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2017-18 Toronto Maple Leafs - General Discussion

https://www.mapleleafshotstove.com/2018/03/12/leafs-notebook-on-line-balance-measuring-nikita-zaitsevs-impact-scheduling-madness-march-12/

Video Tidbit of the Week
Video of Kadri's PP goal vs the Penguins

It wasn?t talked about too much on the broadcast, but I really thought this was a fantastic job by the Leafs pressuring off of a lost faceoff.

Yes, it is easier shorthanded, but we hear teams ? including the Leafs ? stress winning faceoffs all the time while on the penalty kill. Pittsburgh won this one very clean and the Leafs were ready for that ? you can see Kadri almost cheated and was in stride by the time the puck dropped, so he prevented a big wind up and clear, while Rielly raced around the wall.

It almost looked like a set play from that point. It went right over to Marner, who immediately shot for rebound, and Kadri knew what was happening. Usually, Marner shoots for the high-slot tip or to put it in a spot for JVR in front, but that was a pure off-the-far-pad play for a rebound specifically designed to go to Kadri. Nice goal.
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I was just listening to the 31 Thoughts Podcast last week (I think it was that one at least), commenting on Dundon wanting a lot of the GM and tactical decisions to be pre-determined via analytics models (a la Philadelphia Eagles' 4th down conversions). One of the points brought up was how successful teams were on the power play when losing faceoffs, and Marek wondered aloud if any teams were quietly working on deliberate faceoff losses (despite what the coach likes to say to the media). They mentioned that Carlyle's Ducks are quite good at this because they've had to make plays for it because it was a foregone conclusion they'd lose the draw anyway with their lack of faceoff people.

It reminded me of this: Matthews to Brown
 
herman said:
Nik the Trik said:
Rielly has reached froty points for the first time in his career.
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Underrated comment.
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Jokes aside I do think it's a meaningful milestone. Maybe it's just me but 40 points for a defenseman is where I start to think of that defenseman as having a legit offensive threat sort of season. That Rielly hit that in 63 games is pretty impressive.
 
I know a year or so ago, I was certainly questioning whether or not Rielly had top-pairing talent...looks like he does this season.  I hope it's sustainable. 
 
Frank E said:
I know a year or so ago, I was certainly questioning whether or not Rielly had top-pairing talent...looks like he does this season.  I hope it's sustainable.
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Hate to inflate the tires here to much, Rielly just turned 24 and he has been in the league for 5 years. He is built like a brick s--t house and can supposedly jump his hight from squat position.  When he was drafted when of the top scouts said and I quote "he is the closest think I have seen to Bobby Orr in the last 25 years".  What sort of upside does he have?
 
Highlander said:
When he was drafted when of the top scouts said and I quote "he is the closest think I have seen to Bobby Orr in the last 25 years". 
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That scout was, and I quote, a "crazy person".
 
Nik the Trik said:
Highlander said:
When he was drafted when of the top scouts said and I quote "he is the closest think I have seen to Bobby Orr in the last 25 years". 
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That scout was, and I quote, a "crazy person".
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Not if he had spent the last 25 years scouting in Mongolia and Rielly was literally the first person he saw after coming back to Canada. Then it would be The Truth.

Which BTW gets my vote for best boxing nickname of all time.
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Nik the Trik said:
Highlander said:
When he was drafted when of the top scouts said and I quote "he is the closest think I have seen to Bobby Orr in the last 25 years". 
Click to expand...

That scout was, and I quote, a "crazy person".
Click to expand...

Not if he had spent the last 25 years scouting in Mongolia and Rielly was literally the first person he saw after coming back to Canada. Then it would be The Truth.

Which BTW gets my vote for best boxing nickname of all time.
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Morgan "The Turth" Rielly.

And for what it's worth I always thought the best boxing nickname was The Motor City Cobra.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Nik the Trik said:
Highlander said:
When he was drafted when of the top scouts said and I quote "he is the closest think I have seen to Bobby Orr in the last 25 years". 
Click to expand...

That scout was, and I quote, a "crazy person".
Click to expand...

Not if he had spent the last 25 years scouting in Mongolia and Rielly was literally the first person he saw after coming back to Canada. Then it would be The Truth.

Which BTW gets my vote for best boxing nickname of all time.
Click to expand...

Morgan "The Turth" Rielly.

And for what it's worth I always thought the best boxing nickname was The Motor City Cobra.
Click to expand...

I won't argue boxing nicks but props for froty, I just saw that a few minutes ago.
 
https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/973568416446631937

Rosen subbing for Zaitsev Dermott.
Johnsson is up for real. We are down to 1 call up left.

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/973570996740468737

Edit:
https://twitter.com/scottcwheeler/status/973575458922131458
*hyperventilates
 
I wonder if we start to see Babcock rest the vets on the left side here and there to get Johnsson some games down the stretch.

Burning a call-up just to have him play tomorrow and that's it would seem unnecessary.
 
Yeah, I think Johnsson plays even when Matthews is back.

Babcock has no time for Martin, Moore, or Leivo.

Everyone old can rotate rest, except for Marleau. Johnsson being there allows Bozak to take a good break when Matthews comes back (34-43-29-19 down the middle).
 
Hyman - Nylander - Marner
Marleau - Kadri - Komarov
JvR - Bozak - Brown/Kapanen
Johnsson - Plekanec - Kapanen/Brown

When Matthews is back, sans Bozak:
JvR - Matthews - Hyman/Marner
Marleau - Kadri - Marner/Brown
Johnsson - Nylander - Brown/Kapanen
Komarov - Plekanec - Kapanen/Hyman
 
You wonder if this is a response to the team looking fairly punchless at times in Matthews' absence.
 
Johnsson will be joining the ranks of esteemed Leaf draft picks from the 7th round (in the Salary cap era) to see NHL action with the Leafs:

Viktor Loov: Drafted in 2012, 4GP
Garret Sparks: Drafted in 2011, 17 GP
Carl Gunnarsson: Drafted in 2007, 304 GP

Honorable mention to Jeremy Williams, who was drafted in 2003 just before the lockout season and made the NHL with the Leafs coming out of the lockout renaissance of televised Texas Hold'em Poker in the Leafs' final game of 2005. He scored a goal for the Leafs in 4 straight season debuts, with the first two coming in the only NHL games he played those seasons. He currently plies his trade in the SHL with Orebro.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Highlander said:
When he was drafted when of the top scouts said and I quote "he is the closest think I have seen to Bobby Orr in the last 25 years". 
Click to expand...

That scout was, and I quote, a "crazy person".
Click to expand...
Just reporting what I read whether he was a crazy person or not.
 
I'm curious to see Rosen. I initially liked him more than Borgman in pre-season but then wasn't impressed with his short stint in the regular season. From the sounds of it the AHL has been a bit of a learning curve for him but he's been getting better.
 
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