Rene Lecavalier Division Semi Finals - Salt Lake Golden Eagles (2) vs Orillia Terriers (3)

[Habsfan18]

Anyways, we seem to be going in circles here. I think everything that has needed to be said has already been said. I haven’t had the time these past few days to debate further but I think we have made our points clear. We seem to disagree over who has the overall offensive edge, we seem to disagree over how “easy to stifle” the Oates line will be, and we seem to disagree over just how badly exposed your D will be at the ATD level, even keeping in mind some of your defensive-minded forwards.

At this point I feel we both are both of the opinion our own team should be victorious, and at this point we can just leave it up to the voters, and if you end up winning I’ll be the first one to congratulate you. In the end it’s all for fun right?

 

[Dreakmur]

Wade Redden is your #4...yet you are playing him (likely 20+ minutes per night) on your top pairing.

He would play as much as most usual #4 defensemen. That's usually just over 20 minutes, yes.

In any ATD that is terrible, even at 40 teams.

I think Redden is easily a #4 in a 40 team draft. Yeah he's probably mediocre in that role, but, as I said, compare him to other #4s.

I would ask that voters read his biography if they don't know why I would make that claim. He's got a good Norris record. He is well-rounded, with no major weaknesses. He played a lot of minutes, in all situations, for really good teams.

And yes, I know you wanted to “balance” your pairings. It still doesn’t make them good.

It makes my second pair look pretty good. I like Lowe-Burns better than Reise-Pietrangelo.

You talk about the Oates line being exposed, I still think the chances of your D being exposed are much higher.

Depends on the situation. Kevin Lowe is going to play more than Redden, which means he will take strategic shifts at Doughty's side.

Is that why you didn’t include a minutes chart? In the hopes voters wouldn’t notice how overused and exposed Redden will be?

A minutes chart would show he's going to play the 4th most... because he's my #4.

You can call him your #4 all you want, but the fact of the matter is Wade Redden isn’t a top pairing defensemen even in a 50 team ATD and yet you have him on your top pairing even if you claim he is your number 4, to make him sound less out of place. Not one that wants to win it all anyways.

I'm calling him the #4 because that's how much he'll play.

I've actually never understood why coaches play their #1 and #2 together. I've coached for over 20 years, just about all of that time specifically working with defensemen, and I learned pretty early that it's a bad idea to stack pairs all the time. Sure, there are times that you want to load up, but I find it much more effective to spread things out a bit.[/quote]

 

[Habsfan18]

Is MacLeish that much better than Spezza?

Rick MacLeish Play Style

The Flyers opted to start MacLeish in the AHL in 1971-72 before recalling him late in the year. The next season he broke through with 50 goals while playing the power play and taking a regular shift... Over the next two season he continued to produce on offense but was asked to take on penalty killing and defensive responsibility. MacLeish's excellence was a key component on the Flyers' consecutive Stanley Cup wins in 1974 and 1975.

During the late 70s, MacLeish was a top two-way player for Philly.

Though he was primarily a skill player, MacLeish was prepared to take the physical beating necessary to win.

To his credit he did everything that was asked of him

Though he was primarily a skill player, MacLeish was prepared to take the physical beating necessary to win.

A forward who specializes in scoring as well as checking...

Does that really sound like Jason Spezza to you?

 

[Dreakmur]

Anyways, we seem to be going in circles here. I think everything that has needed to be said has already been said. I haven’t had the time these past few days to debate further but I think we have made our points clear. We seem to disagree over who has the overall offensive edge, we seem to disagree over how “easy to stifle” the Oates line will be, and we seem to disagree over just how badly exposed your D will be at the ATD level, even keeping in mind some of your defensive-minded forwards.

I said right off the bat, this is going to be my 1st line vs. your 1st defense pair. There are other minor differences and advantages either way, but those really are the two main points.

At this point I feel we both are both of the opinion our own team should be victorious, and at this point we can just leave it up to the voters, and if you end up winning I’ll be the first one to congratulate you. In the end it’s all for fun right?

That's pretty much the point. If you don't have fun, why put in all the time? I enjoy building a unique team every year, and then trying to espouse the virtues of that group in the play-offs. There are certainly things I would have done differently, but I'm happy with the team I put together.

 

[Dreakmur]

Does that really sound like Jason Spezza to you?

I've found it really tough to gauge how good defensively MacLeish was. Some sources say he was good, some say he was bad.

I've got all the scouting reports from his career, and defensive play as mentioned once, early in his career, and it said he improved. I'm not sure where that 1978 quote is from, but it's not from his bio in the 1978 handbook.

 

[Habsfan18]

I've found it really tough to gauge how good defensively MacLeish was. Some sources say he was good, some say he was bad.

I've got all the scouting reports from his career, and defensive play as mentioned once, early in his career, and it said he improved. I'm not sure where that 1978 quote is from, but it's not from his bio in the 1978 handbook.

I took the quote from seventieslord’s MacLeish bio. It’s possible he had gotten the year mixed up. I own all of the Hollander handbooks from 72 through 88 so I can check tonight.

 

[Dreakmur]

I took the quote from seventieslord’s MacLeish bio. It’s possible he had gotten the year mixed up. I own all of the Hollander handbooks from 72 through 88 so I can check tonight.

I found it, it’s in the Philadelphia team review. It said they have a bunch of forwards who played 2 way hockey, and lists like 6 guys’ve including MacLeish. He kind of misrepresented that imo.

 

[Habsfan18]

I figured it would go 7 games. Congratulations to @Dreakmur on winning a hard fought series.