Franson and Kostka: Where do they fit?

[satyr9]

I think Kostka's days will be numbered on PP once Gardiner returns. Until then, they're kind of stuck with him. Liles/Franson makes sense and you're left with Fraser, Gunnarsson, or Kostka on PP with Phaneuf, so Kostka wins out by default. No matter how you run it, he's the 4th PP d-man, but he gets more minutes 'cause Kostka/Franson or Phaneuf/Franson would both be awful experiments.

Once Gardiner returns, I think Kostka likely sticks with Liles for e/s time, but gets no PP (Liles/Gardiner on left, Phaneuf/Franson on right) and wouldn't shock me if he were the de facto 6th, getting no pk time either (that'd depend on whether Gardiner and/or Franson can handle triple duty better than Kostka on the PK). Really, with Gardiner back and Komisarek not playing like a giant stiff, I could see the Kostka thing burning out altogether.

e/s
Gardiner/Phaneuf
Gunnarsson/Franson
Liles/Komisarek(orKostka)

pp
Liles/Phaneuf
Gardiner/Franson

pk
Gunnarsson/Phaneuf
Gardiner/Komisarek(orKostka)

I don't see the point of keeping Phaneuf on the left-side and playing heavy Kostka minutes when this is the alternative.

 

[daveleaf]

Does it matter right now? Whomever is on the point with Dion unless he can get his shot down and on target is a mute point. Dion has already knocked our best forward out. How many guys on this board have played forward that after a while when the D-man is rifling shots head high want to stand in there? Whether he has to change to flex point on his shaft closer to his hands or something different. Kostka has been fine but Franson should have more PP time instead. You just need to get the puck on the net. Dion's PP play right now is amateur.

 

[rwb]

I think Gunnarson has underrated offensive skills, and frankly, at this point I would like to see him on the PP instead of Kostka.

 

[SteveV*]

Gunner back with Phaneuf, Liles and Franson or Kostka, either or. I think Kostka is okay but the buzz is wearing off and he looks pretty ordinary out there.

 

[Kingstonian84*]

Does it matter right now? Whomever is on the point with Dion unless he can get his shot down and on target is a mute point. Dion has already knocked our best forward out. How many guys on this board have played forward that after a while when the D-man is rifling shots head high want to stand in there? Whether he has to change to flex point on his shaft closer to his hands or something different. Kostka has been fine but Franson should have more PP time instead. You just need to get the puck on the net. Dion's PP play right now is amateur.

Few things

1. Dion is not soley responsible for Lupuls' injury, the blame is 50/50. Phaneuf KNEW Lupul was in front but elected to use a high/hard shot on net which hit Lupul, that part of the blame lies on Phaneuf. However, Lupul KNEW Phaneuf had a wildchild shot yet elected to plant himself in front of the net, Lupul knew the risk yet threw caution to the wind, thats on him.

2. Phaneufs a liabilty on the powerplay because his shot just isnt low, its always high (when it hits the net) or its going wide. Its very hard to tip his shot and its very hard to get a rebound off it as well, just get him off the PP.

 

[InShannyWeTrust]

i think gunnarson has underrated offensive skills, and frankly, at this point i would like to see him on the pp instead of kostka.

x1000

 

[hobarth]

I think Gunnar is being left out of the mix by everyone as a PP guy. I've not thought much of him since he was paired with Phanny but this year paired with anybody but Phanny, his mobility and creativity has really impressed me. Gunnar seemed content to let Phanny do all the offensive stuff and since he's been freed from Phanny the player he looked to have potential to be is again surfacing.

Franson has a great shot, nuff said.

Kostka no worse or better than Lilles, Franson, Komo and Fraser and therein lies the problem. Kostka is a career minor leaguer and he measures up to the majority of Leaf d-men.

Subpar d-men and goales has and looks like it will continue to plague TO for awhile yet. Right now we have 2 legitimate NHL d-men and 1 in the AHL, Nonis has work to do.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Kostka is a right handed shot which makes him a natural to play on the right side. Carlyle has made it a priority to play Dion at his natural left side (unlike the majority of his career) and that is the # 1 reason Kostka has been paired with Dion.

I've thought for a long time Dion should be a left D to improve his game defensively and overall impact. Right now Dion is going through the growing pains of that switch but in the long term I think it will pay off and Dion will become a much more complete Dman.

I also wouldn't write Kostka off for the powerplay yet. He scored a point a game in the AHL as a Dman. Give him a bit of time but most likely once Gardiner returns his PP minutes will drop.

If Phaneuf sticks on the left side, Gunnarson might be the odd man out very soon and be trade bait because Gardiner, Reilly, Liles, Ranger and Finn are also all lefties. He could be used to upgrade other areas of the roster like the right side of our D, goaltending and center.

 

[Griffski]

How can I have such a different point of view...

Kostka is the leafs best D right now hence he plays top minutes. Not great on the PP but none of the D are. He's intelligent and physical when he needs to be. Franson has a nice shot, that's it.

He'll make the occasional mistake but so does phaneuf.

Kostka should be a staple on the leafs D.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Fraser?

You can see both are a bit behind the NHL speed.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Kostka is a right handed shot which makes him a natural to play on the right side. Carlyle has made it a priority to play Dion at his natural left side (unlike the majority of his career) and that is the # 1 reason Kostka has been paired with Dion.

I've thought for a long time Dion should be a left D to improve his game defensively and overall impact. Right now Dion is going through the growing pains of that switch but in the long term I think it will pay off and Dion will become a much more complete Dman.

I also wouldn't write Kostka off for the powerplay yet. He scored a point a game in the AHL as a Dman. Give him a bit of time but most likely once Gardiner returns his PP minutes will drop.

If Phaneuf sticks on the left side, Gunnarson might be the odd man out very soon and be trade bait because Gardiner, Reilly, Liles, Ranger and Finn are also all lefties. He could be used to upgrade other areas of the roster like the right side of our D, goaltending and center.

Well said. Kostka is extremely underrated. His first seven games in and yet has been consistently solid including the losses vs the Islanders, Rangers.

He's a righty and will work well in Phaneuf. I feel that once he establishes his offensive game - potential is there - the powerplay will get a lot stronger. Gardiner could potentially cut down his hours, but he'll have to earn that.

I think Gardiner will eventually play on the first PP, while Kostka is on the second. The fact that we've got a number of potential top 4 Ds (or even top pairing) in our system ( Gardiner, Gunnar, Kostka) is rather impressive.

Luckily Randy is under control and will continue to reward Kostka in the upcoming game. If Gardiner can take his spot due to superior play, that's even better news.

 

[hobarth]

Well said. Kostka is extremely underrated. His first seven games in and yet has been consistently solid including the losses vs the Islanders, Rangers.

He's a righty and will work well in Phaneuf. I feel that once he establishes his offensive game - potential is there - the powerplay will get a lot stronger. Gardiner could potentially cut down his hours, but he'll have to earn that.

I think Gardiner will eventually play on the first PP, while Kostka is on the second. The fact that we've got a number of potential top 4 Ds (or even top pairing) in our system ( Gardiner, Gunnar, Kostka) is rather impressive.

Luckily Randy is under control and will continue to reward Kostka in the upcoming game. If Gardiner can take his spot due to superior play, that's even better news.

I believe TO continues to have one of the worst defensive records in the NHL which to me would imply a quality d-man deficiency or should we let the goaltenders shoulder all the blame ?

 

[pucci2001]

Personally I would like to see the D look like this when Gardiner has his legs back again:
Gunner - Phaneuf
Gardiner - Komi
Liles - Franson
and PP1 would be Gardiner - Dion
PP2 Franson - Liles

That being said I think Franson might be the guy to go much to my dismay I feel he is Phaneuf lite(and way freaking cheaper) and would like to see the team move either Dion or Liles this year. They need a stay at home, rock of a Dman, not Dion he has shown this year and last he is only good in the offensive zone and for a big hit once in a while. We need one that dominates the front of our net and strikes fear into the hearts of the other team.
Franson can replace his shot and with Reilly and Gardiner on the team(in the future) we have 2 fantastic QBs for the PP for years to come. Dions price tag is way to steep for what he has been(he has been just okay, really good at times but overall he is just a good offensive dman that eats minutes with a wild shot and huge price tag, questionable decision making in his own end and flat feet when defending the rush.).

As for Kostka he has been a good filler but his awful hair(lol) and just overall his play isn't at a high enough level in either the offensive or defensive aspects to warrant a spot. We have too many offensive dmen which is his strength and he is the least qualified Gardiner, Dion, Liles, Franson are all better in that regard and he is worse defensively than Komi, Gunner, Holzer and Fraser even(even though he is slow as molasses). He has a spot in the NHL just I'd rather it not be with us.

Solution Trade Dion to the west in a package for a goalie or a center, and Kostka+a prospect or 3rd round or worse pick for a serviceable top 4 or 5 stay at home dman or just keep him as a 7th dman for depth.

Sorry for huge wall of text, rant started and I couldn't turn it off.

 

[Faltorvo]

I think Kostka's days will be numbered on PP once Gardiner returns. Until then, they're kind of stuck with him. Liles/Franson makes sense and you're left with Fraser, Gunnarsson, or Kostka on PP with Phaneuf, so Kostka wins out by default. No matter how you run it, he's the 4th PP d-man, but he gets more minutes 'cause Kostka/Franson or Phaneuf/Franson would both be awful experiments.

Once Gardiner returns, I think Kostka likely sticks with Liles for e/s time, but gets no PP (Liles/Gardiner on left, Phaneuf/Franson on right) and wouldn't shock me if he were the de facto 6th, getting no pk time either (that'd depend on whether Gardiner and/or Franson can handle triple duty better than Kostka on the PK). Really, with Gardiner back and Komisarek not playing like a giant stiff, I could see the Kostka thing burning out altogether.

e/s
Gardiner/Phaneuf
Gunnarsson/Franson
Liles/Komisarek(orKostka)

pp
Liles/Phaneuf
Gardiner/Franson

pk
Gunnarsson/Phaneuf
Gardiner/Komisarek(orKostka)

I don't see the point of keeping Phaneuf on the left-side and playing heavy Kostka minutes when this is the alternative.

Maybe for the time being Kostka is a place holder for Gards on the #1 pp.

This allows the 2nd unit D to stay intact once Gards returns.

 

[Faltorvo]

Few things

1. Dion is not soley responsible for Lupuls' injury, the blame is 50/50. Phaneuf KNEW Lupul was in front but elected to use a high/hard shot on net which hit Lupul, that part of the blame lies on Phaneuf. However, Lupul KNEW Phaneuf had a wildchild shot yet elected to plant himself in front of the net, Lupul knew the risk yet threw caution to the wind, thats on him.

2. Phaneufs a liabilty on the powerplay because his shot just isnt low, its always high (when it hits the net) or its going wide. Its very hard to tip his shot and its very hard to get a rebound off it as well, just get him off the PP.

Actually, i disagree 100% on putting any fault on Lups.

He is supposed to screen the tender when a shot comes from the point, thats his job . You gotta know that if he does not do it, there will be hell waiting for him when he gets back to the bench.

And then you start to get a bad chain reaction.

Well if Lups won't screen, why should I (insert name) risk my health, season?, kinda deal. It sets a bad example for all.

 

[The Caveman]

I really haven't been impressed by Liles so far this year. I would love to see him traded - he should have some value for a team looking for a Puck mover and veteran presence.