Fogelhund
Registered User
- Sep 15, 2007
- 21,303
- 23,780
I'm pretty sure you could ice 6 Norris calibre D-men on the Leafs and they would still have the same issues......getting hung out to dry on odd-man rushes, forwards not winning board battles, and consequently getting worn down by zone time.
If you sign JT, he understands positioning on both sides of the puck, and is tough to knock off the puck. Simply put, if you have the puck more, the D doesn't get as tired being cycled to death.
It's amusing that some don't see what the real issue is....and that ISN'T all on the D. Whenever you see an odd man rush against, that isn't the D making the mistake. And when the Leafs get hemmed into their own zone, that isn't all on the D. It's far more often than not that a forward is not winning a puck battle, or not being in a position to give the D-man an outlet, or the forward being out of position entirely.
JT helps this more than a D-man would. But there is still more work to do on the forwards.
No, just no. JT, at 16-18 minutes of ice time, is not going to help more than a Franchise D such as a Doughty, who logs 27 minutes a game, can play 5 on 5, PK and PP.
Go ahead on the main board... ask a poll... who would help the Leafs more, a C such as Tavares, or a D such as Doughty.