Pre-Game Talk: Toronto @ Montreal - Wednesday 7pm - SN

[Racer88]

Hard to believe the journey is starting once again....

Sadly with the run it again play book Shanny has the journey will be a short one

Lorentz and Kampf to me are two identical players. I dont see the need to have them both in the same line. I honestly don't understand how Kamp's 2.4M hasnt been traded yet. Lorentz are far cheaper

4th line should be McMann - Lorentz - Reaves

Thats still a line with Size and Snarl, and also adds a offensive touch in McMann

You have to have a willing partner for a trade and in what world woukd someone give anything for Kampf at that dollar figure

 

[Macallan18]

McMann should not be sitting

Thank Patches for that, or maybe Reeves? I don't know.
Berube reminds me of the Who song, hmmm, Won't Get Fooled Again?
Welcome to the new boss, same as the old boss.
Old school fool.

 

[Gary Nylund]

What's all this nonsense about Tavares not even being a 2nd line centre? Come on guys, let's be serious.

 

[Macallan18]

Big opportunity for Timmins, let’s see if his defensive physicality has improved.

Playing Timmins is like betting the farm at the cassino on red or black.
Huge offense, skates, passes, shoots, and I have always thought with some seasoning he could be Jake Gardiner 2.0.
But get ready for some really boneheaded plays on D.
Don't get me wrong, I loved Jake, and thought the leaf fan base was way off in their condemnation of him.
I'm not sure Timmins is there yet, he has lost an awful lot of development time.
But that is what I see as his upside.
I'd actually play him over Lilly, who I think is also underrated but mentally damaged by the idiotic handling by Keefe.

 

[Fogelhund]

Timmins is mentally damaged, that some people find his name too complicated to spell correctly.

 

[weems]

Timmins is mentally damaged, that some people find his name too complicated to spell correctly.

We need to have a balanced organizational approach.
I feel previously we were too heavily weighted in the one direction but that doesn't mean the answer is to do the same thing but on the other end of the spectrum. We cannot just have a blueline that is big/physical and does all the foundational defensive things well but then cant move the puck or create any offense whatsoever.

Timmins/Liljegren fall pretty close in terms of the same bracket. Around the same age, around the same size, both RHD that have played less than 200 games in the NHL. Both players can provide some offense but both are prone to making some pretty egregious mistakes defensively. I would think that the new coaching/management sees it that Timmins can most likely bring around the same value to the table while costing almost 2 million less and if so, that's a big deal. If Liljegren was miles better defensively than I think this would be a much harder pivot but I'm not sure that is the case.

Many posters have been yelling for a few years now that Timmins deserves more of a chance so it looks like he's going to get it to start the season. He definitely has talent, the question will be can he avoid the bigtime defensive blunders.

 

[Nineteen67]

This is probably the best lineup they’ve had going into a season in quite a spell.

The October schedule is challenging enough to give the coaches an opportunity to judge what they have.

 

[DarkKnight]

Playing Timmins is like betting the farm at the cassino on red or black.
Huge offense, skates, passes, shoots, and I have always thought with some seasoning he could be Jake Gardiner 2.0.
But get ready for some really boneheaded plays on D.
Don't get me wrong, I loved Jake, and thought the leaf fan base was way off in their condemnation of him.
I'm not sure Timmins is there yet, he has lost an awful lot of development time.
But that is what I see as his upside.
I'd actually play him over Lilly, who I think is also underrated but mentally damaged by the idiotic handling by Keefe.

Agreed, I’m not sold on him at all.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I feel like this is going to be a violent affair and Montreal will come out swinging. Hope the boys just keep their heads up.

We're not the soft team bullied these days. If Habs want to pretend to be tough we will sit them down

 

[Suntouchable13]

To the Leafs: I just wanna wish you good luck, we’re all counting on you.

 

[Madap]

Should be a very easy win. Let’s see if the boys have learned anything this off-season.

 

[Fogelhund]

Should be a very easy win. Let’s see if the boys have learned anything this off-season.

That is often the attitude of our core, and then they don't play hard enough to actually execute, or only play one period or so. Hopefully Berube can instill a change in culture there.

 

[1specter]

Should be a very easy win. Let’s see if the boys have learned anything this off-season.

Montreal and Ottawa will never be easy wins no matter how bad they are. These guys play us like it's the Cup finals. Add in the season opener hype/pressure and the jankiness of early season hockey and there's really no guarantee.

 

[Mess]

"Play the Kids"

Oh, never mind the more things change the more they stay the same.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Another opener in Montréal with a '7:00 start time!'

Let's take bets on the actual start time, I'll take 7:47.

 

[Fogelhund]

"Play the Kids"

Oh, never mind the more things change the more they stay the same.

Silly Meme... they just aren't ready, and you know this. If you saw Grebenkin, Minten and Cowan play incredibly well, and contribute in pre-season, they'd be on the team. But they didn't displace anyone. Their time will come, and maybe with Grebenkin that will even be this year.

""

 

[Fogelhund]

""

 

[ACC1224]

"Play the Kids"

Oh, never mind the more things change the more they stay the same.

Only thing that stays the same is you dragging out that silly thought endlessly

 

[Spargon]

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens | Oct 9, 2024 | NHL | TSN Canada

Follow the NHL event featuring Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs scheduled on Oct 9, 2024

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Thankfully camp is over and the real games begin.
Scheduled 7pm start but by the time the Habs pass the torch around it will probably be closer to 7:30.

It'll be interesting to see who the 20 dressed will be.

Ugh they still do that circle jerk ceremony? Price going pass it to Suzuki again? Lamest new season ritual.

 

[Madap]

That is often the attitude of our core, and then they don't play hard enough to actually execute, or only play one period or so. Hopefully Berube can instill a change in culture there.

Montreal and Ottawa will never be easy wins no matter how bad they are. These guys play us like it's the Cup finals. Add in the season opener hype/pressure and the jankiness of early season hockey and there's really no guarantee.

Well I guess to be more precise I meant that this should be an easy win assuming we play as hard as we know Montreal will. The core thinks it should be an easy win if they don’t try, so not quite the same.

I’m also hoping Berube gets them to play hard, even against bad opponents. We lack a killer instinct, and I would not be surprised if not being able to put down bad teams is also related to our playoff struggles. It’s all mental with these guys.