2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
azzurri63
Active member
Joe S. said:
I think the main reason in my opinion of seeing Freddy go was the notion that he wasn't a playoff goalie. A goalie to win the ultimate prize. Freddy's numbers during the regular season were always good and I was his #1 fan praising him and without him in past seasons this team was an average team. Andersen was this teams MVP for most of his time here. The flack was crumbling in the playoffs with those weak goals that killed the team. Playing goal is a difficult one but doing it in Toronto I think is even more difficult. That goes with all players due to all the media exposure and pressure to do well in this market. Is Campbell or Mrazek the answer? We had a small glimpse of Campbell against Montreal last year letting in some weak goals so maybe he's not. Dubas' mistake is either not drafting a goalie high in the draft or using a good portion of the cap on a proven bonafide #1 goalie. There is no-one I see in the system that is going to fill that role. So either sign a proven tender if the cap allows you to so next year or trade someone to bring in a guy that is proven and hopefully erase any questions or concerns about our goaltending.
Joe S. said:
My point, Pitts. won without it's core because it had/has quality players beyond the core, TO only has it's core which is too little to rely on in pressure situations like the playoffs like TO losing to Mtl. because Marner wasn't Marner, JT was injured and the quality of the backup players for TO is headlined by Kerfoot, due to pay, a now 4th liner.
Beyond TO's core there is little value as opposed to Pitts. who can beat TO with or without their core, that's my point.
bustaheims
Active member
Should probably take a look at Pittsburgh's roster beyond their top forwards. It's not higher quality than any other teams' depth. Like just about every team in this league, they live and die by their top pieces. Game to game, any team's depth can come up with a win, but, not over a longer stretch.
L K
Active member
Leading goals - Matthews 40; Guentzel 27
Leading assist - Rielly 39; Letting 43
Leading points - Matthews 72; Guentzel 57
Pittsburgh has 10 players with at least 20 points. The Leafs have 11 players with at least 20 points.
Pittsburgh has 8 players with at least 10 goals. The Leafs have 8 players with at least 10 goals.
Our 6-12 scorers: 113 points
Their 6-12 scorers: 104 points
I think Pittsburgh got this weird reputation for their awesome depth when they had guys like Evan Rodrigues scoring well early in the year. Pittsburgh's depth is no better than ours.
Leading assist - Rielly 39; Letting 43
Leading points - Matthews 72; Guentzel 57
Pittsburgh has 10 players with at least 20 points. The Leafs have 11 players with at least 20 points.
Pittsburgh has 8 players with at least 10 goals. The Leafs have 8 players with at least 10 goals.
Our 6-12 scorers: 113 points
Their 6-12 scorers: 104 points
I think Pittsburgh got this weird reputation for their awesome depth when they had guys like Evan Rodrigues scoring well early in the year. Pittsburgh's depth is no better than ours.
Pitts top 3 players, Malkin, Crosby and Letang have missed 55 games this year, their support player's scoring stats are comparable with TO's however they do make TO look bad as the Kraken did for about 30 minutes tonite.
Scoring stats are one way to judge a team but another is actual team results, Pitts. has 1 less point than TO, TO has 1 game in hand, and they didn't have their core for 55 games, TO's core has missed 18 games.
I would think that Pitts' support scoring stats would be considerably higher if their core had been healthier. I think that TO has been outplayed since they lost the two games against Pitts we shouldn't have great expectations for TO's playoff hopes this year.
Scoring stats are one way to judge a team but another is actual team results, Pitts. has 1 less point than TO, TO has 1 game in hand, and they didn't have their core for 55 games, TO's core has missed 18 games.
I would think that Pitts' support scoring stats would be considerably higher if their core had been healthier. I think that TO has been outplayed since they lost the two games against Pitts we shouldn't have great expectations for TO's playoff hopes this year.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
hobarth said:
Crosby has played 7 less games than Matthews. Letang has played the same amount of games as Matthews and only 3 less than Rielly.
Malkin carries the largest load of those "Games missed". Saying that they were without their core but still winning games is false. They were without Malkin but still winning games...sure. It helps when you have the best two way player in the world. You're cherry picking stats to suit your argument.
Didn't the Leafs just beat the Penguins 4-1? Didn't David Kampf and Michael Bunting score 2 of the goals?
The Toronto "wild card" Maple Leafs are back to being 5th in the league in points/points percentage.
louisstamos
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
5th in the entire league in both points and point%, and if the playoffs started today, they wouldn't have home ice.
L K
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
5th in total points
5th in point percentage
3rd in wins in regulation
4th in wins in regulation + OT
3rd in goals for
5th in goal differential
1st in PP%.
1st in net PP% (PPG-SHG/PP Opportunity)
5th in PK%
2nd in net PK% (PPGA - SHG/PK Opportunity)
Even if we take just the post-COVID break:
7th in points; 9th in PT%
6th in RW; 9th in ROW
2nd in PP%; 3rd in PK%
The defence has been shaky. The goaltending has been bad and the team still keeps winning at a high pace.
bustaheims
Active member
We also need to consider that we're in the "dog days" of the season. The 3rd quarter of the season is often when players start to lose focus a little, things get sloppy, etc. It's happening around the league. How else does Arizona score 17 goals in two games?
What will be telling is if/how well the team pulls things together coming out of the trade deadline into the home stretch.
What will be telling is if/how well the team pulls things together coming out of the trade deadline into the home stretch.
