The easy part is done. Next step: Core overhaul
- Thread starter ZBBM
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Rebel_1812
New member
Potvin29 said:
Yeah wilson is am immature 50-60 year old. Although at that age you start calling them a cantankerous old man. Come on, Howard Berger is a nice guy that tries to never offend anyone, and wilson started an argument with him.
hockeyfan1
New member
Wilson's take on the situation:
'?The Leafs haven?t been able to establish consistency in their defensive approach to the game,? Wilson said on Sportsnet/ 590 The Fan. ?They have some of the parts. They need one or two big time defencemen to anchor the blue line.?
Wilson said the team is too reliant on the production of forward Phil Kessel.
?(Kessel) needs to better insulated with better players around him ? who can carry the load,? he said. ?When Phil?s not going, the Leafs aren?t going.
?When he gets on a roll, he?s unstoppable. But he has issues with confidence ? like anybody else. It might be surprising to hear that. If he misses every a couple of opportunities, he gets down on himself and he can slip away.?
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/wilson-leafs-need-one-or-two-big-time-d-men/
'?The Leafs haven?t been able to establish consistency in their defensive approach to the game,? Wilson said on Sportsnet/ 590 The Fan. ?They have some of the parts. They need one or two big time defencemen to anchor the blue line.?
Wilson said the team is too reliant on the production of forward Phil Kessel.
?(Kessel) needs to better insulated with better players around him ? who can carry the load,? he said. ?When Phil?s not going, the Leafs aren?t going.
?When he gets on a roll, he?s unstoppable. But he has issues with confidence ? like anybody else. It might be surprising to hear that. If he misses every a couple of opportunities, he gets down on himself and he can slip away.?
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/wilson-leafs-need-one-or-two-big-time-d-men/
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Wonder if the Toronto Sun could carry Clarkson's water any harder? Oct, Nov & Dec. Wonder when we'll get one for January.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
bustaheims
Active member
Joe S. said:
Well, he's done such a great job of protecting water bottles. What's there to call him out about?
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
There were plenty of article last season berating Clarkson for being a waste of money.
He was not brought here to lead the team in scoring. He brought here to bring in grit to the team. Which he has done for the most part. He does right now have a better +/- and he can be left on the ice in a defensive situation.
Highlander
Active member
funny thing, I went to see the Ducks/Coyotes game last week here in Phoenix and the real funny thing is Getzlaf and Kesler where almost invisible the whole game, very uninspired play from my perspective. My son pointed out a guy early and he was all over the place, always in the play, Patrick Maroon, Komorav sort of energy.
So we can talk about Kessel and some other high end talent being invisible but even on the Ducks that night, some of their high end talent looked completely comfortable collecting their millions from the fringe. I think this is league wide and money has polluted the game, riches form entitlements and we have never seen a society wide entitlement like we see in our new generations. Do they listen, can they listen, does it take effort? God knows, but I do know, that there are a couple of players on each team that cannot stand losing (even a game). These are the players, like Maroon and Komorav we need on our team, the kind Shanahan, Hunter and Nonis should be pursuing.
So we can talk about Kessel and some other high end talent being invisible but even on the Ducks that night, some of their high end talent looked completely comfortable collecting their millions from the fringe. I think this is league wide and money has polluted the game, riches form entitlements and we have never seen a society wide entitlement like we see in our new generations. Do they listen, can they listen, does it take effort? God knows, but I do know, that there are a couple of players on each team that cannot stand losing (even a game). These are the players, like Maroon and Komorav we need on our team, the kind Shanahan, Hunter and Nonis should be pursuing.
moon111
New member
I'm sure Gary Leeman never scored his 50 goals as a two-way player. Sometimes you have to balance out the lines. If Kessel is the defensive 'problem' that won't go away, then saddle him with two players that will mainly think defence. Play him with today's version of Mark Osborne. I would try Komarov/Bozak/Kessel before trying to change Kessel's stripes.
bustaheims
Active member
The more I watch, the more I wonder whether it's Bozak that's the real defensive issue on that line. He seems a lot more lost in the defensive end than Kessel or JvR. He plays the more important defensive position and really does not do a great job with it. Get a centre that can keep up with Kessel in terms of skating, actually gets in on the forecheck and is a truly solid defensive player, and I think a lot of the defensive issues that line has will be minimized.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
bustaheims said:
I'm not 100% sure Kessel's issues of being afraid of the corners, afraid of getting hit, and afraid of battling are on Bozak.
bustaheims said:
Dude welcome to like 2 years ago.
bustaheims
Active member
OldTimeHockey said:
I'm 100% sure those issues are massively overstated. I've seen him do all of those things as recently as the Leafs game against Washington. He may not excel at them, but, he's not "afraid" to do them, like some people like to believe. Also, what's the sense in going into the corners, battling for pucks and taking hits when your line mates - and especially your centre - aren't willing to? You're not actually going to accomplish anything other than getting caught behind the play.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
OldTimeHockey said:
As a winger Kessel would almost never be going into the corner in the defensive zone.
Now obviously Kessel has defensive deficiencies and is not physical - just like there are physical players who have nowhere near the offensive ability as Kessel does. If he had both he'd likely be one of the best players of this generation. Likewise, if Bozak had Kessel's offensive ability there wouldn't be these discussions.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
freer said:
Who's blaming Bozak for Kessel's problem? All anyone is saying is that he's not a good enough player to be a C on a top line. He doesn't produce enough offensively and he doesn't make up for that by being great defensively.
bustaheims
Active member
freer said:
Bozak is as big, if not a bigger defensive issue on that line because he plays the much more important defensive position. And, when Kessel's playing well, he most definitely does drive to the net. Sure, sometimes he avoid body contact, but so do the vast majority of high-end offensive wingers.
As for Kadri with Kessel, we've seen so little of it that, really, to make any kind of judgement is asinine. They've had some excellent games together and some not so good games together. They haven't had the opportunity to do better together, but Kadri is definitely the better defensive player now.