While he's loyal he also is sitting Martin for Kapanen which is sensible but goes against the Babcock will always go with his vet theoryNot so sure. Babs remains loyal to his vets. He goes with who got him there and Leo is one of those guys. Leo is needed more vs Bruins than TB but it won't matter to Babs.
Ya I didn't think you were dumping on him at all and I know the leagues are different but I don't think we should count out Johnssons shl experience. It's still a very good league and a worthy accomplishment.Please don't think I'm dumping on Johnsson, I quite like him, so far and so far as what he's done, but his experience in the SHL is not equivalent to the Stanley Cup playoffs. I'm quite happy to have him on the team and think in certain situations he might be a valuable substitute or replacement as the playoffs wear on, but I'll go with proven experience and penalty killing abilities over youthful enthusiasm (and talent). Had he a more proven track record to establish himself, I might feel differently.
Obviously the leagues are different but your making Johnsson sound like a kid fresh out of the OHL whereas he has tons of pro experience
Like I said I will try to watch brown a bit closer and see but from recall he's not doing much out there except being good in out end
Ya I know that but johnsson is very good defensively tooHave you seen his linemates play defense? That's why Brown is there
While Komarov does have high points per game, it's a pretty unfair comparison since he generally gets way more ice time.Johnsson has 1 goal 0 assists in 6 games = .17 points/game
Leo has 7 goals and 12 assists in 71 games = .27 points/game
Johnsson has no playoff experience
Leo has 13 games experience
Johnsson's penalty killing expertise in the NHL is unknown at this time.
Leo's penalty killing expertise in the NHL is appreciated and known.
Tampa and Boston are both scoring at more than 22% rate/pp and with the Leafs averaging 7 min/game in the box, that leads to both potential opponents scoring roughly one pp goal/1.5 games.
I'd want to have one of my better penalty killers available to me vs the unknown. I'd want someone who has experienced playoff pressure vs someone who has not, especially in a secondary/specialized role. I'd want someone who can agitate. I'd want someone who can support a Dzone face-off if the primary C gets booted from the circle. I'd want someone who is scoring at a higher rate than someone who is potentially going to score at a higher rate (and yes, I think Johnsson will eventually score at a higher rate than Leo, but he isn't now), and I'll take 'heavy' and savvy over light, young and unproven.
I'll take Leo.
Ya I know that but johnsson is very good defensively too
And Johnsson is all those things over Komarov besides strongerI like what Johnsson has shown but Kappy is clearly better, faster, stronger, younger, more skilled.
Have you seen his linemates play defense? That's why Brown is there
Hard to say he's not brown level yet. That 4th line is solid. They have been doing well against top lines in the d zoneHe's not Brown level yet though and that's what you need with those other two defensive black holes
That line has been fine defensively since about mid November. The Bozak line's issue this year has been scoring not being scored on. I would swap Brown for Johnsson personally, I think Brown has helped the possession numbers but I think that's it.
Hard to say he's not brown level yet. That 4th line is solid. They have been doing well against top lines in the d zone
didn't see this posted anywhere. Here is the confirmation of what we all expected
It hasn't missed a beat since the Marner Brown swap either
I agree that we need to add Leo for the heavy factor.It hasn't missed a beat since the Marner Brown swap either
It's a hard argument to make breaking up something that's working, I'd put the Hyman on the Matthews line thing as well
That line works and playing well on the 4th line isn't the same thing Salt
I'd just not put Komarov back in which would be the smart option but I'm in no way willing to basically swap Brown for Komorov (which is what happens in your scenario)
They started playing well defensively before the swap though, I don't think Brown hurts the line just he's been the least impressive of the wingers who can be replaced when Leo returns. We know Marleau, Hyman, Marner, Nylander and JVR aren't going anywhere.
I agree that we need to add Leo for the heavy factor.
Brown and hyman imo is not a fair comparison. I still see hyman creating and crashing where I don't see brown doing that.