Updated line up

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I think he makes the team later in the year and becomes a regular once they accumulate some cap space. Being waiver exempt hurts his chances for an opening night spot in my opinion, same goes for Engvall; being on the taxi squad then getting AHL minutes will be good for them initially.

I actually had him favourable to making the 18 man roster (at least on non-game days) as a result of his league min cap hit, to help accumulate cap space. Him being waiver-exempt allows him to be a guy they an send down on game day to rotate in another forward like Engvall if they're on a paper AHL/taxi squad rotation.

I posted my full prediction with cap planning earlier in this thread (I had Vesey waived). But your guess is as good as mine, obviously a lot will come down to how they play in camp.

 

[The Podium]

By who? Lol.

Would you agree they downgraded their forward depth? As that is all I said pretty much

I wouldnt say so, if anything they are a net neutral with potential to be better at other aspects (grit/defence).

Out: Gauthier, Clifford, AJ and Kapanen
In: Vesey, Simmonds, Thornton, Anderson and Barabanov

GOAT -> Thornton - Clear upgrade, JT had similar offensive production to Kapanen but adds FO ability and another threat for the PP2
Kapanen -> Vesey - Downgrade but also a wild card. Vesey is a low event player who produces on average 15-15-30. He doesnt have Kapanens speed or PKing abilities but he also never has been on a team as good as Toronto. Might surprise.
AJ -> Barabanov/Anderson - Obvious question mark here. Could be better, could be worse. At least they provide more intangibles than AJ.
Clifford -> Simmonds - Even. I wasnt a huge fan of Clifford so my opinion here may be biased. I didnt think Clifford did anything spectacular and as long as Simmonds can bring that same level of physicality than this swap was a net neutral.

 

[kb]

By who? Lol.

Would you agree they downgraded their forward depth? As that is all I said pretty much

I don't agree. The leafs need to replace 21 goals.

 

[Ziggdiezan]

I don't agree. The leafs need to replace 21 goals.

Little confused sorry as your two sentences seem to contradict each other

 

[Ziggdiezan]

I wouldnt say so, if anything they are a net neutral with potential to be better at other aspects (grit/defence).

Out: Gauthier, Clifford, AJ and Kapanen
In: Vesey, Simmonds, Thornton, Anderson and Barabanov

GOAT -> Thornton - Clear upgrade, JT had similar offensive production to Kapanen but adds FO ability and another threat for the PP2
Kapanen -> Vesey - Downgrade but also a wild card. Vesey is a low event player who produces on average 15-15-30. He doesnt have Kapanens speed or PKing abilities but he also never has been on a team as good as Toronto. Might surprise.
AJ -> Barabanov/Anderson - Obvious question mark here. Could be better, could be worse. At least they provide more intangibles than AJ.
Clifford -> Simmonds - Even. I wasnt a huge fan of Clifford so my opinion here may be biased. I didnt think Clifford did anything spectacular and as long as Simmonds can bring that same level of physicality than this swap was a net neutral.

I think that is looking at things a little too glass half full personally. Every single player you listed but Goat to Thorton is a pretty clear downgrade (and I too wasn't a Clifford fan)

It needed to happen to strengthen the defense and it should result in a more rounded balanced and better team.

 

[kb]

Little confused sorry as your two sentences seem to contradict each other

The 2 players combined for 21 goals in 112 games. I disagree that the depth has been compromised in any way.

 

[Ziggdiezan]

The 2 players combined for 21 goals in 112 games. I disagree that the depth has been compromised in any way.

Using AJ's stats from last year really aren't representive of his usual on ice impact but i think you know that.

The leafs essentially lost 2 guys who likely will put up around 20 goal/40 points over the next few seasons and replaced them with wildcards who either have produced worse at the NHL level or haven't played in the NHL before.

It is okay that the leafs offensive depth got worse.... that doesn't mean I'm saying Dubas did anything wrong..

 

[kb]

Using AJ's stats from last year really aren't representive of his usual on ice impact but i think you know that.

The leafs essentially lost 2 guys who likely will put up around 20 goal/40 points over the next few seasons and replaced them with wildcards who either have produced worse at the NHL level or haven't played in the NHL before.

It is okay that the leafs offensive depth got worse.... that doesn't mean I'm saying Dubas did anything wrong..

Or his prior season was an outlier because it was his only good one? He was healthy this season until the injury.

The Leafs did not sacrifice any depth. Not even in the slightest

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

You’d expect a potato to score 20 goals playing over 70% of their time with Marner, Matthews, Nylander 5v5, plus over 2mins/game on the PP exclusively with Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Tavares. You do not need anything more than league min to put up that production with those minutes. Anderson could do it.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Our depth hasnt been good, it was useless in the playin rounds THIS year and people think a change wont help is funny.

Kapanen
5 games 2 points
(23 career point pace per 82 in the playoffs)

Clifford
5 games 0 points
(20.5 per 82)

Engvall
4 games 0 points
( ^ only nhl games in playoffs)

Goat
1 game 0 points
( career 0 points scoreless last year in 7 games)

Johnson
1 game 0 points
(35 per 82)


Spezza had 0 points in 5 games but obviously has a better track record and Robertson had 1 point in 5 games. Unless people wanted Robertson gone, doubtful. Trim the fat and move on.
Kerfoot hasnt been amazing either (28 per 82) but he fills a need and is at least movable across the entire line up.

Rolling dices on players like Vesey, Barabanov, andersen, jt, simmonds has just a good chance of paying off if not better. Johnson was the only competent that left.

 

[smitty10]

Anyone else expecting Barabanov to make the team out of camp? Seems like he has speed to burn and can play a more physical role. Could be a good addition if he can play like Komarov.

Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Barabanov-Tavares-Nylander
Kerfoot-Thornton-Mikheyev
Vesey-Spezza-Simmonds
Robertson-Engvall-Anderson
Boyd

Wondering if Sandin takes a step and enters the top 6 this year.

Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Lehtonen
Sandin-Holl
Dermott-Bogosian
Marincin-Liljegren

Lots of good depth at all positions this year. Dubas seems to be really learning from his past mistakes. This year we'll have not only a legit back up, but a legit back up as our 3rd string goalie in case of injury!

Andersen
Campbell
Dell
Hutchinson

Love the new-look Leafs!

 

[OVO16]

I hope Spezza was more of a Locker-room Presence/Injury Replacement sort of signing......because I think we have better depth/players to play over him this time around.

I hope the Media/Fans dont lose it if they actually decide to bench Spezza this time. The Thornton signing def didnt help his case.

Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Mikheyev - Mathews - Nylander
Vesey - Kerfoot - Simmonds
Engvall - Thornton - Anderson
Barbanaov
Spezza

 

[123offtheglass]

I actually had him favourable to making the 18 man roster (at least on non-game days) as a result of his league min cap hit, to help accumulate cap space. Him being waiver-exempt allows him to be a guy they an send down on game day to rotate in another forward like Engvall if they're on a paper AHL/taxi squad rotation.

I posted my full prediction with cap planning earlier in this thread (I had Vesey waived). But your guess is as good as mine, obviously a lot will come down to how they play in camp.

That's actually a good way to look at it. It really will come down to who shows up at camp, but yea I could see definitely see this. Epecially with barabanov being in the mix as well, they could essentially rotate them all in without having them count against the cap while scratched and not lose playing time with the AHL.

 

[123offtheglass]

Using AJ's stats from last year really aren't representive of his usual on ice impact but i think you know that.

The leafs essentially lost 2 guys who likely will put up around 20 goal/40 points over the next few seasons and replaced them with wildcards who either have produced worse at the NHL level or haven't played in the NHL before.

It is okay that the leafs offensive depth got worse.... that doesn't mean I'm saying Dubas did anything wrong..

Or his prior season was an outlier because it was his only good one? He was healthy this season until the injury.

The Leafs did not sacrifice any depth. Not even in the slightest

Johnsson doesn't have a lot of seasons under his belt so it's hard to say. What he did in his first year (2 seasons ago I mean) was really impressive considering how few minutes he played and the numbers he was pointing up while playing a lot on the fourth and third line; I'd say we had high hopes for him and that he had more to give in his prime than even both the 2 seasons. Taking the whole thing with a grain of salt, he's better than the replacements but the gap is very small and saves a lot of salary. When the gap is that small fit matters more than anything and I think there's more versatility this year.

Personally I have high hopes for Wayne Simmonds to bounce back, but not to be prime Wayne Simmonds. I could see him being an upgrade, Robertson has high potential depends how fast he reaches it, Thorton's presence is key and the Goat not being in the lineup is good. There's a lot of options for depth this year too. Thing I'm happiest about is the new defense, they will be good.

 

[123offtheglass]

You’d expect a potato to score 20 goals playing over 70% of their time with Marner, Matthews, Nylander 5v5, plus over 2mins/game on the PP exclusively with Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Tavares. You do not need anything more than league min to put up that production with those minutes. Anderson could do it.

Zach Hyman 2.0? would be nice to have 2

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I don't agree. The leafs need to replace 21 goals.

Hopefully they reduce GA by 42with a solid backup and better defense ... we will see but that should be plan from day 1

 

[Fogelhund]

Hopefully they reduce GA by 42with a solid backup and better defense ... we will see but that should be plan from day 1

I mean.. that would have been the third best Goals surrendered last year.

While we did lose Johnsson and Kapanen, we will also have Mikheyev full season (hopefully), Marner, Tavares, Hyman, Rielly missed quite a few games, and Kerfoot wasn't quite himself, after that jaw injury. I don't think we are really going to lose too much offense, especially if we have better injury luck.

I think at most, we lose 10 goals, which is still near the top of the league...

Our GA were really inflated by Hutch and KK... if Dell and Andersen had played the whole season, and just played as well as they did last year, or GA would have been 198. That's a 24 goal improvement right there.. and let's be honest, Andersen wasn't at his best last year.... assume we play better defensively, and we might see a great improvement. Last year, in a shortened season.. we had 237 for, 222 against... if we can go to (similar pace of, because we won't play the same number of games, if any) 225 for, and 190 against, that would be a huge improvement... all that being said.... we need to learn to play playoff hockey.

 

[darrylsittler27]

Our defense is better but having a back up like Campbell from day one really helps. The Leafs always rely on goaltending. Joseph, Belcourt, Potvin.

We need hot goaltending, with Campbell and Andersen we should get it.

 

[traffic cone]

Anyone else expecting Barabanov to make the team out of camp? Seems like he has speed to burn and can play a more physical role. Could be a good addition if he can play like Komarov.

Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Barabanov-Tavares-Nylander
Kerfoot-Thornton-Mikheyev
Vesey-Spezza-Simmonds
Robertson-Engvall-Anderson
Boyd

Wondering if Sandin takes a step and enters the top 6 this year.

Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Holl
Sandin-Bogosian
Dermott-Liljegren
Marincin

Lots of good depth at all positions this year. Dubas seems to be really learning from his past mistakes. This year we'll have not only a legit back up, but a legit back up as our 3rd string goalie in case of injury!

Andersen
Campbell
Dell
Hutchinson

Love the new-look Leafs!

Where the heck is Mikko Lehtonen? I'd be surprised if he's not in your top4 by the end of the season.

 

[smitty10]

Where the heck is Mikko Lehtonen? I'd be surprised if he's not in your top4 by the end of the season.

I forgot him. Noticed it about 30 mins after I posted then forgot to update the post. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Rob Brown]

Really makes it seem that Robertson will be on the team.

 

[thusk]

I don't agree. The leafs need to replace 21 goals.

With brodie with rielly whi will be able to join the rush and creating offensive

With a better d group so playing less minute in your own zone and more time with mathews/marner/tavares/nylander and cie playing more time in offensive zone. So more time in offensive side = more goal

I don't care about those, they will eplace those 21 pretty easyly.

 

[Dreakmur]

Really makes it seem that Robertson will be on the team.

If he's on the 3rd line, sure. If he's lower than that, it's a bad idea.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

If he's on the 3rd line, sure. If he's lower than that, it's a bad idea.

he played on the 3rd line in his first taste of NHL action back in August. I don't see why he couldn't at least play on the 3rd line now

 

[Knies iT]

Really makes it seem that Robertson will be on the team.

As in the Leafs? Not sure why people think Robertson won't make the NHL this season; I see it as a guarantee. They're not going to play an 18 year old in the most important games of the season and then cut him out of training camp after another off-season of conditioning.

The only reason NR didn't play game 5 was because Johnsson returned from injury. AJ's age and experience obviously meant he would play, but they probably also wanted to salvage his trade value after a long layoff where his health was in question by other GMs. Now that he's traded, a guy like Vesey is not going to block Robertson from making the team.

Anyone else expecting Barabanov to make the team out of camp? Seems like he has speed to burn and can play a more physical role. Could be a good addition if he can play like Komarov.

No question. Barabanov had dozens of teams pursuing him and there's no doubt some worse off teams offered guaranteed minutes, which the Leafs probably all but promised as well.

Milstein also said he would bet on him being a regular.