Tribute Freddy Andersen

[Martin Skoula]

Take a minute to read this before you make any more flippant comments.
A study was done a few years ago and the average NHL team spent 58% of its cap on its forwards , 32% on its defense and 10% on its goalies. No team spent more than 69% on its forwards and no cap team spent more than 64% . This year the Leafs are spending over 69% on their forwards so yes they are spending much more of their money there. Maybe the should be spending a little more on a quality back up goalie to give Andersen a break.

That's a really good idea if you want to do what the average NHL team does so you too can be an average NHL team. I would hope management's standards are a little higher.

How much does a good back-up cost? 2 million? Go try your exercise again and see what the past few cup winners have been spending on their goaltending. It's almost exclusively been a sub-6 million dollar starter with a million dollar back-up.

 

[hobarth]

I saw an interesting defensive response from a Leaf d-man other than Muzzin Sat. night. A Chicago forward veered to the left of Sandin towards the middle of the ice in TO's zone and Sandin bodychecked that player which stopped him from getting into the slot. That showed a great deal IQ, TO's better(supposedly) d-men, Rielly & Barrie would've been content to stick check him. Sandin didn't bodycheck to hurt the player he bodychecked to stop the play. I was shocked, that wasn't a d reaction I'm used to seeing from TO's d. TO's d isn't great, or even good at defending but this team wasn't built to defend.

What's a soft goal, when I see goals going in I usually see the goalies' vision being blocked or incredibly well executed shots. Usually the fault starts with the scoring team having easy access to the defending team's zone.

I like TO pinching, challenging at either blue line but both require team efforts and happens based on split second decisions. I like that Barrie, Rielly, etc. do pinch or challenge at or before the blue lines but I think it's also has to be understood that they will and someone needs to be backing them up. During TO's winning streak the d was being backed up and conversely so was TO's offense, that has disappeared.

Andersen is now basically TO's only true d, he needs to be super human so TO can win when it is scoring. He needs to be super human just to be league average.

 

[hector morrison]

No it shouldn't, giving guys contracts because of a playoff run is rank stupidity

Go and look at the older goaltenders on big money and see just how many are living up to their AAV

It isn't pretty

I'm not saying it's used as a rule. More to the point, his playoff performance when it counts is not acceptable. Therefore nullifying his value.Freddy is on thin ice.He could go 82 and 0,lose again in game 7 again and I would turf him!How many chances are ya gonna give him?

 

[hector morrison]

Yes, Matthews Tavares and Marner are responsible for Andersen's gaping five-hole.

It really is a Team game...but Fred has to be the first to know when he isn't doing well.Kinda seems like he doesn't want to own it. I'm sure he wishes there were Dmen available who could make his job easier...who wouldn't? Consider though, he has had one of the top scoring teams in front of him...so maybe make it so those guys don't feel they need to score 4 or 5 goals a game to win.

 

[hector morrison]

Andersen has been cast into a bit of a Grant Fuhr role where he's to provide timely saves in a 7-5 track meet. But I think his mental make up is that of a Marty Brodeur where he plays a controlled game in a highly regulated system environment. He's just a poor battler and isn't really a "money goalie."

The Fuhr analogy is one I have used before as well. When referring to making timely saves,that's the best example for Freddy. I think he is physically capable,but he needs someone to help his in -game attitude.

 

[ToMaLe]

His job is to stop the puck, I'd expect Hutchinson to stop that and it's just an example of just how bad Andersen has been recently that he couldn't

He shouldn't be thinking about other people's performance when he can't stop a beach ball for the last month

A young player made a mistake, it happens and you need the goaltender to help him out sometimes

I'm through giving Andersen a pass, stop the ******* puck like your supposed to

Anybody talking about giving Andersen another contract is out of their mind, not in a million years

Nice post, could not have said it any better.

 

[hector morrison]

I saw an interesting defensive response from a Leaf d-man other than Muzzin Sat. night. A Chicago forward veered to the left of Sandin towards the middle of the ice in TO's zone and Sandin bodychecked that player which stopped him from getting into the slot. That showed a great deal IQ, TO's better(supposedly) d-men, Rielly & Barrie would've been content to stick check him. Sandin didn't bodycheck to hurt the player he bodychecked to stop the play. I was shocked, that wasn't a d reaction I'm used to seeing from TO's d. TO's d isn't great, or even good at defending but this team wasn't built to defend.

What's a soft goal, when I see goals going in I usually see the goalies' vision being blocked or incredibly well executed shots. Usually the fault starts with the scoring team having easy access to the defending team's zone.

I like TO pinching, challenging at either blue line but both require team efforts and happens based on split second decisions. I like that Barrie, Rielly, etc. do pinch or challenge at or before the blue lines but I think it's also has to be understood that they will and someone needs to be backing them up. During TO's winning streak the d was being backed up and conversely so was TO's offense, that has disappeared.

Andersen is now basically TO's only true d, he needs to be super human so TO can win when it is scoring. He needs to be super human just to be league average.

I took note of that same play(It's such a rarity how could ya not?) Sandin will need to go around the League once,but in some ways he is already better than Morgan and Barrie. Different tool box,but better quality tools in it. I think he will determine how they play going forward.

 

[saffronleaf]

I said this before and I will say it again. How much of the Georgiev hype comes from when he dominated the Leafs last season when he made 55 saves on 56 shots against him.

Also between Toskala, Raycroft, Bernier and Giguere, the only one who was a legit #1 starter was Giguere.

Ugh I've been piling on Freddy but when you peek at our past goaltenders... *shudders*.... we're in a better place now.

 

[cannucky]

Agreed but I look at Toews' first goal and if Brooks does not allow him to waltz in untouched, he may not even get a shot on goal.

And if wishes were fishes we'd all eat for free , fact is it should have been an easy positional save , wall up on the shooter and it doesn't go in .

 

[unitedstars87]

Mentally Fragile

 

[Mess]

Of course...however,I'm seeing low quality shots gettin' by him...aren't you? One hand doesn't have enough fingers to use when pointing out defensive lapses on some plays. I see the 'style' they are going for...unfortunately that style requires a quality goalie...Freddy hasn't been that guy!

No question at times Freddy lets in some goals that he shouldn't so he of course is part of the problem and not solution.

However there are times when Leafs give up 48 shots a game like they did against Winnipeg recently and forced Andersen to make 45 saves in a game that Leafs should have lost if not for soft goaltending in the other net.. So sometimes this goaltending things offset and have a way of evening themselves out.

Part of Leafs problem is goaltender workload and Freddy plays more games and faces more shots than most goalies, due in part to the mess that Dubas created at the backup goalie position with no trust. There is no opportunity to give Andersen enough rest or sometime allow him to recover and work through some issues when you toss him out there night after night. IMO

There is no arguing Leafs pond hockey system of last goal wins and no defense system is also a major factor in why Leafs are top 3 in goals for and bottom 5 in goals against and when you combine those it make you just an average hockey team.

 

[A1LeafNation]

So wait a minute....he's not injured?

This is worse than expected.

 

[SprDaVE]

I saw an interesting defensive response from a Leaf d-man other than Muzzin Sat. night. A Chicago forward veered to the left of Sandin towards the middle of the ice in TO's zone and Sandin bodychecked that player which stopped him from getting into the slot. That showed a great deal IQ, TO's better(supposedly) d-men, Rielly & Barrie would've been content to stick check him. Sandin didn't bodycheck to hurt the player he bodychecked to stop the play. I was shocked, that wasn't a d reaction I'm used to seeing from TO's d. TO's d isn't great, or even good at defending but this team wasn't built to defend.

What's a soft goal, when I see goals going in I usually see the goalies' vision being blocked or incredibly well executed shots. Usually the fault starts with the scoring team having easy access to the defending team's zone.

I like TO pinching, challenging at either blue line but both require team efforts and happens based on split second decisions. I like that Barrie, Rielly, etc. do pinch or challenge at or before the blue lines but I think it's also has to be understood that they will and someone needs to be backing them up. During TO's winning streak the d was being backed up and conversely so was TO's offense, that has disappeared.

Andersen is now basically TO's only true d, he needs to be super human so TO can win when it is scoring. He needs to be super human just to be league average.

The Leafs aren't top tier in terms of overall defensive play but to say that Andersen has to be super human to be league average is rather going to an extreme to defend him.

I don't think Andersen needs to be more than what he is. He's sporting a 4.21 GAA and .881% save percentage in January. This goes beyond defensive breakdowns. The Leafs are lucky they are outscoring some teams in that span because they've not been receiving any goaltending support from their #1.

He'll eventually figure it out, I think, but in the mean time the Leafs should probably start Hutchinson and they would likely receive better goaltending.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I meant Panthers.

I keep screwing that up.

Tampa will finish second. We need to beat the panthers in our 3 upcoming meetings.[/QUOTE
It will be a great test of Dubie's CAP strategy to see which prevails G/D or Fs.

Panthers 40M CAP spend on G/D with Bobbo, Ekblad, Yandle, Stralman and Matheson
VS our Leafs 25M CAP spend on G/D.
Does goaltending and defense beat our high powered and expensive forward group???????????????????????

Every team in our division that matters kills us in G/D. We have to outscore them every game. No more excuses we need to win 8-7 games against Florida, Tampa and Boston. The facts don't lie.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I saw an interesting defensive response from a Leaf d-man other than Muzzin Sat. night. A Chicago forward veered to the left of Sandin towards the middle of the ice in TO's zone and Sandin bodychecked that player which stopped him from getting into the slot. That showed a great deal IQ, TO's better(supposedly) d-men, Rielly & Barrie would've been content to stick check him. Sandin didn't bodycheck to hurt the player he bodychecked to stop the play. I was shocked, that wasn't a d reaction I'm used to seeing from TO's d. TO's d isn't great, or even good at defending but this team wasn't built to defend.

What's a soft goal, when I see goals going in I usually see the goalies' vision being blocked or incredibly well executed shots. Usually the fault starts with the scoring team having easy access to the defending team's zone.

I like TO pinching, challenging at either blue line but both require team efforts and happens based on split second decisions. I like that Barrie, Rielly, etc. do pinch or challenge at or before the blue lines but I think it's also has to be understood that they will and someone needs to be backing them up. During TO's winning streak the d was being backed up and conversely so was TO's offense, that has disappeared.

Andersen is now basically TO's only true d, he needs to be super human so TO can win when it is scoring. He needs to be super human just to be league average.

I seen that Sandin hit. Thats simply called not getting caught puck watching and taking the body.

 

[cannucky]

Keefe and Dubas will teach that sort of stuff out of his game like they did with every other D man .

 

[Dekes For Days]

Keefe and Dubas will teach that sort of stuff out of his game like they did with every other D man .

You mean the Keefe that has been here for like 25 games, and Dubas, who is a GM and doesn't coach or teach the players anything?

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Steady Freddy has been steady the wrong way lately.
The team play lost defensive expectations the coach asked for in the beginning.
Tavares has been struggling.
Puck support has been sparse.
Flow through the neutral zone has been scouted and teams dropback .
We should see adjustments from Keefe to bring everyone back deeper in our zone and activate more mid ice than the defensive blueline.
We have been slowed by the drop pass as a entire team. It is to predictable when over used.
The forwards are forcing plays.
We should ice the puck more when things get disorganized in our own zone. We are a top team at winning faceoffs after all.
To many fancy attempts of passes getting picked off or deflected.
First passes from the defense is not quick enough consistently.
Finally when teams sit back and wait, stop behind the net after a fake pass and toy with them until they break defensive pattern.
Just not forcing the plays and activating more with our speed and zone entries with speed and possession needs to happen. When it does the team is a menace to defend.
Skate skate skate, we are to fast to be coming at team as slow as we have been

Its not all on Freddy!

 

[18leafsfan18]

He's been awful lately.

He is still a great goalie in the league, but he needs to turn around his recent play.

IMO posters saying he needs to go are over reacting quite a bit.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

I seen that Sandin hit. Thats simply called not getting caught puck watching and taking the body.

I wonder if the lack of hitting is because of Babcock and his no penalties crusade throughout his career. If you see a D-man hitting a guy...it shouldn't become big news...but yet it does because we never see it. Muzzin used to crank people all the time in LA...how often does he do it now? I think somebody told him not to be aggressive because it might cause the other team to ramp it up as well....Let sleeping dogs lie is what we want. Can you win that way in the playoffs?...dunno..

 

[cannucky]

You mean the Keefe that has been here for like 25 games, and Dubas, who is a GM and doesn't coach or teach the players anything?

Yes I do , its their system and he doesn't play or coach but Dubas will dump anybody that tries to play that way in a heartbeat .

 

[Dekes For Days]

Dubas will dump anybody that tries to play that way in a heartbeat .

What evidence do you have for this?

Seems to me that most of the "tougher" pieces on the team were added by Dubas or made the team under his watch.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I wonder if the lack of hitting is because of Babcock and his no penalties crusade throughout his career. If you see a D-man hitting a guy...it shouldn't become big news...but yet it does because we never see it. Muzzin used to crank people all the time in LA...how often does he do it now? I think somebody told him not to be aggressive because it might cause the other team to ramp it up as well....Let sleeping dogs lie is what we want. Can you win that way in the playoffs?...dunno..

Muzzin had that hit against the Red Wings last month which started that brawl despite it being a clean hit.

 

[cannucky]

Sure players will occaisionally make a hit but the system they are preaching is to not engage physically , but rather to poke at the puck with the stick and hopefully run away with it , valid when it works , leaves you looking like Reilly vs McDavid when it doesn't .yes I know thats an extreme example but if he had stepped up and engaged instead of retreating he wouldn't have been humiliated . Sandin made a good solid hockey play by doing exactly that , look at the crest and stuff your shoulder into him , not something they teach on the Xbox so not something a lot of people here understand .

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I wonder if the lack of hitting is because of Babcock and his no penalties crusade throughout his career. If you see a D-man hitting a guy...it shouldn't become big news...but yet it does because we never see it. Muzzin used to crank people all the time in LA...how often does he do it now? I think somebody told him not to be aggressive because it might cause the other team to ramp it up as well....Let sleeping dogs lie is what we want. Can you win that way in the playoffs?...dunno..

Defense is taking the body i believe and the net is yours and nobody gets between you and the net for any reason. Puck support is vital when you take the body. Players need to learn and know what teammates tendencies are. We have a risky unpredictable team of finesse players that shows you every single game that players aren’t expecting passes. Simple is good and fancy is good for highlights mostly but predictable is best.

Willy and Kappy are two of the most predictable players and Mikheyev was too. Kerfoot is scrambled egg, you never know what he will do. I can’t stand the stuff he tries and gives up the puck doing it lots.

If there is a trade i hope Dubas tells anyone that want Kappy to go pound sand. He is going to shoot if he has it. He will spin off on the wall and turn back if play him deep or he will skate around the back of the net if the get caught by his speed. Line-mates should know all that easily and be in good ice and at the front of the net etc

need consistency more as a group. This team is really good and very young ( immature)like Keefe stressed.