How long can Marner or Laine hold out and their club can still expect to make the playoffs?

[McVespa99]

I think Toronto for sure makes it even if he sits the whole year. Winnipeg? Maybe

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

That’s fair, but the fact is that according to all of the numbers, Gardiner still was that good player for the ~60 games of the season that he played in. I’m also not convinced that Gardiner won’t return to form but we’ll see.

Gardiner did kind of suck since returning to action, but I guess he could bounce back. If he doesn't, I'd easily take Barrie though. Even if he does, Barrie's ability to provide balance to Toronto's defense is pretty enticing

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I love how much Toronto fans have started downplaying Marner after pumping his tires endlessly since he was drafted.

What? Hes making the fanbase mad based on greed, not production. Hes a great player but when you've only done it for a season and a half (elite play) of course people will downplay it when talking his worth on his next deal.

 

[JKG33]

The Leafs will be fine without Marner. Matthews-Nylander will be together from the start, and Tavares played with a lot worse line mates in New York than some combo of Kapanen/Johansson/Hyman.

As for Winnipeg, they made the playoffs without Laine showing up last year, so I doubt he makes much of a difference this year either. Although I have them missing the playoffs regardless. All they did this offseason was lose a #1 D-man and some depth for essentially nothing, and they're in a tough division. St. Louis shouldn't start nearly as poorly as last year. Colorado's defence is only gaining experience and getting better. Dallas improved their secondary scoring. Nashville ditched a huge liability and brought in a damn good top 6 C. Chicago looks poised to rebound with a full season of Colliton behind the bench and having patched some holes on the roster over the last 9 months.

 

[Daximus]

I don't have the Jets in a playoff spot without him. They'll be hard pressed to make it even with him with that defense and that insane division.

Pretty much my thoughts. We are just weathering the storm that was the central division arms race this summer. I don't think Laine moves the needle to much, unless he vastly improved over the offseason. We just need to focus on development this year and let the chips fall where they may. Most of the core outside of Laine/Connor is locked up long term and some kids on ELC's will get some looks including Vesalainen, Heinola. Niku, Appleton and Kovacevik. We'll have to see what we have in Pionk as well. This is a retool year and hopefully we come out on the other end with a signed Laine and Connor and some kids who can make a difference.

 

[Daximus]

The Leafs will be fine without Marner. Matthews-Nylander will be together from the start, and Tavares played with a lot worse line mates in New York than some combo of Kapanen/Johansson/Hyman.

As for Winnipeg, they made the playoffs without Laine showing up last year, so I doubt he makes much of a difference this year either. Although I have them missing the playoffs regardless. All they did this offseason was lose a #1 D-man and some depth for essentially nothing, and they're in a tough division. St. Louis shouldn't start nearly as poorly as last year. Colorado's defence is only gaining experience and getting better. Dallas improved their secondary scoring. Nashville ditched a huge liability and brought in a damn good top 6 C. Chicago looks poised to rebound with a full season of Colliton behind the bench and having patched some holes on the roster over the last 9 months.

Yeah my thoughts exactly. We should finish ahead of Minny but I think we miss the playoffs.

 

[Morbo]

I have watched plenty of Gardiner, and he has generally looked excellent.

I can understand the frustration with his performances in game 7s. But you are literally looking at a 3-game sample size and placing more emphasis on that than hundreds of games where the team was miles better with him on the ice.

And in this thread, we are talking about whether or not Toronto would make the playoffs in the first place. I think they still would, but it’s not the slam dunk that people are making it out to be, and I think the reason that they would make it would not be because they’ve improved their defense. They haven’t really done that at all.

I watched every second of Gardiner's career, it wasn't just the 3 game 7s. Overall a decent player, but I assure you he was as bipolar as it gets here. We'll see how he fares in Carolina with a steadier defensive supporting cast, but in terms of what the Leafs are losing, also keep in mind he's got a significant back issue nowadays. Sure he avoided surgery this past spring, but basically couldn't play at a high level after resting it. We'll see how that goes.

As for their defence I think adding a player like Barrie to the right side, where previously the opponent could completely ignore the guy with the puck, is a significant improvement. hainsey and Zaitsev handled it like a grenade and opponents keyed on their inability to make a pass or play out of the zone.

 

[General Disarray]

Both teams are fairly similar in that they are deep up front and can afford to miss them. However, the Jets have 2 big RFA unsigned...

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Leafs will be ok..they still have Matthews and Tavares

Jets a little less ok IMO