Contracts for the Big-3
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Zee said:
I'm going to reply to every message that references Berger by saying that he doesn't know anything and he's just trying to gain some attention by making a logical claim that Nylander is signing soon.
dappleganger
Active member
Here's something I've been pondering, is there a team in the NHL that needs Nylander less than the Maple Leafs?
Kin
New member
Dappleganger said:
It depends on how you look at it, I suppose. You could look at it depending on how Nylander fits into a depth chart or you could look at it via the overall strength of the team absent Nylander in the lineup. There are some teams whose top 2 RW are at least as good as Marner-Kapanen and there are quite a few teams who I think most of us would say are better situated to be contenders without Nylander than the Leafs are.
Zee said:
Well yeah that blog of his definitely wasn't paying the bills.
Nik the Trik said:
Yeah if you're looking just at winger depth then the Leafs really take a hit without Nylander in the line-up. With him we're comfortable top-5 and maybe only beaten by Winnipeg. Without him though we're left with just Marner-Kapanen-Hyman-Marleau-Brown-Johnsson. So it becomes a question of how much do you value elite talent over above average depth. Because the Leafs are left with only one top line guy there. Other teams have more than that but their depth could be worse.
Winnipeg unquestionable is better. But how about Boston? Do you take Marchand/Pastrnak and whoever else they can round up over our group? Ditto for teams like Calgary (Gaudreau/Tkachuk) or Dallas (Benn/Radulov) or Vegas (Marchessault/Pacioretty) or St. Louis (Tarasenko/Schwartz) or Columbus (Panarin/Atkinson). I'm not saying that all those teams have better wingers than the Leafs for sure, but they're definitely in the conversation. Nylander is what really sets us apart from most of the league. Then there's Tampa who would be in a similar boat as the Leafs with one elite guy and good depth, and I'm not sure I'm ready to make the case that our elite guy is better than theirs so they probably get the edge there.
Then of course this all gets a little trickier because you could argue that Nylander's greatest value is actually down the middle where the Leafs obviously have zero need for him right now. But I'd imagine roughly 80% of the league would probably at least give him a serious shot there.
herman
Well-known member
sickbeast said:
Yes, but only if you're not measuring only goals. Nylander is the primary puck carrier and distributor on his lines. Kapanen is the breakaway option and trigger man on this line.
Kapanen is quite good. Nylander is already better. Having both of them + Marner is going to be what sets the Leafs apart from the pack.
sickbeast said:
Goals are up across the board right now. For individual players, teams, and the league as a whole. So yeah I would suspect that Nylander would be getting in on that fun too if he were playing.
And just to be clear, Kapanen's on pace for 32 goals and 55 points. And that's with an almost 19% shooting percentage and that's already slowing down. He scored 6 goals and 10 points in his first 11 games (44 goal, 74 point pace) and had 4 goals and 7 points in his next 14 games (23 goal pace, 41 point). Kapanen's been very good in Nylander's absence, he's certainly proved that he's a legitimate NHL forward, but no I still don't think he's really even close to Nylander.
Kin
New member
I don't get why it's Nylander vs. Kapanen. If Kapanen's good start really is evidence that he's a legit top 6 guy then him on Kadri's wing would be terrific.
They're very different players. In fact, I think that if Nylander ever did see extended time down the middle that Kapanen would be a good pairing for him.
They're very different players. In fact, I think that if Nylander ever did see extended time down the middle that Kapanen would be a good pairing for him.
Nik the Trik said:
I suspect that Marleau gets the first opportunity because that was Babs' original plan, but moving Kapanen to the left wing alongside Matthews and Nylander would probably make for the optimal top-6 alongside the Tavares trio.
bustaheims
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
It's both sad and hilarious that he still tries.
Guilt Trip
Active member
That's what I'd like to see.CarltonTheBear said:
Guilt Trip
Active member
I don't think he threw him under anything. Just pointing out the different styles and that he gets lost sometimes with Nazy's style because he's more unpredictable.sickbeast said:
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