The Star: Maple Leafs face Canadiens, Bruins, Red Wings in new Atlantic Division

[Stephen]

If Alfredsson is a big loss for Ottawa then does he become a big gain for Detroit the new team in our division?

Do you think life-time Sens Alfredsson leaving Ottawa for Detroit was done believing his chances of winning a Cup is greater or less now? What does that say about the strength of the Wings?.

I'm hoping it's both a big loss for Ottawa in terms of stability and leadership while a huge bust for Detroit in terms of offense.

I'm really hoping Detroit takes a tumble in the standings, the Weiss and Alfredsson additions might not turn out very well, they lost Filppula and their defense is suspect. I've love to see the East give them a beating.

 

[zeke]

If Alfredsson is a big loss for Ottawa then does he become a big gain for Detroit the new team in our division?

Do you think life-time Sens Alfredsson leaving Ottawa for Detroit was done believing his chances of winning a Cup is greater or less now? What does that say about the strength of the Wings?.

Ottawa saw Alfie and Silfverberg go out, Ryan and Mac come in. Fairly lateral move.

Detroit saw Filppula and Brunner and Cleary go out, Alfie and Weiss come in. Fairy lateral move.

 

[Gobias Industries]

Ottawa saw Alfie and Silfverberg go out, Ryan and Mac come in. Fairly lateral move.

Detroit saw Filppula and Brunner go out, Alfie and Weiss come in. Fairy lateral move.

Mac goes out, Clarkson comes in?.....

 

[HeroNtF]

Ottawa, wings, and montreal series against leafs should be really fun to watch this year.

 

[zeke]

Mac goes out, Clarkson comes in?.....

yep, mac, grabo, frattin out, clarkson, bolland, colborne in.....also pretty lateral.

what should be an upgrade, though, besides Lupul's health, is replacing Kostka/Holzer/O'Byrne with Gardiner and Ranger.

 

[The Apologist]

yep, mac, grabo, frattin out, clarkson, bolland, colborne in.....also pretty lateral.

what should be an upgrade, though, besides Lupul's health, is replacing Kostka/Holzer/O'Byrne with Gardiner and Ranger.

And Scrivens replaced with Bernier SHOULD be an upgrade

 

[Budsfan]

yep, mac, grabo, frattin out, clarkson, bolland, colborne in.....also pretty lateral.

what should be an upgrade, though, besides Lupul's health, is replacing Kostka/Holzer/O'Byrne with Gardiner and Ranger.

The forwards changed, are lateral but the players we replaced them with, are Carlyle type players, Grabo for Bolland, Mac for Clarkson, Frattin was expendable unfortunately but was the price to get Bernier and a Bernier/Reimer Goal tending tandem, is pretty strong and they can be alternated and rested, with no drop in averages.

Colborne is the only player, that really has to step up, to secure a place on the team, or find himself as a bench warmer but over all, we are a tougher team to play against and it should get us up in the top three, in this division.

The defence is pretty well the same as last year however Bolland and Clarkson, are very good back checkers and it should improve the defense, the team are all more experienced, than last year and with the additions of Bolland and Clarkson, a little older and more veteran, this hopefully, will stop another collapse, like in the final play-off game.

 

[BauerHOCKEY]

Toronto - Top offensive Depth in the division and an upgrade in net. Weak on D.
Detroit - DET being DET. It's a culture there, it's more than the players on the team. Weaker on D
Boston - BOS Top 2 goaltending and team Defense. Depth in fwd but not much scoring.
Tampa - Serious Darkhorse. Bishop to have Bobrozski like season. Stammer/Drouin/ Hedmen develops. Could move up into the top 3. Remind me of Flyers of 2011-2012.
Ottawa - The aditions only equal the losses. Karlesson and Spezza improve the team but not enough to push them into top 3. Bobby Ryan is wildcard, could sturggle without Perry and Getz, could thrive with larger role. Loss of Alfie scars the dressing room.
Montreal - Will show the lack of size playing agains the larger teams in the div. Price rebounds, Subban shines, but overall isn't in the top 3 in Offense or Defense.
Florida - Repeated lottery pick. Question marks in every position forcing Prospects into positions they may not be comfortable in.

 

[mix1home]

Toronto - Top offensive Depth in the division and an upgrade in net. Weak on D.

I think our D is second to none in our division. Boston has Chara, but we are deeper I think.

 

[Gobias Industries]

I think our D is second to none in our division. Boston has Chara, but we are deeper I think.

I disagree as a fan of both, but they each come into this season relying on young players, how those players perform (Gardiner, Franson, Hamilton, Krug/Bartkowski) will dictate whose corps ends up the best.

 

[mix1home]

I disagree as a fan of both, but they each come into this season relying on young players, how those players perform (Gardiner, Franson, Hamilton, Krug/Bartkowski) will dictate whose corps ends up the best.

I meant that poster mentioned OUR D as week spot comparing to all other teams in our division. Fact is it's better than D of all teams not starting with B, and it could be argued that at par or just below B.

PS. Hamilton looks more and more like huge bust.

 

[Gobias Industries]

I meant that poster mentioned OUR D as week spot comparing to all other teams in our division. Fact is it's better than D of all teams not starting with B, and it could be argued that at par or just below B.

PS. Hamilton looks more and more like huge bust.

Like week by week in the off-season?

I don't get that impression, but this season will tell!

 

[BiggestLeafsFanEVER*]

I meant that poster mentioned OUR D as week spot comparing to all other teams in our division. Fact is it's better than D of all teams not starting with B, and it could be argued that at par or just below B.

PS. Hamilton looks more and more like huge bust.

How does Hamilton look at all like a bust? He's played the equivalent of about half a full regular season and he didn't look that bad.

Our D is our weak spot you can't say differently. It's worse than Boston and Ottawa for sure. Maybe Montreal. Dion is, at present, our best D and it's not like he's over the top fantastic or anything. Hopefully Gardiner will have a really good year. Fingers crossed.

 

[mix1home]

How does Hamilton look at all like a bust? He's plaid the equivalent of about half a full regular season and he didn't look that bad.

Our D is our weak spot you can't say differently. It's worse than Boston and Ottawa for sure. Maybe Montreal. Dion is, at present, our best D and it's not like he's over the top fantastic or anything. Hopefully Gardiner will have a really good year. Fingers crossed.

Hamilton looked every bit as good as Holtzer on our D.
Ottawa has nothing on our D. Karlsson is not better than Dion and after that what do they have? Cowen? Old Philips guy? Who is there that even remotely good? Ottawa D was bailed out by their goalies last season, period. Without those huge save percentages one can argue they have one of the worst D cores in our conference.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Our D core is pretty underrated. I think the issue like last years is whether Carlyle will start utilising our players effectively.

 

[BauerHOCKEY]

Karlsson is not better than Dion

I really like Dion as a player and think he's vastly underrated simply because he wears the blue and white, but Karlesson is one of the top D man in the league. Dion cracks the top 10 but Karlesson is in the top 5.

Also Methot (invited to team Canada camp) is a very good defender, don't forget a out him.

 

[Budsfan]

NHLers crank up workouts with training camp near

http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2013/08/19/nhlers_crank_up_workouts_with_training_camp_near.html

Jay McClement says the Maple Leafs are going to be the hunted, not the hunters.

McClement says he’s met new Leafs Dave Bolland and David Clarkson and is eager to see what they bring to the table.

“I got to know both a little bit. Great additions on and off the ice,” he said of his new teammates. “Good guys for a young team. I definitely think we got better. Both are guys that play with grit and sandpaper.”

As for that bitter end to the playoffs — blowing a three-goal third-period lead against Boston in Game 7 before losing in overtime — that’s an experience to learn from, McClement says now.

“It’s a tough one to swallow. It still is. It’s something we’re going to have to live with, own up to. It’s on us. It’s not going to go away. We’ll have to react the right way and hopefully learn from it

 

[Beleafer4]

After Boston, I find that Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Detroit are all on a pretty even level. Even tampa could crawl in here. I think injuries will be a key determinant on who makes the playoffs.

 

[mix1home]

I really like Dion as a player and think he's vastly underrated simply because he wears the blue and white, but Karlesson is one of the top D man in the league. Dion cracks the top 10 but Karlesson is in the top 5.

Dion is intimidating defensemen with great production. Karlsson intimidates no one. And I personally would wait until he has 1-2 more seasons like 2 years ago to pronounce him top-5 D in the league. More specifically I want to see teams concentrate on him more as they do on Chara and see how he does. Montreal actually did pretty good job in playoffs against him stripping pucks, but their complete impotence in scoring against Andersson gave them in (that and lack of size).

 

[BiggestLeafsFanEVER*]

Hamilton looked every bit as good as Holtzer on our D.
Ottawa has nothing on our D. Karlsson is not better than Dion and after that what do they have? Cowen? Old Philips guy? Who is there that even remotely good? Ottawa D was bailed out by their goalies last season, period. Without those huge save percentages one can argue they have one of the worst D cores in our conference.

Karlsson is easily better than Dion.

 

[Mess]

Hamilton looked every bit as good as Holtzer on our D.
Ottawa has nothing on our D. Karlsson is not better than Dion and after that what do they have? Cowen? Old Philips guy? Who is there that even remotely good? Ottawa D was bailed out by their goalies last season, period. Without those huge save percentages one can argue they have one of the worst D cores in our conference.

2011-12 Season

Erik Karlsson - 81 games 19 goals 59 assists 78 points 42 Pims +16 & Norris Trophy

Dion Phaneuf - 82 games 12 goals 32 assists 44 points 92 pims & -10

 

[thehockeysong]

I don't see Detroit dropping off that much, simply because their veterans aren't going to just forget how to play. Slow down a little maybe, but not fall off the earth. Ottawa is better I think now than they were before, montreal has a couple excellent players, and the bruins should be able to win a lot of games assuming rask can continue to play well.

 

[Mess]

I don't see Detroit dropping off that much, simply because their veterans aren't going to just forget how to play. Slow down a little maybe, but not fall off the earth.

When you make the playoffs in 22 straight seasons with no drop-offs or off seasons that level of consistency is worthy of respect.

They have among the best 2-way forwards in the game in Dats and Zetts and adding Alfie will add more experience and leadership.

I personally wouldn't bet my own money against them.

In contrast our Leafs have made the playoffs once in the past 10 years and it was in a lockout shortened season, so lots to prove here.

 

[Cor]

Detroit is going to get beat up in the East IMO.

 

[ACC1224]

Just received the email regarding Tiered pricing.
Purples now range from $97, $85, $70, $65, $27 for pre-season per seat.