Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign Jordie Benn

[kb]

They can't admit Boosh is good at his job because it would mean having to acknowledge their boy dubas is the main culprit as to why we had to use boosh in a position we know he would fail against tampa.

Or perhaps the fact that a 16 minute per game D whose only attribute is hitting and can't PP or PK may not be worth the nearly $3 million he's being paid by a team who signed him to get up to the cap floor?

 

[DraftSchmaft]

If they wanted Boosh, they could have signed him and traded Holl.

They didn't because he's a 16 minute D-man whose only attribute is hitting - didn't play the PP and seldom on the PK. If he was as good defensively as claimed (and there is very little stats-wise that say he was), wouldn't he have been a regular killing penalties?

I was at the game we stomped the Panthers and was amazed the effect Boosh had as a physical presence. Totally changed how panthers skaters acted when they came to his side of the ice. His only attribute is definitely not hitting. If you are building your team as one big cohesive well oiled machine, Boosh is an asset you can smartly use.

You touched on this as well as you noted he was fine in the regular season. It wasn't until Tampa things got bad for boosh. I mean....it's Tampa though. Even best of the best get owned by them at times and we're expecting efficiency beside Rielly from what's supposed to be a 5/6 physical presence?

We simply can't afford him at 2.75 mil. I don't think it has anything to do with not wanting him. Trading Holl to give Boosh more than him is not good management of our remaining cap space relative to team needs so even if they like him a lot there is no chance to bring him back.

 

[Sypher04]

I liked Boosh, and wanted to keep him (in a better role) but 2.75 was too rich for our blood. I mean, the guy shouldn’t have been as high up our lineup as he was. He’s more suited to the bogosian role from the previous year than where he was being slotted in the lineup, kinda 2nd/3rd pairing tweener imo. I don’t think Jordie Benn is as good of a player as Boosh, but in a bottom pairing role, and probably an occasional one at that, I think he’d be perfectly fine replacement.

It’s unfortunate Boosh was being asked to do too much in our lineup, because he’d have been awesome lower in the lineup. Instead Rielly and him together in the playoffs kinda got caved in a little bit. I mean, it’s fairly telling that Rielly and Boosh were paired yet Rielly got twice as many minutes in the series vs Tampa

 

[kb]

I was at the game we stomped the Panthers and was amazed the effect Boosh had as a physical presence. Totally changed how panthers skaters acted when they came to his side of the ice. His only attribute is definitely not hitting. If you are building your team as one big cohesive well oiled machine, Boosh is an asset you can smartly use.

You touched on this as well as you noted he was fine in the regular season. It wasn't until Tampa things got bad for boosh. I mean....it's Tampa though. Even best of the best get owned by them at times and we're expecting efficiency beside Rielly from what's supposed to be a 5/6 physical presence?

We simply can't afford him at 2.75 mil. I don't think it has anything to do with not wanting him. Trading Holl to give Boosh more than him is not good management of our remaining cap space relative to team needs.

I agree with all of this.

I agree the Leafs could use someone like a Boosh, someone who causes other teams to keep their heads up. But Boosh was miscast in his role as he simply did not have the skillset, which is not his fault at all. I would have loved him on the 3rd pair beside someone like Sandin, for example.

But he was clearly outmatched by TB, and they will remain a team that the Leafs will have to go through in the playoffs to go anywhere. And I still believe he would have been brought back if the AAV was closer to $2.

But the thing here is......you can't overpay your role players for any reason. $2.75 million is just too expensive for what he brings.

 

[ToneDog]

We simply can't afford him at <enter AAV>

I liked <enter ex-Leaf name>, and wanted to keep him but <enter AAV> was too rich for our blood.

Common theme for the past few years.

 

[kb]

I liked Boosh, and wanted to keep him (in a better role) but 2.75 was too rich for our blood. I mean, the guy shouldn’t have been as high up our lineup as he was. He’s more suited to the bogosian role from the previous year than where he was being slotted in the lineup, kinda 2nd/3rd pairing tweener imo. I don’t think Jordie Benn is as good of a player as Boosh, but in a bottom pairing role, and probably an occasional one at that, I think he’d be perfectly fine replacement.

It’s unfortunate Boosh was being asked to do too much in our lineup, because he’d have been awesome lower in the lineup. Instead Rielly and him together in the playoffs kinda got caved in a little bit. I mean, it’s fairly telling that Rielly and Boosh were paired yet Rielly got twice as many minutes in the series vs Tampa

Well said, agreed. Boosh was A) playing too high in the lineup, and B) did not have the skillset to rise up in the playoffs.

Shave a million off the AAV and he's back here.

 

[zeke]

They can't admit Boosh is good at his job because it would mean having to acknowledge their boy dubas is the main culprit as to why we had to use boosh in a position we know he would fail against tampa.

Lol this is so twisted.

Boosh stunk and it looks bad on both Keefe and Dubas that they even got him, let alone played him as much as they did. Easily our worst defenseman and could well have cost us the series.

 

[kb]

We simply can't afford him at <enter AAV>

I liked <enter ex-Leaf name>, and wanted to keep him but <enter AAV> was too rich for our blood.

Common theme for the past few years.

Mostly because other teams overpaid hugely. Mik doesn't deserve nearly $5 million, Boosh doesn't deserve nearly $3 million. Campbell doesn't deserve 5 x $5 million.

But if you feel they are worth keeping even with those contracts, wouldn't that just be pointing out what a great job the GM did in getting these players for far under market value on the Leafs?

Can't have it both ways.....

 

[ToneDog]

Lol this is so twisted.

Boosh stunk and it looks bad on both Keefe and Dubas that they even got him, let alone played him as much as they did. Easily our worst defenseman and could well have cost us the series.

LOL. Wow now shitting on the bottom 6 dman many praised Dubas for acquiring and getting out from under the Ritchie signing. Well if he was as bad as you say, what does it say about the GM and coach who gave him top minutes while they sat Liljegren for Holl ??

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

Lol this is so twisted.

Boosh stunk and it looks bad on both Keefe and Dubas that they even got him, let alone played him as much as they did. Easily our worst defenseman and could well have cost us the series.

I don't agree Boosh stinks, he is good when used properly, but you don't belong in "they" when it comes to dubas and keefe and boosh..

 

[kb]

Take hitting off the table - someone tell me what Boosh is actually good at?

 

[The Management]

Nothing to complain about here, he's clearly brought in as depth. I do wonder what the management group is planning though with respect to the number of defensemen we're carrying.

 

[SprDaVE]

Nothing to complain about here, he's clearly brought in as depth. I do wonder what the management group is planning though with respect to the number of defensemen we're carrying.

Probably just going to see what happens in training camp. I don't think they are overly worried about waiving any of the depth ones. Mete and Benn are the new Dahlstrom and Biega (even if we still have Dahlstrom).

Leafs could probably shift a LHD for a RHD though.

 

[Morgs]

Benn is like Bush..... if Bush was also a pathetic defensive player to go along with the awful offensive, transition, and puck skills they both have. Bush although bad at least graded out very well defensively on models and to the eye test was decent at stopping the rush/cycle with puck recovery (and then blew the pass 99% of the time).

Benn is not even a NHL caliber player at this point, he has to either be Marlies' or an 8D in case we get blown up by injuries/another team is pulling some dirty shit.

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

Take hitting off the table - someone tell me what Boosh is actually good at?

Show of hands people who wished it was Boosh instead of Holl on the ice here? Do we care about our agendas against players or do we care about prolonging game 2 so we can win it.

 

[kb]

Show of hands people who wished it was Boosh instead of Holl on the ice here? Do we care about our agendas against players or do we care about prolonging game 2 so we can win it.

Well, I realize there is no useful discussion to be had here. That is not an answer to my question.

Have a fine day sir.

 

[Clark4Ever]

I like this move. I hope this means Holl is on the way out.

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

Well, I realize there is no useful discussion to be had here. That is not an answer to my question.

Have a fine day sir.

I get anxiety talking to you because of how sensitive you are. Blow up at any second.

I was pointing out how narrow minded you are when analyzing boosh. Simple logic if you can point out parts of the game Boosh would be the preferred player in that spot, you are not looking at him fairly or correctly.

What's done is done, we lost. Boosh played too high up. Can't go back in time. Moving onto 2023 it's no longer "what" boosh was doing but "why" was boosh so high up in the lineup. Owning up to the why is the only way this team is going to balance it out.

 

[Morgs]

Show of hands people who wished it was Boosh instead of Holl on the ice here? Do we care about our agendas against players or do we care about prolonging game 2 so we can win it.

I mean, I'd have preferred Holl on the ice because he's a significantly better player, but yes that was a brutal play by Marner and to a lesser extent Holl:

Marner half assed the check on the wall and lost his stick, which caused Holl to "have" (he didn't have to) to commit to the rushing F1 (Hagel) instead of grabbing the man in front, or skating to post/low slot stopping a potential pass/cut to the middle. Him committing isn't actually a bad play, and half the time it likely works out with a F covering him(which was Marner's job). This caused Gio to have to take (F2) Point and switch off to F3 (Killorn) as soon as the puck was in the slot leaving Point alone. With two men passed the red-line there's no way Marner can be this aggressive defensively without making the play and not face at least one or two ridiculous chances. The play itself is fine and honestly a very very good play by Hagel. but the issue for us stems from a) Marner not getting back into the play (maybe he was tired/maybe he was like "f*** it I don't have a stick" after softly trying to defend a rushing F, b) Bunting was too late, c) Matthews fell down on the stretch pass, d) Holl's motion to the boards means he expected a F to cover F2/F3 and he still was ALMOST able to do it, e) Giordano had the impossible task of covering two men in the slot. f) Campbell didn't cover the puck after the first chance.

In reality, Bush likely does the same thing as this is how the Leafs are coached defensively and the risks actually caused them to be extremely good at it this year as it forced a play on Hagel who [of course] ended up making a great play. The difference is I don't think Bush would have been able to get nearly as close as Holl did to actually stopping it.

 

[ULF_55]

He's a bloody depth defender who signed at league minimum.

He can play in the NHL.

If they have a prospect ready he'll play, if not and injuries happen he's there.

What is wrong with some of you?

 

[Morgs]

I get anxiety talking to you because of how sensitive you are. Blow up at any second.

I was pointing out how narrow minded you are when analyzing boosh. Simple logic if you can point out parts of the game Boosh would be the preferred player in that spot, you are not looking at him fairly or correctly.

What's done is done, we lost. Boosh played too high up. Can't go back in time. Moving onto 2023 it's no longer "what" boosh was doing but "why" was boosh so high up in the lineup. Owning up to the why is the only way this team is going to balance it out.

All of these points are very valid. Bush (no matter what anyone says) is an extremely solid #6 defenseman that can excel beside a puck moving defenseman.

The issue is that the Leafs for some inexplicable reason love to tie Rielly down with a boat anchor beside him, which causes Rielly's offensive to drop, but also causes a guy like Bush's defense to drop because Rielly is arguably the worst defensive defenseman in the league relative to role. It's like they believe it will balance them out, but it really just hinders them both.

 

[kb]

He's a bloody depth defender who signed at league minimum.

He can play in the NHL.

If they have a prospect ready he'll play, if not and injuries happen he's there.

What is wrong with some of you?

Their hatred of the GM means they can no longer have any useful or meaningful conversations with anyone who doesn't share their hatred. And that hatred is the only thing they can see right now.

But that's what happens when the escalating vitriol levels towards the GM end up derailing all threads for years, and it certainly doesn't help having a mod actively stirring them up and egging them on....

 

[Gallagbi]

Lol this is so twisted.

Boosh stunk and it looks bad on both Keefe and Dubas that they even got him, let alone played him as much as they did. Easily our worst defenseman and could well have cost us the series.

Did they play him much? Looks like third pair minutes to me with our best D.

Felt like TBs approach in their first cup where Hedman shared the 7A/7B defenseman as his partner on the right

As for Benn, feels like experienced depth and protection, not much else.

 

[nuck]

Their hatred of the GM means they can no longer have any useful or meaningful conversations with anyone who doesn't share their hatred. And that hatred is the only thing they can see right now.

But that's what happens when the escalating vitriol levels towards the GM end up derailing all threads for years, and it certainly doesn't help having a mod actively stirring them up and egging them on....

I don't know if its necessarily hatred of the GM with Benn, more like many thought some bolder steps might be taken and the adds are Malgins and Metes. I would be more concerned myself if I thought this was all the moves they were making but as far as 7-8 D men or injury replacements I feel a lot better about these guys than a Rubins. Its not even August and while a few shiny pieces have moved for good prices UFAs don't move salary out and it is extremely likely that is what's being looked at. I feel there has to be more to come so I will save my rage for closer to the season.

 

[Racer88]

Take hitting off the table - someone tell me what Boosh is actually good at?

But hitting is in the table and we don’t have enough of it