Line Up prediction

[Deuce22]

Nonis, in his interview the other day said this would be his starting lineup as of now (if things dont change via trades or signings):

JVR - Bozak - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Clarkson
Komorov - Kontiola - Santorelli
Bodie - Holland- Frattin


Phaneuf - .......?
Gardiner - Polak/Robidas
Rielly - Polak/Robidas

He called the 3rd line the UFA line, he said frattin was brought in to play 3rd/4th line duties and would probably start the year on the 4th line with Holland (whom they want to get 8-12mins a night on the 4th line) and said Brodie was brought back for his size and competitive level to help that 4th line drive the net. That pushes clarkson up to the 2nd line with Kadri/Lupul. Which is a good thing, guy is working hard and coming to camp to play, leafs mamangement wants to see a bigger role and more production from his this year.

But your coach is Randy Carlyle

 

[A1LeafNation]

But your coach is Randy Carlyle

for half the season...

 

[sgupca]

for half the season...

ideally i'd like to see the leafs do well, as that lineup is better than the trash we had last year.

That said, if the leafs start bad i'd like to see randy gone by game 12-15. I'd rather not have him half the season ruining the mentality of our players.

 

[Maple Leaf]

ideally i'd like to see the leafs do well, as that lineup is better than the trash we had last year.

That said, if the leafs start bad i'd like to see randy gone by game 12-15. I'd rather not have him half the season ruining the mentality of our players.

Randy was kept to guarantee the tank

 

[Liminality]

ideally i'd like to see the leafs do well, as that lineup is better than the trash we had last year.

That said, if the leafs start bad i'd like to see randy gone by game 12-15. I'd rather not have him half the season ruining the mentality of our players.

The lineup has the potential to be better but the Leafs are relying a lot on gambles this year.

Will Clarkson bounce back and provide some energy and secondary scoring? Will Santorelli continue to show the same determination and have the same effect in his one year with Vancouver? Will Komarov prove that he's more than a 4th liner to Carlyle this time? Will Kontiola prove that he can play at the NHL level? Will Frattin bounce back after his off year with LA and Blue Jackets? Will Gardiner and Rielly be able to continue to develop their game and accept their work load, or will they need more time before they can be put in that role? Will Robidas be healthy for the year and can he continue to play his game at 37? Can Randy configure his game plan to better fit the team?

We're counting on a lot of things to go right for this team to be successful this year.

 

[crump]

You do know Nylander isn't even 170 lbs ? as fun as ruining our prospects is your proposed line isn't very realistic.

I would definitely give him another year to grow. He is actually 173 lbs as of the draft, (same as Giroux)
And he is 5'11.5" so another year would probably put him nearer to 6' and 180 lbs. although with players of his skill level, that might only make a marginal difference. The biggest thing is getting him in a full schedule on smaller ice against NA players.

 

[crump]

JVR - Bozak - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Santorelli
Komorov - Kontiola - Clarkson
Ashton - Holland - Frattin
Bodie

Phaneuf - Rielly
Gardiner - Robidas
Franson - Polak
Granberg

Bernier
Reimer

That's about how I see it. But Switch Phaneuf and Rielly. I would hope Granberg makes enough impact at camp to steal Fransons spot.

 

[tmlfan98]

JVR-Bozak-Kessel
Lupul-Kadri-Clarkson
Komarov-Kontiola-Santorelli
Bodie-Holland-Frattin

Phaneuf-Polak
Gardiner-Robidas
Rielly-Granberg

Bernier
Brodeur

 

[Doc300c]

JVR-Bozak-Kessel
Lupul-Kadri-Clarkson
Komarov-Kontiola-Santorelli
Bodie-Holland-Frattin

Phaneuf-Polak
Gardiner-Robidas
Rielly-Granberg

Bernier
Brodeur

That's is hoping Polak can handle top pairing minutes and defend against top players
We wont know this until we see them play, but I wouldnt doubt it is attempted at some point but cant see it working long term.

 

[sgupca]

The lineup has the potential to be better but the Leafs are relying a lot on gambles this year.

Will Clarkson bounce back and provide some energy and secondary scoring? Will Santorelli continue to show the same determination and have the same effect in his one year with Vancouver? Will Komarov prove that he's more than a 4th liner to Carlyle this time? Will Kontiola prove that he can play at the NHL level? Will Frattin bounce back after his off year with LA and Blue Jackets? Will Gardiner and Rielly be able to continue to develop their game and accept their work load, or will they need more time before they can be put in that role? Will Robidas be healthy for the year and can he continue to play his game at 37? Can Randy configure his game plan to better fit the team?

We're counting on a lot of things to go right for this team to be successful this year.

Every single one of your points is bang on and valid. That all said, i think Santo is a more complete player than Kuelmin (small sample size for santo, but i love what i saw last year)

Komorov has developed even further and will provide a nice 12-14min role on the 3rd line of energy, grit and a little scoring. I was never a bolland fan as the guy can't stake and is always injuried.

Clarkson has no choice but to be better, i dont think it's possible for him to be worse. Shanny also made reference about his ice time (situation) a month or more ago and said his role would change this year and he'd be used properly.

The defense is better IMO, i'm hoping for positive changes, but as you said, there are a lot of variables that have to happen. I'm positive they can tho, so lets hope!

 

[TheThrill81*]

Because by all reports he's better than Peter Holland at this point.

He's 6 years older and hasn't played in the NHL in 6 years. I can't imagine he's that much better.

 

[Liminality]

Every single one of your points is bang on and valid. That all said, i think Santo is a more complete player than Kuelmin (small sample size for santo, but i love what i saw last year)

Komorov has developed even further and will provide a nice 12-14min role on the 3rd line of energy, grit and a little scoring. I was never a bolland fan as the guy can't stake and is always injuried.

Clarkson has no choice but to be better, i dont think it's possible for him to be worse. Shanny also made reference about his ice time (situation) a month or more ago and said his role would change this year and he'd be used properly.

The defense is better IMO, i'm hoping for positive changes, but as you said, there are a lot of variables that have to happen. I'm positive they can tho, so lets hope!

It's really hard to see until the season actually starts to see how this group holds. They changed how the defence is structured and hopefully Carlyle is prompted to change his thinking on the importance of handling players ice time. I'm expecting the same thing for Clarkson, no place to go but up for him. If he gets going then that makes the top 6 look a bit better and makes the team depth a little bit better. Just got to rely on the rest of the question marks on proving their cause.

I'm cautiously optimistic but if a few things don't go our way, I can see us easily going to the bottom 10 again. That doesn't mean I'm going to be a debbie downer for the entire season like some people, I'm going to be cheering the Leafs every game for all their question marks to work out.