Sportsnet's top 20 right wingers
- Thread starter I am not exposed
- Start date
They sell hope before they sell frustration. They're solidly in the overhype phase. Give it 4-6 years and you'll hear that Matthews/Marner/Nylander has a hotdog problem. Also, most years that Kessel was there the Leafs weren't owned by Rogers.
LeafsNation75
Registered User
Bell & Rogers officially became their owners on August 22, 2012. However even before that day others still claimed they favor the Leafs. There was the usual how the Leafs are always the lead story and etc. However today whenever the Leafs play on HNIC they are stuck with Jim Hughson broadcasting their games and everyone knows he's a Leafs hater. Who can forget last season when the Canucks defeated the Maple Leafs and he said the following sentence. "There's nothing better on a Saturday night with the Canucks beating the Maple Leafs." Remember he is supposed to be the lead announcer for HNIC, not have any favorites and he did the complete opposite of that.
It's a throwaway comment because it isn't the main argument of his post. This isn't a thread about the best goalscorer of the coming generation or anything to do with Matthews. His point was that Laine's spot on this list will look silly when he's a Hall of Fame goalscorer and one of the best in the game and the other wingers ahead of him on this list won't be close to that. Believing Laine is going to be the best goalscorer of his generation is a reasonable prediction, and whether he actually becomes the best over Matthews doesn't have any real effect on that main argument that putting the other wingers ahead of Laine will look bad in the future. Nitpicking it only derails the conversation and reeks of a fan desperate to pump their player's tires at any opportunity
So your counter argument to the Leafs getting ridiculous coverage 99% of the time is one quote?
Tripod
I hate this team
I guess Voracek's 85 point season was not good enough to get past a guy with 59 points last year.
LeafsNation75
Registered User
There was also Glenn Healy who referred to Legends Row as "Loser Row" and a lot more snarky comments like that during their broadcasts.
Mickey Marner
Registered User
He had the 4th best offensive rating among RW, which is fair. He just doesn't move the needle much elsewhere except for zone exits.
Carlzner
Registered User
Imagine being the guy who made these lists and thinking "Yeah, these rankings based on these stats seem reasonable."
DitchMarner
It's time.
Kessel obviously scores a lot and according to the article, he ranked first in zone entries among players at his position (Regarding Kucherov: "Last season he ranked as the top zone exit player at his position, and was second-best in zone entries to only Phil Kessel") but somehow isn't even a top 20 player at his position?
BullLund
Registered User
- Dec 28, 2017
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There were a number of more complete RW's than Laine in the previous 2 seasons, of that people can probably agree with. But I have a feeling that he's going to put it together this season and become a more complete player than he was in his rookie seasons, taking a step beyond the role of just a pure goal scorer and PP powerhouse. I suppose it depends on how he's going to be utilized by the team (so far it doesn't seem like his TOI will be improving, atleast).
In his first game of the season, he looked quicker on his feet and more comfortable with his hands, willing to play the puck in areas where he would previously have faltered. We shall see whether that continues to be a trend for the rest of the season.
In his first game of the season, he looked quicker on his feet and more comfortable with his hands, willing to play the puck in areas where he would previously have faltered. We shall see whether that continues to be a trend for the rest of the season.
TheFeistyFinn
Registered User
- Dec 31, 2011
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this is like the worst list of top 20 wingers this year. they tried something different. they failed.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I don't really see Laine's game changing all that much. He's a gunner. His job is to get into prime scoring areas and get his shot off, whether that's at even strength or on the PP (where he's one of the most dangerous weapons in the league).
BullLund
Registered User
- Dec 28, 2017
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His occupation won't change but I think he will get more solid in other areas, never exceptional, but not as vulnerable as he has been. Previously, he was prone to turning the puck over when pressured by a skilled and aggressive defense. It shut him out of scoring opportunities that he otherwise would've had.
He wasn't drafted high just because of his shot, but the general offensive play-making abilities that he showed as a rookie. He needs to be a dude that the team can depend on, to handle the puck at the blue-line, even if a defender is onto him, and to make plays when the shooting lanes aren't open. That wasn't always the case in his first two seasons.
