What is Jake Gardiner??

[thewave]

I've always wondered what Gardiner could do with a decent defenseman beside him. We finally saw it with Carrick last year, and for some reason we didn't keep that pairing.

Dude the Polak BS is unreal, this is some real deal cut your nose off to spite your face BS. I don't even have words for it, and I can not process the usage of Moore or Polak after Game after Game, poor decision making etc is on full display, its not even at all funny. For some reason these two players are in a special relationship with Babcock.

 

[ToneDog]

Dude the Polak BS is unreal, this is some real deal cut your nose off to spite your face BS. I don't even have words for it, and I can not process the usage of Moore or Polak after Game after Game, poor decision making etc is on full display, its not even at all funny. For some reason these two players are in a special relationship with Babcock.

Moore is out once Matthews returns. Polak will be needed against Bs. Trust Babs. He just might be smarter than we think.

 

[DarkKnight]

I've always wondered what Gardiner could do with a decent defenseman beside him. We finally saw it with Carrick last year, and for some reason we didn't keep that pairing.

Carrick and he were terrible together this year, just awful to be honest.

 

[Morgs]

Carrick and he were terrible together this year, just awful to be honest.

But they weren't.

 

[Morgs]

Dude the Polak BS is unreal, this is some real deal cut your nose off to spite your face BS. I don't even have words for it, and I can not process the usage of Moore or Polak after Game after Game, poor decision making etc is on full display, its not even at all funny. For some reason these two players are in a special relationship with Babcock.

Very true. But I don't think he likes Moore. I just don't think he likes Nylander being the only C on a line.

 

[DarkKnight]

But they weren't.

Yes they were, god awful. And that’s the why the coach broke them up, because it’s true.

 

[Morgs]

Yes they were, god awful. And that’s the why the coach broke them up, because it’s true.

... But they weren't.

And using Babcocks tactics as an argument is questionable at best. Gardiner - Zaitsev suck and he hasn't changed them.

 

[DarkKnight]

... But they weren't.

And using Babcocks tactics as an argument is questionable at best. Gardiner - Zaitsev suck and he hasn't changed them.

Okay dude, I’ll use my own eyes then. That was the worst pairing I’ve seen all year, no question for me. The funniest thing about Carrick, he’s been given two years to win a job, two years. Dermott won his job. Exactly.

 

[therealkoho]

I peg him as a #4, way too many mental errors to be considered a 1st pairing guy, Karlsson gambles and why he loses the puck so often, Jake just has brain cramps that result in opposition goals

last night in Annapolis he was possibly the worst of the Leafs Dmen, he continually shied away from any physical contact that most times allowed opposition plays to continue, he made lots of bad decisions in moving the puck up ice, he made some handcuffing passes to team-mates in their own zone that resulted in turnovers and some laughingly bad fumbles at the Caps blueline...seriously I'd be happy if the Leafs move him at the draft, somewhere out west or back to his home state of Minnesota...I'm sure Dermott wouldn't be as destructive playing the 2nd pair with Zaitsev, who seems on the verge of a mental breakdown playing with Gards

 

[therealkoho]

Dude the Polak BS is unreal, this is some real deal cut your nose off to spite your face BS. I don't even have words for it, and I can not process the usage of Moore or Polak after Game after Game, poor decision making etc is on full display, its not even at all funny. For some reason these two players are in a special relationship with Babcock.

Report: Babcock explains why he chooses Polak over Carrick

Kristen Shilton of TSN reported that when asked why he makes this decision, Babcock explained that "he plays safe and the coach plays him. That’s a big part of it too, if you feel safe with a guy out on the ice and you’re willing to play him, guy is more likely to play."
Ultimately, Babcock is choosing the safe, reliable choice over the "sexy" riskier player. Clearly Babcock prefers low risk, low to mid-level reward over high risk, high reward.
Production-wise, it must be admitted that Carrick hasn't outperformed Polak - with 3 points in 17 games to Polak's 2 in 9, his usefulness hasn't shown up on the scoresheet. Polak has also had a better Corsi percentage than Carrick, for what that's worth.

the Media has done a great job on de-constructing Polak, from the "can't skate lie to the most icings mantra," LeaFlanders have absorbed it all and it has become their truth...

have many of you noticed that the media and all their talking heads has laid off on that nonsense over the past month or so?

 

[thewave]

Report: Babcock explains why he chooses Polak over Carrick


the Media has done a great job on de-constructing Polak, from the "can't skate lie to the most icings mantra," LeaFlanders have absorbed it all and it has become their truth...

have many of you noticed that the media and all their talking heads has laid off on that nonsense over the past month or so?

Look, the media and high hockey IQ fan should trust their own eyes and draw their own conclusions. I don't give a crap what Babcock thinks about this guy. Most people and this includes people that know hockey, think Polak is not a complimentary component of this team.

He is the most basic of basic hockey players. He generates o offense. He compliments o offensive players and he contributes just as much to slowing this team down by way of taking penalties / icing the puck or just firing the puck to opponents as he makes up for on the PK.

My personal opinion, Roman Polak is nothing short of a personal favorite of Babcock. Nothing at all suggests otherwise when put under any serious scrutiny. That is final.

 

[therealkoho]

Look, the media and high hockey IQ fan should trust their own eyes and draw their own conclusions. I don't give a crap what Babcock thinks about this guy. Most people and this includes people that know hockey, think Polak is not a complimentary component of this team.

He is the most basic of basic hockey players. He generates o offense. He compliments o offensive players and he contributes just as much to slowing this team down by way of taking penalties / icing the puck or just firing the puck to opponents as he makes up for on the PK.

My personal opinion, Roman Polak is nothing short of a personal favorite of Babcock. Nothing at all suggests otherwise when put under any serious scrutiny. That is final.

uhmm do you know any high hockey iq peeps, other then those who agree with you

Coach Babcock makes 6.25 a season, money that he earned and a contract that was offered to him by other high hockey iq people, please don't presume that you know better

all last year Jeff O'Neill, Noodles and Patty O'Sullivan railed on about Hyman playing with Matthews and they, at least as I understand it, played in the league, None of them today share that sentiment and that goes for the other hockey media people who rowed in that same boat, why? because they finally see the true value. That said, not one of them admitted they were flat out wrong(which they were), but instead just say that Hyman is a really good compliment to Willie and Auston.

All the nonsense negativity in regard to Polak is slowly disappearing as well. Roman isn't fancy, but he gets the job done, meat and potatoes workmen like. is he the most givingest away, icingest Dman on the Leafs blueline, sad truth chum is, he is not....

 

[Morgs]

Okay dude, I’ll use my own eyes then. That was the worst pairing I’ve seen all year, no question for me. The funniest thing about Carrick, he’s been given two years to win a job, two years. Dermott won his job. Exactly.

I feel bad for you.

 

[Cotton]

I feel bad for you.

Why, because he shares a different opinion than you? Give your head a shake.

 

[thewave]

uhmm do you know any high hockey iq peeps, other then those who agree with you

Coach Babcock makes 6.25 a season, money that he earned and a contract that was offered to him by other high hockey iq people, please don't presume that you know better

all last year Jeff O'Neill, Noodles and Patty O'Sullivan railed on about Hyman playing with Matthews and they, at least as I understand it, played in the league, None of them today share that sentiment and that goes for the other hockey media people who rowed in that same boat, why? because they finally see the true value. That said, not one of them admitted they were flat out wrong(which they were), but instead just say that Hyman is a really good compliment to Willie and Auston.

All the nonsense negativity in regard to Polak is slowly disappearing as well. Roman isn't fancy, but he gets the job done, meat and potatoes workmen like. is he the most givingest away, icingest Dman on the Leafs blueline, sad truth chum is, he is not....

I don't really care what Mike Babcock thinks. What if I value Ken Hitchcock and his opinion more or someone else for that matter. A lot of hockey people can stand in a room and see something completely different about a player and arguments will take place. If you believe Babcock is some hockey god then so be it, it won't effect my opinion and my faith in my own eye. I am pretty damned sure that if we replaced Polak with Carrick and Martin with Leivo off the hop we would be in better shape. Bozak and Moore are a similar player, different offensive output though.

I am just giving you my opinion. If you don't like it, that's great, but I suggest you watch more closely the play of Polak and dig deeper into the numbers. I think you'll be amazed at how bad overall Polak has been for us.

I have already been right about Moore and Martin getting kicked off the team (Confirming I was right all along, Moore is only in because of injury). I doubt Polak makes it on the proper roster into the PO, I would be surprised if someone doesn't pull the plug on that from higher up.

 

[Dough72]

I doubt Polak makes it on the proper roster into the PO, I would be surprised if someone doesn't pull the plug on that from higher up.

they'll keep him for penalty kills where its useful to have a big guy to shove people out of andersen's line of sight

 

[Halla]

40-50pt #3 offensive dman

 

[Gallagbi]

they'll keep him for penalty kills where its useful to have a big guy to shove people out of andersen's line of sight

Haven't caught a ton of games lately, but are we doing that? Seems like our PK setup has never been big on moving guys from the front of the net.

 

[Tak7]

Haven't caught a ton of games lately, but are we doing that? Seems like our PK setup has never been big on moving guys from the front of the net.

Statistically? Nothing.

The PK with and without Polak is performing at virtually the same rate.

The whole unit struggles to move anyone away from the front of the net, but on Saturday it was a special sort of softness on the PK. Those 2 PP goals for Washington killed the game before they were even in it

 

[Gallagbi]

Statistically? Nothing.

The PK with and without Polak is performing at virtually the same rate.

The whole unit struggles to move anyone away from the front of the net, but on Saturday it was a special sort of softness on the PK. Those 2 PP goals for Washington killed the game before they were even in it

Doesn't seem like they even try to move them to be honest.

 

[Slyfox]

40-50pt #3 offensive dman

Name another #3 dman who gets 40-50 pts

 

[Tak7]

Name another #3 dman who gets 40-50 pts

Name another top pairing Dman who gives the puck away as frequently as Jake

 

[Gallagbi]

Name another top pairing Dman who gives the puck away as frequently as Jake

Karlsson and Burns both come to mind.

 

[thewave]

Name another #3 dman who gets 40-50 pts

How about the people that voted #4 or #5-6????????????

Figure that one out.

 

[Ziggdiezan]

Name another top pairing Dman who gives the puck away as frequently as Jake

This is the sticking point. My roommte was a Sens fan a few years ago and I watched a ton of their games. EK makes so many mistakes a game because he has the puck on his stick for like 65% of the time he is on the ice.

Defenders that see lots of the puck generally have lots of turnovers. There was a great info graphic that showed the top 3 giveaway defenders and the least 3 giveaway players. Guess which side included players like Burns while the other had players like Staal.