Josh Leivo

[ShaneFalco]

right lol ...

So what did Martin provide then?

 

[ShaneFalco]

I wonder how many 30'ish year old hockey people "told" Scotty Bowman who to play and how to coach

How is that even relevant? Different era
Quinn was coach and GM at one time - when does that happen now?

 

[Leafslet]

Is Hyman considered a toy still? Thought he proved he's more than that this past season.

if people consider hyman a "toy," they don't know much about what a team looks like.

How can anyone fault Leivo for not being as good on his second tryout. Can you imagine being a guy who almost got a PPG, then suddenly being nailed to the bench for like half a season?

Imagine the pressure on the guy when he finally gets out there.

IF he plays well, he is everything this team lacks, tough, great on the boards, good one timer.

Exactly what the team needs.

Justin Holl and Leivo must be soulmates and best friends.

I think Mike Babcock is the most overhyped, overrated person I have ever come across.

And his special accent and butchery of the english language are annoying as all out.

He talks about good pros, good people, meanwhile there are young children sitting in the stands behind him and the guy curses worse than a sailor on shore leave all game long.

This guy needs to go.

this is ridiculous. his accent. his swearing at a hockey game.... it's clear you have deep rooted biases against the guy beyond hockey. you think pat burns was saying 'heck' and 'frig' behind the bench?

 

[Battle Lin]

i think grundstrom might be better than him next season or passes him soon too, would fit nicely with us too, he plays a meaner game, skates better, and has offensive potential

 

[diceman934]

Martin was brought in to protect the rookies and Babcock played him like a 4th line player that he is. I fail to see the love fest that people claim Babcock had for him as he sat him as a healthy scratch for a large part of the season.

Komarov is still a useful player who played his role very well. He played injured for a long while last year and he played some very hard minutes effectively.

Polak was played as we needed to have a D man who could play on the 3rd pair and play the pk as well and despite what many on here think Polak was a good 3rd pair D man as he was a right shot and we lacked anyone in our system to take his spot.

Babcock favours hardworking players and to be honest every coach everywhere does.

One last thing every player that have been mention were an NHL player before Babs came here to coach as other coaches seen value in them and all are still going to be nhl players next year. As other teams see value in them, yet it Babcock who can be faulted because he played them when some young guys who have skill had to wait their turn for a chance.

I am addressing this to everyone who has said that they wanted a proper rebuild and a change in culture. Then criticize Babcock for implementing the culture we desperately needed and still do. Giving players roster spots because they have more skill is absurd make them hungry and earn it and we will be the better team for it.

 

[zeke]

culture schmulture.

the leafs have turned around thanks to elite talent.

and they have likely been held back by overplaying grunts.

 

[nsleaf]

nonsense.

he had no role, and didn't fill any role. he took up space from better players, and put more pressure on the rest of the lineup because he couldn't be trusted in any situation. and babcock didn't actually trust him - martin received the softest quality of competition of any player in all of hockey with at least 1000 minutes played the last two years. he was the most sheltered player in the whole league.

the only reason he was on the team was babcock's stubborness.

that ain't happening anymore.


fricken guy started a playoff game with an injured Leo Komarov on the TOP LINE. insane.

And this is fact? How so? Did you follow him every single game and track each time he was on the ice to see who his competition was? If not you, who did?

 

[zeke]

And this is fact? How so? Did you follow him every single game and track each time he was on the ice to see who his competition was? If not you, who did?

NHL Player Stats - Corsica Hockey

select the last 2 seasons, select regular season, select even strength, select adjust, select minimum 1000 minutes, then sort by TOIqoc.

549. M.Letestu
550. Y.Weber
551. R.Reaves
552. M.Haley
553. M.Martin

 

[X66]

It's almost as if there is more to the game than just playing offense

This is going to shock people, but Leivo is a better overall player than Hyman as well.

It'll be more apparent when he's traded.

 

[X66]

Free Leivo

I'll say it a million times over, Babcock doesn't like Leivo because he gets hurt. That's it.

I hope Dubas fixes this BS.

 

[zeke]

This is going to shock people, but Leivo is a better overall player than Hyman as well.

It'll be more apparent when he's traded.

can't go that far until we see leivo do it against ĺegit competition.....

.....BUT, he CLEARLY deserves to get a chance to try, and I'd also bet he succeeds.

 

[X66]

can't go that far until we see leivo do it against ĺegit competition.....

.....BUT, he CLEARLY deserves to get a chance to try, and I'd also bet he succeeds.

Even against the competition, it's been proven that line-mates is more important than competition when it comes to production. So I wouldn't be worried there personally.

Leivo is even better at things that Hyman gets a ton of credit for, like board battles, board/corner plays, puck retrieval lol.

 

[ACC1224]

This is going to shock people, but Leivo is a better overall player than Hyman as well.

It'll be more apparent when he's traded.

Sure based on his extensive body of work.

 

[X66]

Sure based on his extensive body of work.

Just tracking them at the pro-level, even watching them on the Marlies it was obvious Leivo was a better player.

He's just never been given the same opportunity, when he was given time with Kadri he played fantastic.

Leivo has actually played very well in his NHL stints, but he's not liked by the coach.

 

[ACC1224]

Just tracking them at the pro-level, even watching them on the Marlies it was obvious Leivo was a better player.

He's just never been given the same opportunity, when he was given time with Kadri he played fantastic.

Leivo has actually played very well in his NHL stints, but he's not liked by the coach.

I've never seen it. Decent enough offensive player but doesn't sniff Hymans overall game.
I have no doubt that if both were available Hyman would be far more in demand than this hidden gem.

Why not just cash him in for the riches if the Coach doesn't like him? Shirley Dubas isn't keeping him around in hopes the Coach has a change of heart.

 

[Buds17]

Free Leivo

I'll say it a million times over, Babcock doesn't like Leivo because he gets hurt. That's it.

I hope Dubas fixes this BS.

Being healthy plays its part though in being able to put up consistent numbers. Soshnikov was a bit of an interesting case as a Leaf, as there could have been injury concerns, yet he was into the lineup but also traded away quicker than Leivo. I'd say Leivo has been generally productive when in the lineup and perhaps capable of more, but GP is one of the numbers you'd ideally not like to leave too much to projections.

 

[Stephen]

Being healthy plays its part though in being able to put up consistent numbers. Soshnikov was a bit of an interesting case as a Leaf, as there could have been injury concerns, yet he was into the lineup but also traded away quicker than Leivo. I'd say Leivo has been generally productive when in the lineup and perhaps capable of more, but GP is one of the numbers you'd ideally not like to leave too much to projections.

Soshnikov is too frail to play a kamikaze style and not skilled enough to play a skill game. His NHL career might not be very lengthy as a result.

 

[X66]

Why not just cash him in for the riches if the Coach doesn't like him? Shirley Dubas isn't keeping him around in hopes the Coach has a change of heart.

I definitely hope Dubas trades him for his own sake if Babs is going to dick him around again.

Ideally he plays on our team in a top 9 role.

Leivo is a better player than Hyman, Brown, and Kapanen(today) and that's just what I see, and what I have seen since he was with the Marlies.

It'll be more apparent once he's gone.

 

[diceman934]

culture schmulture.

the leafs have turned around thanks to elite talent.

and they have likely been held back by overplaying grunts.

I usually agree with most of your posts but you are wrong in this case. Making players hungry and earning their spots are the main reason why we are as good as we are currently. Babcock has been consistent with his approach no matter the players skill set and if elite talent was the key then why has Edmonton struggle still after having a lot of elite talent.

“ Hard work beat skill every time when skill fails to work hard” that is what Babs wants from his players. Some still have a ways to go and others are there now.

 

[zeke]

Even against the competition, it's been proven that line-mates is more important than competition when it comes to production. So I wouldn't be worried there personally.

nah, it hasn't. there's been some terrible experiments done that have led the analytics community in the wrong direction.

Leivo is even better at things that Hyman gets a ton of credit for, like board battles, board/corner plays, puck retrieval lol.

he's excellent in those departments, that's for sure.

 

[X66]

“ Hard work beat skill every time when skill fails to work hard” that is what Babs wants from his players. Some still have a ways to go and others are there now.

I can't comment on the locker-room, but on the ice, Leivo is always working extremely hard. He excels in some of the hardest areas in the game to do so, in the corners and along the boards, he's a dog on a bone with the puck around.

This has been true going back to his days in Sudbury.

 

[ACC1224]

I definitely hope Dubas trades him for his own sake if Babs is going to dick him around again.

Ideally he plays on our team in a top 9 role.

Leivo is a better player than Hyman, Brown, and Kapanen(today) and that's just what I see, and what I have seen since he was with the Marlies.

It'll be more apparent once he's gone.

I don't buy the he's not liked or being dicked around part.
If he were good enough to play, he would.

Why would a player re-sign in such an environment? Why would the GM not trade him to save the Coach from himself?
Makes no sense.

 

[Buds17]

Soshnikov is too frail to play a kamikaze style and not skilled enough to play a skill game. His NHL career might not be very lengthy as a result.

That's possible. They're obviously different types of player. I was suggesting that it says something that Leivo is still here, even if he's not in the lineup as much as hoped. Still, if a team is depending on a player for offensive numbers, he has to be in the lineup enough for that. This appears to be his best opportunity for something more. We'll see how things shake out.

 

[zeke]

I can't comment on the locker-room, but on the ice, Leivo is always working extremely hard. He excels in some of the hardest areas in the game to do so, in the corners and along the boards, he's a dog on a bone with the puck around.

This has been true going back to his days in Sudbury.

he's a puck magnet, that's for sure. you could see it in his very first rookie camp with the leafs - he's always had a knack for body position and soft hands that always lets him win loose pucks and board battles.

 

[X66]

And I've been on record saying Babcock is a terrific coach and I'm thrilled we have him, but he's not always right and we've seen that before as well.

Many of us were begging him to get Komarov and Martin into lesser roles and put in guys like Kapanen and Johnsson, and put Marner with a better center.

When he did that, the team took off again, it was obvious.

Leivo will be the exact same situation.