Tribute Halfway Point Grades

[meefer]

I'm divided in my opinions. On the one hand I like:

*Just about everything Keefe has done. The 5 Swedes for Salming, Simmonds v Flyers, praise when deserved, introducing Marlies, Timmins, Holmberg, in a fashion that offers opportunity without asking too much. At the same time critical of poor efforts when required. Attempting to make this team more accountable for its efforts, or lack of. Getting them to buy into team D.
*Goaltending has been a pleasant surprise, better than I expected, especially given the injuries. I might offer Woll a chance for a game in the near future, just to acclimate him to the show, and I'd explain why to both Sam and Murray.
*Defense has been surprisingly good. And we have depth. I could ask for more, but there's time.
*Management continues to cobble together a contending team, attempts to move on from mistakes, and offers the players perhaps the most helpful support structures in the game.
*Forwards buying into responsibility on D. Very good production from our top 4, with not a one, imo, being at their best for an extended period. I think each of them has more to offer. A bottom six that is adequate, but needs improvements.

On the other hand:

*A third line that can score and be tough to play against. They can hem a team in, and move the puck out of their zone well, but they don't offer the support for scoring that I'd like to see. An upgrade at 3C would be my first concern, then a scoring winger who is tough to play against. Neither has to be a homerun acquisition, but upgrades would make this team more dangerous. Kamph and Engvall/Holmberg and ZAR would be excellent low event players on the 4th line.
*My biggest concern...to my eyes this team lacks 'something' in the hunger department. There's a great deal of talent on this team, but I don't see this team as yet having that cruel determination that the best teams have. Using Matthews as the example (please no drama, he's a great player, I get it), but those moments when he should have 'made a statement' - against Montreal a few years back, and against, damn I forget, but he allowed his team to stand up for him and then provoked/poked the bear one more time - ya can't do that. JT too, damn the crap he takes without some type of response, Engvall...jeezus H Christmas dude, drop somebody. Rielly's stood up for team mates in the past, do it for yourself! Lily, you're a beast, throw someone to the ice in anger. Winning with skill is fun to watch, but there's a time when a 'f*ck you' attitude gains you a step, a hesitation, some fear from the other side. That time is called the playoffs, and I'm not sure we have that anger/determination with the group we have.

 

[therealkoho]

Forwards B+ Some are putting together some very good seasons and perhaps even career highs and it was expected from a few guys, the ones delivering are 16 and 88, the rest have struggled at times to be quite honest. The 2LW is still an ongoing project, the two guys they were hoping to take the job are nowhere to be found, but maybe Bongrip can be the guy? He's had average numbers most of his career, is he possibly a late bloomer? He better be! If he can hit a PPG it's a fantastic thing. Matthews numbers are off, you watch him play and you wonder if something is wrong, hopefully he hits 45 but it's a whole 10 less then expectations. Will is hopefully going to make up any shortfall for him!

Defense A: No complaints so far, really though I can't figure out where the goals are. The progress of Liljegren and Sandin has been steady and it seems they will still get better, I really do see them a 2nd pairing as early as next year. Conor Timmins has shown that he provides some solid depth, the offence is nice and his reads seem very good, but he only has 53 NHL games under his belt. I'm told there are miracles, is this one of them?
Goaltending B+: Health and Kallgren are the only reason they aren't an A.

Coaching: A-: There have been some odd decisions, there have been some odd declarations, but when you look at the Leafs record, direct comparisons of hard numbers with other teams, it tells you that the Toronto Maple Leafs are a top 5 team or better in the entire league, and most of that is on him and his staff. Theres still some missing pieces because anything less then a series win will be a disaster, and that will be that.

Management: A-: Things keep working out for Kyle the bad deals aren't disasters and the successes fit seamlessly into the team. Theres still some missing piece(s) and Kyle has to get them, it's imperative, because anything less then a series win will be a disaster, and that will be that! The new new guy will come in with a mandate to start cleaning the house.

Thoughts

Best Player: 16, 88 ainec

Worst Player: I'm not fond of this category as there is no such thing, some players can have bad shifts, periods and sometimes whole games although it's a lot rarer than you think, how about a section of players who are not playing to expectation, there would be a couple I think?

Biggest Surprise: Punch Holmberg, just a hockey player, knows where he should be, knows where he wants his linemates to be, is a good puck carrier, strong retriever, good passer and has a little bit of offence and maybe more, minds his own end and has the ability to break a cycle up. Not to get too high but maybe he becomes a 3rd line 45 pt centre

Biggest Disappointment: Aube-Kubel, Malgin, Robertson's injuries

Biggest Need: 2LW the kind of guy who's a complete 200 foot guy, who'll be around a PPG type, a LW who'll own the corner, can bang the boards and plays deep in the slot, with a hard, accurate wrist shot. My wishlist looks kind of like this Meier, Hertl, Kuzmenko, Horvat or Crouse kind of player

 

[Mr_Fun]

Management: Gets an 'A" from me: They were able to upgrade the goaltending without getting stuck with an albatross of a contract (Jack Campbell). In the end, we'll probably end up with a slightly above average tandem which considering our price point, is really quite good. We've also managed to replace some of the players that left with equal or better players. At this point, it looks like we have a team that's a little more playoff ready than last year. Of course this only holds true by winning at least one round in the PO's.

Forwards: Get a "B". Really tough to give a team grade as there are some players having peak type seasons and some having an off year.

Defence: Get an "A-". We lose Reilly, Muzz, and Brodie for extended periods and EVERYONE steps up and comes up big. We have at least 9 Dmen who can slot into the lineup at any time and still always look decent no matter what the combination. Would be an "A" grade if we had somebody who could really QB that PP.

Goaltending: Gets an" A-". Had a slump there for a couple of weeks, but if you can get past the recency bias, this tandem has done quite well. NOBODY would have complained one bit if before the season started, you'd know that this duo would have us at 57 points, half way through the season. Nobody.

Coaching: Gets a "B+". Coaching has been pretty good overall. Some of the experiments have been a little dodgy and he didn't really handle the Marner situation in with the best of words (although to be fair, none of us really know how all of that went down behind closed doors). That said, I do like the fact he's willing to experiment a bit so he gets marks for that. It's also tough to argue against success; something he's had for most of this year so far.

Pleasant Surprises: Timmins (obviously); JT hasn't regressed at all and is having a decent season, especially for a guy who's battling senility (lol).

Disappointments: N/A. Nobody is playing way lower than I expect them to play. Flame me for this, but that's how I see it.

 

[tmlms13]

Game 41 played last night leaving the club 21-9-7 for 57 points which is pretty much on pace from last season.

Grades

Forwards B -

Defense B+

Goaltending B

Coaching B

Management N/A

Thoughts

Best Player talent matthews playing the best marner

Worst Player Geno Malgin

Biggest Surprise Matthews lack of goals

Biggest Disappointment Matthews lack of goals

Biggest Need Matthews to score more goals

.

 

[Gary Nylund]

*My biggest concern...to my eyes this team lacks 'something' in the hunger department. There's a great deal of talent on this team, but I don't see this team as yet having that cruel determination that the best teams have. Using Matthews as the example (please no drama, he's a great player, I get it), but those moments when he should have 'made a statement' - against Montreal a few years back, and against, damn I forget, but he allowed his team to stand up for him and then provoked/poked the bear one more time - ya can't do that. JT too, damn the crap he takes without some type of response, Engvall...jeezus H Christmas dude, drop somebody. Rielly's stood up for team mates in the past, do it for yourself! Lily, you're a beast, throw someone to the ice in anger. Winning with skill is fun to watch, but there's a time when a 'f*ck you' attitude gains you a step, a hesitation, some fear from the other side. That time is called the playoffs, and I'm not sure we have that anger/determination with the group we have.

This is very well said and I love that phrase - cruel determination. We've heard for years that this team is too soft and I hate to say it but ... there does seem to be a fair bit to support that POV.

 

[LeafGrief]

Grades

Forwards - A

Offensively, we're down to 7th (gasp) in the league in goals for, but defensively these guys are putting in the effort that we haven't seen before. October was a disaster, but since then they've put their heads down and gone to work. In previous years the bad losses would turn into mini skids, skids would turn into slides, and slides would turn into losing streaks. This team has always had the talent to be one of the great teams in the league, but the mental resilience was never there. We've only lost 5 games in regulation since the beginning of November, and 5 OT/SO losses. This team is bloody good.

Defense - A

Fourth in the league in goals against. This is tied in with goaltending (spoiler, I'm going to give them an A as well), but our defense has been tight this year. Huge kudos to Liljegren and Sandin for stepping into big roles, depth guys like Timmins and Benn establishing themselves as relevant players, and vets like Rielly, Holl, Brodie, and Giordano for stepping up in a big way. Rielly is probably having the hardest time of the bunch, but he's still the #1D on one of the best defensive teams in the league. This defense is big, mobile, and contributes at both ends of the ice.

Goaltending - A

They get the A because of how much they've slaughtered expectations. Neither of Samsonov or Murray are in the vezina conversation or league leaders, but they've been rock solid and have fully bought into their own redemption narratives. Before this season started, I thought for sure that it was our goalies that would sink us, but instead it's been their success that has buoyed this team into new heights. They've cooled off a touch in the last few weeks, but if they can both stay healthy and keep providing that ~15th in the league quality goaltending every night, our skaters can do the rest. Most well deserved A of the bunch tbh.

Coaching - B+

It's easy to look like a good coaching staff when the goalies are playing great and the skaters are a stacked roster, but the coach still has to set the systems and work the chemistry. The team looks great and Keefe continues to get results out of them. This is the one where I'll point to the playoffs as being the ultimate deciding factor.

Management - A

Timmins, Murray, Samsonov. Dubas strikes again. This team is GOOD and continues to get better throughout all of the challenges. I don't care if we win in the playoffs this year or not, extend Dubas because he makes this team better. Sooner or later, he's going to get the recipe fully right and this team is going to go all the way.

Thoughts

Best Player - Marner

Worst Player - Malgin, but he's not here any more. Of the regulars, I think Kerfoot has been the most disappointing.

Biggest Surprise - Murray. I thought we were absolutely screwed with an oft-injured sieve as our main guy, especially after he got hurt right away. But since he's come back, he's been terrific. We've got a rock solid goalie with cup-winning pedigree, who has been coming up aces in big moments all year. Hell yeah!

Biggest Disappointment - Matthews is not having anywhere near his normal impact. He's not shooting it like he normally does, nor taking it to the scoring areas. He's deferring way too much. It's wild to call him the biggest disappointment since he's still a top5 player in the league, but he's not performing this year. He'll get hot at some point though, Auston Matthews is still Auston Matthews at the end of the day.

Biggest Need - Boston in the first round. Slay the demon and this team will run roughshod over the league for years. I expect Dubas to add at the deadline, but that's adding trimming to a terrific roster. The real needs are all between their ears.

 

[meefer]

"The real needs are all between their ears." @LeafGrief

I certainly agree with this sentiment. As talented as they are, nobody has yet taken over a series and said, "it's mine." Some timely goaltending would help, too.

Every championship team has a player or two who exceeds expectations, I don't think we can say that's happened for our team, yet.

 

[Gary Nylund]

"The real needs are all between their ears." @LeafGrief

I certainly agree with this sentiment. As talented as they are, nobody has yet taken over a series and said, "it's mine." Some timely goaltending would help, too.

Every championship team has a player or two who exceeds expectations, I don't think we can say that's happened for our team, yet.

+1

This is one of the reasons I'm not in favor of spending futures on a rental. We have the talent, now they just need to play to their potential when it matters most. In the final game/loss of the year over the last 5 years, Matthews has 0 goals and 2 assists and him playing like the superstar he is when the chips are down, would help us a lot more than any rental possibly could. And if he doesn't, expecting some rental player to come in and save the day for us doesn't make sense to me. I'm singling out Matthews here because that 0/2 in 5 games jumps out at me but every single player on the team deserves to be called out here. Enough blaming Dubas for "not building a team that can win", the assertion that a group of players with this much talent can't win is absurd. Of course these guys can win and if they don't, that's on them.

Win!

 

[123offtheglass]

Grades

Forwards A-

Defense A-

Goaltending B+

Coaching A

Management A-

Thoughts

Best Player - Mitch Marner

Worst Player - Dryden Hunt

Biggest Surprise - Mark Giordano

Biggest Disappointment - Morgan Rielly

Biggest Need - Secondary scoring

 

[Funk21]

Grades

Forwards C+

Defense A

Goaltending A

Coaching B+

Management B

Thoughts

Best Player Nylander

Worst Player Simmonds

Biggest Surprise Holmberg

Biggest Disappointment Kerfoot/Engvall

Biggest Need 3C

i like the fact that Dubas has gone radio silent, the pick up of Timmins was a great move. The walk back by Keefe was disappointing, call out your best players is not a bad thing. Personally I do t want to see management grab a rental. If it’s a pure hockey trade then sure but not another 1st for a rental. Bring in Knies once his season is done and see what we have with him on the second line LW. If we can upgrade at 3C by moving Kerfoot I’d be all for it.

 

[Nineteen67]

They met expectations. Goalies proved they can get hot for 15-20 games, which could bode well if they can do it during the playoffs.

They’ll finish no worse than 3rd so I’d be resting both goalies, Tavares, Gio, Brody, Matthews, Marner, Nylander every chance I get.