Line Combos: Leafs roster [Before] & [After] and work in progress

[Mess]

Leafs in 2021-2022

Simmonds --- Matthews ---- Spezza
Bunting ------ Tavares ------- Kerfoot
Ritchie -------- Nylander ----- Marner
Mikheyev ----- Kämpf -------- Gabriel

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Liljegren

Campbell
Mrazek

 

[TheScandal89]

Leafs in 2021-2022

Simmonds --- Matthews ---- Spezza
Bunting ------ Tavares ------- Kerfoot
Ritchie -------- Nylander ----- Marner
Mikheyev ---- Kämpf -------- Gabriel

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Liljegren

Campbell
Mrazek

Thats never gonna happen. Matthews-Marner & Tavares-Nylander are gonna be locked. The only change will be to rotate them or if Keefe punishes poor play and demotes them temporarily. Whether it would work or not is not gonna matter because Keefe won't do it.

Its a interested idea to spread them out, similar to Matthews rookie year when we rolled 3 balanced lines with Matthews, Kadri and Bozak down the middle but i can't see it.

I'd be interested in bringing back Bozie to play 3rd or 4th centre though

 

[Stonehands1990]

Leafs in 2021-2022

Simmonds --- Matthews ---- Spezza
Bunting ------ Tavares ------- Kerfoot
Ritchie -------- Nylander ----- Marner
Mikheyev ----- Kämpf -------- Gabriel

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Liljegren

Campbell
Mrazek

I’m willing to bet Keefe stays rigid with his top 6, bottom 6 shutdown line ideology. I like the way this looks though

 

[Sypher04]

I think there is at least a chance still that Matthews and Tavares swap wingers. Tavares is simply more effective with Marner, and Matthews could use a shooting threat on his wing

 

[Stonehands1990]

Thats never gonna happen. Matthews-Marner & Tavares-Nylander are gonna be locked. The only change will be to rotate them or if Keefe punishes poor play and demotes them temporarily. Whether it would work or not is not gonna matter because Keefe won't do it.

Its a interested idea to spread them out, similar to Matthews rookie year when we rolled 3 balanced lines with Matthews, Kadri and Bozak down the middle but i can't see it.

I'd be interested in bringing back Bozie to play 3rd or 4th centre though

The only player he ever holds “accountable” is Nylander for some reason. Everyone else can do whatever the hell they want he doesn’t do anything

 

[Stonehands1990]

Leafs in 2021-2022

Simmonds --- Matthews ---- Spezza
Bunting ------ Tavares ------- Kerfoot
Ritchie -------- Nylander ----- Marner
Mikheyev ----- Kämpf -------- Gabriel

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Liljegren

Campbell
Mrazek

Lemme tweak this a bit
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Ritchie-Tavares-Simmonds
Robertson-Kerfoot-Marner
Mikeyhev-Kampf-Spezza

 

[Stonehands1990]

Lemme tweak this a bit
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Ritchie-Tavares-Simmonds
Robertson-Kerfoot-Marner
Mikeyhev-Kampf-Spezza

 

[hockeynorth]

Something a bit more on the fun side would be:

Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Mikheyev-Tavares-Kase
Ritchie-Kerfoot-Marner
Semyonov-Kampf-Spezza

 

[Mess]

Lemme tweak this a bit
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Ritchie-Tavares-Simmonds
Robertson-Kerfoot-Spezza
Mikeyhev-Kampf-Kase

Should probably tweak Marner in there somewhere.

 

[Dekes For Days]

He’s not fast. He’s not explosive. He’s shot is weak.

He is quite fast and explosive, and while his shot is his least impactful attribute, the claims people make about it range from wildly exaggerated to just flat out not true. Whatever faults you think he has, there is no evidence that it is a result of improper training and preparation, which from all accounts from people actually informed on the matter, is excellent.

 

[Stonehands1990]

Should probably tweak Marner in there somewhere.

What the hell did I just do lmao

 

[Stonehands1990]

He is quite fast and explosive, and while his shot is his least impactful attribute, the claims people make about it range from wildly exaggerated to just flat out not true. Whatever faults you think he has, there is no evidence that it is a result of improper training and preparation, which from all accounts from people actually informed on the matter, is excellent.

Agree to disagree. I personally don’t see speed or explosiveness

 

[deprw]

Ya the Lightning must be the luckiest guys out there winning 2 cups in a row and our Leafs are super unlucky losing 5 first round series in a row

They have been great team for almost decade and this isn't by luck, but they are lucky that they have no income tax in state of Florida, which helps their cap structure greatly. I don't think it's coincidence that teams (Nashville, Tampa Bay) that had best cap structure in the league during last decade come from cities that has lower taxation. Also Tampa got lucky when they had chance to draft Hedman, same way we got lucky when we got Matthews instead of let say Hirschier. Though they have been drafting very well last ten years, something we have tried to follow, but failed miserably during Hunter years. That's no luck since they have got so much success.

Some things you have control on drafting on later rounds. Taxation is something you can't do anything and that is one avenue we cannot exploit, but is has great effect.

 

[Fogelhund]

Im not sure how to respond to that...I mean...really?

@hennytweets

No, but the constant bashing of both Marner and Matthews has to be given perspective. Yzerman and Ovie were both ridden out of town by fans earlier in their careers. It took 13 and 14 years respectively to win a Cup, its a damn hard league to win in !!

 

[leafsfan5]

What I'd try to run:

Ritchie - Matthews - Kase
Bunting - Tavares - Marner
Spezza (Galchenyuk?) - Kerfoot - Nylander
Mikheyev - Kampf - Engvall

If Kase can stay healthy I'd do this and let Matthews carry like we know he can (big if because Kase will likely get hurt, in that case we'd put Willy back up). This gives us 3 lines that can score with a play driver on each. The third line is my favourite, it'll get optimal matchups against weak competition where Nylander can feast (similar to Kessel's line in 2016). Plus, we know Kerfoot/Nylander already works. Galchenyuk was solid with them in the playoffs but it appears the team doesn't want to retain him so we could run Spezza there. The 4th line has 3 defensive forwards who we put out to matchup against top lines for the opposition.

This way spreads the scoring out as best as we can imo, makes for very tough matchups in the playoffs too. The opposition will want to focus on Matthews or Marner which opens up Willy's line

 

[keonsbitterness]

while I'm sure he is a hard worker and heavily prepared, there's really no basis with which to conclude that he is the hardest worker and more prepared than everybody else in the league, and that is his reason for success.

Other than the fact he's done it for 20 years, on two different teams, and in a league where no starting QB has ever been that consistently productive for that long.

I tend to think most of the stuff we (Fans and Media) use analytically to gauge a player is way outdated compared to what teams use.

I have no doubt that is true.

 

[ITM]

Was there ever any serious discussion between Poile and Dubas on Ekholm?

If not, be nice if there was.

 

[Stephen]

Other than the fact he's done it for 20 years, on two different teams, and in a league where no starting QB has ever been that consistently productive for that long.

I have no doubt that is true.

Classic owners and Hall of Fame coaches blowing smoke.

“You heard stories and watched him from afar for many years,” Glazer told reporters during a Zoom session. “You heard things about him, but you never really realize something until you’re around somebody or with somebody, and everything I heard was absolutely accurate. ... He works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen. His leadership is unbelievable, and his relationship with everybody and just the person he is — the whole package.”

Bucs owner: Tom Brady ‘works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen’

[qute]Belichick is quick to praise Brady, whom he’s coached since 2000, on his ability to put in the time to get better and win. “Tom works very hard,” he said. “He wasn’t all that good when we got him. He mechanically wasn’t anywhere near where it eventually has ended up.”
Over the years, though, that’s changed. “Nobody’s worked harder than Tom. He’s trained hard. He’s worked hard on his throwing mechanics. He’s earned everything that he’s achieved,” Belichick said.
“It wasn’t always there,” he added.[/quote]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/02/bil...atural-athlete-but-he-has-these-3-traits.html

Anyway, hopefully one of these years the hard work angle actually pays off in Leaf Land and we don't have to scoff at the notion of Hall of Famers building careers out of "hard work".

 

[francis246]

Ritchie - Matthews - Nylander
Bunting - Tavares - Marner
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Kase
Simmonds - Kampf - Spezza

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Liljegren
Sandin

would love to see JT back with Marner and Matthews back with Nylander. I don’t know why we ever went away from that combination

 

[Thissiteisgarbage]

Anyone else not overly excited about this team?
I can't see that defence close to having what it takes to go far in the playoffs.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Anyone else not overly excited about this team?
I can't see that defence close to having what it takes to go far in the playoffs.

Hard to be excited about a team that never wins and has been underachieving for so long.

 

[Stephen]

Ritchie - Matthews - Nylander
Bunting - Tavares - Marner
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Kase
Simmonds - Kampf - Spezza

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Liljegren
Sandin

would love to see JT back with Marner and Matthews back with Nylander. I don’t know why we ever went away from that combination

Wouldn't mind them taking a look at Bozak if he's cheap, or circle back on Galchenyuk or maybe a Kahun or Svechnikov (the other one).

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

Other than the fact he's done it for 20 years, on two different teams, and in a league where no starting QB has ever been that consistently productive for that long.

I have no doubt that is true.

It's been proven that the best players are the hardest workers behind the scenes. That's why they are the best players. How many players are like Phil Kessel who could have been top 3 in the league talent wise but never bothered to get the most out of it by working really hard?
Tom Brady is a shining example of what extra work and talent will get you.

 

[Stonehands1990]

Classic owners and Hall of Fame coaches blowing smoke.



Bucs owner: Tom Brady ‘works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen’

[qute]Belichick is quick to praise Brady, whom he’s coached since 2000, on his ability to put in the time to get better and win. “Tom works very hard,” he said. “He wasn’t all that good when we got him. He mechanically wasn’t anywhere near where it eventually has ended up.”
Over the years, though, that’s changed. “Nobody’s worked harder than Tom. He’s trained hard. He’s worked hard on his throwing

 

[Thornbury]

Anyone else not overly excited about this team?
I can't see that defence close to having what it takes to go far in the playoffs.

I am reasonably enthused. A lot would seem to depend on Lilligren becoming a solid 3rd pair dman. If so, our d should not regress. There are now a lot of interchangeable parts - and good size - on offense. Will be up to Keefe to put the pieces together.