News Article: Jay McClement targeted by Leafs to be “the stopperâ€

[Ricky Bobby]

I'm a fan of Steckel's role on this team and believe that he was a major contributing factor to our success early last season (before he broke his hand). He's big and is useful playing in a defensive style of system as long as his minutes are 4th line + PK. I'm not an advocate of using him in roles he has no business playing in, but Steckel is a good role player on this club.

McClement was brought in to fill the role Steckel occuppied last year. Plus Connolly can do everything that Steckel does but with offensive upside.

Steckel is a 13th forward who is a UFA at the end of the year. Toronto needs to overload on picks (like we should have done years ago). Any pick we can get for Steckel is a bonus. He was good on the penalty kill at winning the draws but if he lost he was a liability. I just don't see any upside with him.

 

[Meatwagon]

Blues fan stopping by,

STL drafted Jay and traded him to Colorado in the EJ-Stewart/Shattenkirk trade. St.louis loves their grinders and Jay was no different. He's a pretty decent third line center and would be the perfect 4th line center on a cup contender, he is also an EXCELLENT PKer. He can be expected to score ~10 g-25 pts in a good season while playing against opposing teams top lines and doing a good job of shutting them down. He's a strong skater with decent puck skills. He won't wow you with amazing playmaking abilities, but can fill-in on the PP in a pinch and not look out of place. But he really shines on the PK. On the Blues, he would always take any face off of consequence in the defensive zone(an underrated asset) and he was always hustling. He seems like a good locker room guy and was always approachable if you ran into him on the street. Anyways, he's a good player who fills his role to the best of his abilities, and if the fans give him a little time, he will be a fan favorite before the end of this season.

Cheers!

 

[Kessely Snipes]

I think a Frattin-McClement-Kulemin line would potentially be a solid line.

 

[Darcy Tucker]

then whos our new bill berg ?

Frattin?

 

[4evaBlue]

mcclement sounds like our new zezel

Without his faceoff skills, maybe. Steckel would a more apt Zezel comparison.

 

[4evaBlue]

Blues fan stopping by,

STL drafted Jay and traded him to Colorado in the EJ-Stewart/Shattenkirk trade. St.louis loves their grinders and Jay was no different. He's a pretty decent third line center and would be the perfect 4th line center on a cup contender, he is also an EXCELLENT PKer. He can be expected to score ~10 g-25 pts in a good season while playing against opposing teams top lines and doing a good job of shutting them down. He's a strong skater with decent puck skills. He won't wow you with amazing playmaking abilities, but can fill-in on the PP in a pinch and not look out of place. But he really shines on the PK. On the Blues, he would always take any face off of consequence in the defensive zone(an underrated asset) and he was always hustling. He seems like a good locker room guy and was always approachable if you ran into him on the street. Anyways, he's a good player who fills his role to the best of his abilities, and if the fans give him a little time, he will be a fan favorite before the end of this season.

Cheers!

Thank you for dropping by and letting us know what to expect from him. Most of us haven't seen him play much, I would expect.

 

[Dangles McGavin]

Blues fan stopping by,

STL drafted Jay and traded him to Colorado in the EJ-Stewart/Shattenkirk trade. St.louis loves their grinders and Jay was no different. He's a pretty decent third line center and would be the perfect 4th line center on a cup contender, he is also an EXCELLENT PKer. He can be expected to score ~10 g-25 pts in a good season while playing against opposing teams top lines and doing a good job of shutting them down. He's a strong skater with decent puck skills. He won't wow you with amazing playmaking abilities, but can fill-in on the PP in a pinch and not look out of place. But he really shines on the PK. On the Blues, he would always take any face off of consequence in the defensive zone(an underrated asset) and he was always hustling. He seems like a good locker room guy and was always approachable if you ran into him on the street. Anyways, he's a good player who fills his role to the best of his abilities, and if the fans give him a little time, he will be a fan favorite before the end of this season.

Cheers!

Thanks for the info!

Blues fans are so nice lol

Cheers!

 

[namttebih]

I still think this team would be best suited if these were the lines:

1st line, primary scoring - Lupol-Bozak-Kessel
2nd line, secondary scoring. shutdown - Kuli-Grabo-Connolly
3rd line. secondary scoring - JVR -Kadri - Mac
4th line, energy, second shutdown - Brown - Mcclemment - Komarov

Definitely like the idea of the second line being able to shutdown the opponents offense as well as produce some for themselves. It would primarily be out against the other teams top lines, with the second shutdown line occasionally getting some shifts (and Komarov throwing the body on the top players).

The third line would have the potential of giving us two secondary scoring lines if they can mesh and Kadri can play center.

Huh. This is one of the better combos that I've seen and closest to his mould from ANA's winning season. I'm not saying that the skill is the same or more importantly the remainder of the team.

Steckel will be playing though.

 

[JAMmer124]

Without his faceoff skills, maybe. Steckel would a more apt Zezel comparison.

McClement is a very good face off guy.

 

[onebighockeyfan]

Jay is also a great guy in the dressing room.

 

[Snip Genos]

Bump

The stopper is one of the best 2 way forwards the leafs have had in a long time. Great signing!

 

[Leafidelity]

This guy is just such a smart hockey player. His biggest asset is how long he can play mistake free hockey.

 

[LeafOfBread]

McClement is a boss. Hope we keep this guy around for a long time, he was such a solid acquisition.

My name for him is the "Dogmaster" since he controls that fourth line with Orr and McLaren on a leash When the lineup is healthy, of course

 

[BonMorrison]

Honestly, I think we should roll three scoring lines and one shutdown. I would package one of our extra defenseman with a pick and try to acquire a 3rd line player in the mold of Ryan Jones - sandpaper and scoring ability. Following that I would bump Kulemin to the 4th line.

Scoring Line 1: Lupul - Bozak - Kessel
Scoring Line 2A: MacArthur - Kadri - Frattin
Scoring Line 2B: Van Riemsdyk - Grabovski - xxx (see above)
Shutdown Line: Komarov - McClement - Kulemin

 

[LeafOfBread]

Honestly, I think we should roll three scoring lines and one shutdown. I would package one of our extra defenseman with a pick and try to acquire a 3rd line player in the mold of Ryan Jones - sandpaper and scoring ability. Following that I would bump Kulemin to the 4th line.

Scoring Line 1: Lupul - Bozak - Kessel
Scoring Line 2A: MacArthur - Kadri - Frattin
Scoring Line 2B: Van Riemsdyk - Grabovski - xxx (see above)
Shutdown Line: Komarov - McClement - Kulemin

Need to keep one of Orr or McLaren. Both have given responsible defensive play while being intimidating presences.

 

[kamosko]

He's so good out there, you don't even notice him.

Was amazed when that stat came up showing the players with the most pk time and how much goals they gave up and Jay was at like 80:00 and only had like 4 goals against

 

[tacoburrito]

3g in last 5 keep it rollin' jay!

 

[WillNyeTheHockeyGuy]

What a big improvement an actual defensive hockey player can make.

 

[Puckstuff]

When ever a team signs a 3rd/4th liner you don't care to much... You think you are getting another David Steckel type guy but Jay Mcclement is far from it... It's like getting another Kulemin... but for free. When you see this player live he looks so fast and big. I have so much respect for this player... he easily is our new best defensive forward. He brings so much more to the table then scrubs like Steckel who is useless. Mcclement is the perfect 10th forward... He will start of as the 4th line centre... but plays lots of minutes when injuries hit and can play the wing very effectively in a top 9 role. Great signing, amazing penalty killer.

 

[Jerkini]

I like that he doesn't play out of his element. Just a simple north-south game, even when his ice time increases. Too often we've had guys in similar roles who started thinking they were better than they actually were.

 

[Dr Turk]

Mind you the other two guys were Rickard Wallin and Phil Dupuis.


McClement is miles ahead of them.

Don't forget Sjostrom, mind you your point still stands.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Need to keep one of Orr or McLaren. Both have given responsible defensive play while being intimidating presences.

I say, keep both. If we're going to be making acquisitions, it should be a centre. One that elite's and could play with Kessel on the power play.

Something like this:

JVR - #1C - Kulemin <--- Shut down (First line)
Lupul - Grabovski- Kessel <--- Primary scoring line
MacArthur - Kadri - Frattin <--- Secondary scoring line
McLaren - McClement - Orr <--- Energy line

PP1: Lupul - #1C - Kessel; Phaneuf - Reilly
PP2: Frattin - Grabs - Kadri; Gunnar - Gardiner

Note: Could even replace MacArthur with Biggs in the future.

If we're going to be making acquisitions, nothing less than elite is acceptable. We need someone who is a clutch and can make those around him better. He shouldn't be playing with Kessel at ES and star on his own line.

Our issue isn't scoring, it's maintaining composure especially during the playoffs. We need an superstar who can take on the opposition, play a strong two-way game. In sum, maximize output from Kessel and Kadri's lines. Crosby, Zettersberg types.

Otherwise, don't bother with FA. The Bruins didn't have a #1 C of that order when winning the cup. We don't necessarily need one either.

 

[Yosho]

McClement is probably my favourite Leaf on this team so far.

Such a sound player.

 

[Confucius]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...-to-be-the-stopper/article7382400/?cmpid=rss1

Good read.

We're all familiar with the abundance of articles that talk about Carylye's system of

1st Scoring Line
2nd ShutDown Line
3rd Sheltered Scoring Line
4th Energy Line

I don't know how that will look in Toronto but for a shut down line.

Kulemin - McClement - Komarov?

Could be decent.

Sheltered scoring line? Kadri can score on any line. Sheesh

 

[Fearless Leaf*]

Sheltered scoring line? Kadri can score on any line. Sheesh

To be fair, this was made at the before the season started. Not many had high expectations for Nazem.

Any ways, back to McClement. He is a very good player that does a lot of things right and plays a safe game offensively.

He is right up there in terms of impact on our team after Kadri, JVR, Reimer etc. One of the most underrated players in the league, IMO.