Heroic Shrimp
Active member
https://twitter.com/LeafsPR/status/1370757311426334726
Lol, ok. Impactful 23 seconds he played with the Marlies.
Lol, ok. Impactful 23 seconds he played with the Marlies.
2020-2021 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
OldTimeHockey
Active member
Heroic Shrimp said:
Truculence
Assuming Simmonds returns this weekend (or shortly afterward), I wonder where he fits in the line-up. When we were healthy to start the season he was on the 4th line, and then moved up to the middle-6 when injuries started to open up room. So I would assume he might slot back on the 4th line now but I'm not sure that's the best spot for him. I really wasn't a fan of the Spezza and Simmonds combo to start the year. They both looked pretty ineffective, and it probably isn't a coincidence their play got better once split up. There's other potential factors (start of the season with no training camp, new team for Simmonds, Barabanov was often their other linemate and he also struggled for the same reasons) but I also just think their play styles aren't super compatible.
So if no trades happen this week and Simmonds return I'm guessing our line-up against Calgary is:
Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Thornton-Tavares-Nylander
Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Simmonds
Vesey-Engvall-Spezza
The problem here is that 3rd line becomes more of an offensive one, but if Hyman stays in the top-6 I think that's bound to happen anyway. Engvall going up against other teams top players wasn't going to happen forever.
So if no trades happen this week and Simmonds return I'm guessing our line-up against Calgary is:
Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Thornton-Tavares-Nylander
Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Simmonds
Vesey-Engvall-Spezza
The problem here is that 3rd line becomes more of an offensive one, but if Hyman stays in the top-6 I think that's bound to happen anyway. Engvall going up against other teams top players wasn't going to happen forever.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
One thing that I was opposed to earlier in the season, but would not be opposed to now is splitting Marner and Matthews. Put Nylander and Matthews together. If Matthews is going to continue to struggle to shoot the puck, let's give him a shooter.
Guilt Trip
Active member
I think after this downtime, Keefe goes back to Thornton being with M&M and Hyman goes to the 2nd or 3rd line. I think Vesey will have a seat at some point as well. Leafs will only room for a 21 man roster with everyone healthy so 1 sub a game. I also see Barabanov possibly getting a shot again if he continues playing the way he has so far, (2gms, 5pts) on the Marlies.CarltonTheBear said:
Guilt Trip
Active member
Agree with giving Matthews a shooter like Willy. I'm kind of leaning towards keeping him out until the 25th if his wrist doesn't respond well in the next 4 days. The PP has suffered without him being a threat to shoot.OldTimeHockey said:
Phileas Fogg
New member
Guilt Trip said:
http://moneypuck.com/player.htm?p=8477939
Unless I'm reading this wrong, Nylander isn't a huge upgrade, at least, from a shooting perspective.
I'd actually lean towards putting Spezza in the shooting lane.
http://moneypuck.com/player.htm?p=8469455
herman
Well-known member
Easy PP Solution: stack your minutes here
34
88-91-16
44
Pretty much the setup as before, except with Matthews in tippy land (but also leveraging his underrated playmaking on kickouts to 88, 91). Marner gets to play on his strong side to give him JvR-Kadri options once again, but instead they are Matthews-Tavares, or threading the one-timer to Nylander.
If they don't like that look, just rotate in-cycle
88
44/16-91-34
16/44
When PKs see Matthews in his one-timer zone, they will tighten up the slot and it'll open up space for Nylander to either tuck one in, or make the next pass of his own into chaos (Tavares) or glory (Matthews).
PP2:
11
97-15-19
Whoever: a righty helps back here actually for quicker feeds to Thornton to setup Spezza's snipe.
34
88-91-16
44
Pretty much the setup as before, except with Matthews in tippy land (but also leveraging his underrated playmaking on kickouts to 88, 91). Marner gets to play on his strong side to give him JvR-Kadri options once again, but instead they are Matthews-Tavares, or threading the one-timer to Nylander.
If they don't like that look, just rotate in-cycle
88
44/16-91-34
16/44
When PKs see Matthews in his one-timer zone, they will tighten up the slot and it'll open up space for Nylander to either tuck one in, or make the next pass of his own into chaos (Tavares) or glory (Matthews).
PP2:
11
97-15-19
Whoever: a righty helps back here actually for quicker feeds to Thornton to setup Spezza's snipe.
Here's one small thing I don't get: why isn't Dermott getting PP2 minutes? He might not be a prototypical powerplay QB but neither is Brodie, who has 8 PP points over the last 2.5 seasons. Brodie also gets big 5-on-5 minutes and is on the secondary pairing on the PK.
My top choice for that spot given the defencemen on the roster might be Muzzin, who's actually put up pretty decent offensive numbers this season and throughout his time as a Leaf at 5-on-5, but since he's already getting a ton of minutes on the PK and at 5-on-5 I can understand wanting to give him a break during powerplays.
Dermott's 5-on-5 ice-time is down about 2.5 minutes a game this season, and his overall ice-time is down about 5 minutes a game. I don't think that's entirely his fault, and more a reflection of how much stronger our defence is with the additions of Brodie and Bogosian. I'm not really arguing that he'd be a massive boost to the powerplay unit, I think he'd probably perform roughly at the same level of Brodie, but at least he'd be getting into the game more and have a more defined role on the team as opposed to just being a bottom pairing defenceman and the only player who doesn't have a consistent spot on either specialty team.
My top choice for that spot given the defencemen on the roster might be Muzzin, who's actually put up pretty decent offensive numbers this season and throughout his time as a Leaf at 5-on-5, but since he's already getting a ton of minutes on the PK and at 5-on-5 I can understand wanting to give him a break during powerplays.
Dermott's 5-on-5 ice-time is down about 2.5 minutes a game this season, and his overall ice-time is down about 5 minutes a game. I don't think that's entirely his fault, and more a reflection of how much stronger our defence is with the additions of Brodie and Bogosian. I'm not really arguing that he'd be a massive boost to the powerplay unit, I think he'd probably perform roughly at the same level of Brodie, but at least he'd be getting into the game more and have a more defined role on the team as opposed to just being a bottom pairing defenceman and the only player who doesn't have a consistent spot on either specialty team.
Just as a small addendum to that last point: every single player who has played more than 1 game for the Leafs this season averages over 30 seconds a game on at least one of the specialty teams except for Barabanov and Dermott.
Guilt Trip
Active member
I would like to see Dermott get a shot on the PP. I think ultimately though it will be Sandin there.CarltonTheBear said:
Frank E said:
It's an interesting suggestion but considering how infrequently shorthanded goals happen I'm not sure it's really necessary.
Guilt Trip said:
Ultimately yes when Sandin cracks the roster the PP2 spot will be his from day 1 I imagine. But that's probably not going to be the case until next season.
bustaheims
Active member
I agree with CtB - Dermott should get some PP2 time. He has some offensive ability, and some PP time could help boost his confidence. Would also help manage Brodie's minutes a little better, so the team can lean on him a little more in other situations.
Guilt Trip
Active member
I think Sandin will be in the line up before the year is over. Next year for sure though.CarltonTheBear said: