Post-Game Talk: Leafs win 5-3

JT AM da real deal

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Oct 4, 2018
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I would love to know your source one day :laugh:

Not that I doubt you, I think I'm just jealous.

Everything you said makes sense though. If he's signing here, there's no need to drag it out.
This was really quite a fluke as it was totally non hockey related. I was shopping with my younger son for a new M series Taylor Made driver at Golf town on queensway near Sherway Gardens Mall a day before XMAS. He was hitting some balls and the sales guy was telling us Taylor Made was coming out with a new driver soon that likely would suit him better as he has a very low loft and slap shot lie requirement. Next thing Jake says heh D and my son goes no he's at home not even looking. My 2 kids look similar and tall so it happens. then they shoot da sh*t for a few minutes. His wife Courtney was with him so we got quickly introduced. We did not talk hockey but she said they had a condo nearby to be close to practice facility and easier ride home. They were in a rush to buy some swag as her mom had her daughter. Anyways my older son thinks he will sign here as I have mentioned before. I hope he does but I think as always it will come down to term and $$$. Lets hope it all goes well and a deal can be done.
 

Kamiccolo

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His value, then and now, is in being one of the very best forcheckers in the league. He's the same player with the same work ethic, if he's caught a few more bounces that's great, but nobody defending him was ever praising his offense.

It takes more than work ethic to be on a top line. It was a valid criticism at one time and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous. And I was mostly a supporter his whole time here.
 

willmma

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Jan 5, 2017
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This was really quite a fluke as it was totally non hockey related. I was shopping with my younger son for a new M series Taylor Made driver at Golf town on queensway near Sherway Gardens Mall a day before XMAS. He was hitting some balls and the sales guy was telling us Taylor Made was coming out with a new driver soon that likely would suit him better as he has a very low loft and slap shot lie requirement. Next thing Jake says heh D and my son goes no he's at home not even looking. My 2 kids look similar and tall so it happens. then they shoot da sh*t for a few minutes. His wife Courtney was with him so we got quickly introduced. We did not talk hockey but she said they had a condo nearby to be close to practice facility and easier ride home. They were in a rush to buy some swag as her mom had her daughter. Anyways my older son thinks he will sign here as I have mentioned before. I hope he does but I think as always it will come down to term and $$$. Lets hope it all goes well and a deal can be done.


This awesome.

Honestly I had a hard time following that, but I think I understood that you ran into Jake and wife while at the drive range, and she said they have a condo nearby.

Did she say anything more about liking living in Toronto? Because having a condo doesn't really say much.
 

666

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Jun 27, 2005
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Are you really under the impression that this is how contract negotiations work?

I know exactly how contract negotiations work. Look for comparables, preferably on your own team and go from there. Hands is on pace for 61 points. Kap 45. Hands gets 18:26 of ice time (more time than even Nylander) Kap gets 16:01. According to you he's "like a high-end forward" so he must deserve the ice time and linemates that he gets so he must be worth AT LEAST $5M. Right? LOL.
 

Cotton

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May 13, 2013
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It takes more than work ethic to be on a top line. It was a valid criticism at one time and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous. And I was mostly a supporter his whole time here.

It takes work ethic to do anything, talent with little work ethic gives you Alexander Daigle, and work ethic with little talent gives you Zach Hyman. Hyman was criticized rightly for his lack of offense in relation to his position, but we Leafs fans have a talent at being hyperbolic and extremely reactionary game to game, and he caught a ton of unnecessary flak while being a useful player. (Sorta like Gauthier does now to a lesser degree).

His offense didn't suddenly evolve over the past two seasons, he was already almost 25 when he was put on a line with Auston. He's caught bounces and learned where to go to catch them while playing with superior offensive players. But his value is in hunting down pucks, winning board battles, killing penalties and creating space for his linemates.

I don't know if you were "mostly a supporter" or not, I never quoted a post of yours or accused you of leaning one way or the other, so offering up that information, as if I had, comes off as defensive. And that's not a good look.
 

Martin Skoula

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Oct 18, 2017
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Hyman has gotten better but let's not pretend he's gotten more skilled. I challenge anyone to find me more than one goal he's scored where the puck wasn't deflected or crossed the goal line on the ice. He can't lift the puck in tight unless he's on a breakaway and has time to load his shot.
 

Guided by Veseys

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Nov 14, 2011
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I think the coaching staff probably told Hyman to look for the open man instead of crashing the net 100% of the time. He used to have much more tunnel vision and it could be frustrating. Now you very rarely see the patented wrap around that was his go to move for years.
His hands are better now than a few years back but he was new to the league then and some skills develop a little later: with experience comes poise.
 
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CantLoseWithMatthews

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Hyman has gotten better but let's not pretend he's gotten more skilled. I challenge anyone to find me more than one goal he's scored where the puck wasn't deflected or crossed the goal line on the ice. He can't lift the puck in tight unless he's on a breakaway and has time to load his shot.
working on deflections and his finish on breakaways is improving his skill, though. He's gone from 10 goals, to 15, to 21, to 14 in 32 games. It would be hard to believe he improved his goal scoring to that extent without improving his skill at finishing
 

Martin Skoula

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working on deflections and his finish on breakaways is improving his skill, though. He's gone from 10 goals, to 15, to 21, to 14 in 32 games. It would be hard to believe he improved his goal scoring to that extent without improving his skill at finishing

He's gotten a lot smarter, I will give him credit there. He's in the right spots to be dangerous with his skillset more often than he has been in the past. I just want to see him spend a summer training with JVR, he'd be a legitimate 30 goal threat if he could lift the puck at all.
 

CantLoseWithMatthews

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He's gotten a lot smarter, I will give him credit there. He's in the right spots to be dangerous with his skillset more often than he has been in the past. I just want to see him spend a summer training with JVR, he'd be a legitimate 30 goal threat if he could lift the puck at all.
even in his first full season, Hyman was a beast at getting these scoring chances. He was just f***ing awful at finishing them. In 2016/17, he was among worst in the league at under-performing his expected goals.

16/17: -7.4 goals than expected
17/18: -5.5
18/19: -4.3
19/20: +0.7
so even just looking at how he finishes relative to the chances he gets, he's consistently improving
 

Martin Skoula

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even in his first full season, Hyman was a beast at getting these scoring chances. He was just ****ing awful at finishing them. In 2016/17, he was among worst in the league at under-performing his expected goals.

16/17: -7.4 goals than expected
17/18: -5.5
18/19: -4.3
19/20: +0.7
so even just looking at how he finishes relative to the chances he gets, he's consistently improving

Sorry yeah I didn't mean that he's getting more HD chances, just that he's smarter about what he does with them. He doesn't go for the wraparound as often or try to jam it through the goalie's pad, he has the patience to get the goalie moving now.
 

unitedstars87

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Hyman's shooting 20% this year so far. That likely will drop off, so I could see a goal drought coming. He's had some lucky goals go his way.
This is true. To me I’m hoping he continues to be a consistent 20 goal guy who brings his high motor most nights, especially playoffs. Stats aren’t always everything either. He’s clearly third fiddle on that but he brings a positive element to assisting the 2 studs. 200 ft game, get in the head of the other goalie infront of the net, puck retrieve and make positive plays, can’t ask for much more.
 

Rogie

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He had some offensive talent before he went off to college, putting up some BIG numbers, but, he went through an offensive drought at Michigan, but, in his final year at Michigan, he again, put up some very impressive offensive numbers.
Zach on the Attack
 

BayStBullies

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I think Hyman got a lot more leash than anyone else had to get it right. Hyman deserves credit for earning it, I really didn't think he had the talent, but the first 2 years were of that line being less productive than it should have been because he was on it
Ignoring for a second that it's ridiculous to blame lack of production on the one player who consistently shows heart every night .. Those were development years for the entire team. His growth shows it was worth it. This team needs to get acclimatized to what it will take to win in the playoffs; the answer is likely to learn something from Hyman. You can't rate players exclusively on the scoresheet. That's the sort of thinking that has made it impossible to get the defense in order.
 

Rogie

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In the last Keefe presser, he mentioned (I think, it was hard to hear reporters question) the team is laying over in Dallas, and he mentioned 'sleep' and getting their sleep routine more normal. Interesting, since, I've just been recently reading 'The Sleep Revolution' by Huffington, and she talks about 'sleep' and how the science of sleep is more and more being adapted by professional sports teams, etc. She has some data about how teams that pay more attention to sleep, are gaining an edge.
 

Gabriel426

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In the last Keefe presser, he mentioned (I think, it was hard to hear reporters question) the team is laying over in Dallas, and he mentioned 'sleep' and getting their sleep routine more normal. Interesting, since, I've just been recently reading 'The Sleep Revolution' by Huffington, and she talks about 'sleep' and how the science of sleep is more and more being adapted by professional sports teams, etc. She has some data about how teams that pay more attention to sleep, are gaining an edge.
Gillis and the Nucks did that like 8-9 yrs ago which probably played a part in their President Trophy season
 

Randy Randerson

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Ignoring for a second that it's ridiculous to blame lack of production on the one player who consistently shows heart every night .. Those were development years for the entire team. His growth shows it was worth it. This team needs to get acclimatized to what it will take to win in the playoffs; the answer is likely to learn something from Hyman. You can't rate players exclusively on the scoresheet. That's the sort of thinking that has made it impossible to get the defense in order.
no, like Hyman was consistently flubbing open net looks from within 10 feet and ending at less than .5ppg finishes with linemates who were close to ppg and 4-5 years younger than him, not being able to retrieve pucks from the dump ins without help, and consistently being the one who lost possession on drives. I'm not criticizing his motor at any point, he was a good NHL'er who was miscast for the first few years (which had to be extremely frustrating to other players on the team where Babcock was preaching meritocracy and endowing a big role to a guy who wasn't worthy of it in the next breath), just saying that to my happy surprise Hyman has grown into that role in a way that I didn't expect him to as a player in the back half of his 20's.

it's not really up for debate that Hyman wasn't worthy of that role for the first couple of seasons that he had it, but I think you're misinterpreting the nature of my line of commenting here, I'm complimentary of him for developing the talents to be a contributor in that role.

He had some offensive talent before he went off to college, putting up some BIG numbers, but, he went through an offensive drought at Michigan, but, in his final year at Michigan, he again, put up some very impressive offensive numbers.
Zach on the Attack
I watched a fairly extensive reel of his college highlights, there was a lot of jam in his scoring, not as much touch. I just tried to find that reel but looks like it was taken down
 
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