You're way too optimistic. All of them would have been more good than bad until this 4 game skid. And it's a costly skid.
And you're extremely doom and gloom, sky is falling pessimistic over a bad 4 games.
Can they even do team practices during these weeks off? Wasn't there some controversy when the Leafs traveled for an away game a few hours before the week was up?
Never like Sheary, but you can use Jeannot and Watson and I'm pretty sure they have more points last season than the actual 4th line plus bring more entertaining hitting than watching Atkinson and the Latvian doing nothing...
I get wanting tougher guys for the fourth line but Watson and Jeannot weren't tipping the scales. When we had the school bus line, they had a clear identity and were fun to watch. Last year, and even more this year, the fourth line has no identity. They don't do any particular thing that well. Glendening and Atkinson are cooked and Girgensons is just a guy. You can even stretch it to our whole bottom six. It's just a collection of guys who get on the ice and get off the ice and pretty much nothing happens in between. Sadly, that's pretty much all you can expect when they're all making under a million and you rarely get quality guys for under a million unless they're a young guy and we don't have those either.
Of course you are right, money is the main problem but comparing last year line with the actual line was like water and oil. If you can choose, of course school bus line was a better option, anyway the problem clearly is not only the 4th line and that line is not in the NHL to score goals, but my point is instead of having just players to skate and playing few seconds shifts to do nothing, bring some tough guys to at least have some emotion to the game, can't understand pay a ticket to watch mediocrity.
If they can't practice then I guess taking a break to clear everyones mind works sometimes as well. I don't know if they are overthinking though, on PP everyone just wants to give Kuch the puck and watch what happens
The Leafs were fined because they traveled during the Christmas break (unless it's a different incident than I'm thinking of).
They had lots of hits! (They were always chasing after the puck)
ive been a huge fan of his for a little over 2 years now and thought we should have taken a shot at him before Nashville resigned him. i think with someone like McDonagh or even Moser, he could be effective. having a more defensive partner would let him have free reigns of jumping up in the play, and who knows, maybe he could be that one timer option on the PP
i would not be opposed to start pushing out some of the old heads like Atkinson and Glendenning for guys like Duke, Groshev, Huuhtanen
i do agree they need some seasoning but Groshev could probably come in and play bottom 6 and maybe even some PK now. We really would have to be "Cap in, Cap out". Maybe we see if LA wants to do a Perbix/Raddysh for Kaliyev swap since he should be back by the end of the month
