Pre-Game Talk: Leafs @ Habs - 10/12/2022 SN Opening Night of the Regular season

[ACC1224]

I heard it's a 10:30 game now due to the ceremony...

Seriously though I hope they don't do that shit. Dear lord.

You have to think they'll trot out some old guys to pass the torch to Suzuki.

Right now I'm worried about how many of our fans will survive the home opener with 1st the Highlanders parading around, the team intros and then having to stomach the anthems.

 

[Burnie97]

It's extra funny because the whole league is super excited by the Canes adding a 37yr old Burns to their TOP pairing, while actual norris-winner Gio is only going to be at most the #4D here.

Never thought of that. Good point. Forgot how old he is now. He's still good but yeah so is Gio.

They'll both be good teams this year.

You have to think they'll trot out some old guys to pass the torch to Suzuki.

Right now I'm worried about how many of our fans will survive the home opener with 1st the Highlanders parading around, the team intros and then having to stomach the anthems.

True. They'll definitely do something for Suzuki. Makes sense but I just hope it's 10 or 15 minutes not 3 hours. I think that's more than reasonable.

 

[SprDaVE]

Bless your heart

It's my tradition to let people know to not get worked up on 1 game. The first game of the season tends to bring a lot of hot takes.

 

[Burnie97]

 

[ShaneFalco]

Faster, younger core with 2 new regulars.

I get taking a negative POV is kind of your thing, but going from Boosh/Holl to Liljegren/Sandin is not a step backwards.

You know me so well for someone new here

 

[LeafSteel]

I'd like to remind everyone that the season is 82 games. The season doesn't depend on this one game to know if we're cup contenders or bottom dwellers.

Ridiculous post.

Our chances at an undefeated season could end on Wednesday.

This is something to be concerned about and lamented if indeed our undefeated season dreams are smashed by Wednesday.

Resume panic mode…..

 

[HogTown06]

Can't wait for tomorrow night!

Looks like we'll have a solid team yet again, the only thing not to like in the lineup is the old Muzzin-Holl pairing.

Go Leafs Go!!!

 

[BertCorbeau]

It's my tradition to let people know to not get worked up on 1 game. The first game of the season tends to bring a lot of hot takes.

Oh I’m aware of the hot takes. They’ll come in nice and spicy!

But you don’t f*** with tradition so I get it

 

[Dekes For Days]

With this goaltending? Also, can you please genuinely answer what makes this team good? Other than the 4 forwards, what do we really have? I still think we have same issues as before, no depth scoring. And the D is one year older and slower. Don't see a Cale Makar or a Victor Hedman on it. So enlighten me, what makes this team a Stanley Cup contender? What do you guys see?

We were the 2nd best offensive team in the league last year, and the 3rd best defensive team. We're coming off a franchise-record point total that has has only been hit 15 times in the entire cap era. We have the reigning league MVP and another player that is in contention for the best of their position, in peak-aged seasons. We're so deep that we have legitimate NHL players capable of playing significant roles not in the opening night lineup.

The real question is how anybody could look at that and conclude we're not a contender. There are questions with our goaltending, sure, but you could say the same about the majority of teams, including contenders. There's also a lot of upside there, with one guy having two cups and a history of elite play, and the other guy being one of the top goaltending prospects of the last decade.

Your argument essentially equates to... if we take away all of our best players, then our 5th-6th best player is no longer a player that equates to the best players on the best teams.

Well of course...

 

[zeke]

Never thought of that. Good point. Forgot how old he is now. He's still good but yeah so is Gio.

Gio is almost exactly 1.5yrs older than Burns, for the record.

 

[TakeTheBody]

Stop the puck.

Score the puck.

Take this burden off ALL of our shoulders.

 

[1specter]

Gio is almost exactly 1.5yrs older than Burns, for the record.

Gio has looked very smooth in pre-season. He doesn't have a ton of wear and tear either and has mostly avoided serious injuries, so I'm not too fussed about him 'being too old' or rapidly declining this year. He plays a smart, safe game where he avoids putting himself in dangerous situations so he should continue to be a solid d-man for a little while longer.

 

[Nineteen67]

There was a guy from ESPN on Leafs Lunch today that made a good point about the Leafs, suggesting they are in contention for the Hart, Art Ross, Presidents Trophy, and the Stanley Cup. I’ll add the Atlantic, if they don’t win the Pres. and maybe even the Norris, although Maker should be the heavy favourite for the next generation.

Let’s see how close they come.

 

[kevsh]

Au Contraire. They managed the cap quite nicely. They still have moves to make but they are 4 bucks short of a max cap ceiling.

Just no.

A deserving player forced out of the lineup because he's waiver exempt is not in any way great cap management. Even good cap management.

Yes, Nick will recover from the disappointment and maybe makes him more determined but the moment a deserving player does not dress so a less deserving player can play - and I'm not talking Malgin here, there are 12 forward spots on the roster - you're doing it wrong.

That is it.

 

[notbias]

Just no.

A deserving player forced out of the lineup because he's waiver exempt is not in any way great cap management. Even good cap management.

Yes, Nick will recover from the disappointment and maybe makes him more determined but the moment a deserving player does not dress so a less deserving player can play - and I'm not talking Malgin here, there are 12 forward spots on the roster - you're doing it wrong.

That is it.

The best lineup is playing, not sure why everyone is so up in arms, you are acting like Simmonds got in over Robertson.

At best they were equal in pre-season, but Malgin does so much more than Robertson, I think he deserves the first shot.

I'd be more upset about NAK/ZAR over Robertson as Robertson had a better pre-season than either, but they fill a different need.

 

[Burnie97]

Gio is almost exactly 1.5yrs older than Burns, for the record.

Yeah I knew Gio was up there just forgot how long Burns had been around already too

 

[DarkKnight]

1. Kerfoot back on the PP after not playing there at all last year.

2. Gio getting the 2nd PP slot ahead of Sandin. Which is probably the right move. Gio on the top unit might not even be a bad idea tbh.

3. Tavares back on the top unit (where Bunting was filling in) is a pretty sure sign he's playing tomorrow.

Why? Sandin might be the best D for the PP, never mind the second unit, pedigree aside.

 

[Nineteen67]

Just no.

A deserving player forced out of the lineup because he's waiver exempt is not in any way great cap management. Even good cap management.

Yes, Nick will recover from the disappointment and maybe makes him more determined but the moment a deserving player does not dress so a less deserving player can play - and I'm not talking Malgin here, there are 12 forward spots on the roster - you're doing it wrong.

That is it.

I’ll disagree.

As of right now, the roster is fluid and they currently have two assets versus running the risk of losing one of them to waivers , and they extended the evaluation period.

Things can change in heartbeat and they've given themselves some flexibility.

Now, I think at the end of the day Robertson will in the spot based on his elite shot and offensive threat.

 

[Nhlpowerweek]

This is so wonderful seeing our captain (my favourite player of the organization right now) back in the lineup and being there from the start. He reminds me of the great boston bruin captain patrice bergeron in that sence. Always wants to be out there and never missing a thing. From the start. That's how a real captain does. We will win tomorrow and the numbers might be horrific for the montreal canadiens... I mean look at their D. Its horrendious. We might score 8.

 

[notbias]

Why? Sandin might be the best D for the PP, never mind the second unit, pedigree aside.

Would be curious to see how effective the PP is when Sandin/Rielly/Gio are running it, think it'd be hard to compare, but I think it is essentially a wash between them being QB, most of our PP runs through our forwards anyway, but just by PPP/60, it is Gio > Rielly > Sandin

 

[zeke]

The best lineup is playing, not sure why everyone is so up in arms, you are acting like Simmonds got in over Robertson.

At best they were equal in pre-season, but Malgin does so much more than Robertson, I think he deserves the first shot.

I'd be more upset about NAK/ZAR over Robertson as Robertson had a better pre-season than either, but they fill a different need.

i'd say if this was game 1 of the playoffs Robby would be in and Malgin out, tbh.

 

[Nineteen67]

Why? Sandin might be the best D for the PP, never mind the second unit, pedigree aside.

He seems to have the best chance to get the puck on net, too. Put that big ostrich in front of the net and let him and Bunting bang in rebound.
Jankrok?

 

[notbias]

i'd say if this was game 1 of the playoffs Robby would be in and Malgin out, tbh.

Why? I think a lot more plays die on Robertson's stick than on Malgin's and I don't want plays dying with Nylander and Tavares on the ice.

If Robertson was the #1/2 option on the line (maybe if the 3rd line was Robertson - Kerfoot - Jarnkrok), it'd make more sense, but right now he is clearly a #3 on that line if he plays with them, and that seems more suited to how Malgin plays.

 

[DarkKnight]

He seems to have the best chance to get the puck on net, too. Put that big ostrich in front of the net and let him and Bunting bang in rebound.
Jankrok?

I love Gio, but I’d also like to limit his minutes. Not giving Sandin a PP opportunity is just plain wrong at this point, you’ll never convince me he’s a downgrade on Gio. Heck, if we’re being honest, the first PP is a good fit for his skill set.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

1. Kerfoot back on the PP after not playing there at all last year.

2. Gio getting the 2nd PP slot ahead of Sandin. Which is probably the right move. Gio on the top unit might not even be a bad idea tbh.

3. Tavares back on the top unit (where Bunting was filling in) is a pretty sure sign he's playing tomorrow.

I love Mo, but I am not looking forward to another season of him lobbing pucks into shinpads on the powerplay