GDT: Training Camp Discussion PART II

[ACC1224]

I guess more cuts after tomorrow’s game?

 

[MarMarSab3]

Have a very good feeling about this upcoming season. Really like the shape of this team.

Ritchie Matthews Marner
Bunting Tavares Nylander
Kerfoot Kampf Kase
Engvall Spezza Simmonds
Brooks

Reilly Brodie
Muzzin Liljegren
Sandin Holl
Mennell

Campbell
Mrazek

Mikheyev and Dermott traded for cap savings

 

[WinnieThePooh]

Have a very good feeling about this upcoming season. Really like the shape of this team.

Ritchie Matthews Marner
Bunting Tavares Nylander
Kerfoot Kampf Kase
Engvall Spezza Simmonds
Brooks

Reilly Brodie
Muzzin Liljegren
Sandin Holl
Mennell

Campbell
Mrazek

Mikheyev and Dermott traded for cap savings

Same, the media and twitter narrative is that we are worse off this year, but I think this is a better team than we've iced in the past. I like our depth a lot more, and I like that we brought in hustle players that know their role rather than a bunch of vets or skilled guys that don't want to play the checking role.

Good balance on this squad, and I think we will get some great results.

 

[ToneDog]

I think people are bias against offensive hockey. It's seen as less pure/good than defensive hockey. The North had an insane concentration of talent but because it was fast paced and not as tight checking, it gets labelled as bad. That's just wrong.

With that being said, it doesn't reflect well on us that Montreal was our playoff rep

Unfortunately playoffs are tight checking and not so offensive because the refs leave their whistles at home. Unless that changes, teams have to have the right mix of skill and grit to succeed IMO. Tampa is a great example. Blows out a less talented, hard checking/grinding/working Islanders team in game #5 but wins game 7 1-0.

 

[Notsince67]

Leafs allowed 251 goals in 82 games while this year they were on pace for 217 goals in 82 games

Looking at the ease of competition that the North Division offered along with the injuries to a top 4D in Gardiner and a solid bottom pairing guy in Dermott in 2019.

The leafs defense is better but not incredibly so. We will see whether the leafs improve and become a top 5 team in the league. They were what 6th or 7th in 2019?

This is just bs. The comparisons to the other divisions in prior years decidedly puts the north as around tied for second best based on what they produced in prior years. This is somewhat skewed by a below average defense because offensively, it had a lot of firepower. You provide zero evidence that the North was weak

 

[Apex Predator]

Have a very good feeling about this upcoming season. Really like the shape of this team.

Ritchie Matthews Marner
Bunting Tavares Nylander
Kerfoot Kampf Kase
Engvall Spezza Simmonds
Brooks

Reilly Brodie
Muzzin Liljegren
Sandin Holl
Mennell

Campbell
Mrazek

Mikheyev and Dermott traded for cap savings

I’m not worried about Mikheyev being traded but let’s say they trade Dermott. Leafs run into some injuries who’s called up after Menell? There is a lot of unproven dman so depth on defense is definitely something to be worried about.

 

[Macallan18]

I don't think that's true at all. Some people, sure. Most people, no.

The key is simply to ignore the persistent stupid non-fans.
This becomes a much more peaceful harmonious place after that.

 

[ToneDog]

Same, the media and twitter narrative is that we are worse off this year, but I think this is a better team than we've iced in the past. I like our depth a lot more, and I like that we brought in hustle players that know their role rather than a bunch of vets or skilled guys that don't want to play the checking role.

Good balance on this squad, and I think we will get some great results.

I tend to agree but I need to see it unfold on the ice. 34,16,88 and 91 need to be 34,16,88 and 91 but we need to get offence from 15,65,47,20 and 58 and 25 to stay healthy.

 

[ottomaddox]

A big shout out to all my homies in this thread that are actually looking forward to watching the Leafs and will be cheering for them.

Seems like most of this board is hoping they fail or already preparing themselves to fail. That's a loser's mentality.

Hanta Yo!

The last thing I would do is cheer for my team to lose.

I don't care for Dubas' methods or Keefe's lack of experience, but never want Toronto to lose.

I can't even bet against TOR if I have an opportunity to win money. That's how die hard I am.

 

[bbgobie]

Previous season's combined average points paces:

East 98
Central 90
West 89
North 89

If teams in all divisions played equal number of games, doesn't this just show how many teams got extra points from OT?
Eg, if there were only 2 teams in a division and played each other 50 times with no OT, the avg would be 50 pts no matter if a team went 50-0 or 25-25??

 

[LeafChief]

One more pre-season game to go and then we're back to real hockey. Very excited to get things going again.

This team is good.

 

[zeke]

If teams in all divisions played equal number of games, doesn't this just show how many teams got extra points from OT?
Eg, if there were only 2 teams in a division and played each other 50 times with no OT, the avg would be 50 pts no matter if a team went 50-0 or 25-25??

That records are from the previous season.

 

[Amadeus]

A big shout out to all my homies in this thread that are actually looking forward to watching the Leafs and will be cheering for them.

Seems like most of this board is hoping they fail or already preparing themselves to fail. That's a loser's mentality.

Hanta Yo!

Burn the Boats

 

[egd27]

The claim was that the less teams faced, the easier it is. Clearly, it's not that simple.

You may be on to something since when they face a single team they are unable to win 4 out of 7 games.

 

[deprw]

You’re gonna be absolutely shocked when the teams defensive numbers dip playing against actual contenders

And we're also playing against all the weak teams in the west and other divisions. Atlantic is maybe best division in the league, so it's possible that our defensive numbers go down playing against our division, but we play against lesser teams as well and that might even those numbers.

We'll see pretty soon.

 

[ACC1224]

Perhaps the squirrels could recap last season in another thread and we can keep this one for camp and this upcoming season.

 

[WinnieThePooh]

You’re gonna be absolutely shocked when the teams defensive numbers dip playing against actual contenders

I think you will be absolutely shocked when we are still really good defensively, and you realize that maybe defending against some of the more offensively talented teams last year wasn't some walk in the park like you make it out to be.

In fact, I bet we are even better defensively. Kampf, Kase, Bunting, Sandin and Ritchie is an improvement on Galchenyuk, Brooks/Barabanov, Thornton, Bogosian and Hyman.

Not to mention a full year of Campbell + Mrazek. We forget how truly awful our goaltending was when he was out - Andersen and Hutch both ranked in the 50's and 60's in Goals Saved Above Expected during the 1st half of the season.

We all liked Bogosian, but his numbers were kind of rough, and downright unplayable against good players.

 

[Stringer Bell]

Getting near the end of camp, I’ve been impressed with all the off season signings.

Ritchie has shown scoring, passing toughness and a good net front presence. He does have underrated passing and hockey IQ. Excited to see him with Matthews. We all know Mitch is a great passer but your going to see plenty of assists for Ritchie on the box scores this season as well.

Kampf has been good defensively but has shown he can score more than he has in the past.

Kase has shown flashes and I’ve liked him, but I think he is still getting his speed/quickness/timing back after not playing for so long and can be even better.

Bunting has shown his scoring ability around the crease was not a flash in the pan last year. Could help draw a lot of penalties as well.

Mrazek has looked solid, he’s fun to watch too.

With all due respect, this is preseason hockey. None of those players have shown any of that. Kampf has shown he can score more than he has in the past because he potted a couple preseason goals? Bunting has shown he's not a flash in the pan because of his preseason performance?

I'm sorry. I don't mean to seem like I'm taking my frustration out on you. I suppose I'm still bitter about the way things ended last year. For the first time in my 25 years of almost never missing a Leafs preseason game let alone game, I feel the regular season has never meant less to me than it does right now. Yes, we still need to make the playoffs. But I'll no longer be fooled by regular season performance, grit, and effort. We've seen how quickly a super star like Matthews and Marner can become a nobody in playoff hockey. Ritchie, Kampf, Kase, Bunting preseason performance causes you to write statements about what they are as players? Pfff...

 

[Havoc]

Previous season's combined average points paces:

East 98
Central 90
West 89
North 89

There's more than enough reasoning why divisions like this would be easier such that even if people didn't agree with me theyd be content with me having this opinion so let's just kill this topic and look towards next season which looks promising so far.

 

[LeafChief]

In my opinion, Bunting and Kase are going to really surprise people this year. Kampf too but not offensively.

Losing Hyman hurts but I think we are going to be a lot more balanced. Replacing Thornton/Vesey/Galchenyuk with actual NHL talent is going to be big (and I actually very much liked Galchenyuk).

 

[WinnieThePooh]

With all due respect, this is preseason hockey. None of those players have shown any of that. Kampf has shown he can score more than he has in the past because he potted a couple preseason goals? Bunting has shown he's not a flash in the pan because of his preseason performance?

I'm sorry. I don't mean to seem like I'm taking my frustration out on you. I suppose I'm still bitter about the way things ended last year. For the first time in my 25 years of almost never missing a Leafs preseason game let alone game, I feel the regular season has never meant less to me than it does right now. Yes, we still need to make the playoffs. But I'll no longer be fooled by regular season performance, grit, and effort. We've seen how quickly a super star like Matthews and Marner can become a nobody in playoff hockey. Ritchie, Kampf, Kase, Bunting preseason performance causes you to write statements about what they are as players? Pfff...

This is sports, man. If you are this negative before the season even starts, why even bother being a fan? Where is the fun in being miserable?

Time to get over last year. It was awful, but we should be thankful that JT is back and that Muzzin recovered without issue. Lots of excitement around this team. The regular season still matters, its fun to watch and it sets good teams up for the playoffs.

 

[4thline]

In my opinion, Bunting and Kase are going to really surprise people this year. Kampf too but not offensively.

Losing Hyman hurts but I think we are going to be a lot more balanced. Replacing Thornton/Vesey/Galchenyuk with actual NHL talent is going to be big (and I actually very much liked Galchenyuk).

At the age of Bunting/Kase/Ritchie Hyman had played two seasons, and was still a fish out of water (albeit a great forechecker) in the top 6. The new three all have different skillsets, but I'd bet that at least one of them matches Hyman's value to the team over the next 2-3 years.

 

[notbias]

Unfortunately playoffs are tight checking and not so offensive because the refs leave their whistles at home. Unless that changes, teams have to have the right mix of skill and grit to succeed IMO. Tampa is a great example. Blows out a less talented, hard checking/grinding/working Islanders team in game #5 but wins game 7 1-0.

Why is Colorado the favourite this year if it is so obvious that teams like Pittsburgh can never win the cup?

 

[BrannigansLaw]

This is sports, man. If you are this negative before the season even starts, why even bother being a fan? Where is the fun in being miserable?

Time to get over last year. It was awful, but we should be thankful that JT is back and that Muzzin recovered without issue. Lots of excitement around this team. The regular season still matters, its fun to watch and it sets good teams up for the playoffs.

It’s not just last season though, we’ve been through this too many times. Last season was just the cherry on top of a turd cake that broke a lot of people’s morale.

I’ll still watch the regular season but I’m not going to take anything away from it because the stars on this team disappear in April. All that really matters now is seeing what they do then and we’re still many months away from that. It’s ok to watch and I’m sure I’m going to enjoy some games but it’s gonna be tough to not feel like it’s all meaningless.

 

[Clark4Ever]

This is what we'll likely see on opening night, although I don't entirely agree with it:

Ritchie-Matthews-Marner
Mikheyev-Tavares-Nylander
Bunting-Kerfoot-Kase
Simmonds-Kampf-Spezza
Engvall

Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Holl
Sandin-Dermott
Liljegren