mean when I say it's not a tossup.

 

[Gary Nylund]

What I had through 9 February:
View attachment 651280
Anything putting the Leafs much higher is more than a little illusory, since they have over 130 games “missed” by Abramov, Amirov, Dahlström, Kressler, Rindell and Woll while on Season Opening IR.

Great post, thank you for this! I can't say I'm sure that I understand all of this completely, would it be correct to say that the key column here is the lost WAR, and since we are at 3.19 and Boston is at 1.96, that means that our injuries have cost us about 1.2 wins compared to Boston which is roughly 2+ points in the standings?

 

[Hellcat]

Yeah people were talking several years go even about Boston getting old, they may as well start rebuilding etc. and it just hasn't happened. And it sure would be nice if we learned something from them! I have no idea why some people are triggered, Boston is the obvious favorite but I've also said many times that of course it's possible we beat them, not sure why people are so sensitive.

I agree 100% about TB. Even if we play our best, we could still lose to them. They have as much or more talent as we do, they have the best goalie in the world and they're also an experienced bunch that knows perhaps better than any other team what it takes to win the cup. Whoever gets home ice will probably be slight favorites but on neutral ice, I'd say you have to objectively give the nod to them so absolutely, there no point in even thinking about Boston right now in terms of them being a potential playoff opponent.


Maybe it's the terminology that's causing the divide between us. To me, a tossup means 50/50, or at least very close to that. I think last time we played Boston the bookies had Boston as the clear favorite, I think they had them at about 57% to beat us. I thought that was a little bit high but whatever. This time, barring major developments between now and then, I think Boston will be given a bit more than 60% chance to beat us but whatever it ends up being, Boston will definitely be favored so that's what I mean when I say it's not a tossup.

If anyone doubts Bergeron is a HOFer they just need to look at the roster on that team for the last 15 years. The guy is the stick that stirs their coffee.

 

[Gary Nylund]

If anyone doubts Bergeron is a HOFer they just need to look at the roster on that team for the last 15 years. The guy is the stick that stirs their coffee.

Zero doubt for me. In another discussion earlier about Marner and players with high hockey IQ's, I remember thinking about him. Hard to quantify/measure, but I'd say that Bergeron's hockey IQ is among the highest in the game today.

 

[therealkoho]

After watching that game last night and seeing a couple of other Hawks games this year, its abundantly clear that Patrick Kane really doesn't need to be anywhere near this team.

As for Chychrun, something about him reminds me a lot of Jay Bouwmeester and JBoy's play. Tall guy who skates really well with a great set of hands, who plays defence passably, with his real value being on the offensive side of the puck. He'll give opponents a real dirty look occasionally and will wrestle when pushed. He'd much rather strip you of the puck than remove you physically from the crease. He does get credited with hits 485 over 373 games, but mostly at home funny enough.

He'd be a real good get for the Leafs, but not at this wildly inflated price the Yotes are supposedly asking.

If they'd listen to reason on a package that includes Josh Brown and Lawson Crouse, then I'd make something resembling a hockey trade

Brown gives the Leafs a bottom pairing crease clearer that comes in handy in the playoffs and Crouse the 2LW that they really need

 

[Gary Nylund]

Easy question: Do you think the 2022-2023 Boston Bruins are among the greatest teams in NHL history? Because their record indicates they may be one of the top 5 greatest teams in NHL history. With almost the same roster that barely squeaked into the playoffs last year.

I think we really need for the season to end before talking about what their place in history is. I said earlier when they were on roughly the same pace as the 77 MTL team that I didn't think they would keep that up, and they haven't. We'll see how the rest of the season goes, and the playoffs of course and then we can have that conversation. It's an interesting question though isn't it, and very hard to answer at this point. It's fascinating story though, they're definitely the team to watch and the story of the year so far, impressive stuff!

 

[NHLInjuryViz]

Great post, thank you for this! I can't say I'm sure that I understand all of this completely, would it be correct to say that the key column here is the lost WAR, and since we are at 3.19 and Boston is at 1.96, that means that our injuries have cost us about 1.2 wins compared to Boston which is roughly 2+ points in the standings?

Well, plenty of reasons that WAR lost doesn’t translate directly to actual wins/points lost (even if you think WAR numbers are credible in the first place) but that gap between the teams is a reasonable starting point for the impact.

(It’s also a zero sum game, so you can’t have 32 teams all losing wins/points. I do track this on a net basis game by game too but the Leafs-Bruins gap was still somewhere around 1.5 WAR as at the All-Star break.)

 

[MilesNewton]

After watching that game last night and seeing a couple of other Hawks games this year, its abundantly clear that Patrick Kane really doesn't need to be anywhere near this team.

As for Chychrun, something about him reminds me a lot of Jay Bouwmeester and JBoy's play. Tall guy who skates really well with a great set of hands, who plays defence passably, with his real value being on the offensive side of the puck. He'll give opponents a real dirty look occasionally and will wrestle when pushed. He'd much rather strip you of the puck than remove you physically from the crease. He does get credited with hits 485 over 373 games, but mostly at home funny enough.

He'd be a real good get for the Leafs, but not at this wildly inflated price the Yotes are supposedly asking.

If they'd listen to reason on a package that includes Josh Brown and Lawson Crouse, then I'd make something resembling a hockey trade

Brown gives the Leafs a bottom pairing crease clearer that comes in handy in the playoffs and Crouse the 2LW that they really need

agree what Kane wants he might not get, J bow comparison is true but stranger things have happened could see Kane going to Vegas.

 

[egd27]

They are on pace for the best regular season in NHL history.* Their roster does not reflect that in the slightest. It's a defeatist attitude

*since regular season OT was implemented

 

[Hellcat]

Zero doubt for me. In another discussion earlier about Marner and players with high hockey IQ's, I remember thinking about him. Hard to quantify/measure, but I'd say that Bergeron's hockey IQ is among the highest in the game today.

Without a doubt the most underrated player in the last 20 years. This guy is a legit super star but is treated like a regular Joe. How do you become a quiet HOFer?

Marner is a good comparable in the sense he is not given due respect, the guy is so talented but people still doubt his abilities, he falls under the radar for many hockey fans.

If you listen to a Leaf fan that grew up in the early 90's you'd think Wendel Clark was giving Gretzky a run for his money.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Without a doubt the most underrated player in the last 20 years. This guy is a legit super star but is treated like a regular Joe. How do you become a quiet HOFer?

Marner is a good comparable in the sense he is not given due respect, the guy is so talented but people still doubt his abilities, he falls under the radar for many hockey fans.

If you listen to a Leaf fan that grew up in the early 90's you'd think Wendel Clark was giving Gretzky a run for his money.

Yup. IIRC Bergeron went in the 2nd round of the draft when Crosby went #1. I just might have a peek later at that draft to ponder how high he'd go in a re-draft, I'd guess he's probably top 5, maybe even top 3.

Interesting what you say about Marner. People tend to overrate their own players and underrate players from other teams so I guess it wouldn't surprise me if Marner was underrated outside of Toronto. If that is true, then the teams lack of playoff success probably has a lot to do with it. I think he's overrated by many people in Toronto though, some even talk about him as if he's a top 5 player, even a Hart candidate and I think that's a bit much.

Clark is overrated by many but that's understandable. When he came in to the league straight from the draft as a teenager, the team sucked so bad that even he couldn't change that. He did however make the games worth watching again because he was like a hurricane, he had a deadly shot that ended up in the net quite a lot and he also seemed to be on a mission to beat up the toughest guy on every team in the league. He was truly one of kind and in my 50+ years of watching hockey, I can't say I've seen anyone that had more heart than Wendel Clark!

 

[saltming]

Yes please

 

[aingefan]

This thread took a hard left.

It *is* pretty cool what Boston is doing; I would never have guessed. But I’m not wading into that debate though, not til a couple weeks left in the season. Momentum matters in my mind - just like risers in the draft.

Either way, like @Menzinger said, it’d be good if Arizona ended up with some egg on their face after all these seemingly extortive demands. Or it can just end. Either way, I’d be happy.

 

[Lightsol]

Without a doubt the most underrated player in the last 20 years. This guy is a legit super star but is treated like a regular Joe. How do you become a quiet HOFer?

You can't be f***ing serious... Patrice "mail him the Selke no matter what" Bergeron is underrated?

 

[Gary Nylund]

You can't be f***ing serious... Patrice "mail him the Selke no matter what" Bergeron is underrated?

He might not be underrated at this point, but I think there were many years where people just thought of him as a defensive specialist when he was really a lot more than just that.

 

[Hellcat]

You can't be f***ing serious... Patrice "mail him the Selke no matter what" Bergeron is underrated?

Yep, if you asked most fans to name the top five centers in the league, I'd bet 50% would not have Patrice in their top 5.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Need some smoke for sure

 

[Hellcat]

Reports out of Columbus are that there is a deal in place for Gabrikov, most likely Boston. Rumors are fun