2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
L K
Active member
I still think the Marner-Matthews split up still has more to do with the ineffectiveness of Bunting moreso than proof that splitting up Marner-Matthews and Tavares-Nylander was the solution.
Bunting hasn't been as effective at being a pest in the corners and in front of the net. He was great at that against Pittsburgh but I think that was what really made Matthews-Marner great.
Kerfoot's confidence right now is absolutely in the tanks so he's a drag offensively. Passing off glowing chances, shooting right into the goalies crest when corners are open. He's struggling and that has hurt a bit of the offensive production so the 3rd winger on the 1st and second lines has held back the production a bit.
Couple that with Matthews barely using his wrist shot and using a lot of slap shots (what's up with that)
I like the swap right now and I think they need to stick with it for a while to help build chemistry but I really hope we see a bigger opportunity to flip Matthews/Tavares more often if a line isn't working. Change up the looks at times.
Bunting hasn't been as effective at being a pest in the corners and in front of the net. He was great at that against Pittsburgh but I think that was what really made Matthews-Marner great.
Kerfoot's confidence right now is absolutely in the tanks so he's a drag offensively. Passing off glowing chances, shooting right into the goalies crest when corners are open. He's struggling and that has hurt a bit of the offensive production so the 3rd winger on the 1st and second lines has held back the production a bit.
Couple that with Matthews barely using his wrist shot and using a lot of slap shots (what's up with that)
I like the swap right now and I think they need to stick with it for a while to help build chemistry but I really hope we see a bigger opportunity to flip Matthews/Tavares more often if a line isn't working. Change up the looks at times.
Frank E
Active member
L K said:
Kerfoot had a glorious chance to shoot the puck there from the slot in the third and screwed it all up, but in fairness in the Benn and Kerfoot 2 on 1, Kerfoot had an open net available to him if Benn had just decided to be Benn instead of trying to Pat Kane deke.
But I do agree in that Kerfoot has looked a lot like a guy that doesn't get a permanent spot anywhere in the lineup and is having trouble being the swiss army knife he was last year.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
I think it's pretty early in the experiment to say that flipping Marner and Nylander is the solution to the scoring issues. It's definitely worth sticking with for a while to see if it's "this is new" energy or if it's an actual fix.
herman
Well-known member
OldTimeHockey said:
Stylistically, we were all seeing the benefits to this switch two seasons ago. Tavares and Marner play a slower, more methodical game that thrives on sowing chaos and making magic plays out of nothing. Matthews and Nylander enjoy the rush game and legitimate shooting threats on Matthews' wing opens up space for everyone.
Tactically, sticking with one lineup makes it very easy to gameplan (see every playoff). Especially if the coach's go-to problem solving technique was to play the tar out of the Matthews-Marner pair (again, see the end result in the playoffs).
It's a long overdue 'experiment' and we could have benefited from the flexibility in past playoffs. Keep it fresh and zippy.
Can't get over David Kampf still having more goals and points than Auston Matthews at 5-on-5 this season.
Frank E said:
I don't know if I'd be too concerned about that. At the end of the day he's still a 4C and I think even if he gets to 30 points (which I wouldn't exactly bet on) most of the league will know the 4th line is where he should be. And guys like him don't exactly get paid.
Nico Sturm signed a 3-year deal with a $2mil AAV this past offseason. With Minnesota his scoring numbers were comparable to Kampf (they dropped once he was traded to Colorado). But he's also 6'3", 210 lbs, was coming off a Stanley Cup victory, and San Jose now has him playing in their 3C spot it looks like. So that contract is probably absolutely best case scenario for Kampf.
On the flip side this offseason also saw someone like Johan Larsson, who has a very similar player profile as Kampf, not be able to find a NHL deal and he signed back in Europe. So there's a real possible downside to Kampf exploring the market as well.
For me I'd probably try to keep his AAV as close to $1.5mil as possible. Giving term to 4th liners is usually frowned upon but for someone like Kampf I wouldn't mind trying to offer him even like 4 years to keep that AAV down. If he leaves, well that wouldn't exactly be the end of the world. This offseason showed you can find guys like him for relatively cheap (ZAR for $840k, Johan Larsson could have probably been had for $1mil). Heck if Larsson wants to return to the NHL next season I'd be knocking on his door if Kampf left. I also think Pontus Holmberg could probably be a good home grown replacement for him, especially if the Leafs want to keep him at centre. He'll need to work on his face-offs though.
herman
Well-known member
The Leafs centreman pipeline does not look nearly as fallow as it did when Dubas was stepping into the GM role.
In a couple of seasons, we could be sporting Matthews ($$$$$), McDavid ($$$$$), Tavares ($pezza-deal), Holmberg ($), Minten ($). If Kampf is still around (and effective), awesome.
In a couple of seasons, we could be sporting Matthews ($$$$$), McDavid ($$$$$), Tavares ($pezza-deal), Holmberg ($), Minten ($). If Kampf is still around (and effective), awesome.
Highlander
Active member
Matthews leaves practice 20 minutes early after taking a shot of his foot.Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Highlander
Active member
Matthews OK... Whew.