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Official New Year Training Camp thread

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kevsh said:
Thornton on the first line could be for all sorts of reasons, beyond thinking he'd be a good fit style-wise:

1) Since he was playing in Europe he's closer to being game ready, may as well take advantage of it.
2) A strong personality with the two young forwards they want him to impress upon.
3) If you want Thornton to be a presence in the locker room he has to have a significant role on the team. The young 'uns aren't likely to find the words of a 4th liner as compelling as (See point #2).
4) It's part of an effort to push the prospects and new players who will likely find their way into the bottom 6, if at all. Putting Joe in the top 3, for now, allows Keefe to get more looks on these guys.
5) I was going to put something funny here but it's not that funny.
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agree with everything except I do think regardless of where Joe is in the lineup people will listen. guy is a first ballot HHOF'er. But I do think it will be a priority to keep Joe happy. as it should be. his impact on this team will far exceed what he does on the ice. He will push the guys to play right every night. hold people accountable. something this team has lacked for years
 
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I wouldn't put too much stock in line combos on day 1. The only notable thing I see is the teams are clearly divided into NHL and AHL and of the bubble guys Barabanov is the one in the NHL group with Engvall/Robertson/Anderson in the AHL group.

Liljigren in the AHL group is slightly notable but our 7D are pretty much set so they just needed someone to even out the pairs in the NHL group with Dermott, and they went with Sandin instead between the 2.
 
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VanW27 said:
I wouldn't put too much stock in line combos on day 1. The only notable thing I see is the teams are clearly divided into NHL and AHL and of the bubble guys Barabanov is the one in the NHL group with Engvall/Robertson/Anderson in the AHL group.

Liljigren in the AHL group is slightly notable but our 7D are pretty much set so they just needed someone to even out the pairs in the NHL group with Dermott, and they went with Sandin instead between the 2.
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Group 2 top line and pair will most likely be part of the taxi squad.
Weird to have no preseason games to see how the lines gel
 
zeke said:
Leafs were clearly the better team in the series, even though Columbus was an elite defensive team in its own right.
Click to expand...

I actually thought the Jackets were underwhelming defensively in both the Leafs and Tampa series. They came in advertised as a defensive juggernaut and were saved by all of a sudden all-world goalkeeping.

Lowest 5v5 score adjusted xGA in the play-ins (24 teams):

1. Flyers
2. Flames
3. Leafs
4. Avs
5. Isles

14. Jackets (4th out of 31 during the regular season)

Granted, it's not hard for a D to look good against the Jackets but still nice to see from the Leafs. (plus specials team were miles better than playoffs past)
 
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Zybalto said:
I actually thought the Jackets were underwhelming defensively in both the Leafs and Tampa series. They came in advertised as a defensive juggernaut and were saved by all of a sudden all-world goalkeeping.

Lowest 5v5 score adjusted xGA in the play-ins (24 teams):

1. Flyers
2. Flames
3. Leafs
4. Avs
5. Isles

14. Jackets (4th out of 31 during the regular season)

Granted, it's not hard for a D to look good against the Jackets but still nice to see from the Leafs. (plus specials team were miles better than playoffs past)
Click to expand...

Tampa Bay and Toronto are a challenge for even the best defenses.
 
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I legit can't understand how people can finish watching that Blue Jackets series and think that Columbus just dominated Toronto defensively.

Columbus was an ELITE defensive team in the regular season, but the Leafs broke through their D quite well.

They just ran into a super hot goalie.

Columbus held people out in the regular season better than most

upload_2021-1-4_15-21-37.png


But that was not the case against the Leafs...

upload_2021-1-4_15-22-44.png


upload_2021-1-4_15-24-41.png


This is not what you'd want from a defence first team lol.
 
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Zach Hyman on Joe Thornton: "He's definitely a larger-than-life figure. You know when he's in a room, and he brings a great presence. He demands a lot from his teammates. He's in great shape and he's a great player."

day 1 of camp and this is the impression Joe makes. Love it

this team has lacked accountability for far too long. I'm hoping Joe helps put an end to that
 
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If I recall correctly, in 4 of the 5 games against the Jackets the Leafs did not score an Even Strength goal (that excludes the 3 goal burst at the end of game 4 with their goalie pulled, technically not ES).

Hot goalie or not, if you're banking on a top-heavy elite, very expensive forward group to carry your team to the Stanley Cup and they can't score in 4 of 5 games? Then load them up on one line for a do-or-die game 5 and not only do they not score but expose more vividly that the team has absolutely no depth in their forwards.

I'm not confident any of these additions (Joe, Wayne, Vesey in particular) are going to help with that. Kerfoot/Mikheyev/Hyman will grind out some goals, maybe even surprise and be decent but is that a 3rd line anyone would be confident will provide enough scoring depth to bring home the hardware? I guess we shall see.
 
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VanW27 said:
I wouldn't put too much stock in line combos on day 1. The only notable thing I see is the teams are clearly divided into NHL and AHL and of the bubble guys Barabanov is the one in the NHL group with Engvall/Robertson/Anderson in the AHL group.

Liljigren in the AHL group is slightly notable but our 7D are pretty much set so they just needed someone to even out the pairs in the NHL group with Dermott, and they went with Sandin instead between the 2.
Click to expand...
Barabanov and Lehtonen were made promises or else they would have chosen other teams ... this is crystal clear is breakdown of 2 teams ... what ticks me off is Robertson ... Dubie should have let him play for Team USA vs playing for a spot on da taxi roster
 
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JT AM da real deal said:
Barabanov and Lehtonen were made promises or else they would have chosen other teams ... this is crystal clear is breakdown of 2 teams ... what ticks me off is Robertson ... Dubie should have let him play for Team USA vs playing for a spot on da taxi roster
Click to expand...

Robertson chose not to go.
 
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crump said:
Thornton is big, but he’s not a “get in on the forecheck first” kind of guy, he just doesn’t have the speed. I guess that’s why you try things in camp. My guess is Hyman ends up back in the top 6 eventually.
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Takeaway per 60 in the NHL.
8. Matthews
14. Thornton
15. Marner

Lots of opportunities for them to get the puck back.
 
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kevsh said:
(that excludes the 3 goal burst at the end of game 4 with their goalie pulled, technically not ES).
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It's not 5v5. It technically is ES. Also, it's kind of weird that one of the most historic comebacks seen in recent NHL history is treated as a negative.
 
Fogelhund said:
Robertson chose not to go.
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Makes no sense to me ... skating with team 2 to earn a spot on da practice roster ... and then he either earns that spot or goes back to junior ... he could have played worlds and then joined practice roster as team not sending him back to junior
 
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