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2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

herman said:
This looks like Stolarz’ minor injury was a blessing in disguise if the additional scans discovered a hidden issue.
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The Athletic: Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz out 4-6 weeks with knee injury

Explaining the injury in detail, Treliving said that Stolarz had something that looked like a “little pebble” stuck in behind his knee, which was hindering his ability to straighten his leg. The upcoming procedure will remove that “pebble.”

“It’s in the wrong spot,” Treliving said. “We waited for a few days to see if it would move. But it doesn’t allow him to get full range of motion, so it’s gotta be removed.”
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Left in there, it can damage the joint. So it is good to get it out regardless
It is a significant blessing he wasn't more seriously hurt.
He has plenty of time to heal up and get back into game shape before the playoffs.

With Murray back from his brief injury, along with Hildeby & Akhtyamov, they should be fine - each team has 2 healthy goalies.
 
L K said:
It's not just the day after. It's multiple days in a row of them calling Stolarz and McCabe day to day. I'm fine with not disclosing the exact nature of an injury but the intentional. Matthews was fine.

I get we aren't entitled to the intimate details of players health but I think there is a reasonable in between from just lying and being vague.
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Even right when Kampf was injured Treliving said that he might only miss one game. That was like a month ago. I don't know what to attribute this to but it's a pretty weird trend.
 
cw said:
I think Morgan Rielly is a pretty good dman
I glanced over the rosters of his 12 years here.
Maybe I've missed someone but I find it kind of stunning that they have never provided him with a top 2/4 right handed dman to partner with for any credible length of time. Was left handed Brodie playing the right side as close as they got?
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Leafs are looking for players that shine in the playoffs.

After 8 years if this era, I have seen that with Reilly and Nylander. Reilly was the most potent force of heart that got the Leafs their first series win in almost 2 decades against Tampa.

The guy played aggressive, and was jumped by multiple Tampa players who broke his nose. He scores the game winner from the blue line with a snot rag hanging from his nostril. That's legendary in my books.

I know he's sometimes unnoticeable.... but that is not necessarily a bad thing for blue liners.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Anyone who thinks there's a chance Reaves sees waivers at some point this season is kidding themselves.

Now to be clear I will throw a "Reaves was waived" party if that happens, I just think the odds of Treliving and Berube coming to that decision are slim to none. The org loves him.
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I was thinking more along the lines that Reaves should first choice for the pressbox. There's almost no on-ice value and generally a negative to his linemates having to fill in for his lack of coverage.

Lorentz-Kampf-Dewar is going to be loads better. In any case, we have a bunch of back to backs, so Reaves can flit in and out as the situation requires.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Anyone who thinks there's a chance Reaves sees waivers at some point this season is kidding themselves.

Now to be clear I will throw a "Reaves was waived" party if that happens, I just think the odds of Treliving and Berube coming to that decision are slim to none. The org loves him.
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Reaves will be 38 next month. Reaves style of play just doesn't age well. I get there can be a soft spot for the Ryan Reaves of the league, but to heck with nostalgia when you can ice a better roster without him. If they waived him, he wouldn't even have to report to the AHL, they could just Robidas Island him. Being a 35+ contract, there are not many other options.
 
Guru Tugginmypuddah said:
Reaves will be 38 next month. Reaves style of play just doesn't age well. I get there can be a soft spot for the Ryan Reaves of the league, but to heck with nostalgia when you can ice a better roster without him. If they waived him, he wouldn't even have to report to the AHL, they could just Robidas Island him. Being a 35+ contract, there are not many other options.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1675293063818752000

Dewar has had some good moments since his return. Reaves far fewer in my opinion.
 
I no longer pay much attention to Leaf injury "news." I suspect, unless someone has an obviously catastrophic injury - broken leg, severely sprained knee or ankle (the type where you see the replay and it makes you a little queasy), they're all going to be "he's fine, day to day" which really means week to week in most cases.

The goaltending...with Stolarz confirmed out for a month+, what to do. I guess they're going to give Hildeby a couple more games to see if he settles in, but if not - do they bring up Murray? I was thinking he'd be needed at some point in the season but was hoping it would be closer to the playoffs. Or do they give AA (sorry I'm not going to try spelling that name lol) a game or two before committing to Murray? I would think they have to be pretty careful not to overwork Woll given his injury history.

Reaves - once Kampf is back and presuming no other injuries, Reaves _has_ to be the guy who sits out right? Right? I mean, we all see what he brings, or doesn't bring, there are numerous comments about it. Bring him in for certain games but he should not be playing a majority of the games if everyone else is healthy.

Minten down was the right move, he needs to play big minutes every night as a top line guy. I will agree with others that I was relieved to see what he was able to provide this year. After that short stint to start last year, I thought he might have no future. Now I think he could be a good 3rd line center in a couple of years, maybe similar to Kampf but more physical and with a bit more offense.
 
cw said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1675293063818752000
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To clarify this point: Reaves contract is even money across the years, so the 35+ clause is not applicable.
The rules for 35+ contracts changed in the 2020 CBA MOU. Now, a contract is not considered "35+" if:

-total compensation either stays the same or increases from one year to the subsequent year

-there are no signing bonuses after Year 1


If those criteria are met, the contract is not considered 35+, and therefore the usual contract rules around burying and buyouts apply. If that criteria is not met, it is considered a "35+" contract (if the player turned 35 by June 30), and therefore:

-If the contract is bought out, the original cap hit each year still remains (no cap hit relief from a buyout)

-If the player is sent down, the cap hit is only reduced by $100,000
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Reaves hits a lot - more than any other Leafs player and is 14th in the league in hits/60
But that is kind of it.

Reaves has had zero fights this year.
0.05 ppg, he gets a shot on goal once every three games
No PP or PK contribution
Less than 8 mins ice time per game at ES

No speed bursts above average NHL speed - he's slow on his skates
Which too often seems to leave him out of the play or out of position.
He's no Selke candidate.
No great forechecking. 2 takeaways in 22 GP

I'm sure he means well but to me, Dewar, Lorentz & Holmberg contribute more with the opportunity they're given.
 
Treliving's quote on how much they liked Minten while he was up: "We saw his brain."

Tre is an NHL-level quotist. Chief is down in the AHL on that count. ;)
 
I liked what the Buffalo game showed us:

That the team should play Berube's low event steady Defensive hockey that they are conditioning themselves for to execute in the playoffs.

But if they fall behind badly, then they can just unleash their Fire Wagon east West brand hockey that they have been playing for the past 7 years.... to make a valiant come back. It's higher risk hockey that doesn't get it done in the playoffs.... but sometimes you have to just go for broke if you are getting beaten like Buffalo was doing.

So it's like two strategies in the chamber.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1869374557250785385
Hatrik Laine is nearly automatic when up against the Buffalo PK formation, which was apparently designed to leave the left circle open. He was a -1 on the night despite recording the hatty and commented later that he did not particularly like his own play (solid self-awareness).

I agree with Joe: best ignore results against Buffalo (unless we lose to them).
 
I believe Murray is .930 over past 8 games.

Why would you carry a 30 year old two time cup winning goalie to play on the Marlies unless he's being utilized in the NHL. So its time to bring him in and reduce the load on Woll.

Already the extra demand on Stolarz has shown cracks. And overburdening Woll is risky. Its time for Murray to step up.

But no Ottawa games.
 
I’d honestly right now rather Murray than Hildeby. Hildeby is having a tough second season in North America so is better off learning to play through the ups and downs in the AHL for a while longer.

He needs to be protected a little still so he can remain a long term option rather than a short term stopgap right now. He’s just not being put in a place to succeed in the NHL with where he is right now.

Murray doesn’t need that - if he “fails” well then he fails and he’s done and he can skate off into retirement or Europe or whatever he wishes with his Stanley Cup rings. If he succeeds we get a pretty cool redemption from serious injury story.

Obviously I’m hoping for the latter.
 
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