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Confirmed with Link: Joe Thornton to Leafs [1yr/700k]

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Mess said:
In 2005-06 Leafs brought home local GTA players London, Ontario Eric Lindros and North York, Ont own Jason Allison and the team finished with 90 points and missed the playoffs and not even Mats Sundin could overcome the nostalgia of bringing local boys home to wear the Blue and White in the twilight of their careers.

Both coach Quinn and soon after JFJ were fired as the Leafs began a 7 year playoff drought starting with that season.

Lets hope the Thornton and Spezza is not another history repeating itself event, but in fairness Allison was only 30 and Lindros 32 and not 37 and 41.

The 2020-21 will be a compressed schedule with lots of back to back and 3 games in 4 nights and for that you need young players with young legs & endurance and quick recover and its hard image either Thornton nor Spezza being able to perform at any contributing level under those conditions. Thornton is even going to play in the Swiss league leading up the start of the new NHL season and be worn out by the time it even begins.
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Well....how about the fact that the only young players they moved out were traded for younger players? The replacements at the outset were Barabanov and Robertson. They signed a couple of vets, that's it.

Not even remotely similar, but hey....you feel you need an audience for your wholly incorrect takes.
 
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whats the over under we see this with Jumbo as a Leaf

Eke8vTlVkAEisAC
 
kb said:
That's what people in here are clamouring for. Dumping Kerfoot because the Leafs have no need for him because they have Thornton.

That's what I was saying is stupid, frankly. I'm good with the signing, but not good with the lack of forethought.
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I think people assume Kerfoot is gone because of cap dollars but I definitely know Thornton isn't the solution. To me, this is a one and done year for Jumbo Joe here.
 
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Smif said:
I think people assume Kerfoot is gone because of cap dollars but I definitely know Thornton isn't the solution. To me, this is a one and done year for Jumbo Joe here.
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Me too. Like the signing, but it doesn't make anyone expendable.

I have this sneaking suspicion that there will be taxi squads this season. If so, Dubas has certainly loaded up on veteran depth.
 
Cor said:
Dubas has pretty much done what everyone here has wanted.

He looked at the top ranked offense (when Keefe took over) and said we could sacrifice some of it, and there needed to be more veteran leadership, physicality, and defensive responsibility surrounding the young core.

I’d say he did that.
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OUT: Clifford
IN: Simmonds
so this is a wash

May be Bagosian to an extent; other than that there is nothing done to bring in more "grit" or "toughness"
 
Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Mikheyev - Tavares - Nylander
Kerfoot - Thornton - Simmonds
Robertson - Engvall - Spezza

Other interesting combos to try:
Thornton - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Simmonds
Robertson - Thornton - Simmonds

Thornton/Spezza both are center/wing options, can flip flop the 2 between 3rd/4th line

Lots of versatility in the lineup
Added veteran leadership
Slower but still ultra skilled lineup adding a future Hall of Famer and current active points/assist leader

Everyone keeps saying Jumbo and Spezza are the same player but they aren't. Jumbo has more assists than Spezza has career points. Spezza has been putting up 26-27 points the past 3 years. Jumbo scored 31 in 70 last year on a team whose leading scorer had 49 points. The previous year he scored 51 in 73. Both years he averaged roughly 15 minutes so still top 6. Now he gets to feast on 3rd/4th lines. A legend Hall of Famer (which Spezza isn't) without a cup, local boy, added motivation for the kids. Joe can run guys over and beat them up. Could try Joe on the half wall/alternate in front of the net on PP1 and put Nylander on PP2.

Great signing. Dubas has impressed me this off season.
 
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Don't see how you can not like this sign
People have been crying for size , grittiness , leadership a big strong 3/4 C

We got it all for 700K 1 year . If he doesn't work out than what ever . What are the chances the leafs find a better 4C? for 700k?
 
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Mess said:
In 2005-06 Leafs brought home local GTA players London, Ontario Eric Lindros and North York, Ont own Jason Allison and the team finished with 90 points and missed the playoffs and not even Mats Sundin could overcome the nostalgia of bringing local boys home to wear the Blue and White in the twilight of their careers.

Both coach Quinn and soon after JFJ were fired as the Leafs began a 7 year playoff drought starting with that season.

Lets hope the Thornton and Spezza is not another history repeating itself event, but in fairness Allison was only 30 and Lindros 32 and not 37 and 41.

The 2020-21 will be a compressed schedule with lots of back to back and 3 games in 4 nights and for that you need young players with young legs & endurance and quick recover and its hard image either Thornton nor Spezza being able to perform at any contributing level under those conditions. Thornton is even going to play in the Swiss league leading up the start of the new NHL season and be worn out by the time it even begins.
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Leafs really should have tried to go for it the moment they signed tavares. This is Freddy's last season in net then he is a UFA (so is Hyman i think); Leafs have gotta take their chances.

Whatever happens happens; but they gotta give themselves a shot; also given that D seems to be a little more stable than last season I think Leafs are a lot better positioned
 
Goleafsgo95 said:
Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Mikheyev - Tavares - Nylander
Kerfoot - Thornton - Simmonds
Robertson - Engvall - Spezza

Other interesting combos to try:
Thornton - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Simmonds
Robertson - Thornton - Simmonds

Thornton/Spezza both are center/wing options, can flip flop the 2 between 3rd/4th line

Lots of versatility in the lineup
Added veteran leadership
Slower but still ultra skilled lineup adding a future Hall of Famer and current active points/assist leader

Everyone keeps saying Jumbo and Spezza are the same player but they aren't. Jumbo has more assists than Spezza has career points. Spezza has been putting up 26-27 points the past 3 years. Jumbo scored 31 in 70 last year on a team whose leading scorer had 49 points. The previous year he scored 51 in 73. Both years he averaged roughly 15 minutes so still top 6. Now he gets to feast on 3rd/4th lines. A legend Hall of Famer (which Spezza isn't) without a cup, local boy, added motivation for the kids. Joe can run guys over and beat them up. Could try Joe on the half wall/alternate in front of the net on PP1 and put Nylander on PP2.

Great signing. Dubas has impressed me this off season.
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Clearly double shifting a 40 yr old is the way to go ;)
 
Cobra777 said:
LOL man that season I'll never forget that game where we played the Habs and McClaren hit one of them hard and a big scrum happened, McClaren looked after the one guy while 3 habs were skating towards Orr and Orr picked one of them and knocked him out with his first punch, the other two seein that bailed and the rest turn white as Casper the friendly ghost made my night lol.
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McLaren was a real killa. Had that thousand yard stare sire. He even looked intimidating. Even more than Orr sometimes. We had em...... hard then. Now our new fresh thugs we'll be killing it too. Also with them stares.
 
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Sports narratives on Thornton are absolute garbage. That he is some playoff choker despite in his prime years putting up basically a ppg in the playoffs. That he couldn't will his team to the cup - something essentially no player ever has in the NHL. Reading pure garbage that somehow his level of failure is going to submerge the Leafs to fail further is absolute nonsense levels of negative critical thinking skills.

People imagine these concepts of choking, intangibles, clutch, etc and just throw them around as if they have value. In the end it's a team game and a star player plays roughly a third of the game. If the star player puts up points they have done their job. That's what Thornton did at all levels. He played on a team, in a sport that one team per year wins it all and his team never won. To critique him for that is baffling.

In the end its an absolute no risk move with minimum dollars and term on a player who has some of the most experience in the league.
 
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HC's Brian Burke discusses why it doesn't make a lick of sense for the Maple Leafs to bring in Joe Thornton in free agency, saying he loves him, but he's a piece they don't need right now.



Patrick Marleau explains what Joe Thornton can bring to Maple Leafs - Sportsnet.ca

Earlier in the day, as rumours of Thornton-to-Toronto began circulating, Marleau, who spent 2017-18 and 2018-19 with the Maple Leafs, was a guest on Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Good Show and he was asked about Thornton and what the star centre can still bring to a team at age 41.

“He does put in the work, he does keep himself in great shape and I think one thing that’s always a constant in his game is the size and reach, the way he can protect pucks and obviously his vision, and none of that has changed over his career,” Marleau said. “He still knows where guys are on the ice. He knows where guys are going and that allows him to still be one of the better players on the ice.”

When asked if Thornton had reached out to him to inquire about his time in Toronto, Marleau said, “we’ve texted back and forth,” and added that they had discussed the idea of signing with Toronto together three years ago when Marleau initially joined the Maple Leafs.

“He loves being around the guys,” Marleau said of Thornton’s impact on a locker room. “He loves bringing everybody together.”

Thornton’s love of the game has clearly not dissipated either.

On Thursday, Thornton announced he had joined HC Davos of the Swiss National League to skate with the team until he returns to North American prior to the start of the 2020-21 NHL season.
 
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As long as he's not respected so much that he gets the Marleau treatment of 15 min per in must win PO games including the last few shifts of the game. If Keefe is man enough to sit him down when he's not contributing or at least not play him much in crunch time just because he's a legend, then it could work.
 
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