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Sportsnet: Kris Versteeg says "Toronto needs to trade for a third line Center" (Said it 3 times!)

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ToneDog said:
I was not impressed with Engvall and Kerfoot as our bottom 2Cs last night. I would be less impressed with Engvall and Spezza or Thornton.

At the end of the day, how many upgrades can Dubas possibly do by the TDL ? I'd be happy if he acquires the rumoured top 6 forward and a botton pair dman.
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The bottom 2 lines scored our only 5v5 goals last night, and dominated possession.
 
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zeke said:
The bottom 2 lines scored our only 5v5 goals last night, and dominated possession.
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Ya I really don’t feel like they are the problem. I mean if you get a no brainer possession beast who belongs in the top 6 to come in and play on the 3rd, sure. However, I don’t see many upgrades out there myself.

I personally wouldn’t mind Hall for the Tavares line, but that would mean Kerfoot is out and I am not sure I like that. Galch has been good, though, so we are running low on roster spots.

Sadly, I am much more concerned with Thornton lately. He was a possession beast on the top line but man...he’s looked rough lately.
 
Hollywood North said:
I am not crazy about Bennet, and I believe the price for Toronto to acquire him from Calgary would be higher than any other team. Calgary will charge Toronto a premium.

I am not sure who would be the ideal target for Dubas here.
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There is not one.

They suggested Luke Glendening as a, supposed, 3C upgrade on Kerfoot... Which I find hilarious considering he absolutely is not in any way besides being a better faceoff guy. However our 3rd line likes to play with pace and Glendening is not a guy who plays with pace. Haula would make more sense at that point, and then you can use Kerfoot all over the lineup, which is what they suggested (while just 30 seconds before questioning how the Leafs would use Kerfoot).

It really depends on what the Leafs are looking for. If they are looking for a center who is better at draws, then obviously you look at a guy like Glendening or Haula over Engvall/Kerfoot for that 3rd line (4th line doesn't matter because Spezza takes the draws for the most part and is an absolute god at them). However Kerfoot especially can handle the duties you want out of a 3C besides faceoffs, and even Engvall is not too bad considering he can play with pace and has good defensive awareness with more offensive upside than his production currently suggests. That's pretty much it unless Philly changes their stance and Laughton becomes available, but even he has struggled at draws this year.
 
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Korg said:
Agreed, Kerfoot would be below average for a cup champion...
  • Crosby, Malkin, Bonino
  • Crosby, Malkin, Bonino
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That line had more to do with Kessel than Bonino (Hagelin was the third wheel). Bones was brutal the following season, leading to the HBK being broken up. Ultimately, Pittsburgh’s success had to do with having an elite player on each line (‘16), followed by loading up the top six (‘17).

I watch most Leafs games, and Kerfoot is pretty much the same player as Bonino. He has sound defensive instincts, but his offensive skills are limited. He just happened to click with a couple of wingers for 12 weeks.
 
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BlackTipReefer said:
Ya I really don’t feel like they are the problem. I mean if you get a no brainer possession beast who belongs in the top 6 to come in and play on the 3rd, sure. However, I don’t see many upgrades out there myself.

I personally wouldn’t mind Hall for the Tavares line, but that would mean Kerfoot is out and I am not sure I like that. Galch has been good, though, so we are running low on roster spots.

Sadly, I am much more concerned with Thornton lately. He was a possession beast on the top line but man...he’s looked rough lately.
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They have been rotating him with Simmonds now so it is not as big of a deal. He's not really a factor out there right now, but at the same time he still has a ton of IQ so he can make nice plays. He is not a guy for the top line, but Simmonds works well there and a number of other guys we currently have can work there too.
 
SeaOfBlue said:
There is not one.

They suggested Luke Glendening as a, supposed, 3C upgrade on Kerfoot... Which I find hilarious considering he absolutely is not in any way besides being a better faceoff guy. However our 3rd line likes to play with pace and Glendening is not a guy who plays with pace. Haula would make more sense at that point, and then you can use Kerfoot all over the lineup, which is what they suggested (while just 30 seconds before questioning how the Leafs would use Kerfoot).

It really depends on what the Leafs are looking for. If they are looking for a center who is better at draws, then obviously you look at a guy like Glendening or Haula over Engvall/Kerfoot for that 3rd line (4th line doesn't matter because Spezza takes the draws for the most part and is an absolute god at them). However Kerfoot especially can handle the duties you want out of a 3C besides faceoffs, and even Engvall is not too bad considering he can play with pace and has good defensive awareness with more offensive upside than his production currently suggests. That's pretty much it unless Philly changes their stance and Laughton becomes available, but even he has struggled at draws this year.
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You can't be serious. Are you confident the Leafs can go deep in the playoffs on pretty good and not too bad at center?
 
BHD said:
That line had more to do with Kessel than Bones (Hags was the third wheel). He was brutal the following season, leading to the HBK being broken. Ultimately, Pittsburgh’s success had to do with having an elite player on each line (‘16), followed by loading up the top six (‘17).

I watch most Leafs games, and Kerfoot is pretty much the same player as Bonino. He has sound defensive instincts, but his offensive skills are limited. He just happened to click with a couple of wingers for 12 weeks.
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He's also similar to Bozak, another complementary 3C Kessel dragged around to some success. However, the Leafs lack either a star winger, like Kessel, or an all-situations horse center, like O'Reilly, to make up for Kerfoot's vanilla skill-set. Would be much better off with a Bolland or Staal that can handle secondary matchups and the yeomans work one expects from a 3C.
 
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ottomaddox said:
You can't be serious. Are you confident the Leafs can go deep in the playoffs on pretty good and not too bad at center?
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When you have two 1C;s occupying your top 6 center spots, which is more than most other teams can say, and your bottom 6 center group is not really worse than most other competitive teams, then yes I am confident.

And again, not really much out there that is better than Kerfoot/Engvall.
 
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I don't know. I just remember last season when many Leaf fans were saying that they like Kerfoot "of late", and his "pretty good" play. Then the 5 game play in series saw him get eaten alive.
 
ottomaddox said:
Ok, but Tampa compensates at so many other positions. We don't have that luxury.

Would people like to have Gourde/Paquette on our team, or is Engvall the answer?
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Tampa's D and goalie are also a level above ours, you have to look at the entire picture, zeke misses a lot
 
I havent watched much this year because of other obligations but spezza has looked good in the games ive watched. He has the least amount of TOI amongst regular starters and his stats are good per 82/g season for a third liner, especially given limited ice time. Whats his downside? Is his defence really week?
 
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