Leafs so lucky to have this supporting cast

[ShaneFalco]

Like we've seen too many times over the years with d-men, Hainsey is good, just over-played
Brown I've nnever really been a fan of, and for what he is bringing, I think there are cheaper options
Marleau - love him. He was awesome in the playoffs too
Hyman is a nice player to have, but perhaps mis-cast

 

[frog]

It would be hard to find a supporting cast that doesn't look good with our core players for that kind of salary. They're nice enough players, but could probably be replaced with cheaper options without much difficulty

Ok lets hear it then, if you are GM and that determined to replace these players then.. Lets see you do it then.., trade Marleau, Hyman, Brown and Hainsey each for any other supporting/role players in the league who would easily be better, fit better and cheaper on this current team

Who would be better
Marleau for ?
Hyman for ?
Brown for ?
Hainsey for?

 

[LeafShark]

I just saw a college football player get ejected for targetting. This doesn't happen near enough in the NHL to protect its star players. I think back to the near Rielly headshot in the game against Boston.

 

[RLF]

Also to add, literally ALL of them can be easily replace internally with better options. Take Hyman out of the top 6 and put him in the bottom. Have Kapanen, Nylander, Johnsson and Marner as your four top 6 wingers. Hainsey is a corpse being carried by Rielly. Marleau has lost any semblance of hockey IQ. Connor Brown is a black hole offensively.

??? You think age made him stupid on the ice?

 

[TheProspector]

This team probably needs to shed those 4 players. And we won't be meaningful an inferior team when we do in order to sign our much better young guys to their next contracts.

 

[LeafingTheWay]

Ok lets hear it then, if you are GM and that determined to replace these players then.. Lets see you do it then.., trade Marleau, Hyman, Brown and Hainsey each for any other supporting/role players in the league who would easily be better, fit better and cheaper on this current team

Who would be better
Marleau for ?
Hyman for ?
Brown for ?
Hainsey for?

I'm not the poster you responded to, but why would you look externally to replace them? You guys have to trust our prospect development via Marlies or internally. Look at Johnsson/Kapanen and how underrated they were. Everyone said "Oh you can't replace JVR/Bozak, how can you expect two rookies Johnsson/Kapanen to even come close". Look what happened. Obviously Grundstrom and Moore aren't the same level as those guys, but we're not expecting the same. Johnsson and Kapanen are legit top-6 players, while Grundstrom is a projected middle-6 player and Moore a bottom-6.

Leivo - Matthews -Nylander (Leivo's gone but what could have been...)
Johnsson - Tavares - Marner
Grundstrom - Kadri - Kapanen
Moore - Lindholm - Ennis (Much better than any of our 4th lines so far)

Rielly - Dermott*
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Rosen - Ozhiganov/Marincin

And this lineup would genuinely be be as good as the existing one.

I know Marleau/Hainsey were great players, but they're no longer that.

I like Hyman, and somewhat Brown. But as others have said, easily replaceable. A lot of teams have a Hyman/Brown.

 

[frog]

I'm not the poster you responded to, but why would you look externally to replace them? You guys have to trust our prospect development via Marlies or internally. Look at Johnsson/Kapanen and how underrated they were. Everyone said "Oh you can't replace JVR/Bozak, how can you expect two rookies Johnsson/Kapanen to even come close". Look what happened. Obviously Grundstrom and Moore aren't the same level as those guys, but we're not expecting the same. Johnsson and Kapanen are legit top-6 players, while Grundstrom is a projected middle-6 player and Moore a bottom-6.

Leivo - Matthews -Nylander (Leivo's gone but what could have been...)
Johnsson - Tavares - Marner
Grundstrom - Kadri - Kapanen
Moore - Lindholm - Ennis (Much better than any of our 4th lines so far)

Rielly - Dermott*
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Rosen - Ozhiganov/Marincin

And this lineup would genuinely be be as good as the existing one.

I know Marleau/Hainsey were great players, but they're no longer that.

I like Hyman, and somewhat Brown. But as others have said, easily replaceable. A lot of teams have a Hyman/Brown.

Marleau is far more valuable than Leivo..Brown is better than Moore, Hyman is better than Grundstrom (Grundstrom isnt close to being ready, he is a promising prospect but isnt an NHL player right now) and Hainsey is better than Rosen.. You think Rosen can play as a number 2 defensemen and be +22

 

[zeke]

we know this is a troll thread, right?

 

[frog]

we know this is a troll thread, right?

why do you say this? You underappreciate these players soo much at their supporting roles that appreciating them is considered trolling? This fan base has some issues if thats the case

 

[zeke]

why do you say this? You underappreciate these players soo much at their supporting roles that appreciating them is considered trolling? This fan base has some issues if thats the case

I applaud your perfect selection of players for your thread.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

we know this is a troll thread, right?

It's kind of funny how there's a thread praising Hyman and Brown as well as one to criticize Matthews on the first page. We have our priorities right

 

[LeafingTheWay]

Marleau is far more valuable than Leivo..Brown is better than Moore, Hyman is better than Grundstrom (Grundstrom isnt close to being ready, he is a promising prospect but isnt an NHL player right now) and Hainsey is better than Rosen.. You think Rosen can play as a number 2 defensemen and be +22

Hyman/Marleau/Hainsey were 10 times better than Johnsson/Kapanen/Dermott apparently too, before people actually watched them.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

I think the problem with Hainsey and Hyman is that they play way too high in the lineup. Hyman needs to be in the bottom 6. and Hainsey should be on the third pair.

Unfortunately Babcock would never do that so we really need to upgrade on those two guys.

Hainsey is really bad in his current role, and Hyman seems to only be able to score on bounces off his a** or empty nets this year.

 

[Ziggdiezan]

Hainsey is BRUTAL.
Marleau is a shadow of what he was even last year.
Agreed on Hyman, he just should be on the 3rd line. Brown has been turned into a grinder by Babcock. He' splaying different than as a rookie.

Surprised this isnt brought up more often. I bet he will look a much more dynamic productive player on a different team.

 

[TimPeel]

Maybe I am crazy, but Hainsey looks solid to me. He does the little things right, small plays along the boards and corners to free the puck up for Rielly. I think he is a steady presence on our blueline, and we will feel his absence next year.

Marleau still provides some goals (27 last year, on pace for 20 this year), and he has played an active leadership role with some of the younger players on this roster. I am little scared about his role next year; however, he could have an indian summer left in him. Really hope he wins the Cup with us. That would be a phenomenal way for him to end his career, having won everything.


Hyman is misused. Would look fantastic and be more appreciated on the third and fourth line. A Hyman-Kadri-Brown line would break immense balls. I can't stand Babcock's rhetoric re. Hyman. Marner and Tavares have looked mercurial in his absence. Who would have thought that talented offensive players could hound the puck themselves?

 

[LeafingTheWay]

Maybe I am crazy, but Hainsey looks solid to me. He does the little things right, small plays along the boards and corners to free the puck up for Rielly. I think he is a steady presence on our blueline, and we will feel his absence next year.

Marleau still provides some goals (27 last year, on pace for 20 this year), and he has played an active leadership role with some of the younger players on this roster. I am little scared about his role next year; however, he could have an indian summer left in him. Really hope he wins the Cup with us. That would be a phenomenal way for him to end his career, having won everything.

Marleau has the worst points/60 5v5 on the team (Other than Nylander right now ). He's in the perfect spot for tap-ins and good selection shots which is great, but other than that he's actually below-average. He doesn't do anything to help drive possession play nor is his defensive play great anymore.

Hainsey may do those things right, but the other half of things he does is terrible. Just like Marleau, he doesn't do anything to help drive play. You cannot be in a top-4 position if you play like that. If what you mentioned is true about Hainsey, then he should be on the bottom-pairing helping the new guys in and gain confidence.

 

[frog]

I still don't know why people think Hainsey is so terrible. How can he do anything better than +22 while playing against the other team's top lines. Doesn't that logically mean he is really good. I'm lost and probably will never understand

 

[AreBe]

It would be hard to find a supporting cast that doesn't look good with our core players for that kind of salary. They're nice enough players, but could probably be replaced with cheaper options without much difficulty

Conner Brown, Conner Brown, you make the salary cap, talent based Leafs world frown!
Watch your 1 million $ player and the fat -cats will take care of themselves with our all analytics all the time is thankfully Leafs management's specialty!
Ron Hainsey a good Yankee, need to think about keeping high skilled Yanks and Eurotrash in town
Marleau a tad older and it shows but French Canadian skill needed more than English-French equality
the way the Leafs are being built, my only question is, "is 'faster' a noun?"