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Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign Kurtis Gabriel to 1 year contract (750k)

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CartographerNo611 said:
Whose better than Gabriel? The depth chart of AHL skill players ain’t going to do much when it’s heavy playstyles that have been advancing deep in to playoffs for the last 5 years.

Bringing up rookies for 4th line duties makes little sense for development. Gabriel is a fine 13th-14th forward. Outside of big teams like the Rangers, Islanders, and Caps he won’t be dressing much. Would be shocked if reaches 20 games.
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Im not advocating burying a skilled prospect on the 4th line. But we have many types of players vying for those spots - most of which better than Kurtis. If we had the cap space to keep a few extra players around, then sure, maybe Gabriel stays. But we don’t. We get 1 extra at most and Gabriel is a waste if it.
 
justashadowof said:
I'm having trouble naming very many: Dan Maloney, Mike Allison (not Jason - great edges and strength on his skates just glacially slow), 30+ yo Milan Lucic (maybe).
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Joe Thornton last year was pretty awful.

Lucic is just brutal now.
 
zeke said:
He will likely start as an extra forward FOR the Marlies.

Well, maybe 4th line for the Marlies.
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I'm predicting that after the Leafs have been pushed around a wee bit by a division rival Gabriel will be recalled to the roster as bait to make that opponent overcommit to tough guys for the next game then the Leafs won't dress him. Gabriel will only play if and when BOTH Simmonds and Ritchie aren't available.

Another use for Gabriel is sharing with (and motivating) his fellow Marlies how to bulk up. Rich Clune is getting a little long in the tooth for this role. This year has to be his last year in that role.
 
justashadowof said:
I'm predicting that after the Leafs have been pushed around a wee bit by a division rival Gabriel will be recalled to the roster as bait to make that opponent overcommit to tough guys for the next game then the Leafs won't dress him. Gabriel will only play if and when BOTH Simmonds and Ritchie aren't available.

Another use for Gabriel is sharing with (and motivating) his fellow Marlies how to bulk up. Rich Clune is getting a little long in the tooth for this role. This year has to be his last year in that role.
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Leafs might be the biggest team in the division.
 
The obsession with guys like this in this fanbase are so weird. "when's the last time we had a guy like this that could keep the other team honest??" uhh literally last year with Sabourin who the same people said the exact same things about and ended up playing 5 minutes for the team the entire season while people cried all season that he should be in the lineup for no actual reason. And that was with the taxi squad helping the Leafs carry extra players that they can't carry this season. Dubas isn't wasting the team's only extra roster spot on a talentless bum especially when the team already has Simmonds and Ritchie that can scrap.
 
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Quares27 said:
The obsession with guys like this in this fanbase are so weird. "when's the last time we had a guy like this that could keep the other team honest??" uhh literally last year with Sabourin who the same people said the exact same things about and ended up playing 5 minutes for the team the entire season while people cried all season that he should be in the lineup for no actual reason. And that was with the taxi squad helping the Leafs carry extra players that they can't carry this season. Dubas isn't wasting the team's only extra roster spot on a talentless bum especially when the team already has Simmonds and Ritchie that can scrap.
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It's hard to be obsessed with players that are never there.

When was the last time TOR had a legit heavy weight playing every game? Clifford?
 
Calling Bunting a rat on national TV, fighting and standing up for his teammates, scores a goal by pressuring the goalie, beauty assist last game after he blocked an empty net goal opportunity by the opposition. Finishes every check.

How can you not like what he did? How long has it been since we had a guy come in with this kind of swagger and enthusiasm and also plays the throwback style of hockey?
 
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Quares27 said:
The obsession with guys like this in this fanbase are so weird. "when's the last time we had a guy like this that could keep the other team honest??" uhh literally last year with Sabourin who the same people said the exact same things about and ended up playing 5 minutes for the team the entire season while people cried all season that he should be in the lineup for no actual reason. And that was with the taxi squad helping the Leafs carry extra players that they can't carry this season. Dubas isn't wasting the team's only extra roster spot on a talentless bum especially when the team already has Simmonds and Ritchie that can scrap.
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Scotty Sabs was great. Yeah, he got injured in the fight with Lucic, but he should have played more. Maybe, he will be on waivers from Ottawa. Gabriel should be a part of the team though.
 
Antropovsky said:
Calling Bunting a rat on national TV, fighting and standing up for his teammates, scores a goal by pressuring the goalie, beauty assist last game after he blocked an empty net goal opportunity by the opposition. Finishes every check.

How can you not like what he did? How long has it been since we had a guy come in with this kind of swagger and enthusiasm and also plays the throwback style of hockey?
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If we use him in a goon role, I could some value in trading fighting majors with someone else higher in the lineup for the other team. Let old Kurtis Gabriel punch out Ben Chiarot and take him out of circulation for 5 minutes.
 
Leafs need more toughness in the worst way but not goon toughness. Gabriel is another Colton Orr. I dont want just face punchers.

What we need is people who forechecks hard, finishes their checks, moves bodies in front of the goalie and not afraid to mix it up. But players who can skate too.

Nick Ritchie and Bunting were good gets in the regard. We need another
 
OVO16 said:
Leafs need more toughness in the worst way but not goon toughness. Gabriel is another Colton Orr. I dont want just face punchers.

What we need is people who forechecks hard, finishes their checks, moves bodies in front of the goalie and not afraid to mix it up. But players who can skate too.

Nick Ritchie and Bunting were good gets in the regard. We need another
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Simmonds really needs to be that. He doesn't have the talent like he used to to be a point producer. He didnt show enough in the playoffs to be that physical force but hopefully he will going forward. He needs to contribute more than just the 3 or 4 fights he had last year.
 
acrobaticgoalie said:
Simmonds really needs to be that. He doesn't have the talent like he used to to be a point producer. He didnt show enough in the playoffs to be that physical force but hopefully he will going forward. He needs to contribute more than just the 3 or 4 fights he had last year.
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Honestly I dont know how much of that was the Leafs just neutering their guys.

Not a single player really stood out in the Montreal series in a physical way. People just refused to mix it up. Have to think it was a message from the Coaching staff. We barely showed any emotion in that regard
 
OVO16 said:
Leafs need more toughness in the worst way but not goon toughness. Gabriel is another Colton Orr. I dont want just face punchers.

What we need is people who forechecks hard, finishes their checks, moves bodies in front of the goalie and not afraid to mix it up. But players who can skate too.

Nick Ritchie and Bunting were good gets in the regard. We need another
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I still think it's valuable to have a face puncher to relieve the pressure from Ritchie, Clifford and Bunting. I do believe players do alot less running around when a tough guy starts chasing up and down the ice to fight. The NHL code is generally if your gonna run around then your have to answer the bell sometimes. Tkatchuk learned this, he hid behind "I don't fight 4th liners" until kassian had as many goals as a 2nd liner, finally Tkatchuk realized he had to fight.

I think you need a catalyst for physical play, and for the past few years the leafs had had none. In fact often I say leafs skate away as there teammate was being roughed up in front of the opposing net. How many times have we seen players standing in our crease after whistle because they knew nobody was gonna do anything about it? I recall when we acquired Clifford, it was interesting to see how fast players got out of the crease or quit their tough shenanigans when he was standing by.

This team has enough skill, we need someone to put a stop to the skill getting roughed up. With Gabriel, Clifford and Ritchie... I highly highly doubt we will see someone jerking matthews around this year.

I dont want Gabriel because I want a goon, I want Gabriel because he brings enthusiasm and energy. The leafs for a few years now have been boring and without any excitement but high end skill. I just want to expose this team to some physical hockey and hopefully see some culture change. Maybe if the boys are around it enough they will be more comfortable in it.

The minute Gabriel loses his jump, by all means send him packing.
 
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Antropovsky said:
I still think it's valuable to have a face puncher to relieve the pressure from Ritchie, Clifford and Bunting. I do believe players do alot less running around when a tough guy starts chasing up and down the ice to fight. The NHL code is generally if your gonna run around then your have to answer the bell sometimes. Tkatchuk learned this, he hid behind "I don't fight 4th liners" until kassian had as many goals as a 2nd liner, finally Tkatchuk realized he had to fight.

I think you need a catalyst for physical play, and for the past few years the leafs had had none. In fact often I say leafs skate away as there teammate was being roughed up in front of the opposing net. How many times have we seen players standing in our crease after whistle because they knew nobody was gonna do anything about it? I recall when we acquired Clifford, it was interesting to see how fast players got out of the crease or quit their tough shenanigans when he was standing by.

This team has enough skill, we need someone to put a stop to the skill getting roughed up. With Gabriel, Clifford and Ritchie... I highly highly doubt we will see someone jerking matthews around this year.

I dont want Gabriel because I want a goon, I want Gabriel because he brings enthusiasm and energy. The leafs for a few years now have been boring and without any excitement but high end skill. I just want to expose this team to some physical hockey and hopefully see some culture change. Maybe if the boys are around it enough they will be more comfortable in it.

The minute Gabriel loses his jump, by all means send him packing.
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Im fine with everything you said but I still think Speed plays a factor in any physical play. Thats why Ryan Reaves has been able be in the league so long because he's still a powerful skater.

Gabriel seems way too slow for my liking. But Im not gonna complain if he does end up playing. Id love to see him in for the rivalry matchups
 
OVO16 said:
Honestly I dont know how much of that was the Leafs just neutering their guys.

Not a single player really stood out in the Montreal series in a physical way. People just refused to mix it up. Have to think it was a message from the Coaching staff. We barely showed any emotion in that regard
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Well after watching All or Nothing, I find it very hard to believe that Keefe would be telling his guys to not be physical in playoff hockey
 
acrobaticgoalie said:
Well after watching All or Nothing, I find it very hard to believe that Keefe would be telling his guys to not be physical in playoff hockey
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Did you not watch that Leafs and Habs series? The boys looked like they would be fined 5 grand for every after the whistle shove. They had ZERO pushback whatsoever.
 
mikeyz said:
Did you not watch that Leafs and Habs series? The boys looked like they would be fined 5 grand for every after the whistle shove. They had ZERO pushback whatsoever.
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I did. That doesn't prove that Leafs staff told the players to not be physical. I watched the doc and seeing how demanding Keefe is, why would he tell his players to not be physical in playoff hockey after constantly telling the players that they need to develop playoff habits?
 
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If they had pushback in the Montreal series, and lost I would have been disappointed, but well entertained. Not pissed off and thinking I'll watch way fewer games this season....
 
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