Post-Game Talk: Leafs Get Last Laughs

[Rapala]

The reality is we don't have an upgrade already signed or in Laval and Pezz is outproducing regulars like RHP and Ylonen who don't bring his physical element.

WTF is the off season for?

 

[Schooner Guy]

WTF is the off season for?

We still have 5 games to play. Players usually don't get put on waivers in the offseason.

 

[Habs10Habs]

WTF is the off season for?

 

[Naslundforever]

Pezz took out one of theirs and post fight the Habs scored more goals 2-1, no need to bash the guy

Rewatching just now at least Reaves hugged him out and ended it after the smack to the jaw…

 

[Rapala]

We still have 5 games to play. Players usually don't get put on waivers in the offseason.

Who said anything about putting him on waivers now? Have you had your coffee yet.
Everything I've been talking about is in function of next season.
If this team can upgrade certain positions roles etc. there is absolutely no reason not to do it.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Who said anything about putting him on waivers now? Have you had your coffee yet.
Everything I've been talking about is in function of next season.
If this team can upgrade certain positions roles etc. there is absolutely no reason not to do it.

This a post-game thread and someone else was talking about waiving him

Do you think they're going to overhaul the entire bottom 6 in the offseason? That's not realistic. If it was easy to improve our bottom 6, it would have been done already.

I don't see Pezz going anywhere unless he's a throw-in in a trade. His points per minutes are better than most of our forward lineup and he's one of few who plays physical. He has one year left on a dirt cheap contract. He doesn't mind being a 13th forward and he's a good guy to have around for accountability purposes or when an underachiever needs to be scratched. We have so much deadweight in our forward slots that he's way down in the pecking order of who to replace.

 

[Hannibal]

Any word on Xhekaj’s injury or Guhle’s?

 

[Rapala]

This a post-game thread and someone else was talking about waiving him

Do you think they're going to overhaul the entire bottom 6 in the offseason? That's not realistic. If it was easy to improve our bottom 6, it would have been done already.

I don't see Pezz going anywhere unless he's a throw-in in a trade. His points per minutes are better than most of our forward lineup and he's one of few who plays physical. He has one year left on a dirt cheap contract. He doesn't mind being a 13th forward and he's a good guy to have around for accountability purposes or when an underachiever needs to be scratched. We have so much deadweight in our forward slots that he's way down in the pecking order of who to replace.

Why is overhauling arguably the worst bottom 6 in the entire NHL unrealistic.
It should be the MOST realistic thing on our agenda.
It starts getting fixed or we will continue to suck that's where reality lies.
What exactly do you think any of those players are worth.
Management likes to talk a big "Culture" game and part of that is on their heads to properly support the players who are busting their nuts.
Otherwise it's just a crock of crap it doesn't work if it's a one way street.

 

[Beendair Donedat]

There is something off here Suzuki is doing it because he finally has some support. Look at his numbers wit Dach now look at his numbers with Slaf now look at his numbers without Dach now look at his numbers without Slaf. There is a pattern here I promise you.

Sure, perhaps I should clarify - he’s putting up PPG numbers and the next closest player is 17 points behind him. That’s a significant amount on a team that doesn’t score that many goals.

 

[morhilane]

Why is overhauling arguably the worst bottom 6 in the entire NHL unrealistic.
It should be the MOST realistic thing on our agenda.
It starts getting fixed or we will continue to suck that's where reality lies.
What exactly do you think any of those players are worth.
Management likes to talk a big "Culture" game and part of that is on their heads to properly support the players who are busting their nuts.
Otherwise it's just a crock of crap it doesn't work if it's a one way street.

The problem with overhauling the bottom 6 is that most of those players have no value, some are overpaid and the Habs have a single retention slot left for next season. But, the bottom 6 are all mostly on 1 year contract.

Hughes should try to move some of the 1-year contract this summer without retention.
It would be great if he could move Anderson since he needs a change of scenery but I'm pretty sure Gallagher is here to stay and will get bought it in a season or two.

But I fear we will have the same bunch next season and they will simply not get extended.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Why is overhauling arguably the worst bottom 6 in the entire NHL unrealistic.
It should be the MOST realistic thing on our agenda.
It starts getting fixed or we will continue to suck that's where reality lies.
What exactly do you think any of those players are worth.
Management likes to talk a big "Culture" game and part of that is on their heads to properly support the players who are busting their nuts.
Otherwise it's just a crock of crap it doesn't work if it's a one way street.

Because there are 31 other teams trying to improve their bottom 6 and more desirable destinations for players with expiring contracts.

 

[Rapala]

Sure, perhaps I should clarify - he’s putting up PPG numbers and the next closest player is 17 points behind him. That’s a significant amount on a team that doesn’t score that many goals.

Indeed and it proves one very pertinent fact about Suzuki's game.
He's been putting himself in winning positions on the ice since day one.
Even I a huge fan of his was off base last season slagging him a bit whenever his line went flat.
I did come to my senses when I looked at the season as a whole and realized what 66 points represented on a team that bad.

The problem with overhauling the bottom 6 is that most of those players have no value, some are overpaid and the Habs have a single retention slot left for next season. But, the bottom 6 are all mostly on 1 year contract.

Hughes should try to move some of the 1-year contract this summer without retention.
It would be great if he could move Anderson since he needs a change of scenery but I'm pretty sure Gallagher is here to stay and will get bought it in a season or two.

But I fear we will have the same bunch next season and they will simply not get extended.

Cutting them free doesn't cost a retention spot.
I'm saying I believe the support we can get by upgrading those positions is far more valuable for this rebuild than anything those players will fetch.
Once again I don't give a rats ass about returns but I do care about how my top guys see things.
I doubt HuGo sees it as I do from a purely selfish fan's position but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Because there are 31 other teams trying to improve their bottom 6 and more desirable destinations for players with expiring contracts.

Good excuse. Trading for centers is hard too.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Don't worry guys. We are going to draft Berkly Catton!

Odd takeaway when the real issue is us being a 1 line team.

Elite talent on the 2nd line? Awesome

 

[Naslundforever]

This a post-game thread and someone else was talking about waiving him

Do you think they're going to overhaul the entire bottom 6 in the offseason? That's not realistic. If it was easy to improve our bottom 6, it would have been done already.

I don't see Pezz going anywhere unless he's a throw-in in a trade. His points per minutes are better than most of our forward lineup and he's one of few who plays physical. He has one year left on a dirt cheap contract. He doesn't mind being a 13th forward and he's a good guy to have around for accountability purposes or when an underachiever needs to be scratched. We have so much deadweight in our forward slots that he's way down in the pecking order of who to replace.

I even said waive him yesterday. I get emotional sometimes. I have Pezz ahead of a few other roster players as well as pointed out

I really wish they landed a few nasty truculent vets to fill out the roster but juggling that with icetime and those contracts going nowhere I’m not seeing a tougher roster next season right now pending a few swaps… Like if I wanted to protect a newborn baby I would wrap it in a blanket made of habs.

 

[Chili]

Besides our big 3, Pez is one of our only forwards that I noticed on a regular basis. He was definitely out of his league taking on Reaves. But considering how Reaves was allowed to do pretty much anything he wanted last night. I'm glad someone had the stones to get in his face. I'm disappointed in Andy though, he should have been the one.

There were the refs at centre ice before the faceoff, talking to Reaves when he clearly had only one thing in mind. Pezzetta didn't want to fight. What is an instigator? Don't know after watching that last night. At minimum believe Reaves would have gotten a 10 minute misconduct from alot of refs because he certainly wasn't listening to the officials.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Adding vets and goons to the roster down the stretch in a losing season for a little more saturday night entertainment in meaningless games to appease the fefans would have been such a Neanderthal/Old Regime/Bergevin move.

Slaf Suzuki and Caufield don't need protecting. Every game they do the entire heavy work offensively and play great physically 5 on 5 vs all the other teams top lines. They barely get bullied since they play other lines who are also trying to score.

Why cry about our bottom 6 scrubs getting pummeled, who cares they can't even play hockey. Seriously ask me how i feel about Harris or Gallagher or Pezeta getting bullied out there lmao

Year 2 of the rebuild how are we crying about losing a game vs one of the best reg season teams in the league.

Guess how Toronto got good in the first place , ding ding ding!

Tank lives on next year as well , you should start dealing with it yup!

 

[morhilane]

Cutting them free doesn't cost a retention spot.
I'm saying I believe the support we can get by upgrading those positions is far more valuable for this rebuild than anything those players will fetch.
Once again I don't give a rats ass about returns but I do care about how my top guys see things.
I doubt HuGo sees it as I do from a purely selfish fan's position but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Oh I agree, HuGo seems to not want to do trades to create roster spots which are usually done at a lost and with no body coming back. That's why I was saying we will probably see the same bunch next year (well minus White/Pearson and maybe Ylonen), they will just wait for the contracts to expire.

They have been lucky the team has been plagued by long term injuries, the overflow could alternate on the IR list instead of getting waived (except Armia, but he only played 9 AHL games and was called up as injury replacement).

 

[Naslundforever]

Adding vets and goons to the roster down the stretch in a losing season for a little more saturday night entertainment in meaningless games to appease the fefans would have been such a Neanderthal/Old Regime/Bergevin move.

Slaf Suzuki and Caufield don't need protecting. Every game they do the entire heavy work offensively and play great physically 5 on 5 vs all the other teams top lines. They barely get bullied since they play other lines who are also trying to score.

Why cry about our bottom 6 scrubs getting pummeled, who cares they can't even play hockey. Seriously ask me how i feel about Harris or Gallagher or Pezeta getting bullied out there lmao

Year 2 of the rebuild how are we crying about losing a game vs one of the best reg season teams in the league.

Guess how Toronto got good in the first place , ding ding ding!

Tank lives on next year as well , you should start dealing with it yup!

I can watch them lose; I still feel all these young players current and upcoming need protection, pretty huge part of hockey for me. Guhle getting ragdolled twice a week is not great, he’s not a marginal player. Tanking and being scary to play against are not incompatible I feel.

 

[Rapala]

Adding vets and goons to the roster down the stretch in a losing season for a little more saturday night entertainment in meaningless games to appease the fefans would have been such a Neanderthal/Old Regime/Bergevin move.

Slaf Suzuki and Caufield don't need protecting. Every game they do the entire heavy work offensively and play great physically 5 on 5 vs all the other teams top lines. They barely get bullied since they play other lines who are also trying to score.

Why cry about our bottom 6 scrubs getting pummeled, who cares they can't even play hockey. Seriously ask me how i feel about Harris or Gallagher or Pezeta getting bullied out there lmao

Year 2 of the rebuild how are we crying about losing a game vs one of the best reg season teams in the league.

Guess how Toronto got good in the first place , ding ding ding!

Tank lives on next year as well , you should start dealing with it yup!

Is this what you've taken from this conversation?
I must have missed the part where the so called Fefans wanted to add goons or vets down the stretch?

It needs to be done and done selectively before the season ever starts.
It also has little to do with gooning it up and everything to do with playing a far heavier possession game.
I foresee our first two lines doing a fairly decent job in that area next year and our bottom six not at all.
If you don't think it matters or adds up as a season progresses there really is nothing to talk about.

 

[JianYang]

I still can't believe that pass. To think he only just turned 20.

The finish is pretty sick too.

I think caufield is going to be better next year as well a full year after his shoulder surgery.... add in slafkovsky with another year under his belt, and that line can become even more dynamic.

Maybe (hopefully) the defense takes a step in general with many of those guys entering their 3rd season, and add in a healthy dach.... you certainly have things to look forward to next year.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

In MTLs stage, the bottom 6 especially the 4th ljne should just be rebranding it.

To find guys who play 8 min a night and be tough and hit shouldnt be a major difficulty.

Swap out Ylonen with almost any AHL tough guy is about equal. Swap out White with a bigger center who leans on people. A bigger Pez, a tougher Pearson

Its more just bringing more then the clock wasters they currently have

 

[The Real Timo]

I would like to conclude this tread by saying: "f*** the leafs!"

 

[Mrb1p]

He's been the team #1 D since December he just doesn't get PP time. He should have bumped Matheson as the #1 LD, but the lack of good RHD caused him to be moved to #1 RD instead.

The problem isnt a lack of RD, it the 4 LDs.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Good excuse. Trading for centers is hard too.

LOL! I'd love to know your realistic strategy for getting Anderson, Gallagher, Dvorak, Armia out of our bottom 6 to free up spots.

 

[GrandmaCookie]

LOL! I'd love to know your realistic strategy for getting Anderson, Gallagher, Dvorak, Armia out of our bottom 6 to free up spots.

There is a multitude of way to make them disapear.