New Acquisitions Discussion

[Mr_Fun]

Wish he’d connected when he lined up that one Devil.

if that was Bryan Marchment, that Devils player would probably be ordering up a new knee right now.

 

[seanlinden]

It's only been one game, but I think that Gio-Liljegren pairing could be a really good combination... Lily strikes me as a player that could develop into somebody like TJ Brodie.

If you want to use Gio in a less difficult role than Muzzin has had the last few years, then to me it would make sense to separate Gio/Brodie.

That being said, assuming we can get / stay healthy, I think there's a lot to like about the Leafs D. If a series is going to get physical, you're probably looking at one of Lyubushkin, Muzzin, or Giordano on the ice at all times.

 

[Smif]

I want to sign all three for next year. Blackwell has really good vision and is way too good for the 4th line..Gio completes our defense core, honestly, tonight was a solid 6 and it can only get better with Muzz and Sandin coming back.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

The poise and leadership on this team is insane. The stars need to show up in the playoffs. And hopefully the leaders can help with that.

 

[therealkoho]

Speaking of new acquisitions the future considerations part of the Nashville deal is now a Marlie

Don't know if anyone is familiar with Philippe Myers, but he's loaned to the Marlies. He's a behemoth of a Dman 6'6" 250. 25 years old with 1 year left of a 2.5m save contract.He came to the Predators from Philly in the Ryan Ellis deal. Something went sour there and they were waiving him to the AHL. He was once considered to be a pillar on Philadelphias 2nd pair. He's not a a killer, but he plays physical hockey, clears the crease and isn't a bad skater. He's a classic stay-at-home Dman

The talk is the Preds are going to buy him out in the summer, and he'll become a UFA. The Leafs have a good long time to evaluate him and maybe add him to the roster

 

[Mickey Marner]

Giordano looked solid. Good vet presence to mentor Liljegren.

Blackwell was certainly noticeable in his few minutes. Need more time to evaluate whether he'll be noticeable in a good way.

Team looked faster wearing black for some reason.

 

[BlueBaron]

Gotta be happy about Gio. I'm praying he signs a Spezza like deal. Stability and Leadership.

Blackwell is a perfectly serviceable player but nothing too exciting.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Speaking of new acquisitions the future considerations part of the Nashville deal is now a Marlie

Don't know if anyone is familiar with Philippe Myers, but he's loaned to the Marlies. He's a behemoth of a Dman 6'6" 250. 25 years old with 1 year left of a 2.5m save contract.He came to the Predators from Philly in the Ryan Ellis deal. Something went sour there and they were waiving him to the AHL. He was once considered to be a pillar on Philadelphias 2nd pair. He's not a a killer, but he plays physical hockey, clears the crease and isn't a bad skater. He's a classic stay-at-home Dman

The talk is the Preds are going to buy him out in the summer, and he'll become a UFA. The Leafs have a good long time to evaluate him and maybe add him to the roster

He's a reclamation project I've been interested in for a while. I'm curious whether playing him at forward would help him. Byfuglien and Burns were both big boys that could skate, but things didn't really click until they moved back to defense after playing some wing. I wonder whether Myers could benefit from seeing the ice from another perspective.

 

[therealkoho]

He's a reclamation project I've been interested in for a while. I'm curious whether playing him at forward would help him. Byfuglien and Burns were both big boys that could skate, but things didn't really click until they moved back to defense after playing some wing. I wonder whether Myers could benefit from seeing the ice from another perspective.

who knows maybe! you could put him on a line with Douglas and have Seney in the centre

 

[Fogelhund]

who knows maybe! you could put him on a line with Douglas and have Seney in the centre

Or just keep Myers on D.. acquire Tage Thompson from Buffalo, run a line with Engvall Douglas Thompson, Myers on D with Holl, and Petruzulli in net... would be the tallest lineup on ice, for a NHL game ever.

 

[colchar]

I wonder how much Blackwell really wants to be here?

Both Keefe and Dubas stated they've tried to get him a couple of times in FA.

Go look at what kind of money he's been paid in his career. It wasn't about that. He simply chose to be somewhere else.

I'm glad he's here. His legs move fast and he'll hit and dig.

Unless you know what the Leafs offered him as a FA and/or what his specific reasons were for choosing the team he signed with, you are just stirring up shit without any basis for doing so.

 

[Mitch nylander]

Colin Backwell reminds me of Trevor Moore. Very fast, good forechecker, gets under the other teams skin, plays much bigger than his size. I like him.

 

[saltming]

Wish he’d connected when he lined up that one Devil.

That's what pays on the playoffs. Opposing team need to be afraid to carry the puck across or blueline.
Boosh, Muzzin (hopefully) Gio to an extent

 

[ITM]

Wish he’d connected when he lined up that one Devil.

Taking it easy on him for when we acquire him (ie Michael McLeod).

 

[riffle]

Unless you know what the Leafs offered him as a FA and/or what his specific reasons were for choosing the team he signed with, you are just stirring up shit without any basis for doing so.

Look at his contracts. Not baseless to state he didn't want to be here and preferred somewhere else otherwise he would've chosen to be here. He chose to be elsewhere when we wanted him, so what would you conclude?

 

[The Podium]

I wonder how much Blackwell really wants to be here?

Both Keefe and Dubas stated they've tried to get him a couple of times in FA.

Go look at what kind of money he's been paid in his career. It wasn't about that. He simply chose to be somewhere else.

I'm glad he's here. His legs move fast and he'll hit and dig.

He ultimately settled on the NYR who at the time were a bubble team on the verge of taking the next step with holes in their lineup for more opportunity. It’s also a major US city, and as an American there’s always going to be a tendency to stay in the US vs Canada. I wouldn’t read too much into this considering for all we know the Leafs were his 2nd choice. It sure as hell beats Seattle.

 

[Buds17]

Look at his contracts. Not baseless to state he didn't want to be here and preferred somewhere else otherwise he would've chosen to be here. He chose to be elsewhere when we wanted him, so what would you conclude?

IIRC, Nashville was a better team than the Leafs when Blackwell signed that contract. I believe the NYR and Leafs were on equivalent footing when Blackwell signed with the Rangers. Both contracts also involved a two year term. There could be various reasons explaining why Blackwell signed elsewhere on those occasions. Familiarity with the Leafs now may or may not help sway his next decision. TJ Brodie apparently put the Leafs on his NTC upon Kadri nixing that trade to Calgary only to then sign with Toronto in the offseason.

 

[riffle]

He ultimately settled on the NYR who at the time were a bubble team on the verge of taking the next step with holes in their lineup for more opportunity. It’s also a major US city, and as an American there’s always going to be a tendency to stay in the US vs Canada. I wouldn’t read too much into this considering for all we know the Leafs were his 2nd choice. It sure as hell beats Seattle.

He did mention in his introductory presser that he was glad to be closer to home, which is Massachusetts. The point I was trying to make is he had his chances to be here and chose not to, and it wasn't about money. It is nice when it's someone like Mitch, Wayne and Gio really want to be here.

A guy like Blackwell would likely prefer to be a Bruin because that's where he's from and that was his childhood favorite team. Sergei Samsonov was his idol growing up.

Looked and saw he received 14 minutes of ATOI with the Rangers, a career-high, and more than he got with expansion Seattle so you're right about opportunity.

 

[Nylanderthal]

I want to sign all three for next year. Blackwell has really good vision and is way too good for the 4th line..Gio completes our defense core, honestly, tonight was a solid 6 and it can only get better with Muzz and Sandin coming back.

Agreed- game 83 will probably be some combination of Rielly-boosh Gio-brodie Muzz-Holl, kids as the 7/8th to start.
Game 1 of the 22-23 season id hope to see the kids mixed in and muzz-holl moved to replenish some draft capital and shuffle cap space.
Blackwell can hopefully be retained, he looks like a good middle 6 option. His game might mesh with JT

 

[Clark4Ever]

Boosh has been rock solid as well... look forward to watching him throw some monster hits in the playoffs

Agreed. A very underrated pick up by Dubas that has helped solidify the blueline. He has not looked out of place on the 1st pairing with Rielly and brings an element we've been missing all season.

 

[Twine Tickler]

That tweet pretty well sums up Gio's debut perfectly. Him and Liljegren looked outstanding IMO. Loved Gio's compete level. Hard to believe he is 38 years old TBH. Just felt like he had complete control of those bottom pairing minutes. His gaps were tight all night, and he was physically involved in and around the net front from start to finish. He still has a good first pass. Seems to recognize he's lost a step on the straight away speed and doesn't try to over do it. There were a couple times where he seemed to work himself into a point where we'd traditionally see one of our guys want to force the puck somewhere there was no room, instead Gio would get into that position and hard rim the puck or ice it. I'll take that over a turnover any day of the week. He's just a smart defender IMO.

Blackwell never passes up an opportunity to finish his check. I have missed that since Komarov left. They may not be thunderous hits, but they make D-men have to think a bit quicker than they want to and they are contagious. He seemed to spear head a physical mentality in the bunch as we once again registered 20+ hits ending with 28. Blackwell tied with Boosh with 4 a piece. What is even more encouraging is that all but 5 skaters registered a hit in that game (Micky, Bunting, Kerf, Nylander and Brodie). Everyone else got in on the action. That type of physicality was absent pre-Lybushkin and we have started to see an uptick in hits these last couple weeks. Even Matthews and Marner have been finishing checks. Adding a guy like Blackwell only further drags guys into that fight. We will need that in the playoffs. I love it.

On a side note, when Matthews wants to hit a guy, they are bombs. I really hope he continues that physicality in playoffs. You forget just how big the guy is, but he is literally unstoppable right now. Best player on the planet right now IMO

 

[PROUD PAPA]

No surprises with their play, they both basically did what they usually do.

 

[riffle]

Keefe said Blackwell would get a chance higher in the lineup. If you're going to do it, you probably should do it vs. MTL. You should see how that works and get a little potential chemistry going before Florida comes to town and then the roadie in Boston.

Feel confident the powerpint presentation is getting his shot with JT and Willy on Saturday night.

 

[Frostitute]

Weeuu that Blackwell kid got heart and Giordanos name definitely starts with the right letter cuz that dude is a straight up G.

Lets Gooo!