Series Talk: Your Top 5 Under the Gun Leafs this Playoffs

[therealkoho]

The big four are certainly worth consideration, but they've all been really productive consistently over the past 3 seasons, so personally I'm not worried about them

Freddie; cannot afford a slow start in a short series, if they have to bring in Campbell then Freddies days are surely numbered

Barrie; they brought him in to accumulate points and take some of the burden off of Rielly, hasn't happened but it really needs to

Dermott; I like the kid but this is his chance to step up and earn that RFA contract and cement himself into the starting 6

Kapanen; after earning a pretty good NHL paycheque for himself, Kappy had a bit of an off season, there were flashes but he didn't have any real sustained success, he needs to provide some offense

Kerfoot; elite speed, good hockey sense, decent mitts but the inconsistency is madding, his FO% dropped 9 points from the year before to 46.9, that really needs to improve

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I agree, another crappy playoff for him and the Leafs should start looking for a better option. I cant see him being here after his contract runs out regardless.

As of now they have no choice, there is no replacement, Campbell included

 

[moon111]

For the most part, Nylander is usually one of Toronto’s most reliable players. He takes a lot of undeserved criticism though.

Think many don't recognize he's made improvements. There's a lot of criticism he deserved, but he's improved his game in many of those
areas.

 

[ToMaLe]

As of now they have no choice, there is no replacement, Campbell included

Sure they have a choice, Andersen, Campbell, free agent, trade, lots of choices.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Sure they have a choice, Andersen, Campbell, free agent, trade, lots of choices.

Like I said there is no current replacement Campbell included, Campbell is a good backup but he is a backup

 

[ToMaLe]

Like I said there is no current replacement Campbell included, Campbell is a good backup but he is a backup

And like I said, you can call Campbell anything you want but he is still a choice. You might think its a bad choice, lots dont, but he is still a choice.

 

[crump]

1 - Andersen: It's a team game but we need him to make that series winning/turning save. Make it hard for the other team, get in their heads. It's not fair, but a series loss will probably be perceived as to how he performed.

2. Tavares: Captains lead, whether it be in the locker room or on the ice, we signed him for his skill, but his status as a lead by example guy. Hope to see some key moments from him, be it a goal to win a game, 1st goals or start a comeback. Play in the hard areas and make the play. Every game.

3. Marner: Contract should not define expectations. They get signed by different people at different times of year. It's more that I expect him to play mistake-free. No giveaways in the D zone and always be the straw that stirs the drink.

4. Mathews: Star players need to be the star. He would be higher on the list if I didn't think he was going to have a huge playoff. I expect nothing short of domination by him, breaking through the checks and blocked shots to get his goals. Defensively, he has to stop guys like Dubois from jamming the net like he did in the regular season game.

5. Muzzin: Expect him to be the physical shutdown/ 2 way D man we signed him for. He is our only real physical D man and he will be counted on to be that now more than ever.

 

[Garthinater]

When you are making the 3rd most money on the shortest contract of the top 25 highest aav's, you have to be a big factor. Needs to be above ppg

Marner has the most playoff points (of the young guys) but he still needs to perform for that contract.

Willy and JT have to show up each and every game.

Freddy needs to be solid (he usually is).

Hopefully the guys can pull it off

 

[stickty111]

When thinking of the big 4 and just focusing on Willy and Mitch. There is some pressure on both of them. They both have had the same impact in the playoffs. One great series, one bad series and one ok series. If Mitch returns to the Mitch of last season, that alone will win the team some games.

 

[stickty111]

People have this grand image of Nylander.. and use his projected advance stats versus his real stats way too much to pump him.

Confident high flying Willy is an amazing talent and I'm glad we have him but he can't hold mitchy's jock strap when he's on his game.

Wrong.
Nylander's impact is evaluated by the advanced stats and his real stats back them up. All though not sure what you mean by real stats. Advanced stats are real stats too.
Also lets not create false logic to hype up Marner. When both are at their best, they are really close with the edge going to Marner. It's not as clear cut as your making it to be.

 

[stickty111]

IMO, and this may get people's panties in a bunch, but Willy brings more to the table than Marner does...having a big shot and going to the net is a big part of that. He's also bigger, stronger (and harder to knock off the puck as a result) and seems to have more of a natural understanding of defensive positioning and not taking needless risks. Mitch is a better playmaker and maybe has more raw skill but it's honestly not a big gap.

I like Mitch and he has those 'magic' moments that make your jaw drop, but not learning to shoot more or improving his shot overall is going to hold him back... too often our PP became predictable because Mitch wasn't willing to shoot the puck despite being in a position to do so and would always be trying to seek out Matthews.

Good post.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I like Mitch and he has those 'magic' moments that make your jaw drop, but not learning to shoot more or improving his shot overall is going to hold him back... too often our PP became predictable because Mitch wasn't willing to shoot the puck despite being in a position to do so and would always be trying to seek out Matthews.

We have seen Marner use his one timer before like when he scored this overtime goal against Ottawa, so he can do that more often it could only help.

 

[stickty111]

Your not wrong about Willy... he just doesn't bring it enough over the course of a season.

He's great a third of the time.. amazing another third and just there the rest of the time. What good does it do having a heavier shot when you skate in and ring it off the glass. Love his passing and skating out of everything he brings to the table.

He was fantastic the whole season. He also scored a lot of his goals from the dirty areas. I could use the same logic on Marner. What good does it have to have good passing when he turns it over as he did this season?
Your just making up stuff about Nylander though. He was along with Matthews the most consistent player this season.
Willy also brings more tools then Marner overall.

 

[stickty111]

We have seen Marner use his one timer before like when he scored this overtime goal against Ottawa, so he can do that more often it could only help.

That goal wasn't even impressive to be fair and slow.

 

[LeafsNation75]

That goal wasn't even impressive to be fair and slow.

My point is Marner has a good shot when he's willing to take it and since we don't see that often, he could surprise the opposition when he uses it. I'm sure no one on Ottawa thought he was going to shot the puck when he did.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Will you at least acknowledge that his 2018 was bad? He was a .896 for god sakes.

Or is that fine and I'm just feeding the "false narrative"?

Andersen has played in front of a garbage defense since he got here. Has he himself cost us games? Yes, he has. But to pin it on him is a lazy argument. I'm not saying you're doing that, but it doesn't tell the whole picture simply looking at his save percentage. The team defense is awful, and has been awful for a long time. I wish it were as simple as getting a new goalie. I feel like it's been the same discussion for decades. It's always the goalie.

 

[Bluelines]

Andersen has played in front of a garbage defense since he got here. Has he himself cost us games? Yes, he has. But to pin it on him is a lazy argument. I'm not saying you're doing that, but it doesn't tell the whole picture simply looking at his save percentage. The team defense is awful, and has been awful for a long time. I wish it were as simple as getting a new goalie. I feel like it's been the same discussion for decades. It's always the goalie.

For me it's more to do with garbage TEAM defence than just the defencemen. How many times have we seen 4 skaters blow the defensive zone, leave one guy back, to exit the zone, the exit pass is picked off, then it turns into a scoring chance for the other team.

How many times have we seen Andy save our bacon with unreal saves, saves he shouldn't make, hundreds of times? What do they say about fans? We are the 7th man, right? When I played competitive sports, any championship team or really good team that I played on didn't turn on a teammate for having a rough stretch, you gather around him and do those little extras until he can find his game, you support and protect him. This is our job as the 7th man, gather around Andy and support him, lord knows he has been superman for us on so many nights that we had no business begin in that game.

#TEAMANDYTML

 

[Man Bear Pig]

For me it's more to do with garbage TEAM defence than just the defencemen. How many times have we seen 4 skaters blow the defensive zone, leave on guy back to exit the pick then it turns into a scoring chance for the other team.

How many times have we seen Andy save our bacon with unreal saves, saves he shouldn't make, hundreds of times? What do they say about fans? We are the 7th man, right? When I played competitive sports, any championship team or really good team that I played on didn't turn on a teammate for having a rough stretch, you gather around him and do those little extras until he can find his game, you support and protect him. This is our job as the 7th man, gather around Andy and support him, lord knows he has been superman for us on so many nights that we had no business begin in that game.

#TEAMANDYTML

You're preaching to the choir here. Like I said; the team defense is an issue. It has been for a long time. Teams like the Bruins can figure this out with plenty of average players but we cant.

 

[SlpLessInMuskoka18]

Then why is he an older player who has constantly underachieved based on his advance stats.. I don't understand where your're coming from. He's literally 34% less production. Playing more off minutes. If 1-2 more minutes were used on pk or def area coverage his off stats would be even more horrendous.

If Mitchy's def zone and pk time lowered and changed for pure off minutes his production would skyrocket.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Like I said there is no current replacement Campbell included, Campbell is a good backup but he is a backup

I would use Andersen, but you do realize that Andersen was "just a backup" at about the same age, right? Campbell has the potential to be a starter in this league.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Also lets not create false logic to hype up Marner. When both are at their best, they are really close with the edge going to Marner.

I like Nylander, and he tends to be underrated, but when both are at their best, Marner is easily a better player.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I would use Andersen, but you do realize that Andersen was "just a backup" at about the same age, right? Campbell has the potential to be a starter in this league.

Andersen was the Ducks starter by 25, Campbell is 28, if he was going to be a starter he would be by now.

Unless you think he's going to be the 3rd guy in about 70 years to become a starter past age 28, the other 2 being Johnny Bower and Tim Thomas

Jack Campbell is not a starter

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Your not wrong about Willy... he just doesn't bring it enough over the course of a season.

He's great a third of the time.. amazing another third and just there the rest of the time. What good does it do having a heavier shot when you skate in and ring it off the glass. Love his passing and skating out of everything he brings to the table.

Did you not watch the leafs this year

 

[Joey Hoser]

Andersen has played in front of a garbage defense since he got here. Has he himself cost us games? Yes, he has. But to pin it on him is a lazy argument. I'm not saying you're doing that, but it doesn't tell the whole picture simply looking at his save percentage. The team defense is awful, and has been awful for a long time. I wish it were as simple as getting a new goalie. I feel like it's been the same discussion for decades. It's always the goalie.

No, lazy is saying the defense sucks. If you actually do the work you'll see the Leafs defense and goaltending are both average.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Andersen was the Ducks starter by 25

No, he wasn't. He was a platoon goalie, and a stop gap before Gibson was fully ready.

Campbell is 28, if he was going to be a starter he would be by now.

This is not true at all. Goalies are the slowest development path, often because they don't get the opportunity, because there are so few roster spots for them. Campbell's numbers are decent; he has the potential. It doesn't mean we should throw Andersen aside, but we aren't doomed if Andersen leaves. There are options.