Boutette
Been there done that
- Sep 28, 2017
- 2,991
- 1,056
Komarov yes. But the problem with Komarov is not that he is bad defensively, but that he is a complete offensive black hole.
Bozak's numbers are misleading. Over his career his GA/60 at 5v5 has been way above team average (over the last nine years the Leafs allow 2.40 GA/60 without Bozak on the ice and 2.89 with Bozak on the ice - which would place him dead last on that list). Last year the other lines were strong enough that Babcock could finally shelter Bozak to an extreme level and that is likely why his GA/60 numbers are good for the first time in career. But that doesn't mean that he was good defensively - he wasn't. Removing Bozak from the lineup takes pressure off the rest of the forward lines as they all had to play harder minutes to make up for the extreme sheltering of Bozak.
A while ago I posted the Leafs' forwards ability to get the puck out of their own zone with possession. JVR, Bozak, Komarov, Martin and Moore were all terrible at it. Among the worst players in the league. Tavares is among the very best. Joris and Ennis are also quite strong at that. I think that is where the real difference will be felt. The Leafs not getting stuck in their own zone for lengthy periods of time because of JVR, Bozak, Komarov, Moore and Martin, will take tremendous pressure off their D and goalies.
Like Komarov, Jooris and Ennis are also offensive black holes and have been ones for years. Not sure either of them should be anything other than 13th/14th forwards or Marlies unless they've really shown they've turned it around in the preseason.