Line-up discussion.

[LeafalCrusader]

Just for fun I'd try.

Thornton Matthews Marner
Kerfoot Tavares Hyman
Robertson Nylander Simmonds
Mikheyev Engvall Spezza

Thornton Matthews Marner works.

Tavares Kerfoot and Hyman could get some tough minutes and do the grind and cycle game.

The 3rd line is a gamble but if it pays off look out. Robertson and Nylander get a chance to try and feast on 3rd line matchups with Simmonds out there to do his thing on that line driving to the net and creating space for the skilled guys.

Mikheyev Engvall and Spezza could give us a reliable energy line. Either Spezza or Engvall could play center. You can give the 3 extra minutes on special teams too.

 

[Cpt Maple Leaf]

First line stays, great chemistry, why feck it up. Second line Kerf JT and Willy, try it again. I would like to see Robertson on second instead of Kerf to see how it goes as well. I know a lot of people want to try Willy at 3rd C, but can we really justify 7M for a third line center? He has to pick up his game, plain and simple.

 

[zeke]

I wouldn't plan on seeing any of Thornton Spezza Nylander playing center tbh.

 

[Twine Tickler]

I actually thought Kerf - JT - Willy was the best combination of any JT/Willy Line thus far. I personally never considered throwing Kerf back on the wing, which is probably why I am not destine to be a coach. But i thought that line looked good. I always thought kerf and willy would look good together, because they play with pace, I just always assumed that would mean willy dropping down to the 3rd line. In addition, I thought Engavll had some real jump saturday playing in the middle with Hyman and Micheyev. Overall I thought the lines were very effective. We had some breakdowns that resulted in Freddy getting hung out to dry, or him having to make a miraculous save. But every line had jump for the most part. Id go back to that same combo, with maybe Vesey taking the night off for petan

Jumbo - Matthews - Marner
Kerf - Tavares - Willy
Hyman - Engvall - Micheyev
Petan - Boyd - Spezza

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Let coach pick and develop da lines ... he is doing an amazing job of it this year ... my only beef is Vesey but likely because his dad on on our team we are giving him extra rope ... once Simmonds gets back it should be end or rope for Vesey

 

[TorontoTrades]

Robertson?

I dont want him just shoved on the 4th line. I think him and Galchenyuk are your injury fill in guys.

 

[Teeder Keon]

I dont want him just shoved on the 4th line. I think him and Galchenyuk are your injury fill in guys.

Totally agree with that

 

[Teeder Keon]

Let’s look at that

 

[TopCheese]

Kerfoot-Tavares-nylander will be an effective 2nd line once they get a few more games in. Not too worried about them. Kerfoot is much better suited to play wing imo. Allows him to cheat a bit more offensively. 3rd and 4th lines really should get more sorted out. Tough to build chemistry when you have different line mates every night. Biggest need is a 3C. A line such as Mikheyev- Rakell- Hyman would be amazing. Then have Robertson- Spezza -Simmonds as the 4th line. Robertson can cover a shift on the 1st line when Thornton needs rest. Would be tough to beat

 

[sxvnert]

Keefe needs to create three lines. His sick need to come up with a dedicated checking line is Babcock tier stupidity.

Line 1: Matthews/Marner
Line 2: Tavares
Line 3: Nylander

Get on it.

 

[zeke]

Engvall continues to look good every time he's given the 3C spot. He and Mikheyev are a pretty devestating territorially dominant combo out there on pretty much every shift, and imo it's only a matter of time before pucks start going in the net for them.

it also helps that engvall is shoring up one of his few weaknesses:



Last year: 39.0%
This year: 51.0%

 

[zeke]

Best forward combos this year, minimum 50 minutes played:

1. Engvall-Mikheyev 65.0xgf%
2. Matthews-Hyman 63.9xgf%
3. Matthews-Thornton 63.7xgf%
4. Matthews-Marner 62.8xgf%
5. Tavares-Hyman 61.1xgf%
6. Thornton-Marner 59.2xgf%
7. Hyman-Marner 59.0xgf%
8. Boyd-Petan 56.0xgf%
9. Boyd-Spezza 54.8xgf%
10. Mikheyev-Hyman 53.0xgf%
11. Tavares-Nylander 53.0xgf%
12. Mikhyev-Vesey 50.9xgf%
13. Mikheyev-Kerfoot 50.2xgf%
14. Vesey-Nylander 47.4xgf%
15. Kerfoot-Vesey 42.7xgf%
16. Tavares-Mikheyev 40.3xgf%
17. Tavares-Vesey 40.2xgf%
18. Mikheyev-Nylander 34.3xgf%

The one that jumps out there, of course, is the Mikheyev-Engvall pairing as the best one so far, ahead of all the various 1st line combos taking slots #2-7. This passes the eye test both this season and last season - Mikheyev and Engvall are pretty ferocious together, and imo its only a matter of time before the pucks start going in for them.

And obviously tavares and nylander haven't been working out too well together, while tavares-hyman seems to be the only combo thats worked for Tavares so far.

Meanwhile Engvall imo looks well good enough at 3C that Kerfoot can now be moved around freely to try and get a better fit for everyone, which opens up interesting possibilities.

the Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander line hasn't been great but has shown some promise, while the Mikheyev-Engvall-Hyman line looked like a pretty monstrous checking line. so you could just wait and see a little bit longer and hope that the tavares line wakes up. But another interesting move might be to go with something like this:

Kerfoot-Tavares-Hyman
Mikheyev-Engvall-Nylander

That would give Tavares more of the kind of line he was used to in New York - two good and fast linemates, but not elite skilled ones. This might help Tavares simplify his game a bit and take a bit more ownership of his line again.

Meanwhile Willy could add in some high-end skill and finish to a line that is dominating territorially already but struggling to convert. Tbh, this line might end up being the 2nd line.


and i'm not married to it but there's no doubt that Petan-Boyd-Spezza has been our best 4th line, by a lot.

 

[ToneDog]

Best forward combos this year, minimum 50 minutes played:

1. Engvall-Mikheyev 65.0xgf%
2. Matthews-Hyman 63.9xgf%
3. Matthews-Thornton 63.7xgf%
4. Matthews-Marner 62.8xgf%
5. Tavares-Hyman 61.1xgf%
6. Thornton-Marner 59.2xgf%
7. Hyman-Marner 59.0xgf%
8. Boyd-Petan 56.0xgf%
9. Boyd-Spezza 54.8xgf%
10. Mikheyev-Hyman 53.0xgf%
11. Tavares-Nylander 53.0xgf%
12. Mikhyev-Vesey 50.9xgf%
13. Mikheyev-Kerfoot 50.2xgf%
14. Vesey-Nylander 47.4xgf%
15. Kerfoot-Vesey 42.7xgf%
16. Tavares-Mikheyev 40.3xgf%
17. Tavares-Vesey 40.2xgf%
18. Mikheyev-Nylander 34.3xgf%

The one that jumps out there, of course, is the Mikheyev-Engvall pairing as the best one so far, ahead of all the various 1st line combos taking slots #2-7. This passes the eye test both this season and last season - Mikheyev and Engvall are pretty ferocious together, and imo its only a matter of time before the pucks start going in for them.

And obviously tavares and nylander haven't been working out too well together, while tavares-hyman seems to be the only combo thats worked for Tavares so far.

Meanwhile Engvall imo looks well good enough at 3C that Kerfoot can now be moved around freely to try and get a better fit for everyone, which opens up interesting possibilities.

the Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander line hasn't been great but has shown some promise, while the Mikheyev-Engvall-Hyman line looked like a pretty monstrous checking line. so you could just wait and see a little bit longer and hope that the tavares line wakes up. But another interesting move might be to go with something like this:

Kerfoot-Tavares-Hyman
Mikheyev-Engvall-Nylander

That would give Tavares more of the kind of line he was used to in New York - two good and fast linemates, but not elite skilled ones. This might help Tavares simplify his game a bit and take a bit more ownership of his line again.

Meanwhile Willy could add in some high-end skill and finish to a line that is dominating territorially already but struggling to convert. Tbh, this line might end up being the 2nd line.


and i'm not married to it but there's no doubt that Petan-Boyd-Spezza has been our best 4th line, by a lot.

We'd be gold with Mikheyev-Engvall/Boyd-Spezza as the 4th line

 

[Golden_Jet]

Best forward combos this year, minimum 50 minutes played:

1. Engvall-Mikheyev 65.0xgf%
2. Matthews-Hyman 63.9xgf%
3. Matthews-Thornton 63.7xgf%
4. Matthews-Marner 62.8xgf%
5. Tavares-Hyman 61.1xgf%
6. Thornton-Marner 59.2xgf%
7. Hyman-Marner 59.0xgf%
8. Boyd-Petan 56.0xgf%
9. Boyd-Spezza 54.8xgf%
10. Mikheyev-Hyman 53.0xgf%
11. Tavares-Nylander 53.0xgf%
12. Mikhyev-Vesey 50.9xgf%
13. Mikheyev-Kerfoot 50.2xgf%
14. Vesey-Nylander 47.4xgf%
15. Kerfoot-Vesey 42.7xgf%
16. Tavares-Mikheyev 40.3xgf%
17. Tavares-Vesey 40.2xgf%
18. Mikheyev-Nylander 34.3xgf%

The one that jumps out there, of course, is the Mikheyev-Engvall pairing as the best one so far, ahead of all the various 1st line combos taking slots #2-7. This passes the eye test both this season and last season - Mikheyev and Engvall are pretty ferocious together, and imo its only a matter of time before the pucks start going in for them.

And obviously tavares and nylander haven't been working out too well together, while tavares-hyman seems to be the only combo thats worked for Tavares so far.

Meanwhile Engvall imo looks well good enough at 3C that Kerfoot can now be moved around freely to try and get a better fit for everyone, which opens up interesting possibilities.

the Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander line hasn't been great but has shown some promise, while the Mikheyev-Engvall-Hyman line looked like a pretty monstrous checking line. so you could just wait and see a little bit longer and hope that the tavares line wakes up. But another interesting move might be to go with something like this:

Kerfoot-Tavares-Hyman
Mikheyev-Engvall-Nylander

That would give Tavares more of the kind of line he was used to in New York - two good and fast linemates, but not elite skilled ones. This might help Tavares simplify his game a bit and take a bit more ownership of his line again.

Meanwhile Willy could add in some high-end skill and finish to a line that is dominating territorially already but struggling to convert. Tbh, this line might end up being the 2nd line.


and i'm not married to it but there's no doubt that Petan-Boyd-Spezza has been our best 4th line, by a lot.

Would those numbers also depend on if the player combo is getting offensive or defensive zone starts.

 

[zeke]

Would those numbers also depend on if the player combo is getting offensive or defensive zone starts.

yeah that's a factor for sure.

Here's the ozone start percentages for the year:

1. Thornton 21.6%
2. Marner 17.2%
3. Barababnov 16.4%
4. Matthews 16.3%
5. Tavares 13.5%
6. Nylander 13.3%
7. Spezza 13.3%
8. Boyd 13.2%
9. Simmonds 11.8%
10. Petan 11.7%
11. Hyman 10.7%
12. Vesey 9.7%
13. Engvall 7.3%
14. Mikheyev 4.6%
15. Kerfoot 4.0%


and defensive zone starts:

1. Hyman 14.7%
2. Marner 14.5%
3. Matthews 12.6%
4. Mikheyev 9.9%
5. Tavares 8.1%
6. Spezza 8.1%
7. Thornton 7.8%
8. Simmonds 7.8%
9. Vesey 7.1%
10. Nylander 6.9%
11. Kerfoot 6.7%
12. Engvall 5.1%
13. Boyd 4.0%
14. Barabanov 2.7%
15. Petan 1.3%


so if we do a quick subtraction of Dzone start % minus Ozone start %, we can get a rough idea of who gets the toughest zone usage (the higher the number the tougher the usage):

1. Mikheyev +5.3%
2. Hyman +4.0%
3. Kerfoot +2.7%
4. Engvall -2.2%
5. Marner -2.3%
6. Vesey -2.6%
7. Simmonds -2.9%
8. Matthews -3.7%
9. Spezza -5.2%
10. Tavares -5.5%
11. Nylander -6.4%
12. Boyd -9.2%
13. Petan -10.4%
14. Thornton -13.7%
15. Barabanov -13.7%


So you can see why, say, the Mikheyev-Kerfoot combo's numbers aren't great, given their tough zone usage. On the other hand, Hyman's impressive numbers no matter who he's with are even more impressive given his tough zone deployment, and that holds true for the Mikheyev-engvall combo too, who have been used very defensively but crushed it anyways.

And then obviously the spezza/boyd/petan line has had easy usage - but to their credit they've done well to dominate that usage anyways. Meanwhile a guy like Barabanov has struggled badly despite getting the most sheltered usage on the team.

the depressing part here is, of course, that Nylander-Tavares have been getting pretty cushy zone start deployment, and still not doing well. They should be destroying that level of usage.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Kerfoot-Tavares-nylander will be an effective 2nd line once they get a few more games in. Not too worried about them. Kerfoot is much better suited to play wing imo. Allows him to cheat a bit more offensively. 3rd and 4th lines really should get more sorted out. Tough to build chemistry when you have different line mates every night. Biggest need is a 3C. A line such as Mikheyev- Rakell- Hyman would be amazing. Then have Robertson- Spezza -Simmonds as the 4th line. Robertson can cover a shift on the 1st line when Thornton needs rest. Would be tough to beat

We are gonna need to move Kerfoot CAP to get a 3rd line C like Sissons ... think of $$$ in $$$ out ... for JT to succeed he needs someone to grind in corners and get pucks to him in front of net ... he also needs a fast winger who can get back to cover for him on backcheck ... Willy can't help him on either front which is why I would make Willy our 3rd line centre with Hyman and Mik . We tell Willy he is gonna be our 3rd line checking centre and his job is to stop other teams top lines from scoring. We need to change his mindset before playoffs. JT could use Simmonds and Kerfoot i think it might work. But Keefer will figure it out. JT is not a threat with Willy their 2 styles do not mesh.

 

[ToneDog]

We are gonna need to move Kerfoot CAP to get a 3rd line C like Sissons ... think of $$$ in $$$ out ... for JT to succeed he needs someone to grind in corners and get pucks to him in front of net ... he also needs a fast winger who can get back to cover for him on backcheck ... Willy can't help him on either front which is why I would make Willy our 3rd line centre with Hyman and Mik . We tell Willy he is gonna be our 3rd line checking centre and his job is to stop other teams top lines from scoring. We need to change his mindset before playoffs. JT could use Simmonds and Kerfoot i think it might work. But Keefer will figure it out. JT is not a threat with Willy their 2 styles do not mesh.

Are you on da juice ?

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Are you on da juice ?

Yeah ... it is very radical i know ... it just p*sses me off to watch Willy regress this year ... he was playing so well last year and this season somehow it has gone backyards for him ... he is not controlling games anymore ... he has it in him but it is not occuring ... it is frustrating to see it for me ... sad

 

[The Iceman]

The team needs to find a way to get JT and Willy going. Too valuable to be as quiet as they are night to night.

Dare i say breaking up my fav all time Leaf duo of AM and Mitch might be required to do this?

 

[Mattavarner]

When healthy

Thornton - Matthews - Marner
Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander
Hyman - Engvall - Simmonds
Robertson - Spezza - Mikheyev

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Bogosian

The clear area of need is either a 3C or 2LW, depending on where you want Kerfoot. Other than that we look pretty set

 

[JT AM da real deal]

When healthy

Thornton - Matthews - Marner
Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander
Hyman - Engvall - Simmonds
Robertson - Spezza - Mikheyev

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Bogosian

The clear area of need is either a 3C or 2LW, depending on where you want Kerfoot. Other than that we look pretty set

Yes and 1 more VET defender like Tampa did so we have depth to go deep ...

 

[Teeder Keon]

When healthy

Thornton - Matthews - Marner
Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander
Hyman - Engvall - Simmonds
Robertson - Spezza - Mikheyev

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Dermott - Bogosian

The clear area of need is either a 3C or 2LW, depending on where you want Kerfoot. Other than that we look pretty set

Out with Engvall and Vesey and if your going to use Robertson, he can’t be on the 4th line getting 5-7 min a night , he has to be in the top 3 , preferably in the top 2 of not keep him playing large min in the minors

 

[Mattavarner]

Out with Engvall and Vesey and if your going to use Robertson, he can’t be on the 4th line getting 5-7 min a night , he has to be in the top 3 , preferably in the top 2 of not keep him playing large min in the minors

Id argue that a depth role playing 10 minutes a night in the NHL is just as beneficial as 18 minutes a night in the AHL, sure put him on the 3rd line instead of Simmonds if he proves he can handle it

 

[Leafsfan74]

I'd like to see Galchenyuk and/or Robertson getting in a game now with the injuries. Ditto for Sabourin.

Leafs know who their core is, but there are other positions in which rotation in and out of the lineup makes sense. Even if just to remain fresh and of course, to take stock of what they have.

 

[kevsh]

I'm not quite getting Keefe's pattern of rewarding slumping/struggling players with promotions.

1) Tavares has been terrible, gets a promotion to the top line (which only resulted in his curse spreading to his linemates as they got shut out completely last night).

2) Then word today Vesey "joined a power-play unit at Tuesday’s practice". Not sure if that'll stick on Wednesday but he's been a total non-factor and even a liability.

With the injuries they have obviously some players have to get shuffled around but maybe give that prime top line/PP spot to someone like Kerfoot who has been tenacious if nothing else. Or Soup who has been the same, but just not capitalizing on his chances.