Do you like this team?

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

So I decided to bump this because short o a potential Taxi squad signing or 2 i think we are done for now, so here is what we got

Hyman Matthews Marner

Mikheyev Tavares Nylander

Vesey Kerfoot Robertson

Simmonds Thornton Spezza.

Rielly Brodie

Muzzin Holl

Dermott Bogosian

Lehtonen Sandin Lily

Andersen
Campbell
Dell
Hutchinson.

This is deep roster, I don't think Barabanov makes this team, I hope Lehtonen does but until he plays he can't be given a spot.

This roster is pretty crowed and I do think they will bring in a couple PTO's too.

Barabanov is in tough

 

[justashadowof]

Weirdest bottom 6 in the league

The tenures of Simmonds, Thornton, Spezza, Vesey, Bogosian are in all likelihood going to be no more memorable than the Leafs' tenures of Mike Peca, Jeff O'Neill, Dave Manson, Rene Robert, Tim Connolly and Sergio Momesso.

 

[Buds17]

So I decided to bump this because short o a potential Taxi squad signing or 2 i think we are done for now, so here is what we got

Hyman Matthews Marner

Mikheyev Tavares Nylander

Vesey Kerfoot Robertson

Simmonds Thornton Spezza.

Rielly Brodie

Muzzin Holl

Dermott Bogosian

Lehtonen Sandin Lily

Andersen
Campbell
Dell
Hutchinson.

This is deep roster, I don't think Barabanov makes this team, I hope Lehtonen does but until he plays he can't be given a spot.

This roster is pretty crowed and I do think they will bring in a couple PTO's too.

Barabanov is in tough

I wonder if Robertson is in tougher than Barabanov? Engvall would have to factor in as well. Mind you, this is a season in which the 13th F and 7th D are going to be better than in seasons past. I'd also expect those extras to play quite a bit too.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I wonder if Robertson is in tougher than Barabanov? Engvall would have to factor in as well. Mind you, this is a season in which the 13th F and 7th D are going to be better than in seasons past. I'd also expect those extras to play quite a bit too.

I don't know if Engvall makes it he might be taxi Squad

 

[Buds17]

I don't know if Engvall makes it he might be taxi Squad

You could be right, though I do think he'll be above that distinction. Good competitions throughout. Good depth too. Hopefully problems won't run rampant.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

You could be right, though I do think he'll be above that distinction. Good competitions throughout. Good depth too. Hopefully problems won't run rampant.

Oh he's good enough to make it but there are a few guys good enough to make it, not everybody will

 

[Buds17]

Oh he's good enough to make it but there are a few guys good enough to make it, not everybody will

Not being subject to waivers could pose a problem for him. For this season especially, team decisions might be somewhat guided by the mentality of having to retain whomever they can.

 

[Leafs87]

Why do so many have Vesey playing over Engvall?

As for the question. It is better than last year. I feel like the grit is still not there however.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Why do so many have Vesey playing over Engvall?

As for the question. It is better than last year. I feel like the grit is still not there however.

Vesey is cheaper, has played witn Kerfoot and Engvall doesn't need to clear waivers

 

[Leafs87]

Vesey is cheaper, has played witn Kerfoot and Engvall doesn't need to clear waivers

Engvall is signed longer and leafs should prioritize developing him VS playing the cheaper player. The price difference isn’t much and Engvall and Vesey aren’t much different in terms of effectiveness I feel.

Also to your point about waivers. If you start Engvall and he doesn’t pan out. You can taxi him and bring Vesey. If you start Vesey you have to waive him before bringing in Engvall.

Above and beyond I think the 3/4th options of Barabanov and Korshkov would be best. I sat there wondering why Vesey was ever a need when signed.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Engvall is signed longer and leafs should prioritize developing him VS playing the cheaper player. The price difference isn’t much and Engvall and Vesey aren’t much different in terms of effectiveness I feel.

Also to your point about waivers. If you start Engvall and he doesn’t pan out. You can taxi him and bring Vesey. If you start Vesey you have to waive him before bringing in Engvall.

Above and beyond I think the 3/4th options of Barabanov and Korshkov would be best. I sat there wondering why Vesey was ever a need when signed.

I'm not convinced Barabanov makes this team anymore

 

[Joedoggy]

I like the Jersey ...the team not so much

 

[Racer88]

I have to wait until I see how they do in the second half of the season when the going gets tough.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Engvall is signed longer and leafs should prioritize developing him VS playing the cheaper player. The price difference isn’t much and Engvall and Vesey aren’t much different in terms of effectiveness I feel.

Also to your point about waivers. If you start Engvall and he doesn’t pan out. You can taxi him and bring Vesey. If you start Vesey you have to waive him before bringing in Engvall.

Above and beyond I think the 3/4th options of Barabanov and Korshkov would be best. I sat there wondering why Vesey was ever a need when signed.

I know that when Vesey became a College UFA in August 2016 Kyle Dubas was not the Leafs GM, however they were one of the teams who tried to sign him at that time and who knows what Dubas did at that time to get it done. So because of that maybe they value him a lot more than we might think and there is a reason why Dubas signed him this past October.

 

[Knies iT]

I feel like the grit is still not there however.

It’s not. Until it’s addressed in meaningful areas of the roster (top 9F, top 4D), it’ll continue to be a major issue.

I don’t get the media’s narrative that the Leafs have adequately addressed the toughness issue. Clifford for Simmonds is a lateral move and Bogosian likely won’t play more than 50% of the games with the competition on D. Joey Anderson has “hard to play against” attributes, but I’m not convinced he’s any nastier than Kapanen or AJ who both brought underrated sandpaper. Vesey is about as physical as Lindholm was (aka not at all).

Overall, I think it’ll be much of the same. The real question is if this new veteran group can spark something in the core and contribute to the mental shift that needs to happen.

 

[ottomaddox]

The tenures of Simmonds, Thornton, Spezza, Vesey, Bogosian are in all likelihood going to be no more memorable than the Leafs' tenures of Mike Peca, Jeff O'Neill, Dave Manson, Rene Robert, Tim Connolly and Sergio Momesso.

Because?

Are we missing the part where you said that you have a crystal ball?

 

[The Podium]

On paper I like this team. Lets see if they play a full 60+ minute effort for 56 games and perform in the playoffs

 

[Fonzieleaf]

I like the team when they play to their potential night in and night out. Instead of every 3rd or 4th game when they play half ass in between with no heart and little to no effort.

 

[ToneDog]

I like the team when they play to their potential night in and night out. Instead of every 3rd or 4th game when they play half ass in between with no heart and little to no effort.

The team plays to it's potential when the other team allows them to play their game. It is when the opponent makes the game difficult for them by not giving them room that they play "half ass with no heart and little to no effort" IMO. Hoping this changes with the new additions and more growth.

 

[Fogelhund]

What's amusing is the different takes... in some threads it's... Dubas is terrible, team is too soft, we suck... and in the thread beside it... it's we are easily going to take the Canadian division... so, we suck, and we are great??

 

[ToneDog]

What's amusing is the different takes... in some threads it's... Dubas is terrible, team is too soft, we suck... and in the thread beside it... it's we are easily going to take the Canadian division... so, we suck, and we are great??

IMO we have no idea how good or how bad this team will be until they hit the ice.

 

[Leafs87]

It’s not. Until it’s addressed in meaningful areas of the roster (top 9F, top 4D), it’ll continue to be a major issue.

I don’t get the media’s narrative that the Leafs have adequately addressed the toughness issue. Clifford for Simmonds is a lateral move and Bogosian likely won’t play more than 50% of the games with the competition on D. Joey Anderson has “hard to play against” attributes, but I’m not convinced he’s any nastier than Kapanen or AJ who both brought underrated sandpaper. Vesey is about as physical as Lindholm was (aka not at all).

Overall, I think it’ll be much of the same. The real question is if this new veteran group can spark something in the core and contribute to the mental shift that needs to happen.

Yeah that’s exactly how I felt. Adding a bottom six checker who looked to be done on his last 3 teams won’t change the outcome. They need a top 6 guy who could play physical. They also need buyin from stars. Having Simmonds is no different than Martin and Clifford were.

 

[Notsince67]

He did a good job on fixing the D the third and fourth line are super bad tho. Hope they can hold a playoff spot all year and grab a couple UFA depth players at the deadline for late draft picks

You are overestimating the 3rd line defensive requirement. Dermott has shown pretty elite numbers playing on the third line. He gets into trouble if he faces 2nd line talent or better IMO. Bogo should be able to handle the other side and might be beneficial to Dermott to cover any physical weakness. Third line is the least of my immediate concern until I see how the 1st 2 play

 

[Notsince67]

Any team with a different defensive unit that last year is something I'm bound to like without seeing anyone play

 

[Fonzieleaf]

The team plays to it's potential when the other team allows them to play their game. It is when the opponent makes the game difficult for them by not giving them room that they play "half ass with no heart and little to no effort" IMO. Hoping this changes with the new additions and more growth.

Yeah I hope so too. Hopefully guys like Simmonds and Brodie bring the team to a new level.