Which Leaf(s) do you think will drop the gloves.

[Avilaj07]

I want this:

Count the hall of famers in this one incident. Some punching, many protecting, and everyone is on the same page: "Don't try to push us around!"

That's exactly what I'm talking about. My favorite part of the whole video is watching Sundin realize his captain was about to fight and instead, threw his gloves off and tackled the guy down from behind.

 

[The Iceman]

Gill fed him so many lefts he was begging for a right

 

[CincoHolio]

Sundin didn't take shit, even if he didn't dish it out. Our star players do fly-bys and avoid conflict like nobody's business. Sundin also fought (albeit terribly) a few times and would always grab someone during a scrum. I don't expect Matthews to drop the gloves with some duster, but if he fought a heat of the moment scrap against someone like Giordano I'd be happy that he showed a pulse. Need to inject some emotion into the bench sometimes.

Fair enough. Under those conditions, I don't disagree. The team as a whole needs more emotion.

 

[PromisedLand]

Our enforcer is the "power play"

oh wait......

 

[CincoHolio]

Those teams were full of toughness and Sundin was not one afraid of physicality. He threw his hits but was also surrounded by players who had no hesitation to go after players, Tucker, Corson, Roberts, Domi, etc.

yes, and that's my point. Sundin wasn't a fighter and he also had the staff around him that would have his back, should he need it. Auston is not afforded that same luxury so I don't see why he should take it upon himself to drop the mitts. Furthermore if anyone that might/should be doing that it's JT. He's the teams captain.

 

[LeafsNation75]

yes, and that's my point. Sundin wasn't a fighter and he also had the staff around him that would have his back, should he need it. Auston is not afforded that same luxury so I don't see why he should take it upon himself to drop the mitts. Furthermore if anyone that might/should be doing that it's JT. He's the teams captain.

Tavares only has two fights. Although technically it's only one fight at the NHL level when he played for the Islanders, since the other one listed was when he played for London in the OHL.

John Tavares

 

[Martin Skoula]

Thank you for proving my point. It's exactly why the players on this team need to become men and realize it's not just about skill but heart and passion. I'll give you an example, I'm 35 years old so during my time, my all time favorite leaf players are Clark and Gilmour. Two of the best all time leafs and you want to know what made them so special, it's because they played with heart and passion. They had all the skill in the world but it was that passion, that fight that made them that much more great. I didn't see anyone worried about Clark breaking his hand during a fight, I didn't see anyone worried about Gilmour getting hurt for fighting. No, instead they hit, they fought, they did what it takes to win and until our core of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Rielly, Tavares realize that it takes exactly that to win, well then this team will never be successful

And how many cups did this legendary passion get Clark? Nothing against him as a player, definitely fun to watch, but shouldn't we want our players taking cues on how to win from actual winners?

 

[ponder]

I think this team is going to throw down more than most expect. Dubas calling them out, the reality of age that some face and how much time they have left to win their dream, the addition of Simmonds and Bogosian, the internal competition that will prod players to try to leap past by contributing however they can, a large number being on one year contracts and trying to prove, again, in whatever way they can, and hopefully, a maturity that realizes that they've got to stick up for each other. I'm not suggesting they will be the second coming of the Broad Street Bullies, but I strongly believe they'll be far more aggressive in the fight department than they were last year (8 tilts led by Clifford with 3). I'm guessing the following drop 'em:

*Bogosian - 3 during the season...the rest just by number.
*Simmonds - 3
*Dermott - 2
*Hyman - 2
*Muzzin - 2
*Holl - 2
*Rielly - 1
*Vesey - 1
*Thornton - 1
*Spezza - 1
*Tavares - 1
*Campbell - 1 (just a gut feeling, I think he'll do it for the team)
*My totally off the wall, are you friggin' kidding me pick, is William Nylander. Ya, I know, I said it. No take backs.

I'm in with a total of 21. I could be a million miles off, but even if they double from last year, I think the team will be more cohesive and tougher to play, especially in the playoffs.

Anaheim lead the league with 25 fights last year, but that was in 71 games. That’s a pace of 20 fights in 56 games. The Leafs, in contrast, fought way less, just 8 fights last year.

21 fights would about lead the league, I don’t see that happening from this squad. Though I do agree we’re tougher than last year, and will fights more. We were at a pace of 6 fights per 56 games last year, I say we increase that to somewhere around 10, say 8-12. This would put us around middle of the pack for team fights next season, which feels about right, I’d say we’ve got about average toughness.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Anaheim lead the league with 25 fights last year, but that was in 71 games. That’s a pace of 20 fights in 56 games. The Leafs, in contrast, fought way less, just 8 fights last year.

21 fights would about lead the league, I don’t see that happening from this squad. Though I do agree we’re tougher than last year, and will fights more. We were at a pace of 6 fights per 56 games last year, I say we increase that to somewhere around 10, say 8-12. This would put us around middle of the pack for team fights next season, which feels about right, I’d say we’ve got about average toughness.

Who knows if this meant anything but Anaheim's record last season with those fights was 29-33-9 which put them 12th in the Western Conference and 27th in the overall league standings.

 

[CincoHolio]

Tavares only has two fights. Although technically it's only one fight at the NHL level when he played for the Islanders, since the other one listed was when he played for London in the OHL.

John Tavares

Dude. I'm not pining for either to start fighting. Sundin had 2 his entire career too. Maybe I should have worded it as asking Auston to be the one to drop the gloves is an even dumber idea than asking Tavares. I don't think either needs to fight as some have suggested.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Our enforcer is the "power play"

oh wait......

Then we stopped getting those too and wound up with neither an enforcer nor a powerplay.

 

[Bigmarycombo]

My prediction

There will be more fights in the nhl this year than in the previous
Two years added together

Example
Every team plays the other team in their division 7 or 8 games this year. Players will get their hate on for someone who gave them a cheap shot from the last game.

We play Montreal the first game

I predict there will be 6 fights that night. Teams will want to send a message to start the intense rivalries. Montreal will try to intimidate us and we have to show we won’t be pushed around.
I think we need one more knuckle head.

 

[Stephen]

Do you really want Matthews not on the ice for 5:00 minutes because he got into a fight?

A player like Auston Matthews would actually really benefit from snapping in a violent and unpredictable way once in a blue moon. Doesn't have to be a fight, but next time someone takes liberties on him, if Matthews shows a certain kind of disproportionately violent response, it will only make people think twice in the future about messing with him, opening up more space, respect and security.

You might say, "but Matthews is so precious." But here's the same principle at play for McDavid and Mackinnon:

[yt]

[yt]

 

[Avilaj07]

yes, and that's my point. Sundin wasn't a fighter and he also had the staff around him that would have his back, should he need it. Auston is not afforded that same luxury so I don't see why he should take it upon himself to drop the mitts. Furthermore if anyone that might/should be doing that it's JT. He's the teams captain.

Maybe you should watch the video again. Domi went after Sydor and then a scrum happened. Gilmour dropped the gloves ready to go, not because Domi needed help but because he's the captain and leader and it was then that Sundin jumped in to protect his captain since well Sundin is the much more bigger stronger player then Gilmour.

What I noticed from that video was Domi who is an enforcer and one of the best all time didn't have to do anything because Gilmour, Sundin, and Gill jumped in. That my friend is called a TEAM. They don't rely on the "tough guys" to do the dirty work, matter of fact, they jumped in to protect the "tough guy" not the other way around

 

[Avilaj07]

A player like Auston Matthews would actually really benefit from snapping in a violent and unpredictable way once in a blue moon. Doesn't have to be a fight, but next time someone takes liberties on him, if Matthews shows a certain kind of disproportionately violent response, it will only make people think twice in the future about messing with him, opening up more space, respect and security.

You might say, "but Matthews is so precious." But here's the same principle at play for McDavid and Mackinnon:

[yt]

[yt]

Thank you. Someone who actually understands what I'm saying

 

[LeafsNation75]

A player like Auston Matthews would actually really benefit from snapping in a violent and unpredictable way once in a blue moon. Doesn't have to be a fight, but next time someone takes liberties on him, if Matthews shows a certain kind of disproportionately violent response, it will only make people think twice in the future about messing with him, opening up more space, respect and security.

You might say, "but Matthews is so precious." But here's the same principle at play for McDavid and Mackinnon:

[yt]

[yt]

This wasn't someone taking any liberties on Matthews, however he does a good hit against the boards to get the puck and seconds later scores a goal. So that type of physical play is something Matthews needs to keep doing.

 

[Avilaj07]

This wasn't someone taking any liberties on Matthews, however he does a good hit against the boards to get the puck and seconds later scores a goal. So that type of physical play is something Matthews needs to keep doing.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. The guy is a monster physically and if he finally decides to use that to hit, defend and and stand up for himself, you'll see a lot more of those types of goals

 

[Tairy Greene]

I'd expect simmons to have a few, probably muzzin and bogosian after a big hit. Not really interested in seeing AM or another skill player fighting and possibly getting injured, unless they are fighting someone better than them like McDavid

 

[Mickey Marner]

That's exactly what I'm talking about. The guy is a monster physically and if he finally decides to use that to hit, defend and and stand up for himself, you'll see a lot more of those types of goals

Right, he should always play like that and impose his size & strength onto others. Otherwise why even be big at all.

 

[LeafsNation75]

That's exactly what I'm talking about. The guy is a monster physically and if he finally decides to use that to hit, defend and and stand up for himself, you'll see a lot more of those types of goals

Here are more examples of physical plays from Matthews.

 

[Stephen]

This wasn't someone taking any liberties on Matthews, however he does a good hit against the boards to get the puck and seconds later scores a goal. So that type of physical play is something Matthews needs to keep doing.

That should be a weapon he uses on every routine forecheck, not an exemplary case because we can see the offense flow from just applying the body.

I'm actually talking about being meaner though. I seem to recall a great sequence where Matthews has an epic battle with Shea Weber and he pitch forks him. If you see Matthews weaponize that kind of thing once in a while, he'll naturally buy himself a lot more time and real estate to do his real damage.

 

[LeafsNation75]

That should be a weapon he uses on every routine forecheck, not an exemplary case because we can see the offense flow from just applying the body.

I'm actually talking about being meaner though. I seem to recall a great sequence where Matthews has an epic battle with Shea Weber and he pitch forks him. If you see Matthews weaponize that kind of thing once in a while, he'll naturally buy himself a lot more time and real estate to do his real damage.

That battle with Shea Weber was shown in that other video I previously posted which is above your reply.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Matthews would fight if he needs to, not just because. The dude is a general not some foot soldier. He’s got ice in his veins and is a super human athlete, doesn’t need to fight some nobody to prove anything.
Think about where he comes from as well: a fist fight can lead to a body bag pretty quickly in the Deep South; I doubt they take fisticuffs quite as lightly.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

Going by the OP's figure and the shortened season the Leafs would be accruing fighting majors at higher rate than any team in the last two seasons...

So I'm going to say that's probably not happening.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

My prediction

There will be more fights in the nhl this year than in the previous
Two years added together

Example
Every team plays the other team in their division 7 or 8 games this year. Players will get their hate on for someone who gave them a cheap shot from the last game.

We play Montreal the first game

I predict there will be 6 fights that night. Teams will want to send a message to start the intense rivalries. Montreal will try to intimidate us and we have to show we won’t be pushed around.
I think we need one more knuckle head.