Our whole powerplay coaching staff should be fired if Tavares is not playing the first unit

[zeke]

You have some great posts Zeke so I'm not trying to come for you, but this post lacks a lot of context.
well to be fair he was second on the team in PP goals that year. Matthews had 12 and Tavares had 10, the next person had 4.
So he clearly was not the issue on the PP. It's kind of ludicrous to actually blame him for the downfall of the leafs PP.

Hey I said I would research it and I am trying to but its pretty tricky to get it right.

but it is interesting that the PP has been worse since Tavares got here for whatever reason.

fwiw, in my initial research the biggest culprits so far actually seem to be Marner and Rielly dopping off hugely. Matthews has maintained his scoring rates on the PP even with a drastic increase in ice time. Kadri was massive on the PP in 16-17 and 17-18 but awful on the PP in his last year here in 18-19, even with the same PP usage, so that's also part of the drop. Tavares' producion looks pretty solid tho not spectacular.

but i'm trying to put some numbers together.

 

[francis246]

Hey I said I would research it and I am trying to but its pretty tricky to get it right.

but it is interesting that the PP has been worse since Tavares got here for whatever reason.

fwiw, in my initial research the biggest culprits so far actually seem to be Marner and Rielly dopping off hugely. Matthews has maintained his scoring rates on the PP even with a drastic increase in ice time. Kadri was massive on the PP in 16-17 and 17-18 but awful on the PP in his last year here in 18-19, even with the same PP usage, so that's also part of the drop. Tavares' producion looks pretty solid tho not spectacular.

but i'm trying to put some numbers together.

I don't think you're wrong in the sense that, Tavares coming may have complicated the units. In 17-18 we had two balanced units with distinct roles and set plays. Marner PP QB on Unit 1, Matthews and Nylander cross crease pass one timer on Unit 2. It's probably a combination of losing JVR and Bozak who have been PP specialists their entire Toronto career and adding Tavares who was so different than what we had in the past. Additionally losing Gardiner did not help. He was huge on the PP for us.

 

[IPS]

I don't think you're wrong in the sense that, Tavares coming may have complicated the units. In 17-18 we had two balanced units with distinct roles and set plays. Marner PP QB on Unit 1, Matthews and Nylander cross crease pass one timer on Unit 2. It's probably a combination of losing JVR and Bozak who have been PP specialists their entire Toronto career and adding Tavares who was so different than what we had in the past. Additionally losing Gardiner did not help. He was huge on the PP for us.

in 17/18 we actually had one fantastic unit (that converted at a higher rate than any other PP unit in the league) with Marner-JVR-Kadri-Bozak-Rielly and one unit that barely produced anything on the PP with Matthews-Nylander-Komarov-Marleau-Gardiner.

The main problem we have with our PP is that both Matthews and Marner thrive best on the right boards. Mitch did not look as natural running the PP from the left boards, he does much better with the passing angles from the right side - but unfortunately that's where you need Matthews if you want him to get the best shooting looks. In 17/18 on the PP Mitch's 2 main options that he looked for were Kadri and JVR in the bumper and net-front spots, both left handed shots with great noses for the net, he'd float those tip-passes to them masterfully and they both had career years on the PP thanks to Marner's brilliant playmaking.

If there's anyway to replicate that, I suppose the PP could be structured like this:

Tavares
Nylander-Matthews-Marner
Rielly

We saw a bit of Matthews in the bumper spot when he had the hurt wrist and he didn't look too bad. Although it's not an optimal spot for him. Nylander is a great alternate threat on the left side and Tavares does the net front duties fairly respectably. But I really do think that if we're going to run an effective PP, we need Marner on those right boards.

 

[Twowingcantfly]

The irony of this thread is that the decline in the leafs' PP happened when.....Tavares got here.


I might try to break down some stats on that at some point, actually.

I'll break it down in 4 words. Short handed goals against. This guys cannot cycle out to the point, like most players on PP units in the NHL. And for whatever reason fails to keep a screen on the net, making it difficult for the PP unit to get into a rhythm

 

[Sypher04]

in 17/18 we actually had one fantastic unit (that converted at a higher rate than any other PP unit in the league) with Marner-JVR-Kadri-Bozak-Rielly and one unit that barely produced anything on the PP with Matthews-Nylander-Komarov-Marleau-Gardiner.

The main problem we have with our PP is that both Matthews and Marner thrive best on the right boards. Mitch did not look as natural running the PP from the left boards, he does much better with the passing angles from the right side - but unfortunately that's where you need Matthews if you want him to get the best shooting looks. In 17/18 on the PP Mitch's 2 main options that he looked for were Kadri and JVR in the bumper and net-front spots, both left handed shots with great noses for the net, he'd float those tip-passes to them masterfully and they both had career years on the PP thanks to Marner's brilliant playmaking.

If there's anyway to replicate that, I suppose the PP could be structured like this:

Tavares
Nylander-Matthews-Marner
Rielly

We saw a bit of Matthews in the bumper spot when he had the hurt wrist and he didn't look too bad. Although it's not an optimal spot for him. Nylander is a great alternate threat on the left side and Tavares does the net front duties fairly respectably. But I really do think that if we're going to run an effective PP, we need Marner on those right boards.

If we are loading up one unit, then the trick to me seems to be to move Marner down low and put Matthews around where Marner was (high right) . Nylander on the left wing, for a second scoring threat. Tavares out front of the net. And Rielly/Sandin on the left point a little more towards center

That said, I suspect we will do split units this year