Official New Year Training Camp thread

[Mickey Marner]

Money talks. Vancouver will be pissed that they have demonstrably less pull than the Oilers and Flames.

 

[Rude Dog]

Western Canadian fans are going to have a fit. Weekday games in Vancouver starting at 7pm EST to appease Leafs Nation.

Get ready for the crying!

Edit. Didn’t see local.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Western Canadian fans are going to have a fit. Weekday games in Vancouver starting at 7pm EST to appease Leafs Nation.

Get ready for the crying!

I will say as a Vancouver based leaf fan, I always laugh when this city goes mental over the 4pm start time. I am sure the TEAM 1040 has spent most of their day discussing this "disadvantage". Canucks fans & media are legitimately the biggest whiners. I'm happy this schedule is the piss in their cornflakes today

 

[Nineteen67]

Takeaway per 60 in the NHL.
8. Matthews
14. Thornton
15. Marner

Lots of opportunities for them to get the puck back.

Matthews is elite at this and will be one of the best in the league.

 

[CanadasTeam]

Here are recent team lineups for the North Division. Which team do you think will be our biggest challenge?


Joe Thornton - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Jimmy Vesey - John Tavares - William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev - Alexander Kerfoot - Zach Hyman
Alexander Barabanov - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds

Morgan Rielly - T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl
Mikko Lehtonen - Zach Bogosian
Sandin - Dermott

Frederik Andersen
Jack Campbell


Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Evgenii Dadonov
Tim Stuetzle - Derek Stepan - Connor Brown
Alex Galchenyuk - Colin White - Drake Batherson
Nick Paul - Chris Tierney - Austin Watson

Thomas Chabot - Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom - Artem Zub
Christian Wolanin - Josh Brown

Matt Murray
Marcus Hogberg


Tomas Tatar - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin - Nick Suzuki - Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Joel Armia
Paul Byron - Jake Evans - Artturi Lehkonen - Corey Perry

Ben Chiarot - Shea Weber
Brett Kulak - Jeff Petry
Joel Edmundson - Alexander Romanov

Carey Price
Jake Allen


Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zack Kassian
Dominik Kahun - Leon Draisaitl - Kailer Yamamoto
Tyler Ennis - Kyle Turris - Jesse Puljujarvi
Josh Archibald - Jujhar Khaira - Alex Chiasson

Darnell Nurse - Ethan Bear
Patrick Russell - Tyson Barrie
Caleb Jones - Adam Larsson

Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith


Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Matthew Tkachuk
Milan Lucic - Sam Bennett - Dillon Dube
Joakim Nordstrom - Derek Ryan - Dominik Simon

Mark Giordano - Chris Tanev
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Juuso Valimaki - Oliver Kylington

Jacob Markstrom
David Rittich


Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Mathieu Perreault
Jansen Harkins - Nate Thompson - Mason Appleton

Josh Morrissey - Sami Niku
Derek Forbort - Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu - Dylan DeMelo

Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit


J.T. Miller - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson - Bo Horvat - Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen
Antoine Roussel - Adam Gaudette - Zack MacEwen

Alexander Edler - Nate Schmidt
Quinn Hughes - Jalen Chatfield
Olli Juolevi - Tyler Myers

Braden Holtby
Thatcher Demko

 

[rojac]

Money talks. Vancouver will be pissed that they have demonstrably less pull than the Oilers and Flames.

Huh? Toronto's Saturday night games in all the western cities are set for 7 pm ET. Other games in those cities are set at normal local times. How is Vancouver being treated any differently?

 

[Zybalto]

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.

The series was a complete outlier from the regular season due to the small sample size and insane goaltending.

Gotta remember Toronto had the 2nd highest 5v5 scoring chances/60 out of the 24 teams and yet the fewest goals scored. They had those bizarre numbers shooting at a 2% clip (I really cant any playoff comparables in the history of analytics for those kind of stats)

The Jackets showed in the next round that the change from defensive stalwarts to all world goalkeeping team wasnt an illusion as Korpisalo set the single game save record and, despite getting run over in the series, somehow stayed in that series against a rested motivated Bolts team as every game was a one goal game but this time the better team won as the Jackets goaltending came back to earth the last game and a half.

Toronto is one of the best even strength teams in the league. Best to do what Tampa did after they suffered one of the worst playoff humiliations in history the year before and tinker with the bottom lines and role players. Not overreacting is what won them the cup this year.

 

[PromisedLand]

 

[Menzinger]

Keefe has shown to mix his lines. I wouldn’t look too far into Thornton on that line. The beauty about the team is that we could pretty much put anyone in that spot at any given moment to throw off the other team.

it’ll definitely be a situational thing

The first few games will be a lotnof fun giving the experimentation but folks definitely should not expect them to last all year

 

[weems]

 

[The90]

We should move on to more pressing matters. Like how many times nylander said I mean in his press availability, or a discussion of moustaches because the leafs totally don’t live rent free in peoples heads.

also, never meant to hit reply to your comment. Nice to see the boys on the ice though

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Here are recent team lineups for the North Division. Which team do you think will be our biggest challenge?


Joe Thornton - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Jimmy Vesey - John Tavares - William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev - Alexander Kerfoot - Zach Hyman
Alexander Barabanov - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds

Morgan Rielly - T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl
Mikko Lehtonen - Zach Bogosian
Sandin - Dermott

Frederik Andersen
Jack Campbell


Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Evgenii Dadonov
Tim Stuetzle - Derek Stepan - Connor Brown
Alex Galchenyuk - Colin White - Drake Batherson
Nick Paul - Chris Tierney - Austin Watson

Thomas Chabot - Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom - Artem Zub
Christian Wolanin - Josh Brown

Matt Murray
Marcus Hogberg


Tomas Tatar - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin - Nick Suzuki - Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Joel Armia
Paul Byron - Jake Evans - Artturi Lehkonen

Ben Chiarot - Shea Weber
Brett Kulak - Jeff Petry
Joel Edmundson - Alexander Romanov

Carey Price
Jake Allen


Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zack Kassian
Dominik Kahun - Leon Draisaitl - Kailer Yamamoto
Tyler Ennis - Kyle Turris - Jesse Puljujarvi
Josh Archibald - Jujhar Khaira - Alex Chiasson

Darnell Nurse - Ethan Bear
Patrick Russell - Tyson Barrie
Caleb Jones - Adam Larsson

Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith


Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Matthew Tkachuk
Milan Lucic - Sam Bennett - Dillon Dube
Joakim Nordstrom - Derek Ryan - Dominik Simon

Mark Giordano - Chris Tanev
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Juuso Valimaki - Oliver Kylington

Jacob Markstrom
David Rittich


Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Mathieu Perreault
Jansen Harkins - Nate Thompson - Mason Appleton

Josh Morrissey - Sami Niku
Derek Forbort - Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu - Dylan DeMelo

Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit


J.T. Miller - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson - Bo Horvat - Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen
Antoine Roussel - Adam Gaudette - Zack MacEwen

Alexander Edler - Nate Schmidt
Quinn Hughes - Jalen Chatfield
Olli Juolevi - Tyler Myers

Braden Holtby
Thatcher Demko

Canucks is my pick

 

[Budz22]

Simmonds interview could’ve been one sentence long if he didn’t say um 497 times.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Dermot is definitely in the top 6 if not in the opener he will be a staple not too long after.

Dubas refusal to trade him and his showing when the team was decimated with injuries solidifies his spot on the team imo.

 

[jaric1862]

I really like the D pairings. The forward lines are a little bit odd

 

[Nylanderthal]

Here are recent team lineups for the North Division. Which team do you think will be our biggest challenge?


Joe Thornton - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Jimmy Vesey - John Tavares - William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev - Alexander Kerfoot - Zach Hyman
Alexander Barabanov - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds

Morgan Rielly - T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl
Mikko Lehtonen - Zach Bogosian
Sandin - Dermott

Frederik Andersen
Jack Campbell


Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Evgenii Dadonov
Tim Stuetzle - Derek Stepan - Connor Brown
Alex Galchenyuk - Colin White - Drake Batherson
Nick Paul - Chris Tierney - Austin Watson

Thomas Chabot - Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom - Artem Zub
Christian Wolanin - Josh Brown

Matt Murray
Marcus Hogberg


Tomas Tatar - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin - Nick Suzuki - Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Joel Armia
Paul Byron - Jake Evans - Artturi Lehkonen

Ben Chiarot - Shea Weber
Brett Kulak - Jeff Petry
Joel Edmundson - Alexander Romanov

Carey Price
Jake Allen


Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zack Kassian
Dominik Kahun - Leon Draisaitl - Kailer Yamamoto
Tyler Ennis - Kyle Turris - Jesse Puljujarvi
Josh Archibald - Jujhar Khaira - Alex Chiasson

Darnell Nurse - Ethan Bear
Patrick Russell - Tyson Barrie
Caleb Jones - Adam Larsson

Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith


Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Matthew Tkachuk
Milan Lucic - Sam Bennett - Dillon Dube
Joakim Nordstrom - Derek Ryan - Dominik Simon

Mark Giordano - Chris Tanev
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Juuso Valimaki - Oliver Kylington

Jacob Markstrom
David Rittich


Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Mathieu Perreault
Jansen Harkins - Nate Thompson - Mason Appleton

Josh Morrissey - Sami Niku
Derek Forbort - Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu - Dylan DeMelo

Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit


J.T. Miller - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson - Bo Horvat - Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen
Antoine Roussel - Adam Gaudette - Zack MacEwen

Alexander Edler - Nate Schmidt
Quinn Hughes - Jalen Chatfield
Olli Juolevi - Tyler Myers

Braden Holtby
Thatcher Demko

Looking at the lineup fully, I don’t get why everyone is fawning over the Habs. They don’t look very good to me on paper. Just a bunch of okay stuff

 

[Sypher04]

Dermot is definitely in the top 6 if not in the opener he will be a staple not too long after.

Dubas refusal to trade him and his showing when the team was decimated with injuries solidifies his spot on the team imo.

I wouldn't be so confident. Keefe went out of his way to say depth players from previous seasons are not safe today. Neither the Leafs or Dermott have had the success to warrant him being owed anything and at least as a starting point it looks like they are both Bogosian and Lehtonen ahead of him.

He could still get in opening night, but I'm not assuming anything on that front just because he was here last year and re-signed

 

[Stigma]

Canucks is my pick

Yeah, same. Vancouver. I like Ottawa's offence, but not impressed with their D. There 4th line may give us a headache though.

Montreal, Winnipeg, Oilers - meh. They shouldn't be too much trouble.

I like Calgary's D and goalie. I think they'll do well this year.

 

[ACC1224]

I wouldn't be so confident. Keefe went out of his way to say depth players from previous seasons are not safe today. Neither the Leafs or Dermott have had the success to warrant him being owed anything and at least as a starting point it looks like they are both Bogosian and Lehtonen ahead of him.

He could still get in opening night, but I'm not assuming anything on that front just because he was here last year and re-signed

Agreed nothing should be guaranteed with the roster but Dermott should slot in ahead of Holl though.

 

[VanW27]

Looking at the lineup fully, I don’t get why everyone is fawning over the Habs. They don’t look very good to me on paper. Just a bunch of okay stuff

For some reason every analyst has come to the conclusion that Suzuki and Kotkaniemi are guaranteed NHL superstars this year. I get the Suzuki love, I expect him to have a big year but Kotkaniemi? I'm not sure he's even a good 4th liner.

 

[Burnie97]

Here are recent team lineups for the North Division. Which team do you think will be our biggest challenge?


Joe Thornton - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Jimmy Vesey - John Tavares - William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev - Alexander Kerfoot - Zach Hyman
Alexander Barabanov - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds

Morgan Rielly - T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl
Mikko Lehtonen - Zach Bogosian
Sandin - Dermott

Frederik Andersen
Jack Campbell


Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Evgenii Dadonov
Tim Stuetzle - Derek Stepan - Connor Brown
Alex Galchenyuk - Colin White - Drake Batherson
Nick Paul - Chris Tierney - Austin Watson

Thomas Chabot - Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom - Artem Zub
Christian Wolanin - Josh Brown

Matt Murray
Marcus Hogberg


Tomas Tatar - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin - Nick Suzuki - Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Joel Armia
Paul Byron - Jake Evans - Artturi Lehkonen

Ben Chiarot - Shea Weber
Brett Kulak - Jeff Petry
Joel Edmundson - Alexander Romanov

Carey Price
Jake Allen


Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zack Kassian
Dominik Kahun - Leon Draisaitl - Kailer Yamamoto
Tyler Ennis - Kyle Turris - Jesse Puljujarvi
Josh Archibald - Jujhar Khaira - Alex Chiasson

Darnell Nurse - Ethan Bear
Patrick Russell - Tyson Barrie
Caleb Jones - Adam Larsson

Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith


Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Matthew Tkachuk
Milan Lucic - Sam Bennett - Dillon Dube
Joakim Nordstrom - Derek Ryan - Dominik Simon

Mark Giordano - Chris Tanev
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Juuso Valimaki - Oliver Kylington

Jacob Markstrom
David Rittich


Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Mathieu Perreault
Jansen Harkins - Nate Thompson - Mason Appleton

Josh Morrissey - Sami Niku
Derek Forbort - Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu - Dylan DeMelo

Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit


J.T. Miller - Elias Pettersson - Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson - Bo Horvat - Nils Hoglander
Tyler Motte - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen
Antoine Roussel - Adam Gaudette - Zack MacEwen

Alexander Edler - Nate Schmidt
Quinn Hughes - Jalen Chatfield
Olli Juolevi - Tyler Myers

Braden Holtby
Thatcher Demko

I think Calgary with their D and if Markstrom keeps playing well will be pretty good.

Vancouver looks pretty decent on paper. Pretty solid D. Top 2 lines are good. Not sold on Demko though.

Edmonton obviously has superstar players but a bunch of meh with not to great a D and goaltending I think will sink them.

Winnipeg just looks mediocre everywhere but obviously have good goaltending so may be a surprise team to sneak in but I don't think there's enough there.

Ottawa will be pretty good soon but I don't think they'll be able to put it together for a year or two still. Murray is a big question mark.

Montreal I don't get all the hype. The D is solid and you have price. The forward group still looks lackluster.

I'd guess

Leafs
Vancouver
Calgary in the top 3

Edmonton
Winnipeg
Montreal these 3 will fight for 4 spot

Ottawa last

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I think Calgary with their D and if Markstrom keeps playing well will be pretty good.

Vancouver looks pretty decent on paper. Pretty solid D. Top 2 lines are good. Not sold on Demko though.

Edmonton obviously has superstar players but a bunch of meh with not to great a D and goaltending I think will sink them.

Winnipeg just looks mediocre everywhere but obviously have good goaltending so may be a surprise team to sneak in but I don't think there's enough there.

Ottawa will be pretty good soon but I don't think they'll be able to put it together for a year or two still. Murray is a big question mark.

Montreal I don't get all the hype. The D is solid and you have price. The forward group still looks lackluster.

I'd guess

Leafs
Vancouver
Calgary in the top 3

Edmonton
Winnipeg
Montreal these 3 will fight for 4 spot

Ottawa last

Winnipeg's forward group is right up there and Hellebuyck is one of the best. Their main thing is defense right now. They could have benefitted from adding a Hamonic, Vatanen, or Hutton to help shore that up.

 

[VanW27]

I think Vancouver is at big risk of a major step back, people really aren't appreciating just how good Markstrom has been for them the last few years.

Holtby struggled behind a team that gave up far fewer chances last year. For Demko the 3 great playoff games are nice but he's till very unproven and his 27 game regular season wasn't anything to be excited about (3.06 GAA and .905 sv%)

 

[The90]

For some reason every analyst has come to the conclusion that Suzuki and Kotkaniemi are guaranteed NHL superstars this year. I get the Suzuki love, I expect him to have a big year but Kotkaniemi? I'm not sure he's even a good 4th liner.

I’ve been beating this dead horse absolutely senseless. I don’t care how many people he hit in the playoffs.

he’s had 2 assists in his last 46 nhl games, was under a ppg in the finnish elite league. Had 4 goals in the playoffs, but only produced 10 shots. He shot at a 40% clip. Matthews is 15% and an elite shot. Once that evens out his offensive production is scary bad

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Here are some as a matter of fact quotes from Keefer. He’s not pulling any punches and this stuff is straight up. It gives a good look in to what expectations are for this group. Lots of good information to get a degree of direction. They are seeing the same stuff we have all been discussing for quite a bit.
Good read. https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2021/01/04/sheldon-keefe-on-toronto-maple-leafs-blue-line/