WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
I thought it was a great piece of writing from Scott, but it really bothered me that he didn't say who he would choose at number 6.
It felt like a weird cop-out.
It felt like a weird cop-out.
The Defensive Logjam
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Coco-puffs
New member
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
Completely agree. I was expecting him to choose one guy as the leader in his opinion. He did say Dermott was probably leading until last night's game but didn't choose someone who took the lead (or if Dermott is still ahead)
Highlander
Active member
"There will growth in the Spring"
Chaunce (the) Gardiner
Chaunce (the) Gardiner
herman
Well-known member
Side benefit of losing Zaitsev for so long (other than gaining so much appreciation for Polak's trade value), is that he got to sit and just watch Leaf games and how opponents played, and how our system worked. We'll see if the microstats shake out with more games, but Zaitsev looked a lot more assertive with his gaps against the Islanders.
His main issue is really trying too hard to not make mistakes, and thus allowing too many entries and turning over the puck too easily on default chip outs.
His main issue is really trying too hard to not make mistakes, and thus allowing too many entries and turning over the puck too easily on default chip outs.
WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
Yeah, Zaitsev looked fleet of foot last night, which was surprising given the injury he had and it being his first game back.
On the other side of the ledger, he filled the Polak icing the puck quota too, I counted 3 for sure and maybe 4.
On the other side of the ledger, he filled the Polak icing the puck quota too, I counted 3 for sure and maybe 4.
herman
Well-known member
https://theathletic.com/229159/2018/02/02/travis-dermott-and-justin-holl-arent-making-life-easy-on-mike-babcock/
Rielly - Hainsey
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Dermott - Who?
If it were up to me, Borgman and Carrick. Trade Polak to give him a shot at playing time somewhere else after boosting his value half the season from negative to something (St. Louis? Calgary?). Bring Holl back up when the roster expands after the deadline for the grind he put in all these years to reward him and light a fire in the Marlies.
Rielly - Hainsey
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Dermott - Who?
If it were up to me, Borgman and Carrick. Trade Polak to give him a shot at playing time somewhere else after boosting his value half the season from negative to something (St. Louis? Calgary?). Bring Holl back up when the roster expands after the deadline for the grind he put in all these years to reward him and light a fire in the Marlies.
Obviously there's some recency bias coming into play here, but I'd try to keep Dermott-Holl up and together for as long as we can. Launch Polak into the sun somewhere and send Borgman down to the Marlies for awhile just to give Holl a longer audition period. Again, I can't stress how much Marlies folks have gushed about this guy for 2 years now. It's entirely possible that his play is for real (ok not goal-per-game for real, but still). If we could run a roster of 13 F-8 D by trading both Martin and Leivo then I'd keep Borgman up as well.
mr grieves
New member
What CtB said.
I'm still of the mind that the Leafs should be trying to give as many NHL-ready Marlies auditions as they can. I'm sure they have their own ways of evaluating internally, and there's a development cost to the yo-yoing that's (I guess) on to benefit my curiosity... but they should see who can do what in different game situations as they head into a pretty crucial off-season as far as surrounding the core talent goes.
So, yeah, Borgman down, Holl and Carrick rotate in and out. Ship Polak to STL. Heck, send JvR and Komarov with him and see what you've got in Johnsson and Soshnikov, bank the picks and prospects.
I'm still of the mind that the Leafs should be trying to give as many NHL-ready Marlies auditions as they can. I'm sure they have their own ways of evaluating internally, and there's a development cost to the yo-yoing that's (I guess) on to benefit my curiosity... but they should see who can do what in different game situations as they head into a pretty crucial off-season as far as surrounding the core talent goes.
So, yeah, Borgman down, Holl and Carrick rotate in and out. Ship Polak to STL. Heck, send JvR and Komarov with him and see what you've got in Johnsson and Soshnikov, bank the picks and prospects.
Kaberle15
Active member
That is a real nice problem to have approaching the deadline...
But it is nice to know that in a deep playoff run, we have, you know, depth on D.
But with Rielly almost ready, Hansey not even on ER (day to day), and Polak ER status should be gone my monday (7 days minimum), they should try to do something
- JVR
- Komarov
- Polak
- Leivo
- Martin
Combine two and try to add depth at C/D
As an emergency call up, we know that Holl will be down as soon as they have a D ready to get in. Soch is a non factor for the next 2 weeks.
The real questions are:
Is Kapanen a real replacement for JVR's Spot ? (i think so, JVR has tons of talents, however he seens to be invisible most of the nights and could attract the most value for the Leafs)
Is Soch a real replacement for Komarov/Martin ?
Will the Leafs miss Polak roughness in the post season ? or the 10+ corse points will make up this roughness gap ?
will the bench miss Leivo ?
Can we get value for Martin ? Will the Leafs miss him in the post season ?
Can't wait for the Deadline...
But it is nice to know that in a deep playoff run, we have, you know, depth on D.
But with Rielly almost ready, Hansey not even on ER (day to day), and Polak ER status should be gone my monday (7 days minimum), they should try to do something
- JVR
- Komarov
- Polak
- Leivo
- Martin
Combine two and try to add depth at C/D
As an emergency call up, we know that Holl will be down as soon as they have a D ready to get in. Soch is a non factor for the next 2 weeks.
The real questions are:
Is Kapanen a real replacement for JVR's Spot ? (i think so, JVR has tons of talents, however he seens to be invisible most of the nights and could attract the most value for the Leafs)
Is Soch a real replacement for Komarov/Martin ?
Will the Leafs miss Polak roughness in the post season ? or the 10+ corse points will make up this roughness gap ?
will the bench miss Leivo ?
Can we get value for Martin ? Will the Leafs miss him in the post season ?
Can't wait for the Deadline...
If they are going to be trading defensemen, I'd love to see them try to trade Zaitsev for an upgrade on right D. Vastly easier said than done.
And yeah, the long term upside of trading JVR for picks and prospects vs the short term cost is too high for me to ignore right now.
And yeah, the long term upside of trading JVR for picks and prospects vs the short term cost is too high for me to ignore right now.
WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
princedpw said:
I'm not sure you can move that contract and as their top right-handed dman it isn't the right time to move on from him yet.
He is still very young in his NHL and NA career, he skates well enough that I think he can be more effective as he learns to play a more aggressive gap.
If Liljegren establishes himself in a year or two I'd probably look at trade options for Zaitsev at that point.
bustaheims
Active member
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
Agreed. I don't think there's much by way upgrade in terms of cost vs reward.
mr grieves
New member
princedpw said:
While Matthews and Andersen have accelerated the rebuild, and Marleau was a clear "let's see what we can do now" move, it's still the case that they're not winning a Cup this year -- some say having to go through Boston and Tampa means they've got the hardest road of any team in the league.
So... if they're not re-signing JvR, I'm not sure what the short term cost is. Stay the course, I say, and try to move some expiring UFAs to a team that thinks they've got a real shot -- NSH, STL, maybe ANA or MIN -- for a top prospect that might turn into a JvR replacement.
herman
Well-known member
Zee said:
I mind Polak playing at all on this team, but assuming we need someone of Polak's playstyle, there isn't really another option in the organization.
In this configuration, our right side is guaranteed to flip out turnovers, while our left side is guaranteed to try to break the puck out with a stretch pass, or skate it out. Is that by design?