Montreal is tougher, but not by much.
Parros isn't that great of a fighter anymore, and although murray is physical, our forwards will skate right around him.
Karlsson isn't a great defender, though. His minutes are lot softer. On the other hand, Lidstrom was carrying Paul Coffey, defensively. It's offensive to compare Karlsson to Lidstrom. He's not going to develop into an all-round defenceman. Nothing wrong with that, because Paul Coffey, who like Karl is an offensive defenceman, is what every team wants.
Edited "good" for "great". Regardless, nothing special in that regard.
Montreal is tougher, but not by much.
Parros isn't that great of a fighter anymore, and although murray is physical, our forwards will skate right around him.
The Norris Trophy has no real meaning anymore. They just give it to the D-Man with the most points. If you are not a puck-carrying defenseman, you can kiss your shot at that trophy goodbye. It's stupid. P.K Subban is so over-rated. He plays only 17:06 even-strength/g, which makes him a #4 tier D-Man. His point production comes from playing sheltered competition on the 2nd defensive pairing and PP-1 duty. Lots of guys pad their point totals with Powerplay duty (Phaneuf is guilty of that too. But in Toronto, Phaneuf takes lots of defensive assignments in even-strength. His point production would be better if he was used in his natural puck-carrying D-Man role). You don't deserve a Norris trophy if you are not a top-pairing defenseman. You need to prove yourself against top competition.Yep, because the Norris is usually awarded to the Dman with the most points. Otherwise, there is no way Erik Karlsson would be considered the best defenceman in the league. Supremely talented, but not much of a defender.
“That’s Randy’s style of team,” he said. “We are expected to play hard. Last year we started to build that identity. And I think to have that identity, you have to do it every night and year in and year out, so we’re going to have to live up to that as well. But it’s definitely something we started to build last year. I think when teams come into town they know it’s going to be a hard night.”
A versatile forward, McClement played everywhere from wing on the second line to centering the fourth line. He could help form a shutdown unit with Bolland and Nikolai Kulemin this season, allowing Carlyle to use his top two lines primarily to provide offence.
Toronto’s team defence, McClement said, will define its success.
The Leafs, who averaged 26.3 shots per game and allowed 32.3 shots per game, had one of the worst shot differentials in the league last season. It is a reason why some believe the team was lucky to win as many games as it did.
But McClement, who had an even plus-minus rating, said the numbers are misleading. The Leafs were content giving up shots as long as they were from bad angles or far away from the net, he said, and coaches tracked advanced stats on everything from turnover-to-takeaway differential to where players were finishing their bodychecks that provided an accurate indicator of how well the team was playing.
Maple Leafs’ Jay McClement excited about team’s new identity
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013...y-mcclement-excited-about-teams-new-identity/
I agree with everything McClement said 150%.
He is spot on, on his understanding of the situation as it is.
New team identity of physicality and defense first winning them more games.. More puck possession and less of a rush team are the things that Carlyle will institute with his new players to reduce the shot differential and increase winning odds this year.
This new format is pure unmitigated ******** and I can't believe more aren't upset. How can you have any sense of fairness in a league where one conference has 8 spots for 14 teams, one 8 for 16. Simply isn't fair, and it puts our Leafs at a relative disadvantage. The NHL is a joke for going with this embarrassing system, which contradicts the essence of sport, fair competition.
I agree with everything McClement said 150%.
He is spot on, on his understanding of the situation as it is.
New team identity of physicality and defense first winning them more games.. More puck possession and less of a rush team are the things that Carlyle will institute with his new players to reduce the shot differential and increase winning odds this year.
This new format is pure unmitigated ******** and I can't believe more aren't upset. How can you have any sense of fairness in a league where one conference has 8 spots for 14 teams, one 8 for 16. Simply isn't fair, and it puts our Leafs at a relative disadvantage. The NHL is a joke for going with this embarrassing system, which contradicts the essence of sport, fair competition.
It's easier for teams in the West to make the playoffs than for teams in the East with this format though. And then there's the whole overtime losses and shootout business. I would like for overtime losses and shootouts to be scrapped and for us to go back to a 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss system with a 10-minute overtime period in the regular season. If the Yanks and Canucks insist that draws are boring, they can make the over-time period 4v4. Soccer continues to have draws (just not in cup tournaments). What's wrong with draws? American sports fans seem to be allergic to them.Said it before and I'll say it again.
The difference between 8 spots for 15 (last several years) and 8 spots for 16 isn't that big a difference. If you're fighting for that last spot, odds are you're not going that far in the playoffs anyway.
Canadiens marched into the ACC the last game of the year and trounced the Leafs in a must win situation. Toughness was not a factor.
The addition of Parros and Murray, changes this, would you not agree?
But the fact it was must win for 1 team can arguably be do to the toughness difference between the 2 over the season.
It's easier for teams in the West to make the playoffs than for teams in the East with this format though. And then there's the whole overtime losses and shootout business. I would like for overtime losses and shootouts to be scrapped and for us to go back to a 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss system with a 10-minute overtime period in the regular season. If the Yanks and Canucks insist that draws are boring, they can make the over-time period 4v4. Soccer continues to have draws (just not in cup tournaments). What's wrong with draws? American sports fans seem to be allergic to them.
Hahamost people are so high on the wings, don't really see why
Florida and Tampa Bay are getting the shaft though. They have to compete in a bigger conference AND the teams in their conference are very far away.Given the travel differences between the 2 conferences, I don't have a big issue with the "advantage" the Western teams have.
Florida and Tampa Bay are getting the shaft though. They have to compete in a bigger conference AND the teams in their conference are very far away.