Post-Game Talk: Pricer stymies Laffs in shootout, 6-5!

[Lshap]

Leafs D SUCK.

They were soft near their own net. Habs scored most of their goals from close in because the Leafs D couldn't contain them. And that's against the Habs -- imagine the Leafs against some of the bigger, more skilled teams. Toronto may have gained some skill in the back end, but they lost physicality.

 

[Whitesnake]

Sure let's trade Petry and Danault and put rookies in their places making sure they are in over their heads. I'm not a big fan of Ken Holland but he did say something I agree with. You can never ruin a player by letting learn the game in the minors. You sure can by graduating them too soon. Something you're advocating.

Every team that lost and ended up with top 3 picks were in over their head at some point. No team lose this bad and not be in over their heads. Now, pretty sure I'm not advocating or suggesting to trade EVERY vet out there and see that the oldest player in the lineup is Max Domi.....but just asying that in the end, in Montreal, what you need to do is to rack the 1st rounders and 2nd rounders. For a consecutive number of years. We don't attract UFA's. Trades are hard. It's the draft. We are not good enough hence we have to improve. And we can't do that without picking high 'cause of the other things that can't happen. As simple as that. You can have 1st rounders without trading Petry and Danault? Fine. Who will you trade then?

 

[MasterD]

Because he is better than most of our forwards in both scenarios.....

Weal has a career best of 21points in a season and 3 PP agoals. He is absolutely not better than most for the PP.

 

[groovejuice]

Joe Bowen is biased. Jack Edwards is biased. They are hometown broadcasters and that's their job.

That's not the case with Hughson and Simpson though. They're doing National games. Yes, they are the broadcast team for TO most of the time but I don't think they're cheering for anyone the way Edwards would.

That's actually what I was saying. The HNC crew isn't nearly as objectionable as those fine fellows you mention. There is an acceptable amount of one-sided support from HNC. I'm not bothered by it.

 

[Habano]

Figs will be crying today!

I hope their fanbase never recovers from this one

 

[OldCraig71]

I read their PGT and their fans were predictably dejected.

However, they don’t have a reason to be. How many teams have 3 franchise-type players on their roster? Look at our roster, who do we have in that stratosphere — Price? No one else comes close.

We’d kill to have just one of their scoring forwards added to our team. Whether they do anything meaningful with what they have remains to be seen.

Happy with the win but it’s just one game, early in the season.

We don't have anything like they have but what they have in those three guys has basically cash strapped them when it comes to addressing needs in other areas of the roster. That team does not enough of a mix of players to be able to go deep in the playoffs but the fact that they are at that level is a good problem to have. Leaf fans are not happy with the amount of money being paid to MM and AM, they feel that both should have been willing to sacrifice a little in order for management to have flexibility when it comes to tweaking the roster but they can't. Nylander will probably be the next casualty because I don't see that type of team having enough of what it takes to win it all.

 

[Rapala]

Sabres won't be pushovers either.

Neither team will be pushovers. I'm not sure why anyone would think that.

 

[Rapala]

Every team that lost and ended up with top 3 picks were in over their head at some point. No team lose this bad and not be in over their heads. Now, pretty sure I'm not advocating or suggesting to trade EVERY vet out there and see that the oldest player in the lineup is Max Domi.....but just asying that in the end, in Montreal, what you need to do is to rack the 1st rounders and 2nd rounders. For a consecutive number of years. We don't attract UFA's. Trades are hard. It's the draft. We are not good enough hence we have to improve. And we can't do that without picking high 'cause of the other things that can't happen. As simple as that. You can have 1st rounders without trading Petry and Danault? Fine. Who will you trade then?

Still rocket science to some.

 

[Runner77]

We don't have anything like they have but what they have in those three guys has basically cash strapped them when it comes to addressing needs in other areas of the roster. That team does not enough of a mix of players to be able to go deep in the playoffs but the fact that they are at that level is a good problem to have. Leaf fans are not happy with the amount of money being paid to MM and AM, they feel that both should have been willing to sacrifice a little in order for management to have flexibility when it comes to tweaking the roster but they can't. Nylander will probably be the next casualty because I don't see that type of team having enough of what it takes to win it all.

Well, to me it's not the three guys that are strapping. It's how they handled them contractually and how they spent the rest of their cap.

For instance, Matthews should have never had a short term deal like that. If the first domino had fallen correctly, then Marner would have fit in at a lesser cost and for a longer term.

Second, as you mentioned Nylander -- he should have never been signed or they shouldn't have caved. There was no reason, they were already well-stocked. Still, he can be moved right now to open up cap space and to fill other needs so it's not so bad.

With just one or two moves, that team can get hit a whole other stratosphere. But hey, if they want to stay as they are and think they can be competitive, so be it.

 

[Rapala]

They were soft near their own net. Habs scored most of their goals from close in because the Leafs D couldn't contain them. And that's against the Habs -- imagine the Leafs against some of the bigger, more skilled teams. Toronto may have gained some skill in the back end, but they lost physicality.

The were pretty bad in that final frame but were fairly decent up to that point. We really didn't generate much on Hutchinson or their D other than the Lehk Domi goal off the rush. They were caught out on that one. Having said that we were caught out at at least 4 or even 5 to 1. My guess is had we played a rested team on that given night we wouldn't have had a sniff of the win. But then again that is regular season hockey for you.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Weal has a career best of 21points in a season and 3 PP agoals. He is absolutely not better than most for the PP.

Example #1 of the pitfalls of stat watching

Did you just start watching hockey yesterday? The addition of Weal was an enormous boost to the PP last season. He was also a prolific scorer in junior and may very well be on the verge of making his mark in the NHL.

 

[Rapala]

Well, to me it's not the three guys that are strapping. It's how they handled them contractually and how they spent the rest of their cap.

For instance, Matthews should have never had a short term deal like that. If the first domino had fallen correctly, then Marner would have fit in at a lesser cost and for a longer term.

Second, as you mentioned Nylander -- he should have never been signed or they shouldn't have caved. There was no reason, they were already well-stocked. Still, he can be moved right now to open up cap space and to fill other needs so it's not so bad.

With just one or two moves, that team can get hit a whole other stratosphere. But hey, if they want to stay as they are and think they can be competitive, so be it.

Didn't the Hawks sign their stars simultaneously way back when.

 

[OldCraig71]

Well, to me it's not the three guys that are strapping. It's how they handled them contractually and how they spent the rest of their cap.

For instance, Matthews should have never had a short term deal like that. If the first domino had fallen correctly, then Marner would have fit in at a lesser cost and for a longer term.

Second, as you mentioned Nylander -- he should have never been signed or they shouldn't have caved. There was no reason, they were already well-stocked. Still, he can be moved right now to open up cap space and to fill other needs so it's not so bad.

With just one or two moves, that team can get hit a whole other stratosphere. But hey, if they want to stay as they are and think they can be competitive, so be it.

The Matthews deal made no sense at all and once Dubas gave it to him, he backed himself into a corner and they will definitely need to move Nylander in order to bring another element to that roster. I think that they go into the playoffs this year as they are and if they don't do better than last year it will probably be the end of Babcock and changes will be made to the roster next year, too soft to win in the playoffs when the whistles go away.

 

[Rapala]

Example #1 of the pitfalls of stat watching

Did you just start watching hockey yesterday? The addition of Weal was an enormous boost to the PP last season. He was also a prolific scorer in junior and may very well be on the verge of making his mark in the NHL.

I think the different look helped as much as Weal and it may not be sustainable. We still don't have a general at any position on our PP. That will bite us hard long term I think.

 

[Runner77]

Didn't the Hawks sign their stars simultaneously way back when.

Sorry, I don't remember. Would you say it helps when your signings are being made concurrently?

The Matthews deal made no sense at all and once Dubas gave it to him, he backed himself into a corner and they will definitely need to move Nylander in order to bring another element to that roster. I think that they go into the playoffs this year as they are and if they don't do better than last year it will probably be the end of Babcock and changes will be made to the roster next year, too soft to win in the playoffs when the whistles go away.

If I'm not mistaken, the whole Matthews debacle started with Lou, when he refused to give in on the bonuses Matthews wanted for his ELC. So when came time to negotiate his RFA deal, Matthews played hardball and made up for the bonuses he lost with the first contract. Dubas could have still handled it better from there but didn't.

Adding grit to the lineup is not that difficult, when you have elite talent. Working the other way around is where it gets extremely difficult. They can start by trading Nylander for value. It's just mismanagement at this point that they're so loaded in forwards and have put themselves in the position of not leaving themselves any cap room for other needs.

 

[MasterD]

Example #1 of the pitfalls of stat watching

Did you just start watching hockey yesterday? The addition of Weal was an enormous boost to the PP last season. He was also a prolific scorer in junior and may very well be on the verge of making his mark in the NHL.

Come back to me when he scores 20.

And wether or not he's good doesn't make him better than Tatar or Domi or Gallagher or...

And what's with that comment about starting watching hockey? Can't handle a different opinion?

 

[The Real Timo]

Was there no practice today? I was watching highlights again with my daughter and man... both Fleury and Suzuki had a rough night. Clod isn't going to tolerate this. I expect to see Nick Cousins and Folin in the lineup any minute now.

 

[Runner77]

There's something wonderfully efficient about the way Domi scored his goal against the Leafs.

I've watched this several times and the way he comes out from the bench and streaks like a bullet to the opposing net, it's a piece of art. It's as if he had already read the play just before hitting the ice and had enough foresight to see it materialize itself. It barely took a few seconds.

Here is the sequence in real time. No motion is wasted, everything seems to fall right into place. A thing of beauty.

Just wow.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Sometimes, perhaps, the bias seems worse than it is. The reality is the home team has a broadcast team that are biased in their favour. This is nothing new at all. HNC (usually) has a different team of announcers and colour men for each team. In my mind, that's perfectly reasonable.

Give Jack Edwards a listen for unfiltered classless rooting. HNC is never close to that garbage.

I agree but HNiC is suppose to be impartial. Rick Jeanerette sounds horrid too. But you expect that from regional casters.

HNiC is suppose to cover all of canadas teams the same. We don't have anyone that does our games at all on CBC. If we had TSN with Mike Johnson I know leaf fans would be upset, even though he is an ex leaf. When I watch TSN2 he sounds professional but leans towards the habs. Harry Neal 'sounded' less biased than simpson. And we know Harry was a leafs homer. Thats usually why they would put Irving in the booth with the TO broadcasters. Saturdays felt more balanced back then ( yes I am aware Dick was a montreal guy). Do the guys on TVA sound like they are being impartial? I doubt it but it makes sense for the home announcer. I dont't expect it from Joe Bowen either.

But on HNiC the best of the best for broadcast, the once a week sit everyone in front of the tube event, the gold standard for hockey, its not even close anymore. Much like losing its theme song, and grapes(and even ron) not even pretending to not be a total leaf/bruin homer(or caring about slandering pretty much anyone) HNiC under SN doesn't feel anything like it once did. Its sad. I would rather watch TSN or NBC. During the leafs bruins playoff games I changed over to Doc Emerick because of how much leaf love was going on. I get that they were playing an 'american' team. But that doesn't change the fact you need to be balanced and professional as the national broadcaster. They need to do a better job. I know sens and jets fans would likely agree

 

[Doc McKenna]

There's something wonderfully efficient about the way Domi scored his goal against the Leafs.

I've watched this several times and the way he comes out from the bench and streaks like a bullet to the opposing net, it's a piece of art. It's as if he had already read the play just before hitting the ice and had enough foresight to see it materialize itself. It barely took a few seconds.

Here is the sequence in real time. No motion is wasted, everything seems to fall right into place. A thing of beauty.

Just wow.

Wonder how his dad feels about this. Does he cheer his former team? Does he only cheer his kid? Is he now a Habs fan?

 

[Doc McKenna]

We don't have anything like they have but what they have in those three guys has basically cash strapped them when it comes to addressing needs in other areas of the roster. That team does not enough of a mix of players to be able to go deep in the playoffs but the fact that they are at that level is a good problem to have. Leaf fans are not happy with the amount of money being paid to MM and AM, they feel that both should have been willing to sacrifice a little in order for management to have flexibility when it comes to tweaking the roster but they can't. Nylander will probably be the next casualty because I don't see that type of team having enough of what it takes to win it all.

My leaf buddies don't like Nylander. Say is too soft and not worth the money, esp after the fiasco last season. However he would be a good chip to fill some holes.

 

[Rapala]

Sorry, I don't remember. Would you say it helps when your signings are being made concurrently?

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each has agreed to an eight-year contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team announced Wednesday. The contracts are worth $10.5 million each per season, according to multiple reports.
Team: Chicago Blackhawks

Signing your top guys to simultaneous extensions can help keep a lid on things for sure. But Tavares and Nylander set the tone for the Matthews deal and Marner just had to frown to get what he wanted.

 

[Rapala]

There's something wonderfully efficient about the way Domi scored his goal against the Leafs.

I've watched this several times and the way he comes out from the bench and streaks like a bullet to the opposing net, it's a piece of art. It's as if he had already read the play just before hitting the ice and had enough foresight to see it materialize itself. It barely took a few seconds.

Here is the sequence in real time. No motion is wasted, everything seems to fall right into place. A thing of beauty.

Just wow.

Lehk's pass on that play was excellent as well try fitting that backhand in at full speed, Definitely not the play of an offensive black hole,

 

[jaffy27]

There's something wonderfully efficient about the way Domi scored his goal against the Leafs.

I've watched this several times and the way he comes out from the bench and streaks like a bullet to the opposing net, it's a piece of art. It's as if he had already read the play just before hitting the ice and had enough foresight to see it materialize itself. It barely took a few seconds.

Here is the sequence in real time. No motion is wasted, everything seems to fall right into place. A thing of beauty.

Just wow.

This is why I see an 80pt+ player in Domi......we need to extend him ASAP or it’s gonna cost us an arm and a leg and a foot and a shoulder if not already there.

Domi, along with Weber are my favourite players on this team, they bring punch and production, love it!!

 

[jaffy27]

Wonder how his dad feels about this. Does he cheer his former team? Does he only cheer his kid? Is he now a Habs fan?

He’s a Hab fan for sure!!.....if there was something that was ever a sure bet, it was that Tie Domi would never be a Hab Fan.....this is Twilight Zone material lol