GDT: Leafs vs. Habs (7:30 ET on RDS, TSN 2 & 4) Lines on Post #1

[417]

I prefer Beaulieu over Benn myself. But yeah, we both agree they are nothing to brag about.

If Beaulieu was still a Hab today...he'd be on the outside looking in just like Benn is.

1.1M is a bit more digestible to pass through waivers than 2.4M

 

[Laurentide]

Leaf fans will utterly lose their mind if they lose again to us. It will be a night to remember!

The Leafs forward lines look formidable. Then you look at their blue line and it suddenly becomes clear why they can't win a playoff round.

The Leafs didn't need to bother going after Tavares, They can easily thrive without him. They should have targeted Karlsson.

 

[417]

Odd decision to start Price in this game against a full Leafs lineup...

This will likely be his last preseason start before the regular season starts, with the possibility of him getting shelled, very high.

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

Take your pick. Both D are average at best.

Weber < Reilly. I would agree based on age but the production you get from Weber on the PP with his goal scoring threat and physcial and smart play in his own end should not be overlooked. Reilly was -4 last year. 2nd worse on the team. He is not as good defensibly as most realize. The better overall defenseman is clearly Weber but when you factor in age, it changes the value by a lot. Weber is around for 4 or 5 more years and I don't see his game changing much. The value is close for these two different type players but edge to Reilly for the age gap.

Petry > Zaitsev. It's close but Petry is more consistent. Hard to predict what version of Zaitsev they will get this year. If he continues to struggle, that contract will be a problem! At least he was a +8 in 26 games last year. I suspect injuries affected his play and he rebounds this year.

Hainsey = Alzner. I know how unpopular Alzner is but he looks worse cause of how much the puck is in our own end. There is a major difference is puck possession and time in the offensive end between the Habs and Leafs. That needs to be considered. Hainsey on our roster last year would look very similar to Alzner.

Dermott = Mete. It's close. Maybe Dermott gets the edge cause he is older and has a bit of more development time in a better system.

Juulsen = Lilegren. Another close debate. Edge to Juulsen cause he is closer to NHL ready. Lilegren had 17 pts in 44 AHL games last year. 2 pts in 7 world junior games.

Liljegren isnt in the NHL yet so I won't count him. But you forgot Gardiner on the Leafs and I guess Reilly for us.

I would make it:

Weber = Rielly (with Rielly overtaking Weber by next season IMO)
Petry > Zaitsev
Alzner < Hainsey (Hainsey makes less mistakes)
Mete </= Dermott
Reilly << Gardiner
Juulsen ?? Ozhiganov (don't know much about Ozhiganov)

Liljegren and Sandin coming up for the Leafs beats our guys as well IMO.

 

[Habs Icing]

to be frank The "rielly,reilley,reilly" name are so freaking confusing for french speaker

Although English is not my mother tongue, I did all my schooling in that language and let me tell you the effing spelling drives me freaking bonkers. My mother tongue is Italian and English spelling and pronunciation makes absolutely no sense to me.

 

[Legend123]

May we pray for kotka and hope he comes out alive after this game.

 

[Agalloch]

Indeed.

 

[Deebs]

Can't wait to see how that Kotka line does against the Johnny T line

 

[Habs Halifax]

Habs need to make 8 cuts according to my calculations. 26 man roster including the injured 3 (Weber, Shaw, Deslauriers).

Lindgren, Despres, Tyszka, Taormina, Benn, Agostino, Verbeek. Then it's between Chaput and Quellet. Or both are cut and they keep Benn. Having Weber, Shaw and Deslauries injured helps a few make the team to start the year. Starting with the Eagle

 

[sandviper]

If the Habs D is bad, The Leafs D is worse.

Not sure I agree there. Reilly/Gardiner/Zaits/Hainsey is stronger than Schlemko/Petry/Mete/Alzner by a country mile.

He is thin 18 year old kid and the AHL is a much more physical league vs Liiga league in Finland. Yeah, he can get injured anywhere he plays but one league has a higher probability of an injury.!

Don't disagree here that the AHL can be a meat grinder. You got morons looking to make a name of themselves so I'd worry not about him handling the physicality but more about idiots intentionally headhunting him.

 

[HockeyDBspecialist]

Indeed.

THATS WHAT I WANT TO SEE BABY

KOKO KOKO KOKO

 

[EveryDay]

Probably last game tonight for Chaput/Agostino/Lindgren. Hope they also release Despres after the game.....

 

[Habs Halifax]

Can't wait to see how that Kotka line does against the Johnny T line

Tavares edge work and maturity as a top center is a miss match on the younger, thiner, and less physical Eagle. It's a good measuring stick for Kotkaniemi but he has his work cut out for him.

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

Can't wait to see how that Kotka line does against the Johnny T line

The real test is how the JT line does against the Jespy K line, Johnny is going to get eaten alive.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Not sure I agree there. Reilly/Gardiner/Zaits/Hainsey is stronger than Schlemko/Petry/Mete/Alzner by a country mile.

Don't disagree here that the AHL can be a meat grinder. You got morons looking to make a name of themselves so I'd worry not about him handling the physicality but more about idiots intentionally headhunting him.

Well if Weber is removed, then yeah, no contest.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Liljegren isnt in the NHL yet so I won't count him. But you forgot Gardiner on the Leafs and I guess Reilly for us.

I would make it:

Weber = Rielly (with Rielly overtaking Weber by next season IMO)
Petry > Zaitsev
Alzner < Hainsey (Hainsey makes less mistakes)
Mete </= Dermott
Reilly << Gardiner
Juulsen ?? Ozhiganov (don't know much about Ozhiganov)

Liljegren and Sandin coming up for the Leafs beats our guys as well IMO.

I rest my case. No matter how any one of us spin things to what we think, it's close and if the Habs D is average at best, the Leafs are not that much better.

 

[sandviper]

Well if Weber is removed, then yeah, no contest.

I only removed Weber because he is out until December at the earliest. I get ranking teams and matching players but it isn't fair to include somebody who isn't on the roster. For all we know, the Leafs could move Nylander for Seth Jones but I can't compare a roster with Jones on it. For the record, this is not happening of course, but I'm just making a point.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If Beaulieu was still a Hab today...he'd be on the outside looking in just like Benn is.

1.1M is a bit more digestible to pass through waivers than 2.4M

I disagree. When healthy...

Mete / Weber
Reilly / Petry
Beaulieu / Juulsen
Schlemko

Puck mobility skills is much better with this group! It was a major problem last season

If we kept Beaulieu and Emelin, Would we have gone after Alzner? .

Protecting Benn lead to series of unfortunate events in the summer of 17

 

[Habs Icing]

Euhhhh...one of those forwards does not fit...I'll let you take a wild guess who.

Tatar. The only forward playing D.

 

[26Mats]

The only way Benn sticks at this point IMO, is if the Habs go with 8D

Then why has Julien consistently put Benn with petty. It seems he wants that pair to be a thing

 

[Habs Halifax]

I only removed Weber because he is out until December at the earliest. I get ranking teams and matching players but it isn't fair to include somebody who isn't on the roster. For all we know, the Leafs could move Nylander for Seth Jones but I can't compare a roster with Jones on it. For the record, this is not happening of course, but I'm just making a point.

Well I agree with your point if Weber is removed. However, he is still on our roster and he's not 37 yet.

 

[Habs Icing]

I really hope he can be traded for a late pick.
I'd be good with a 5th -6th or 7th !!

Didn't we give up Pateryn and a fourth to acquire him?

 

[slybel]

That D core is garbage and is not better than what the Leafs are icing.. and while Matthews and Tavares aren't Malkin Crosby, Kadri is a significant upgrade on Bonino.

They are saying the same about our D.... and bragging that it will be a 6 goal spread...

 

[Habs Icing]

Who the **** is agostino?

D'Agostino's brother from another mother.

 

[sandviper]

Well I agree with your point if Weber is removed. However, he is still on our roster and he's not 37 yet.

Let me rephrase, I meant he won't be dressed until December. I am not a huge Weber fan (though I don't hate him), but acknowledge he is our best defenceman and I'd take him before anyone on the Leafs. So yeah, he is on our roster in that he has a contract, but he won't be playing the first 40 games or so. Thus, I'm not going to compare him with other teams' opening night defencemen.