Nick Ritchie discussion - clears waivers

[Menzinger]

Ritchie did deserve a fair amount of criticism for his lousy performance but this Keefe quote from tonight's press scrum actually sums things up nicely. He's functionally a passenger whose game impact will live and die by his two linemates

 

[Blowfish]

Ritchie did deserve a fair amount of criticism for his lousy performance but this Keefe quote from tonight's press scrum actually sums things up nicely. He's functionally a passenger whose game impact will live and die by his two linemates

Or simply doesn't fit in the top 6 or NHL team.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Seems like a giant cop out to blame Ritchie. Keefe has thrown out Nylander, Tavares, Spezza and Per freaking Engvall with Matthews and Marner and it amounted to f*** all.
Richie has been bad obviously but he is one of many underperforming this season.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Seems like a giant cop out to blame Ritchie. Keefe has thrown out Nylander, Tavares, Spezza and Per freaking Engvall with Matthews and Marner and it amounted to f*** all.
Richie has been bad obviously but he is one of many underperforming this season.

Marner has been an issue, and I don't think it is coincidence that it has an impact on his line mates. Tavares has 2 points in 2 games since leaving a line with Marner. Nylander and Bunting have obviously been excellent in their own right, but it is a lot easier to do well when your linemates are not struggling... And he has played with the same level of effectiveness in every game.

Muzzin and Holl have not been good for the most part, but were better against San Jose. Hutch was also bad.

Everyone else though? Our 4th line has been good since Engvall has replaced Amadio. Our 3rd line has been a great shutdown line and generate a ton of offense for a line that rarely starts in the offensive end. Sandin-Dermott are sheltered but they've done well. Rielly-Brodie have been excellent. Campbell has been excellent.

Really, if Marner's line actually produced, we would have easily won 4, if not all 5, games by now. It's not like this entire team is a disaster or getting outplayed... We have been the better team in 4/5 games.

 

[LegChairGM]

I didn't mind Ritchie's game tonight, he made a few things happen.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Marner has been an issue, and I don't think it is coincidence that it has an impact on his line mates. Tavares has 2 points in 2 games since leaving a line with Marner. Nylander and Bunting have obviously been excellent in their own right, but it is a lot easier to do well when your linemates are not struggling... And he has played with the same level of effectiveness in every game.

Muzzin and Holl have not been good for the most part, but were better against San Jose. Hutch was also bad.

Everyone else though? Our 4th line has been good since Engvall has replaced Amadio. Our 3rd line has been a great shutdown line and generate a ton of offense for a line that rarely starts in the offensive end. Sandin-Dermott are sheltered but they've done well. Rielly-Brodie have been excellent. Campbell has been excellent.

Really, if Marner's line actually produced, we would have easily won 4, if not all 5, games by now. It's not like this entire team is a disaster or getting outplayed... We have been the better team in 4/5 games.

I agree with that, the team looked good every game except tonight essentially. I guess I unintentionally implied that the players were underperforming all season but I meant just on a game to game basis: even Marner looked great his first game I thought. Matthews was incredible against NYR but underperformed tonight.
Richie has looked average in two games and bad in three of them. Hopefully he turns it around.

 

[Cobra777]

Kase missed a lot of time with injuries. Rarely does a player come back and light it up. If he can stay healthy he’ll be a contributor.

Agreed I just used examples on why not to jump on anyone only 2 games in

 

[socko]

Shame Dubas let Galchenyuk go. Way better than Ritchie.

 

[tellermine]

Funny.
Richie is playing his game. He will have hot streak and score few goals thats it.
Litteraly, thats it. He does nothing else.

 

[Stephen]

Ritchie has been beyond bad but consider in Edmonton, they can throw just about anyone on McDavid's line and they're automatically good for a bump in production just leeching off of his offensive production. In Toronto, the decoy gets blamed when $22 million worth of talent sleepwalks. Good for Keefe for speaking up. Maybe he should bench them for the first in Pittsburgh, not like they always show up on time anyway.

 

[Macallan18]

Kase would look fine on that top line.

 

[rocketman588]

Ritchie has been beyond bad but consider in Edmonton, they can throw just about anyone on McDavid's line and they're automatically good for a bump in production just leeching off of his offensive production. In Toronto, the decoy gets blamed when $22 million worth of talent sleepwalks. Good for Keefe for speaking up. Maybe he should bench them for the first in Pittsburgh, not like they always show up on time anyway.

He won't though can't upset Matthews or Dubas will be forced to hand him chocolate milk and cookies in his office

 

[TOGuy14]

The most hilarious thing about this whole scenario is that Don Cherry (and some others in media) once ranted we should have drafted Ritchie (our worst player) over Nylander (our best player)

 

[hotpaws]

you don't start ripping your top guys 5 games into the season in public , especially your best player who just came back from surgery

Keefe is either an idiot or feels he's so entitled that he believes he's untouchable regardless of how this team performs ,

the facts are if the our top guys quit on Keefe he and his bestie will be the first ones out the door and good luck to the 2 of them finding new employment in there current positions after they f***ed this gig

if he had half a brain he would have handled this behind closed doors since nothing good will come out of doing it in front of the media

 

[CapspaceKiller]

LOL, the elephant is Marner, a complete liability

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Ritchie has not been good at all, but understandable what Keefe is doing. It's 5 games in and you don't want to throw a new whipping boy into the limelight and throwing him into a broader critique of the first line is fine - even if it's objectively silly to suggest Marner and Matthews have been equally absent.

 

[ottomaddox]

LOL, the elephant is Marner, a complete liability

No.

See the "elephant in the room" phrase on Google.

Marner and his struggles are spoken about constantly. The Marner discussions even exist in a thread about Ritchie!

 

[United35]

Are challenging me to a virtual throw down?

No.

I just believe your smart enough to know how he creates space.

when has Nick Ritchie ever been known to create space with his legs?

 

[Maplebeasts]

Ritchie bas been bad sure. But the expectations for him were never high. He is going to live and die by how Matthews and Marner are playing. He'd look a lot better in the bottom six.

 

[kevsh]

I know it's early but the trend is troubling ... Why do I get the feeling that Keefe is losing the room and this is Babcock all over again?

If so, and this team is still looking like the uninspired group they are right now by mid-November (or earlier) Dubas is going to have to make a hard decision, either fire his hand-picked coach or face the prospect of this being his last year as Leafs' GM.

 

[johnnybbadd]

Seems like a giant cop out to blame Ritchie. Keefe has thrown out Nylander, Tavares, Spezza and Per freaking Engvall with Matthews and Marner and it amounted to f*** all.
Richie has been bad obviously but he is one of many underperforming this season.

I actually am not blaming Ritchie. He is what he is and good for him for stealing 5 million dollars on a contract given out by Toronto. The culprit is Dubas for signing him to anything more than league minimum. Actually for signing him at all.

 

[DitchMarner]

I never cared for this guy when Don used to drool over him. I did warm up to him somewhat in pre-season, but he's been useless so far in the regular season. I think at best he can be peak Kilger (15 or so goals with good physicality). They should stop putting him on the top line and let him grind it out with Simmonds or something.

 

[Niagara Bill]

Seems like a giant cop out to blame Ritchie. Keefe has thrown out Nylander, Tavares, Spezza and Per freaking Engvall with Matthews and Marner and it amounted to f*** all.
Richie has been bad obviously but he is one of many underperforming this season.

Exactly

 

[ottomaddox]

Ritchie was a little more noticeable last night.

 

[DuklaNation]

Scapegoat to hide the fact the Finesse Four are failing yet again.