Post-Game Talk: Leafs win 4-1 (again) thanks to our new superstar... Tyler Ennis?

[jrgtml67]

Didnt see much of game. How was Sandin? I did see Ennis and Bracco looked good too. So far I see Igor winning a bottom pair spot and Borgman (if Dermott is out).

 

[stickty111]

Didnt see much of game. How was Sandin? I did see Ennis and Bracco looked good too. So far I see Igor winning a bottom pair spot and Borgman (if Dermott is out).

Sandin and Lilly were terrific. They look like a future pairing.

 

[Ciao]

Sandin and Lilly were terrific. They look like a future pairing.

They did indeed. I would like to see more.

 

[Zybalto]

Could Sandin/Liljegren realistically make the team?

What if they keep up their strong play the whole pre-season?

If Dermott is on the shelf and they string together a bunch of games like last night, do you keep them down due to age?.....or maybe give them a few games at the start of the year?

 

[stickty111]

Could Sandin/Liljegren realistically make the team?

What if they keep up their strong play the whole pre-season?

If Dermott is on the shelf and they string together a bunch of games like last night, do you keep them down due to age?.....or maybe give them a few games at the start of the year?

No chance they make the team.

 

[jrgtml67]

They did indeed. I would like to see more.

Well Mike already gave him a nickname. Wonder if he goes to Sweden or Marlies and if an injury occurs he gets a call.

So far my ranking for last pair spots excluding Dermott (injured)

Igor Oz, Borgman, Carrick, Rosen, Holl

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Could Sandin/Liljegren realistically make the team?

What if they keep up their strong play the whole pre-season?

If Dermott is on the shelf and they string together a bunch of games like last night, do you keep them down due to age?.....or maybe give them a few games at the start of the year?

talent wise? maybe they wouldn't be the worst bottom pairing in the league, although I don't think they'd be particularly great. it wouldn't be good for their development though, so I really don't see it happening

 

[Zybalto]

No chance they make the team.

Just putting it out there.

I know there's way too much competition and risk associated with it.

 

[IBeL34f]

Just putting it out there.

I know there's way too much competition and risk associated with it.

Then you also have to take into account the fact that they are waiver exempt, while other players are not, as well as the fact that they have tons more development to do that doesn't need to be done at the NHL level. Absolutely no reason to rush these guys.

Their ability to provide excellent depth on ELCs a few years from now when Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander are taking up the majority of our cap space is also going to be huge.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Well I get the sense there are differing views as to how Ennis played.
A little late to this thread so not sure if this has been posted. Nice article.

How Leafs' advanced medical staff got Tyler Ennis 'ready to roll' - Sportsnet.ca

 

[BertCorbeau]

Sandin was good but you can tell he needs to get a bit stronger and improve his skating.

I was encouraged by his high IQ/positioning and puck skills though - that impressed me the most.

 

[therealkoho]

Cause he looked bad yesterday.

Nice shot to score his first goal, but thats about it.

Leivo looked solid in his first game, even tho the results werent there.

uhh I was at the game in Ottawa, Ennis was wearing #63, maybe you were watching #18 and as for the game in Lucan, if that was Leivo having a "good" game, he hasn't got a chance of making this team

 

[Jozay]

uhh I was at the game in Ottawa, Ennis was wearing #63, maybe you were watching #18 and as for the game in Lucan, if that was Leivo having a "good" game, he hasn't got a chance of making this team

Lol.

 

[Muston Atthews]

It's all pretty dumb.
Ennis is not going to replace Nylander.

Ennis may replace Leivo.

That would be... dumb

 

[therealkoho]

I had never seen Rasmus Sandin play until last night.

I thought Sandin looked terrific. He very much reminded me of the first time I saw Stuart Percy, who looked so smooth and confident until we saw a larger sample size against much tougher competition.

I'm still disappointed that Percy never turned into the very good NHL defenceman I first thought he would be. It took me a long time to give up that would ever happen.

I think things will likely turn out a whole lot better for Sandin than they did for Percy, but my hopes are tempered by that experience and I'm not yet ready to imagine Sandin as more than a really good looking junior/European-pro defenceman.

I need to see more to hope for more than that.

Percy's greatest strength was his skating, he lost a step and some of his nimbleness after the knee injury

 

[Blanche Blanche]

Sandin and Lilly were terrific. They look like a future pairing.

The D with Lilgrn/sandin/Zaits was vastly more mobile - better puck posession - efficient zone entries as compared to Oz-Holl-Hainsey

Hard to judge 1 game but... if we were thats what it is. Both D with a 1C and a speedy winger. JT-Marner and then AM-Ennis.

No chance they make the team.

Im not so sure. Dermott came up halfway last season and his presence was FELT. We needed his Edgework and IQ.

Now Oz - lil - Sandin - Rosen - seem to have caught up with Dermott in terms of readiness.

We went from Polak, Carrick,Holl...as the alt pairing subs to JUST Dermott. Babs kept him on --- This year the D corp we arguably have 4 guys at dermotts level or better.

Things are looking good!

 

[Zybalto]

Just looked back at the Ennis signing in the Buffalo forum from June 2014 and most posters were happy with the 5 year deal @ 4.6 AAV. Today, that's equivalent to a 5.25 AAV cap hit.

Goes to show how valued he was before the concussions.

 

[TDotMassive]

we got little for kessel because the management wanted him gone from the organization asap. instead of negotiating with teams on a deal that would bring more in return, the leafs took the first offer available and never looked back.

Ya, I disagree... I think we got pretty damn good value for Kessel, considering someone took his massive contract without us retaining any salary.

We got Kapanen
We got a 1st round pick that we flipped for Freddie Anderson (!)
We got a 2016 3rd round pick that became JD Greenway (meh, but still a pick)
We got Nick Spaling (null)
We got Scott Harrington, who we flipped for Kerby Rychel, who served as trade bait for Plekanec at last year's deadline

All in all... what became of the Kessel trade, is actually pretty good.

 

[Rich247]

Feels like every game against Ottawa is a chippy, tight affair because Boucher insists to play the worst iteration of a trap every game....which makes player assessments pretty muddied.

For the most part, I thought Ennis started off killing some plays but slowly got better as the game got on. Really not sure how to judge him, if he didn't score, I would have said he looked pretty mediocre/underwhelming.

Matthews was in cruise control all game, he was the best player on the ice in a tight affair.

Thought Zaitsev doesn't get enough respect, he had a real strong game and played pretty chippy.

Carrick looked bad all night and wasn't quick enough transitioning the puck up ice....his ability to win battles is an ongoing issue. He might have been the worst player on the ice for our team tonight.

Thought Sandin looked real good. Liljegren just looked ok, felt like he was a passenger in the pairing because Sandin was outstanding.

Even though Bracco scored, I thought he was invisible/uneventful most of the night otherwise (and didn't look great on the PP either). A lot of that may be conformity with spacing though.

Did you watch any of the game? Bracco not only played well he controlled the fourth line. One. Made a great pass to Matthews who hit the post, feed a great pass to brooks down low who was stopped by goalie, him brooks and clune keeped the puck in the offensive zone for about 1 1/2 minutes just before Matthews goal, made a number of break out passes from his defensive zone and had a nice goal besides. What game did you watch? Must have something against the kid for some reason. Hate people that run down young kids they don't know. Last night he looked like one of the top six players on the ice. Opinions please.

 

[rent free]

Ya, I disagree... I think we got pretty damn good value for Kessel, considering someone took his massive contract without us retaining any salary.

We got Kapanen
We got a 1st round pick that we flipped for Freddie Anderson (!)
We got a 2016 3rd round pick that became JD Greenway (meh, but still a pick)
We got Nick Spaling (null)
We got Scott Harrington, who we flipped for Kerby Rychel, who served as trade bait for Plekanec at last year's deadline

All in all... what became of the Kessel trade, is actually pretty good.

The leafs are retaining 15 percent of his salary every year for the next 4 years which is 1.2 million dollars against the cap for us

 

[Apotheosis]

Dermott tied to Rielly and Sandin tied to Liljegren. Having those two steady reliable guys who have intelligence to move the puck while the more offensive inclined guys can do their thing and move the puck with the added benefit of Sandin and Dermott being mobile and good at puck moving themselves. Future is so so bright.

 

[RoadWarrior]

Ya, I disagree... I think we got pretty damn good value for Kessel, considering someone took his massive contract without us retaining any salary.

We got Kapanen
We got a 1st round pick that we flipped for Freddie Anderson (!)
We got a 2016 3rd round pick that became JD Greenway (meh, but still a pick)
We got Nick Spaling (null)
We got Scott Harrington, who we flipped for Kerby Rychel, who served as trade bait for Plekanec at last year's deadline

All in all... what became of the Kessel trade, is actually pretty good.

Nope. The leafs were forced to retain $1.2M in salary.

However Freddy Andersen has been real good so I’m not crying.

 

[GoldenGOOSE]

You guys have no idea who is taking Nylander's spot. Last name starts with B. Mike Walton is howling at Boobcock right now. Always has.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Just looked back at the Ennis signing in the Buffalo forum from June 2014 and most posters were happy with the 5 year deal @ 4.6 AAV. Today, that's equivalent to a 5.25 AAV cap hit.

Goes to show how valued he was before the concussions.

He was a good player then. Very elusive, which is what I still found lacking in his game. Against NHL competition, I think he'll have trouble finding any open space at all, and he can't really make his own.

 

[firstemperor]

Did you watch any of the game? Bracco not only played well he controlled the fourth line. One. Made a great pass to Matthews who hit the post, feed a great pass to brooks down low who was stopped by goalie, him brooks and clune keeped the puck in the offensive zone for about 1 1/2 minutes just before Matthews goal, made a number of break out passes from his defensive zone and had a nice goal besides. What game did you watch? Must have something against the kid for some reason. Hate people that run down young kids they don't know. Last night he looked like one of the top six players on the ice. Opinions please.

I don't hate Bracco...I've defended him at various points. Seems like a cop out to say I didn't watch the game, I watched every minute.Just don't think any player in particular stood out in that tight, trap, game, besides perhaps Matthews, Sandin, and a few others. Same goes with Ennis, Johnsson, Kapanen- just way too weak on the puck, plays would die consistently because either A) they were too weak on the puck, B) too slow with transition, or A + B).