Was the Leafs Good Health last season overhyped?

[LeafFever]

I think this thread bumb has gotten a lot of people up in arms because of some of their past comments comming back and biting them in the butt.
The leafs were healthier last year, yet this year they are a better team. Pretty much proves that the idea of the leafs only making the playoffs because they were healthy was just dumb at best.
Good bump

And the point I made about the shootout points was so relevant last year. Had I not made that point, we would no doubt have posters bringing up their strong record THIS YEAR in the shootout and how much it's helped them.

 

[bionic]

And the point I made about the shootout points was so relevant last year.

True, the Leafs left so much points on the table last year on a friggin skills competition.

 

[LeafFever]

True, the Leafs left so much points on the table last year on a friggin skills competition.

But the stars aligned and everything went perfect...

 

[Atomos2]

Yes, Matthews missed 20 games. If you ever paid attention to a team other than the Leafs you'd know that's not a big deal when the rest of your team is perfectly healthy. Rielly missed 6 games, that's nothing.

Can you admit that Toronto was once again one of the healthiest teams in the league and didn't have to overcome significant adversity with injuries?

Zaitsev missed considerable time. We only had Dermott for 36 games. Matthews missed time. I'd say the only thing injuries have done is hinder our star player's production. With more depth comes less ice time and lower production.

 

[AppsSyl]

No one else has ELC players?

I think Auston Matthews' impact on our team is a little greater than that of your typical ELC. Think about it.

 

[AppsSyl]

Toronto's still bottom-5 just going by purely man-games lost

So you judge the impact of injuries on a team strictly on man-games lost and don't take into account the impact of the players being injured. That sounds logical.

 

[LeafFever]

So you judge the impact of injuries on a team strictly on man-games lost and don't take into account the impact of the players being injured. That sounds logical.

They sure did last year. Earlier in this thread many disputed Washington being ahead last year in least man games lost. Anf they did this due to Leafs missing no core players due to injury.

 

[Pookie]

I think Auston Matthews' impact on our team is a little greater than that of your typical ELC. Think about it.

Perhaps. But it's been made out to sound as if the cap hit used was minuscule. For Auston it was $3.775M... same as Jack Eichel.

And it's a big picture. For every undercount, there are some inflated contracts with players that have declined. For example, Matt Martin's CHIP was $2.5M which inflates our numbers.

You'd have stories across the league that are similar.

 

[Butch 19]

srsly?

 

[glucker]

An example of gas lighting



Examples of quotes that don't say that:

I mean... the Leafs did lose Matthews. And Rielly for a bit, and Andersen... not to mention Zaitsev has basically been a write-off with injuries.

We didn’t plummet.

 

[Peasy]

"Leafs only made the playoffs because they were so healthy."
"No way do all of Matthews, Marner and Nylander repeat last season."
"SOPHOMORE SLUMP!!!!!"

Wonder what the reasons will be for next season to make a claim that the Leafs won't make the playoffs and that last season was a fluke.

 

[bionic]

"Leafs only made the playoffs because they were so healthy."
"No way do all of Matthews, Marner and Nylander repeat last season."
"SOPHOMORE SLUMP!!!!!"

Wonder what the reasons will be for next season to make a claim that the Leafs won't make the playoffs and that last season was a fluke.

I don't know the answer to that but I do know they will come up with something.

 

[Knies iT]

Yes, Matthews missed 20 games. If you ever paid attention to a team other than the Leafs you'd know that's not a big deal when the rest of your team is perfectly healthy. Rielly missed 6 games, that's nothing.

Can you admit that Toronto was once again one of the healthiest teams in the league and didn't have to overcome significant adversity with injuries?

Matthews went down on three separate occasions which kept him a step behind all year.

Zaitsev missed 22 games.

Rielly was injured for a couple weeks.

Numerous depth players went down in Dermott (one of the most important D men on the Leafs), Soshnikov, Carrick, etc. etc.

That's a #1C, #1D, and #3D going down for extended stretches. Toronto is generally healthy because they have durable players (i.e. Marleau not missing a game in almost a decade) and an innovative sports science team.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Nice bump.

Goes to show the Leafs are one of if not the deepest and well coached teams in the league.

 

[bionic]

Matthews went down on three separate occasions which kept him a step behind all year.

Zaitsev missed 22 games.

Rielly was injured for a couple weeks.

Numerous depth players went down in Dermott (one of the most important D men on the Leafs), Soshnikov, Carrick, etc. etc.

That's a #1C, #1D, and #3D going down for extended stretches. Toronto is generally healthy because they have durable players (i.e. Marleau not missing a game in almost a decade) and an innovative sports science team.

Also Anderson went down for a fee games. So add a starting goaltender to that list.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Matthews went down on three separate occasions which kept him a step behind all year.

Zaitsev missed 22 games.

Rielly was injured for a couple weeks.

Numerous depth players went down in Dermott (one of the most important D men on the Leafs), Soshnikov, Carrick, etc. etc.

That's a #1C, #1D, and #3D going down for extended stretches. Toronto is generally healthy because they have durable players (i.e. Marleau not missing a game in almost a decade) and an innovative sports science team.

Not to mention we spread our ice time out. When you don't over play your players I'd imagine injuries tend to come less often.

Bottom line is we were told we only made playoffs due to lack of injuries. This year we had more injuries to important players and are a much better team. The mental gymnastics from The usual leaf haters is Olympic level, again.

 

[Pookie]

I mean... the Leafs did lose Matthews. And Rielly for a bit, and Andersen... not to mention Zaitsev has basically been a write-off with injuries.

We didn’t plummet.

At the same time?

Let’s be real here. The point of this bump was for a poster to hear himself talk.

Leafs had a great season. Have good depth at key positions. End of story.

 

[Romang67]

Topic hasn't changed since November. It's still not shootouts. Stay on topic.

 

[Nizdizzle]

People will continue to make excuses for why this Leafs team is successful, rather than accept that they have become a legitimate playoff threat.

Yes, the good health argument last year was ridiculous. Its the only time I can ever remember HF saying a team was only good because they were healthy. We'll be hearing that argument and a slew of other ridiculous ones for the better part of the next decade I'm sure.

 

[Saekk]

Bumping your own thread to prove you're still wrong? Admirable.

 

[NoName]

Nope. The Leafs performed as I think most reasonable analyst expected: 100+point season, overall incremental development of their young stars and entering the playoffs as not a contender, but a dark-horse.

Uber-fans and haters might have pegged them for something else more extreme (which seemed to range from year 1 of a Cup dynasty to being back to the lottery), but the Leafs have been a remarkably predictable team: They are good, young and continuing to develop.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Bumping your own thread to prove you're still wrong? Admirable.

How does it feel to be so wrong? It's proven last year wasn't luck based on health. They were less healthy this year and a much better team.

Now let's see how you swing this

 

[LeafFever]

Bumping your own thread to prove you're still wrong? Admirable.

And how am I wrong? You really need to explain yourself on that one.
The result was more injuries including to their best player and better results.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Still how did the Calgary, Washington and SJ fans react to their success due to less injuries?
Where are their main board threads?

 

[nobody]

Nope. The Leafs performed as I think most reasonable analyst expected: 100+point season, overall incremental development of their young stars and entering the playoffs as not a contender, but a dark-horse.

Uber-fans and haters might have pegged them for something else more extreme (which seemed to range from year 1 of a Cup dynasty to being back to the lottery), but the Leafs have been a remarkably predictable team: They are good, young and continuing to develop.

If the Leafs win the cup this year and claim to have been underdogs the whole time, the trolls will cry about how a team finishing top 6-8 in the NHL shouldn't be considered an underdog.