Leafs Line up this year

[Bender]

The D lines are pretty hard to put together. But I think it will likely be the following:

Phaneuf - Aulie
Schenn - Liles
Franson - Gunnar

The problem here is that I think we're starting to become somewhat deficient defensively. Neither Franson nor Gunnar are known for their defensive game. Liles is below average as well. The only players I would say are above average defensively are Phaneuf and Aulie, and even that is a stretch.

I agree with you on Franson but not Gunnar, not that he's lights out defensively but I don't worry about him at all that way.

Um, Schenn?

Braincramp. Schenn is pretty responsible. But I don't think we're a shutdown team defensively.

 

[Tigger]

The D lines are pretty hard to put together. But I think it will likely be the following:

Phaneuf - Aulie
Schenn - Liles
Franson - Gunnar

The problem here is that I think we're starting to become somewhat deficient defensively. Neither Franson nor Gunnar are known for their defensive game. Liles is below average as well. The only players I would say are above average defensively are Phaneuf and Aulie, and even that is a stretch.

I agree with you on Franson but not Gunnar, not that he's lights out defensively but I don't worry about him at all that way.

Um, Schenn?

Braincramp. Schenn is pretty responsible. But I don't think we're a shutdown team defensively.

Yeah, I agree with that but I like the way the balance is headed with Gardiner and Blacker in the pipeline especially.

 

[princedpw]

... But I don't think we're a shutdown team defensively.

Nope.  24th in the league in GAA last year. 19th in the league in shots against.  We need to improve defensively to have a shot at the playoffs.

Surprisingly, Boston was 2nd last in the league in shots against per game last year.

 

[Tigger]

... But I don't think we're a shutdown team defensively.

Nope.  24th in the league in GAA last year. 19th in the league in shots against.  We need to improve defensively to have a shot at the playoffs.

Yeah, team wide.

 

[moon111]

In brackets showing a typical in-game line-up change if they were coming out flat.  (Insert Mike Brown for a shift or two)
IMHO, when a disciplined Komisarek plays to win, he's better then Aulie.  Aulie proves no offense at all and it will be his
downfall, but there's bound to be injuries so he'll get his chance to play.  Besides Armstrong, don't feel anyone on 3rd or
4th lines are a shoe-in to start the season on the Leafs.

FORWARDS
[list type=decimal]
[*]Kulemin/Grabovski/MacArthur
[*]Lupul(M.Brown)/Connolly/Kessel
[*]Kadri(Lupul)/Bozak/Armstrong
[*]Dupuis/Zigomanis/Brown(Kadri or Bozak)
[/list]
DEFENSEMEN
[list type=decimal]
[*]Liles            Schenn
[*]Phaneuf      Franson
[*]Gunnarsson Komisarek
[/list]
GOALIES
[list type=decimal]
[*]Reimer
[*]Gustavsson
[/list]

 

[Britishbulldog]

After seeing the Kulemin goals from last year I noticed that Kessel was decent at setting Kulemin up I was wondering if they might try this:

FORWARDS

Kulemin MacArthur Lombardi Brown

Connolly   Grabovski   Bozak   Dupuis

Kessel   Lupul   Armstrong   Orr

DEFENSE

Liles Aulie Gunnarsson

Schenn   Phaneuf   Franson/Komisarek

GOALIES
Reimer
Gustavsson

Man, that defense looks crowded.  It all depends on where Phaneuf is playing.  If he is on the left then Aulie, Gunnarsson and Lashoff are fighting for the 3rd pairing.  If Phaneuf is on the right then Komisarek and Franson (maybe Finger??) are fighting for the 3rd pairing.

 

[moon111]

Franson had 8 goals, 21 assists for 29 points, was a +10, 81 hits in 80 games.  Was 4th in ice-time for Nashville with 1,214 minutes.
I think the 6'5" Franson will be used more then Gunnarsson, Komi, or Aulie.

 

[Highlander]

Why is no one pencilling in Frattin, Burke has already said he wants him in the opening day lineup.  I hate to make assumptions on one game but Frattin did not look out of place in his game against the Hab's. Maybe the best effort on the ice on that night, n'cest pas

 

[bustaheims]

Why is no one pencilling in Frattin, Burke has already said he wants him in the opening day lineup.  I hate to make assumptions on one game but Frattin did not look out of place in his game against the Hab's. Maybe the best effort on the ice on that night, n'cest pas

That's not what Burke said. He said he thinks Frattin might be able to skip the AHL and jump straight into the NHL. There's a fairly substantial gap between that and wanting him in the line-up for game #1 of the 11/12 season.

 

[Tigger]

Franson had 8 goals, 21 assists for 29 points, was a +10, 81 hits in 80 games.  Was 4th in ice-time for Nashville with 1,214 minutes.
I think the 6'5" Franson will be used more then Gunnarsson, Komi, or Aulie.

He might but it's not likely with Schenn and Phaneuf ahead of him as a right side dman, that's the tough part for the 6'4" Komi, not so much for the 6'2" Gunnar or the 6'5" Aulie as they play the left side ( as does Liles ). Also, from what I've read, Franson was a bit protected when it came to pure defensive play and he was actually 5th in ice time among Nashville dmen and if not for Bouillons concussion he might have been 6th.

 

[Tigger]

Why is no one pencilling in Frattin, Burke has already said he wants him in the opening day lineup.  I hate to make assumptions on one game but Frattin did not look out of place in his game against the Hab's. Maybe the best effort on the ice on that night, n'cest pas

That's not what Burke said. He said he thinks Frattin might be able to skip the AHL and jump straight into the NHL. There's a fairly substantial gap between that and wanting him in the line-up for game #1 of the 11/12 season.

I've penciled him into lineups when playing around with the possibilities but yeah, as of now Burke thinks he might be able to skip the A but he'll have to actually prove that and earn it, he's not getting a pass to the big club from one relatively meaningless nhl game.

I'd love for Frattin to do it though, the Leafs could really use him if can actually play like that every night.

 

[cw]

Franson had 8 goals, 21 assists for 29 points, was a +10, 81 hits in 80 games.  Was 4th in ice-time for Nashville with 1,214 minutes.
I think the 6'5" Franson will be used more then Gunnarsson, Komi, or Aulie.

Franson was actually 5th in ice time during the regular season and that was largely due to the injury to Bouillon. He was 6th in the playoffs. He was 7th in TOI/game during the regular season with a little over 15 mins/game.

I don't think he's good enough defensively yet to be top 4. He doesn't PK. I think Phaneuf needs someone defensive like Aulie to help cover him defensively. Unless Schenn, Komisarek or Phaneuf switch to the other side of the ice, that pretty much leaves Aulie who played pretty well with Phaneuf late last season.

I think Franson will be in a dog fight for ice time with Gunnarsson and Komisarek because he has a ways to go to prove himself defensively and offensively, if the guys don't go to the net like Nashville did, he won't put up nearly as many points as he did for Nashville.

 

[Tigger]

For argument the Leafs may have decided to focus Schenn on defensive assignments and brought in Franson to cover PP2's right side option ( Schenn was tried there for a bit but it really isn't his bag, 0 PP points )

Liles Phaneuf PP1
Gunnar Franson PP2

Aulie Schenn PK1
Gunnar/Liles Komi/Phaneuf PK2

Carrying 7 defencemen gives them some ok options/flexibility on defense, the forwards need adjusting on the pk, it's disappointing they haven't addressed this, so far at least.

One interesting note, of Fransons 29 points 23 were scored at even strength, not bad for bottom pairing es minutes, have to wonder how much an influence O'Brien had, if any, also makes me wonder about his actual ability on the PP.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Why is no one pencilling in Frattin, Burke has already said he wants him in the opening day lineup.  I hate to make assumptions on one game but Frattin did not look out of place in his game against the Hab's. Maybe the best effort on the ice on that night, n'cest pas

That's not what Burke said. He said he thinks Frattin might be able to skip the AHL and jump straight into the NHL. There's a fairly substantial gap between that and wanting him in the line-up for game #1 of the 11/12 season.

So....basically Burke has just guaranteed playoffs?

 

[cw]

Why is no one pencilling in Frattin, Burke has already said he wants him in the opening day lineup.  I hate to make assumptions on one game but Frattin did not look out of place in his game against the Hab's. Maybe the best effort on the ice on that night, n'cest pas

That's not what Burke said. He said he thinks Frattin might be able to skip the AHL and jump straight into the NHL. There's a fairly substantial gap between that and wanting him in the line-up for game #1 of the 11/12 season.

So....basically Burke has just guaranteed playoffs?

???

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

You know...because every time Burke says his goal is to make the playoffs there are people who interpret it as a guarantee....and I was comparing it with saying Frattin might be able to skip the AHL meaning he wants him in the opening lineup.

Explaining sucks.  :'(

 

[cw]

Why is no one pencilling in Frattin, Burke has already said he wants him in the opening day lineup.  I hate to make assumptions on one game but Frattin did not look out of place in his game against the Hab's. Maybe the best effort on the ice on that night, n'cest pas

That's not what Burke said. He said he thinks Frattin might be able to skip the AHL and jump straight into the NHL. There's a fairly substantial gap between that and wanting him in the line-up for game #1 of the 11/12 season.

I've penciled him into lineups when playing around with the possibilities but yeah, as of now Burke thinks he might be able to skip the A but he'll have to actually prove that and earn it, he's not getting a pass to the big club from one relatively meaningless nhl game.

I'd love for Frattin to do it though, the Leafs could really use him if can actually play like that every night.

I'm with you and Busta. Burke stated Frattin cracking the roster as a maybe. Frattin is in a different situation than Getzlaf and Perry were when Burke sent them down to the AHL for a few games. I think Anaheim was a better club in '06 - a year away from a Cup so Frattin arguably has less depth to cut through. And Frattin is two years older. Burke has dangled a motivational carrot to Frattin.

In my opinion, Frattin played very well two ways in their one NHL game peek at him. If he plays that way during preseason, he's got a good shot because he can play on the 3/4 lines (like Getzlaf & Perry did when they started in the NHL) - he doesn't have to hit top 6 scoring production out the gate.

If Kadri shows up playing weakish two way hockey as he did last season, asa waiver exempt player, he's vulnerable to getting sent down and Frattin or other candidates could be the guy to steal his spot. If Kadri shows up a smarter, dedicated two way player, he may have an edge over Frattin/others and/or it's a nice problem to have.

Even if either are sent down, with injuries, both guys are likely to play their fair share of NHL games beyond preseason. They'll get another chance this season.

Lupul, Connolly, Kessel, MacArthur, Grabovski, Kulemin, Armstrong, Bozak, Brown & Orr seem like locks to me. Beyond that, I think the other four spots are up for grabs.

 

[Britishbulldog]

In my opinion, Frattin played very well two ways in their one NHL game peek at him. If he plays that way during preseason, he's got a good shot because he can play on the 3/4 lines (like Getzlaf & Perry did when they started in the NHL) - he doesn't have to hit top 6 scoring production out the gate.

If Kadri shows up playing weakish two way hockey as he did last season, asa waiver exempt player, he's vulnerable to getting sent down and Frattin or other candidates could be the guy to steal his spot. If Kadri shows up a smarter, dedicated two way player, he may have an edge over Frattin/others and/or it's a nice problem to have.

That is what I am hoping for all our young players trying to break in the line up.  Kadri, Frattin or Colborne.  This year Kadri is the same age as Zach Parise when Zach played his 1st full season.  Zach scored 14 goals, 18 assists and was a -1 that year.

Lupul, Connolly, Kessel, MacArthur, Grabovski, Kulemin, Armstrong, Bozak, Brown & Orr seem like locks to me. Beyond that, I think the other four spots are up for grabs.

I agree with the players that seem to have spots locked up. 

I was going to make a joke of how impressed you are with Grabovski giving him the other 4 spots but I won't.  Especially when I only count 2 spots available on opening night.

 

[cw]

Lupul, Connolly, Kessel, MacArthur, Grabovski, Kulemin, Armstrong, Bozak, Brown & Orr seem like locks to me. Beyond that, I think the other four spots are up for grabs.

I agree with the players that seem to have spots locked up. 

I was going to make a joke of how impressed you are with Grabovski giving him the other 4 spots but I won't.  Especially when I only count 2 spots available on opening night.

The other two spots in my comments are for spare forwards (typically 14) for a 23 man roster.

My other hope is that Wilson might be more flexible when putting his game roster together. As I've mentioned before, if there's no opponent heavyweight enforcer, sit Orr. If the PP is floundering, maybe go with 7 dmen that provide the four best for the PP without exposing the D or have a PP/PK forward specialist inserted in games where they might rack up non-fighting penalties or a shootout talent for games that are expected to be tight - jiggling the lineup to help a weakness or improve the matchup against a particular opponent. My theory is that the coach might squeaze out a few more critical points during the season that way as opposed to roster spots based upon pure "he played good last game 'entitlement'" while having all 23 players engaged to do more of what they do best.

 

[moon111]

It's known Burke wants a power forward.
Nobody wants Komisarek on the blue line.
Kaberle has been traded.
I think it has to be suggested here...  Komisarek/Connolly/Kessel  ;D    :