I'll say it again, in hopes the Leafs Brass listen once in awhile, we need sandpaper on the backend

[cannucky]

changing people doesn't fix a bad system and a worse style of player , Borgy and Holl started out studs playing skate em wide bsng em and skate away with the puck Canadian style hockey ,they were dogcrap in their final game because the coaches were forcing them to play non contact wave your stick euro style D , until that changes we will suck defensively and anybody that thinks gassing our skilled forwards in the D zone is the answer needs to get back on the short bus and fire up their xbox .
Exactly how is Reilly covering for Hainsey when he is floating the nuetral zone when the puck is still in our end ? When he is in our end he does nothing they walk around him like he's not there and he skates in circles waving his stick never actually engaging his man but Gards and Hainsey suck ? step away from the crack pipe boys

 

[cannucky]

changing people doesn't fix a bad system and a worse style of player , Borgy and Holl started out studs playing skate em wide bsng em and skate away with the puck Canadian style hockey ,they were dogcrap in their final game because the coaches were forcing them to play non contact wave your stick euro style D , until that changes we will suck defensively and anybody that thinks gassing our skilled forwards in the D zone is the answer needs to get back on the short bus and fire up their xbox .
Exactly how is Reilly covering for Hainsey when he is floating the nuetral zone when the puck is still in our end ? When he is in our end he does nothing they walk around him like he's not there and he skates in circles waving his stick never actually engaging his man but Gards and Hainsey suck ? step away from the crack pipe boys

 

[frog]

Ottawa beat the leafs by working in the corners and scrumming behind the net, in front of the net.. Montreal did the same thing and took it to overtime with half the talent. Toronto can clearly score goals but that's it.. The "We are going to win every game because every one is a goalscorer" is getting old and it is narrow-minded thinking... We are a one-trick pony team if we dont score we have nothing and cant win any other way. Every team that wins a stanley cup has goalscorers like the leafs but have bodycheckers, tough players, scrappers, defensive-minded forwards.

We have Hyman, Brown and a chance to have Kapanen if he can play more like hyman that would be huge for this team.. But we need guys like Komarov, Polak.. guys like that so we can win 7-4 instead of 7-6.. If chippy 4th liners scrum the puck in the corner, dump and chase, cycle the puck all game, we need more guys that can break up that style of game and then let the skilled guys take over.

 

[Liminality]

Nope

 

[crump]

In B4

 

[Melo Meds]

Guys like Polak and Komarov get beat by the teams with speed and will get exposed by the modern NHL. What we need is a defenseman who can make plays under pressure and get the puck out to our skilled forwards. Part of me thinks the bigger issue here is our system. Needs some tweaking. We rely too much on the stretch pass.

 

[Thissiteisgarbage]

We have a supposed genius of a coach who is paid to figure this out.
Leo Komarov and Kapanen playing like Hyman isn't going to do anything positive

 

[SprDaVE]

good attempt at humour

 

[Mckay]

John Tavares had a hat trick.

 

[ShaneFalco]

If we need komarov and Polak, there’’’s something very wrong

 

[frog]

John Tavares had a hat trick.

That's great but how much better would it be if he scored a hattrick and we won in regulation instead of giving up 6 goals

 

[HamiltonNHL]

That's great but how much better would it be if he scored a hattrick and we won in regulation instead of giving up 6 goals

We need to give up assets to get a Right handed defender.

like Nylander

Polak

That's bait

 

[Slyfox]

WTF? No.

 

[frog]

We need to give up assets to get a Right handed defender.

like Nylander

Polak

That's bait

I agree with that.. I like Polak obviously I'm the only one who does but I dont care because I guy like that I think is what we need. If there is a Polak who is younger and faster that would better... But i hate how some people use a respected hockey players name who has/had great value and is a warrior every where he goes and use his name as if it is the definition of "terrible" when quite frankly they dont know the value he had/ or sure had. But if there was a Polak in his prime he would be just what this team needs

 

[LeafSteel]

Polak???

This is jokes, yes???

 

[Mess]

Leafs need a top pairing #1Dman to play on the RH side alongside Rielly.

 

[The Iceman]

With Komorov and Polak we may lose 6-4 instead of win 7-6

 

[A1LeafNation]

Cut out his tongue...

 

[Not My Tempo]

Leafs need a top pairing #1Dman to play on the RH side alongside Rielly.

At this point I’d be okay with a #4 playing next to him.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

 

[Aintboutdatlyfe]

We have a Letang his name is Morgan Rielly.

 

[Aintboutdatlyfe]

Forget sandpaper though.

The player we should be looking at as a deadline acquisition is Jeff Petry from the Habs.

Rielly-Petry pairing would be very good.
Gardiner-Hainsey/Zaitsev
Dermott-Zaitsev/Hainsey

has what it takes with our team to win it all.

 

[stickty111]

changing people doesn't fix a bad system and a worse style of player , Borgy and Holl started out studs playing skate em wide bsng em and skate away with the puck Canadian style hockey ,they were dogcrap in their final game because the coaches were forcing them to play non contact wave your stick euro style D , until that changes we will suck defensively and anybody that thinks gassing our skilled forwards in the D zone is the answer needs to get back on the short bus and fire up their xbox .
Exactly how is Reilly covering for Hainsey when he is floating the nuetral zone when the puck is still in our end ? When he is in our end he does nothing they walk around him like he's not there and he skates in circles waving his stick never actually engaging his man but Gards and Hainsey suck ? step away from the crack pipe boys

Rielly is great. Creates offense and doesnt just inflate his assists because of Marner. How about you move away from the hate cliff?

 

[Sparksrus3]

I know some in Leafs management figure, "We can just emulate what the Pens did when they won their Cups". It's not easy and they do have LeTang who at times was dynamic on both ends of the ice, killing 25+ minutes a game plus a goalie who was on top of his game, on top of the league in their first go round.

We don't need a LeTang, but we need someone who can fill in key minutes who is hard on the puck, making it difficult for teams. I am telling you, come playoff time, we are going to face the same problems and it simply hasn't been addressed. This was a quick Habs team, but they play with some tenacity. We need to match that tenacity in the back end when we face the Bruins or Capitals in the playoffs. They will be much tougher to handle when they drive to the net.

I am not worried about our forwards, I think they not only have skill but the hunger needed to fight through come playoff time, and they are of course a big part of the concept of team defense, but I still see this D and say "they can't outmuscle players".

I know there isn't a magic wand, but there has to be a player or two Leafs have their eye on and can try and pick up at some point during the season. Even if just for depth and to challenge and weave in and out of the lineup to the six we have. I know it might be beating a dead horse to some, but it's a glaring weakness and every forward on every team must relish playing against us.

Thank you for your time.

Reilly and Nylander for PK
You get an upgrade on D and all it costs is a player that may never lace em up for your team again anyway.

 

[Judas Tavares]

Ah 1998. How are ya?