Speculation: Is Connor Brown the worst forward in our top 13?

[JEI]

He's good on the forecheck and a go-to PK guy. He would probably score more on another team. For 2m, on this team though (with the present/future cap crunch)? Replaceable part.

 

[Buds17]

Is he really that good on the PK though?

I feel like we may just be used to watching Babs throw him out their on the PK, when guys like Goat, Moore or Johnsson could realistically take his spot out there with no ill effect.

He's still an important player there, but I do agree that there are others who can pick up that slack. Might be a case where there's somewhat of a rotation and whomever's the 'hot hand' plays. Would be good to get healthy, although that should never be an excuse either.

 

[qqaz]

"Worst" is a subjective term. Worst, as compared to what? On our team he might be the "worst" of our 13 forwards, yes. But that doesn't mean he's a bad player. And the things he does do might be more usefull on a 4th line than some of the "better" players, like Petan or Ennis. Brown is a PK guy, and we need that in the lineup.

Being the "worst" forward on our team is like being the ugliest model for Victoria's Secret. Is that really so bad? When everyone's healthy this team will scratch 2 players that could be on the 3rd line for other teams.

 

[ShaneFalco]

So we can give credit for babcock developing some players, in this case, his development went nowhere.
He's basically an average PK specialist

 

[smitty10]

"Worst" is a subjective term. Worst, as compared to what? On our team he might be the "worst" of our 13 forwards, yes. But that doesn't mean he's a bad player. And the things he does do might be more usefull on a 4th line than some of the "better" players, like Petan or Ennis. Brown is a PK guy, and we need that in the lineup.

Being the "worst" forward on our team is like being the ugliest model for Victoria's Secret. Is that really so bad? When everyone's healthy this team will scratch 2 players that could be on the 3rd line for other teams.

Nobody said he's a bad player. The question of the thread is: Is he the worst forward in our top 13? The context is already there.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

"Worst" is a subjective term. Worst, as compared to what? On our team he might be the "worst" of our 13 forwards, yes. But that doesn't mean he's a bad player. And the things he does do might be more usefull on a 4th line than some of the "better" players, like Petan or Ennis. Brown is a PK guy, and we need that in the lineup.

Being the "worst" forward on our team is like being the ugliest model for Victoria's Secret. Is that really so bad? When everyone's healthy this team will scratch 2 players that could be on the 3rd line for other teams.

Moore can PK. Johnsson can PK.

BTW, our PK is 16th, solidily average. If Brown is a staple of that PK maybe we should staple him to the press box.

 

[666]

Pretty good. Here's how I'd do it:

Tier 1: Matthews, Marner, Tavares
Tier 2: Kadri, Kapanen, Nylander, Johnsson, Hyman
Tier 3: Marleau, Ennis (Moore might be here in future)
Tier 4: Moore, Goat, Petan, Brown

Very similar. I will never understand how Hyman gets put into the same tier as Kadri etc but there are threads dedicated to it so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Nineteen67]

He may not be the worst, in that, if he was moved he would revert back to damned good player. I can’t say the same for Gauthier or Marleau

 

[KuleminFan41]

That's a bit of a harsh title because he's a solid NHL player who can put up 15-20 goals a year if given the chance to. In my opinion, if he was given the chances Hyman has been given on the top lines, Brown would be more effective offensively than Hyman is. That doesn't mean I think he should be given the chance but he isn't exactly given the opportunities to score like other players have . He's still got decent numbers this season though, he has a career high 18 assists which isn't a bad thing to have on your bottom 6.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

That's a bit of a harsh title because he's a solid NHL player who can put up 15-20 goals a year if given the chance to. In my opinion, if he was given the chances Hyman has been given on the top lines, Brown would be more effective offensively than Hyman is. That doesn't mean I think he should be given the chance but he isn't exactly given the opportunities to score like other players have . He's still got decent numbers this season though, he has a career high 18 assists which isn't a bad thing to have on your bottom 6.

I think you should check Brown's ice time.

 

[standers]

The way he has been playing and the goals he has (not) been putting up this season put him in the lower tier of our forwards.

Brown is still the type of player I would like to have on my team. When hes playing well he doesnt look out of place on any line.

 

[thewave]

Blackhole. He is the worst as of now imo.

 

[Kamiccolo]

he might be.

thing is, I think I blame babcock for brainwashing him into stopping even trying to create any offense out there, and just gudproing it up instead.

brown consistently tried to create with the puck when he was a rookie. we never see that anymore.

Or he got figured out and hasn't been able to adapt.

 

[diceman934]

He is not the worse. He has good numbers considering the role he has been put in. I also think he is banged up currently.

He is useful and will likely get traded this summer to a team that will put him in a different role 5on5 and still play on the PK and late in games to protect leads.

This place is beyond crazy. Levio was and still is a cult hero and his points this year are behind Brown still. He may finish with more points but his usage is far more on the canucks and on the Leafs very similar.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

He is not the worse. He has good numbers considering the role he has been put in. I also think he is banged up currently.

He is useful and will likely get traded this summer to a team that will put him in a different role 5on5 and still play on the PK and late in games to protect leads.

This place is beyond crazy. Levio was and still is a cult hero and his points this year are behind Brown still. He may finish with more points but his usage is far more on the canucks and on the Leafs very similar.

Don't count me among the Leivo Lovers™. I sure wasn't one of them.

 

[donkshow]

Brown is definitely not worthy of being in our top 12.

Ranking Kapanen over Nylander is laughable.

 

[ORRFForever]

No.

 

[93WrapAround]

Personally I think Moore and Ennis are far more effective

People will point to his PK abilities but it currently ranks 16th


Toronto Maple Leafs Notebook: A look at the middling penalty kill

The problem is this city and fanbase (and coach) over-rate the heck out of Brown-types - those hard-workers, bring your lunch pale every night, type of guys. If he happens to be Canadian or God-forbid Torontonian, then simply multiply that factor 10-fold.

Connor Brown simply does not bring enough value to our team to warrant a spot, it is what it is. I don't think I've seen a guy with a higher neutral-zone-dump-in rate than this guy and he inspires no confidence in me that he'll help create much offense with his line. That being said I think we missed the opportunity to retrieve some value for him, so I imagine like Marleau I'll see this guy clog it up in our lineup until his contract is done, sigh.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

I think Brown goes to Edmonton this offseason.

 

[Duke Silver]

13. Gauthier
12. Brown
11. Marleau

 

[tuckertowns]

Brown is still a good young player that unfortunately plays on a team with an abundance of depth at forward. What I don't understand is why didn't Dubas pull the trigger on a trade to send him somewhere in return for some solid defensive depth. I really think Dubas missed the boat on this one. I fear we'll have another Leivo situation here were we're giving brown away just for the sake of giving him an opportunity with more ice time on another team. I don't believe the Larsson for Brown rumors to be true, but I do believe we could of got a solid second pair defenseman for him.

 

[moon111]

Brown is more likely to get used in a defensive situation then Matthews is in an offensive one.
Nobody is looking for Brown's 20 goals anymore. He has a role which fewer and fewer Leafs
are showing aptitude for. The difference between Brown and Leivo is one has been earning
an NHL pay doing a job while the other found himself not able to out-score significantly better
offensive players then himself and was sent off packing to the waste lands where he clings in
as a 3rd rate offensive solution in an 3rd rate organization.

 

[tmlms13]

Brown is a fine player but when you calculate his value relative to cap hit he's 12th. One spot ahead of Patrick Marleau.

 

[Dog]

13. Gauthier
12. Brown
11. Marleau

Gauthier has better value and if he dropped the gloves he would be in top 10. Marleau meh his production dropped this season.

 

[diceman934]

I think Brown goes to Edmonton this offseason.

100%.