TSN: Leafs projected early defensive pairings already set.

[Hero]

in "TH: Gardiner In The Mix" Simmons report that...

"My understanding from talking to the people I've spoken to today is that Jake Gardiner will play with Stephan Robidas to start next season."

"Captain Dion Phaneuf is likely to play with Roman Polak"

"Which leaves Cody Franson and Morgan Rielly as the third pair"

Phaneuf - Polak
Gardiner - Robidas
Rielly - Franson

Good just be TSN trying to get some summer news out there, but sort of interesting.

Click to read more...

 

[Cor]

If Dion is paired with Polak, it means they are going to allow Dion to go back to being the pure offensive, hard hitting player he was in Calgary/when he first arrived in Toronto.

 

[Territory]

No such thing as set in stone.

 

[Atomos2]

If Dion is paired with Polak, it means they are going to allow Dion to go back to being the pure offensive, hard hitting player he was in Calgary/when he first arrived in Toronto.

I doubt it. I just think they are getting Polak to replace Gunnar. They'll be getting the same QoC and the same minutes, except the pairing will prolly look more like Dion when he was paired with Gleason rather than Dion when he was paired with Gunnarson.

All it does is make the top pairing worse imo.

 

[TOGuy14]

Polak on the top pairing = UGH.

 

[Bullseye]

I don't think the Rielly/Franson combo worked for anyone last year - either player or the team.

Phaneuf/Gardiner
Riellly/Robidas
Franson/ Polak

Please...

 

[King85Kong]

Set in stone before training camp even starts. Simmons logic 101

 

[p.l.f.]

yeah nothing is set
but it looks ok for starters

Dion on the left tends to play more defensive, but he could still play right point on the PP

 

[francis246]

I don't mind Polak on the top pairing as long as Dion now has the same freedom as he did in Calgary. That is the Phaneuf we need back. The puck moving, free flowing, hard hitting Phaneuf. They should just tell him to play loose like he did in Calgary. Not sure why they've held him back.

 

[Leafidelity]

Simmons set his roster for NHL14 and writes an article about it. Lets see how these groups mesh before we say the pairings are set. 4/6 have never played with their new partner before.

 

[Bardown warrior]

I don't mind Polak on the top pairing as long as Dion now has the same freedom as he did in Calgary. That is the Phaneuf we need back. The puck moving, free flowing, hard hitting Phaneuf. They should just tell him to play loose like he did in Calgary. Not sure why they've held him back.

Nobody was holding him back but the leafs... We couldn't afford to lose his defensive acumen for a free flowing style because of our lack of depth on the back end.

 

[Mystifo]

Dion and Polak playing 22+ mins a night is not going to end well. I like Polak but he has not shown to be a top pairing shutdown guy.

 

[Purity*]

Dion and Polak playing 22+ mins a night is not going to end well. I like Polak but he has not shown to be a top pairing shutdown guy.

Before the rise of Pietrangelo in St. Louis he was the one who was taking on team's best players.

 

[Morbo]

Polak is a 5, maybe a 4 in a pinch. He's definitely not the answer on a top pairing.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Set in stone...August 5th. Gotta be some kind of record.

 

[Cor]

Also, pairings and lines are never set in stone.

We have like 10 pre-season games or something that will change things drastically

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Simmonds doesn't know his arse from his elbow. I'm not even sure these 6 guys are set as our top 6 d-men.

 

[TootooTrain]

Hey may have heard Gardiner could play with Robidas, but his thoughts on the other pairings are purely speculation. For all we know Rielly could be his partner. It's all pointless anyway. Half these guys haven't even practiced together let alone played a game.

 

[egd27]

in "TH: Gardiner In The Mix" Simmons report that...

"My understanding from talking to the people I've spoken to today is that Jake Gardiner will play with Stephan Robidas to start next season."

"Captain Dion Phaneuf is likely to play with Roman Polak"

"Which leaves Cody Franson and Morgan Rielly as the third pair"

Phaneuf - Polak
Gardiner - Robidas
Rielly - Franson

Good just be TSN trying to get some summer news out there, but sort of interesting.

Where are people getting the "pairings already set" from?

 

[AustonMitchWilly]

If Dion is paired with Polak, it means they are going to allow Dion to go back to being the pure offensive, hard hitting player he was in Calgary/when he first arrived in Toronto.

Been saying that all along

 

[Darcy Tucker]

juat more Simmons trolling, nothing to see here...

 

[Mess]

People assume just because Polak is paired with Dion that it becomes the top pairing.

Perhaps the purpose will be as the shutdown pair trying to prevent goals against, while the other 2 pairings will focus on offense.

When the opposition sends out Crosby, Stamkos, OV, etc Carlyle will throw out Dion and Roman to try and prevent the opposition from scoring. Then when teams toss out lines 2 and 3 the Leafs throw out their other 2 pairings, looking for mismatches Leafs can expose to their benefit.

The premise being if you prevent/limit the offense of the the other teams top line then it forces them to beat you with their depth players. Teams use this strategy all the time against the Leafs, as when they shutdown the Leafs top line they increase their odds of winning significantly.

Its all about roles and responsibilities and not so much labeling lines.

 

[Lebanese Leaf]

Rielly will be playing top pairing with Phaneuf by the all-star break. Mark my words, a lot of you aren't prepared for how good this kid is.

 

[Mystifo]

Before the rise of Pietrangelo in St. Louis he was the one who was taking on team's best players.

He had one season where he played on average 21 mins a night the rest were 19 mins to 18 mins.


That really does not scream to me top pairing. If we are having to shelter Franson for him to be effective who is going to get those extra mins? Robidas and Gards?

 

[Kubus]

August 5th, and a coach who won't announce his goaltender a night before, tries to keep his roster a secret as long as he can, has announced his defensive pairings for the season? All this before he has seen them play a shift together. LOL.

Simmons is such a tool.