herman said:
I imagine Gustafsson's usage, or lack thereof, during his time as a Leaf wouldn't have given him much motivation to return.
2023-24 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
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I imagine Gustafsson's usage, or lack thereof, during his time as a Leaf wouldn't have given him much motivation to return.
https://twitter.com/lukefoxjukebox/status/1729184467930304986
I probably would have swapped the left wingers here too to put Bertuzzi back up with Matthews but that might be a move for another day.
I probably would have swapped the left wingers here too to put Bertuzzi back up with Matthews but that might be a move for another day.
Guilt Trip
Active member
I wouldn't yet. Knies hasn't been the issue with L1 and Bert works well with JT. I didn't think he looked good with M&M where Knies has looked good despite Marner's play.CarltonTheBear said:
herman said:
Similarly the Leafs outscored teams 31-16 with Tavares-Marner last season.
herman said:
Funny you mention this. A friend of mine is a life-long Ranger fan (we actually both grew up outside NYC, somehow I became a Leaf fan but that's another matter). We were talking a week or so ago and he says to me "what's wrong with the Leafs talent evaluation? How did they let Gustafsson go for nothing?" I had no answer as I thought he looked acceptable (and better than what Klingberg has provided by far) in the limited minutes he got last year. Apparently Gustafsson has stepped into the void left by the Fox injury and has been really good for the Rangers.
herman
Well-known member
Chris said:
Which era of Leafs drew you in?
When we picked him up, he had been covering for the Caps' top pair injuries already. He looked like what Sandin might peak at, with better skating. Keefe elected to barely play him (gotta get Giordano more minutes, eh?) and they let him walk without even a passing remark.
dappleganger
Active member
We can debate why, but can we admit that it was weird that the highest scoring defenseman on the Leafs roster (Gustafsson, 42 points) was sitting on the bench during the playoffs?
herman
Well-known member
Dappleganger said:
It's how the coach wants the roster laid out: defensively reliable from the bottom (see preferences for Kampf, Kerfoot, Jarnkrok, Holl). I don't think he's outright wrong in that regard, but sometimes there are blinders on.
Rielly, Brodie, Giordano, and then McCabe all had additional years on their deals and had brought them this far. It's why Sandin got squeezed out. Probably could've worked him into more games to give Giordano a rest, rather than doing that run of 11-7 to close out the season. Even Liljegren got sat for the playoffs when we really needed skating, puckmovers in those serieses.
herman said:
The details are hazy and I'm not sure what set me off on the cursed path of being a Leaf fan. I was 5 when they last won the Cup so that _could_ have been it. I do remember watching Keon, Ullman, Ellis, Henderson...but have much stronger memories of the Sittler era.
Family dynamics were interesting. My brother became a Bruin fan at an early age (I hate to admit that). My dad, mom and sister were Ranger fans until the Islanders came into being, at which point mom and sis switched allegiance leaving my dad alone to suffer all the "1940!!" razzing. Fortunately he did get to see one more Cup though I think he always felt it was a bit "tainted" by all the Oiler mercenaries they brought in.
Highlander
Active member
To me you do the math. Wins with Reeve in the lineup? Wins with McMann in the lineup. We haven't won since McCann was made to ride he pine.
https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1729703167217049998
Think this got lost a little in the whirlwind that was the ending of last nights game, but this is not great. The team is currently now missing Liljegren, Klingberg (or Klingberg's yet to be acquired replacement), and Giordano. The 4-5-6 defencemen in the organization.
Guys like Lagesson and Benoit have absolutely filled in admirably in their roles since getting into the line-up but this issue now is one of them, or Timmins who doesn't quite seem 100% up to speed, would now need to take a top-4 role.
Think this got lost a little in the whirlwind that was the ending of last nights game, but this is not great. The team is currently now missing Liljegren, Klingberg (or Klingberg's yet to be acquired replacement), and Giordano. The 4-5-6 defencemen in the organization.
Guys like Lagesson and Benoit have absolutely filled in admirably in their roles since getting into the line-up but this issue now is one of them, or Timmins who doesn't quite seem 100% up to speed, would now need to take a top-4 role.
herman
Well-known member
CarltonTheBear said:
This is probably how I'd roll it out, and Brodie-McCabe takes the shutdown role for a spell, and one of the 3 gets a run with Rielly to see how they handle it. Kokkonen or Villeneuve get the next call-up to cycle in over Timmins.
Rielly-Lagesson
Brodie-McCabe
Benoit-Timmins
Bender said:
Most teams would look pretty bad with their #7, #8, and #9 all in the line-up.
Liljegren just became eligible to come off LTIR today. With that said he hasn't touched the ice yet and there was never really any definite time lime given for his recovery so who knows where he's at.
Fingers crossed that Gio's injury isn't that bad, I'm sure we'll get an update this week if not today.
Klingberg could officially be shutdown for the season this week if he ends up needing surgery, which will officially give Treliving the green light/cap space to go out and get another defenceman (and it seems like there's a number of them available).
azzurri63
Active member
Just goes to show you the sad state of our farm system and how thin we are. Treliving has to make a trade and bring in some help. Benoit, Lagesson as much as they have filled in great they are not the answer. Going to be a challenging next few weeks unless someone is brought in.