Pre-Game Talk: Leafs vs Lightning

[stuart5035]

We're gonna get smacked.

I have tried to put myself in the players shoes following that embarrassment against Carolina.

I personally would come out tonight in a “mini rage”, hitting everything in sight. I’d be pissed off the remainder of the year and play like I’d never played before. I’d be all over any teammate I thought wasn’t doing the same.

we will see what they are made of tonight

 

[Gabriel426]

I have tried to put myself in the players shoes following that embarrassment against Carolina.

I personally would come out tonight in a “mini rage”, hitting everything in sight. I’d be pissed off the remainder of the year and play like I’d never played before. I’d be all over any teammate I thought wasn’t doing the same.

we will see what they are made of tonight

That would be me too, but I will also go in the practice facility the next day and blow off steam. The only player who did that was Willie.
Expecting a big game from Willie today.

 

[CelticDruid]

just watch the bucks/raptors game

I haven't missed a game in like forever and I'm not going to start now that they are floundering a bit.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I miss having Kadri as our 3rd line center.
Kerfoot is so trash.

last year Kadri had 29 points at 5v5 in 73 games, Kerfoot has 24 in 58. Plus he's stronger defensively and is younger and cheaper. I do miss Kadri because I like him a lot, but I don't think the team's hurt too much by replacing him with Kerfoot

 

[stuart5035]

That would be me too, but I will also go in the practice facility the next day and blow off steam. The only player who did that was Willie.
Expecting a big game from Willie today.

Interesting.......
I read somewhere that he gave a “post Carolina Debacle” interview where it was apparently clear he didn’t give two hoots. Have you heard or read that too?

 

[Gabriel426]

Interesting.......
I read somewhere that he gave a “post Carolina Debacle” interview where it was apparently clear he didn’t give two hoots. Have you heard or read that too?

No I have not. Do you have the link?

 

[Gabriel426]

last year Kadri had 29 points at 5v5 in 73 games, Kerfoot has 24 in 58. Plus he's stronger defensively and is younger and cheaper. I do miss Kadri because I like him a lot, but I don't think the team's hurt too much by replacing him with Kerfoot

There is no doubt Kadri is a better player. I think Kerfoot is a solid player and it is not a huge drop off between Kadri and him. However, I think Leafs need a more physical defensive 3C than Kerfoot or Kadri.

 

[stuart5035]

No I have not. Do you have the link?

No, sorry
Can’t recall the article either
Anyone?

 

[Suntouchable13]

Win tonight and shut everyone up!

They will shut everyone up when they make the playoffs and win a round.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

There is no doubt Kadri is a better player. I think Kerfoot is a solid player and it is not a huge drop off between Kadri and him. However, I think Leafs need a more physical defensive 3C than Kerfoot or Kadri.

Kadri is great because he can fit into the top 6, but he just wasn't very impressive in a 3rd line role

 

[Kamiccolo]

This season has just been one big rolling ball of shit going downhill that keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Marner's contract
Matthews butt
Scratch Spezza in Leaf debut
Ugly November
Babs gets fired
Team has a month where things are good
Fred crashes back to October form
Rielly get injured for most of the season
Same record from jan onward as the record that got Babs fired
Lose to a Zamboni driver.

 

[hamzarocks]

last year Kadri had 29 points at 5v5 in 73 games, Kerfoot has 24 in 58. Plus he's stronger defensively and is younger and cheaper. I do miss Kadri because I like him a lot, but I don't think the team's hurt too much by replacing him with Kerfoot

Needs more context

Kadri was playing third line center the whole year. He was not playing as a wing with Nylander/Tavares and sometimes Matthews and Marner. Kadri had connor brown and Marleau as his linemates for most of the year.

Yes kadri did play top pp unit but he was playing in a greatly reduced role with fewer touches than the previous season. Last year was a down year for kadri. He has been very good on Colorado. He is still comfortably more valuable than kerfoot who does not generate a ton of his own offense like kadri used to do.

Kerfoot being younger may offer some hidden potential which dubas valued highly but Kadri is more than 1 million dollars better than kerfoot as a player right now.

 

[ER89]

i predict a 10-2 loss. Then the usual, I was crap i need to be better, we need to be better, these are important 2 points and we know we can be and we believe in this locker room. etc etc.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

I hope this team gets blown out for the rest of the season.

They will if they play like they did Saturday.

But I'm not quite there yet.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

Please go:

Engvall-Matthews-Nylander
Hyman-Tavares-Marner


Matthews-Marner and Tavares-Nylander has gotten stale and not working!

Come on Keefe; make some changes man; don't just stay status quo ffs

I like this.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

This game will define the rest of the Leafs season.

.. For what seems like the 10th time after an embarrassing loss

I'd be happy to get the loser point out of this one. To me, the Florida game is the defining game.

Might even be the game of the season.

 

[Shanwhatplan]

i predict a 10-2 loss. Then the usual, I was crap i need to be better, we need to be better, these are important 2 points and we know we can be and we believe in this locker room. etc etc.

I agree. Unfortunately, they can talk the talk, but haven’t been able to/no desire to walk the walk.

 

[mikeyz]

Mods can we please thread ban people who want the Leafs to lose or get them their own thread?

Yes, the Leafs lost to a Zamboni Driver in front of a team that played lights out. It's still just one game out of 82.

I don't understand all the whining. These guys tolerated:

Brian Burke destroying the team by trading draft picks
Nonis signing David Clarkson
Carlyle
Ron Wilson
Peter Horachek
Brett Lebda
Waffles
4-1 Collapse

but want the Leafs to get blown out for the rest of the season because of one game? They have played a total of 0 games this season where they were healthy. They were down in the dumps with Detroit and Ottawa when they fired Babcock.

Yes this season has sucked so far but just enjoy the fact that despite all this shit they are still in a playoff spot, under a new coach, under a new system with a revolving door of new players coming to replace the injured players.

Not making excuses for them, just stating facts. Carolina game was an embarrassment but I'd rather have that embarrassment in the regular season with time to turn things around.

Every team goes through adversity. Boston got reverse swept by Philly after leading 3-0 in the series AND 3-0 in Game 7. Wonder if our team did that? Would you even give them a chance to come back or want everyone traded?

Dubas? Is that you?

 

[56 Years No Cup]

Barrie will look really good on another team, and it will show our fans are part of the problem.

Fans are never part of the problem. Fans react to what they see on the ice. To the product.

Grow up.

 

[Erdinger]

I hope this team gets blown out for the rest of the season.

If they come out flat as usual I want a massive blowout. If they try then go team. I'd say its 90% option 1 tho. These guys aren't fooling anyone with their eye gazing cliches and moral victories

 

[mikeyz]

It's funny because they weren't. They were worse.

CF%

16/17 Tampa: 51.05%
19-20 Leafs: 51.78%

FF%

16/17 Tampa: 50.50%
19-20 Leafs: 51.09%

SF%

16/17 Tampa: 49.62%
19-20 Leafs: 50.83%

SCF%

16/17 Tampa: 51.50%
19-20 Leafs: 52.23%

HDCF%

16/17 Tampa: 49.60%
19-20 Leafs: 51.39%

xGF%

16/17 Tampa: 50.80%
19-20 Leafs: 51.64%

GF%

16/17 Tampa: 50.66%
19-20 Leafs: 51.53%

The only thing that was better...

Save %

16/17 Tampa: 91.01% (16th)
19-20 Leafs: 89.81% (24th)

How many Zamboni driver losses did that TB team have?

 

[1specter]

last year Kadri had 29 points at 5v5 in 73 games, Kerfoot has 24 in 58. Plus he's stronger defensively and is younger and cheaper. I do miss Kadri because I like him a lot, but I don't think the team's hurt too much by replacing him with Kerfoot

Kerfoot has barely even played C under Keefe until the last few games and has also played a lot of wing with Nylander and Tavares this year, Kadri mainly played with Marleau, Brown and a snakebitten Nylander who missed a quarter of a season.

I think Keefe would've given Kadri a lot of extra reps on either Matthews or Tavares' wing, and as we saw last season the odd time that happened it looked fantastic.

Also this season Kadri has 25 5v5 pts in 51 games, playing with mostly Burakovsky, Compher and Donskoi.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Dubas? Is that you?

Dubas is in his early to mid 30s, he grew up with computers and the internet. I bet you he has been on this site more than once. He would know how to set up a couple of burner accounts if he wanted. Imagine he is amongst us, lol.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

We'll probably win this one with a monster effort, so everyone will believe again and have hope, than we'll lose the next 3 playing like an AHL team.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Needs more context

Kadri was playing third line center the whole year. He was not playing as a wing with Nylander/Tavares and sometimes Matthews and Marner. Kadri had connor brown and Marleau as his linemates for most of the year.

Yes kadri did play top pp unit but he was playing in a greatly reduced role with fewer touches than the previous season. Last year was a down year for kadri. He has been very good on Colorado. He is still comfortably more valuable than kerfoot who does not generate a ton of his own offense like kadri used to do.

Kerfoot being younger may offer some hidden potential which dubas valued highly but Kadri is more than 1 million dollars better than kerfoot as a player right now.

I would not say Kadri has been "very good" on Colorado. His ES/60 numbers are some of the better ones of his career, but not significantly better than in Toronto at any point besides his near PPG campaign in that lockout season. He's also played a bit on MacKinnon's wing this year so he has had the same kind of benefits as Kerfoot has had. His PP numbers are a lot worse there than in Toronto, but I do not know if he's on the top PP with MacKinnon or not. If he is, that is very disappointing.

Kerfoot's PP numbers have dropped a lot since Colorado (since our 2PP does not do a whole lot) and his ES/60 numbers are the same as Kadri's in the same role, minus the fact that Kerfoot has played some wing with those players this year.

All in all, Kadri may be 1 mill better than Kerfoot right now, but it's not much more than 1 mill better based on their respective play this year.