2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

[cabber24]

Kyle Clifford's retirement... is this actually a thing? Sorry for being the grumpy guy. Wasn't he Dubas's first client as an agent? He hardly played for the Leafs, but I suppose he was a serviceable vet for the Marlies.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I liked Clifford. Maybe easier to say this in hindsight I suppose but if the Leafs wanted a part-time goon they probably should have just kept him in the NHL. Surprising a little to see that he's only 34 years old.

 

[cabber24]

I liked Clifford. Maybe easier to say this in hindsight I suppose but if the Leafs wanted a part-time goon they probably should have just kept him in the NHL. Surprising a little to see that he's only 34 years old.

I thought his birth year was typo... 1991.

 

[cw]

I liked Clifford. Maybe easier to say this in hindsight I suppose but if the Leafs wanted a part-time goon they probably should have just kept him in the NHL. Surprising a little to see that he's only 34 years old.

I liked him as well. Maybe too little, too late but he tried to morph his game into playing better defensively and contributing more hockey. I think he made real progress that way. He sustained that effort when he went to the Marlies. That may have helped pave a path for him towards coaching/development. I did not see the Marlies as much recently but I saw a number of occasions where he still stepped up - old school - to protect his Marlies teammates.

Nice article on him:
Hockey News: 'The Epitome Of A Great Teammate': How Kyle Clifford Has Created A Lasting Impact Inside The Maple Leafs' Organization

 

[ZBBM]

I remember this vaguely being very funny, so I looked it up.

Called up for last game in 06, scored.
Called up for one game in 07, scored.
Called up again in 08 for a longer stretch, scored in that first game.
Called up in December 08 and scored in each of his first three games (5 in 6 games, and then 0-ferred the rest of the way)

Thanks for doing my homework herman!

 

[herman]

The toughest type of player to coach

Workshop 159: Matias Maccelli's fit with TOR

jhanhky.substack.com

If you're in freebie mode, here's a 7 min video breaking down Maccelli's potential fit (issues) in the Leafs lineup, with some general player archetype remarks about middle 6 offensive players being harder to navigate from a coaching perspective compared to your bluechip offensive drivers and your bottom of the lineup role players.

So this generally applies, in varying degrees, to the aforementioned Mattias Maccelli, Max Domi, Nick Robertson, Easton Cowan, and to a lesser degree Dakota Joshua (who is quite a different archetype for the same niche).

Because of the possession playstyle where they actually turn out pretty okay in regular season usage, the prospect pipeline was overloaded with this player type under Dubas' drafts (Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Mikhail Abramov, Nick Abruzzese, Ryan Tverberg, Joe Miller, Veeiti Miettinen, Dmitry Ovchinnikov, Ty Voit, Roni Hirvonen, Brandon Lisowsky, Nick Moldenhauer, Hudson Malinoski) and free agent signings (Max Ellis, Alex Steeves). The bet is that one or two of them, under the right circumstances and opportunity, pop off a la Verhaeghe or Brad Marchand if you're extremely lucky; the higher percentage outcome* is that they top out as tweeners in the AHL (Seth Griffith) and/or find success overseas.

* technically this is the outcome for just about every draft pick outside the top 10-15

Speaking of Cowan:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1954973911830909343

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Oh hey it's a real thing?! circles + puck touch makes more sense than blueline/blueline crossing (refs would die)

How did it fare?

It was a neat concept. I saw goals scored on the initial penalty shot. But saw even more scored by the players joining the play and gaining rebounds.

 

[herman]

It was a neat concept. I saw goals scored on the initial penalty shot. But saw even more scored by the players joining the play and gaining rebounds.

That is the spectrum of results I expected. The chase element also kills off those slightly annoying Kuznetsov/Schremp/Cowan meandering shootout attempts. The cost feels higher to take an OT penalty, so some might lean to being more conservative while starpower skill will feel like they can drive the net with more impunity to get a goal or draw a call.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

That is the spectrum of results I expected. The chase element also kills off those slightly annoying Kuznetsov/Schremp/Cowan meandering shootout attempts. The cost feels higher to take an OT penalty, so some might lean to being more conservative while starpower skill will feel like they can drive the net with more impunity to get a goal or draw a call.

Another thought is to allow the team awarded the penalty shot to change their players (other than the shooter), so that you can put out a couple speedsters that may get up the ice even quicker to create the rebound opportunity.

Another cool result would be the defending team leaving one player at the opposing blueline with the hopes of a save and quick up.