Pre-Game Talk: Time to talk Playoffs

[Nylander88]

I'm not sure regression should be expected though. the Stars likely overachieved at the time, I think few people had them ahead of the Avs or Vegas in the West prior to the start of playoffs.

The Leafs roster, at least in terms of core players, is locked in place for next year (with only Hyman needing a renewal). The expection should be the team will remain competitive next season, though I agree the Leafs do face an ideal situation this post season for a deep run

I think we'll be fine for next year. Hyman gets his raise at the expense of saying goodbye to Freddy.
Resign Spezza, Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian on the cheap again. I'm assuming the three Toronto boys will wanna be here, and not sure why Bogo would want to leave. Resign Rittich to pair with Campbell. And I'm sure Galchenyuk could be had at a reasonably cheap figure too after us investing the time/trust into him and letting him play with skilled players. We'll lose our Foligno rental and Freddy. That's about all I think

 

[Gary Nylund]

Winning a 1st round for the 1st time in 16 years will only be a good start, and long overdue.

However Toronto being the last Canadian team standing with just Montreal, Edmonton and/or Winnipeg in the way should be the floor for expectation this year. IMO

Leafs have to grab this once in a lifetime pandemic opportunity and run with it.

Agree 100%. If anyone doubts what we're aiming for they should remind themselves that we traded a 1st round pick for a rental. We were favoured to go to the semis without doing that so it follows that ...

We're 4th overall. Next best in Canada is EDM at 11th and we're a lot close to 1st overall then we are to EDM.

Semi finals is the floor, no doubt about it.

Respectfully....theres zero chance Simmonds sits. We specifically targetted him as our first FA signing for a reason. Guys like him get more valuable come playoff time, not less. Not sure if you tuned in or not the last 4 years, but we've tried the kill em with speed and skill approach

Agree 100%.

Can anyone confirm that WPG holds tiebreak edge over MTL so all we need is one WPG win or one MTL loss for us to play MTL?

I've been waiting 32 years for this. I'm so happy we won the last two, those were critical from my POV.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Assuming we play the Habs, I think it's going to be more difficult than the regular season stats would suggest.

Price is still an x factor regardless of the circumstances, and the Habs always seem to have horsehoes up their ass in the playoffs.

Other than that, I'm cautiously optimistic as long as Campbell stays healthy.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Anyone else not at all interested in line combinations? Sometimes a thread gets completely overrun by people posting lineup combinations with zero commentary and it’s just so boring. I just don’t get the appeal.

I think this year it's a unique scenario in that if we stay healthy, a few solid forwards are going to have to sit on the sidelines.

I've been putting myself in Keefe's shoes trying to put together the best combinations for playoff success, and I still haven't made up my mind. It's a really tough call.

 

[Mess]

Agree 100%. If anyone doubts what we're aiming for they should remind themselves that we traded a 1st round pick for a rental. We were favoured to go to the semis without doing that so it follows that ...

We're 4th overall. Next best in Canada is EDM at 11th and we're a lot close to 1st overall then we are to EDM.

Semi finals is the floor, no doubt about it..

Vegas oddsmakers don't give Edmonton (20-1), Montreal (25-1) nor Winnipeg (28-1) much chance against our Leafs at 8-1 odds tied with Carolina as 4th best for a Cup win. So final 4 seems to be their expectations as well. If we had to go through TB (Cup champs) and Boston our original Div opponents it would be a dog fight for any of those 3 to be last team standing in their Atlantic Div.

NHL Hockey Futures | Stanley Cup Future Betting Odds

2021 NHL Stanley Cup Odds

Team	American	Fractional
Colorado Avalanche	+450	9/2
Vegas Golden Knights	+550	11/2
Tampa Bay Lightning	+750	15/2
Toronto Maple Leafs	+800	8/1
Carolina Hurricanes	+800	8/1
Boston Bruins	+1200	12/1
Pittsburgh Penguins	+1200	12/1
Washington Capitals	+1200	12/1
New York Islanders	+1600	16/1
Edmonton Oilers	+2000	20/1
Minnesota Wild	+2000	20/1
Florida Panthers	+2200	22/1
St. Louis Blues	+2200	22/1
Montreal Canadiens	+2500	25/1
Nashville Predators	+2800	28/1
Winnipeg Jets	+2800	28/1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Odds To Win 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Optimist]

Anyone else not at all interested in line combinations? Sometimes a thread gets completely overrun by people posting lineup combinations with zero commentary and it’s just so boring. I just don’t get the appeal.

I agree. You get 100 people posting 100 different line combos. I just scroll on by without even reading them.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I think this year it's a unique scenario in that if we stay healthy, a few solid forwards are going to have to sit on the sidelines.

I've been putting myself in Keefe's shoes trying to put together the best combinations for playoff success, and I still haven't made up my mind. It's a really tough call.

It’s a tough one. Though I think everyone agrees on 2-3 play driving forward pairs and everyone else moves around somewhat.

 

[Deebo]

Winning a 1st round for the 1st time in 16 years will only be a good start, and long overdue.

However Toronto being the last Canadian team standing with just Montreal, Edmonton and/or Winnipeg in the way should be the floor for expectation this year. IMO

Leafs have to grab this once in a lifetime pandemic opportunity and run with it.

Every playoff team only has two teams to in the way to the final four every year.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I think this year it's a unique scenario in that if we stay healthy, a few solid forwards are going to have to sit on the sidelines.

I've been putting myself in Keefe's shoes trying to put together the best combinations for playoff success, and I still haven't made up my mind. It's a really tough call.

I'm thinking they rotate guys like Galchenyuk, Engval, Brooks

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Every playoff team only has two teams to in the way to the final four every year.

It’s best not to spend too much time trying to make sense out of Mess’ non-stop mental gymnastics and psychological games to try and play down Leafs performance thus far this year.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I agree. You get 100 people posting 100 different line combos. I just scroll on by without even reading them.

Haha yeah, this describes me perfectly. Though I have to say, with all the talent we have heading into the playoffs, it's more interesting than ever. Not even line combos so much but just who plays and who sits.

Not gonna think about it too much myself, my only thought ATM is that I hope it's not a given that Thornton plays. I think I'd even go further than that and say that it would be a mistake to play him every game. He should play some, and sit some to get rested and hungry but he's just not good enough to be pencilled into the lineup every night..

 

[CanadasTeam]

Assuming we play the Habs, I think it's going to be more difficult than the regular season stats would suggest.

Price is still an x factor regardless of the circumstances, and the Habs always seem to have horsehoes up their ass in the playoffs.

Other than that, I'm cautiously optimistic as long as Campbell stays healthy.

I used to have the same mentality but after seeing what they've become and achieved so far, things just feel a little different for me.

The Leafs from previous seasons ≠ this year.. I mean completely not the same at all.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

Anyone else not at all interested in line combinations? Sometimes a thread gets completely overrun by people posting lineup combinations with zero commentary and it’s just so boring. I just don’t get the appeal.

I don't mind them, I just find it a little annoying when people argue with people about their fictional lineup. It's like some people are afraid Keefe is going to see the post and go "Of course! Matthews on the checking line, they will never see it coming" or something.

 

[Jozay]

Anything less than being a final four team is a fail.

 

[ToneDog]

I don't mind them, I just find it a little annoying when people argue with people about their fictional lineup. It's like some people are afraid Keefe is going to see the post and go "Of course! Matthews on the checking line, they will never see in coming" or something.

You are right but you know, in some cases I have seen moves suggested on this board implemented in subsequent games. If Keefe is indeed reading this board, we just gotta hope he choses the right suggestions. LOL.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

So should we rest Matthews and Marner for the final 2 games or better to keep them sharp and just dial the minutes back in the games?

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

So should we rest Matthews and Marner for the final 2 games or better to keep them sharp and just dial the minutes back in the games?

I'd prefer both were kept out the Winnipeg game personally.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I'd prefer both were kept out the Winnipeg game personally.

Kind of where my head is at. Play them against Ottawa but ease the minutes and then just ice the taxi squad against the Jets.

 

[ToneDog]

Anything less than being a final four team is a fail.

Do not want to hear any excuses this year. Habs can't score like the CBJ but they also can't play D like them. Jets are currently a tire fire and Helly can't save them in a long series. Stay out of the penalty box and McDrai can't hurt you as much. #JustGetItDone.

 

[zeke]

It’s best not to spend too much time trying to make sense out of Mess’ non-stop mental gymnastics and psychological games to try and play down Leafs performance thus far this year.

Never say never to a Babcock coached team!

 

[zeke]

And I love playing with line combos so you'll have to deal with it sorry.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

And I love playing with line combos so you'll have to deal with it sorry.

Only acceptable if you use terrible puns to give each line their own characterizing name.

 

[zeke]

Only acceptable if you use terrible puns to give each line their own characterizing name.

Fair.

 

[Stephen]

Connor McDavid has something like 6 points in 8 games vs Toronto and 94 points in 45 vs the rest of Canada. If we meet the Oilers in the second round I would love to see the Leafs shut him down in a total team effort to end his historic season of stats padding vs Ottawa and Vancouver.

 

[Mess]

According Vegas oddmakers have our Leafs path to the final 4 is the easiest and most likely based on level of competition.

Our Leafs #3 ranked will play either #14 or #15 in round #1 of the 16 playoffs teams, and then in round #2 will face Edmonton #10 or the other of the #14/15th ranked, playing as the heavy favourites in rounds #1 & #2 to advance to the Final 4.

2021 Stanley Cup Odds: Surging Hurricanes Climbing the Board

	Stanley Cup Odds
	2021 NHL Stanley Cup Futures
Rank	Team	Odds
1	Colorado Avalanche	500
2	Vegas Golden Knights	550
3	Toronto Maple Leafs	650
3	Carolina Hurricanes	650
5	Tampa Bay Lightning	700
6	Boston Bruins	1100
7	Washington Capitals	1200
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	1300
9	New York Islanders	1600
10	Edmonton Oilers	1800
11	Florida Panthers	1800
12	Minnesota Wild	1800
13	St. Louis Blues	2500
14	Winnipeg Jets	3000
15	Montreal Canadiens	3000
16	Nashville Predators	4000

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

** If Edmonton gets upset in round #1, our path to the Final 4 is through the #14 and #15 ranked of 16 playoff teams.

The table is set for a long Leafs run deep into the 2021 playoffs.