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2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

I doubt Keefe goes with 11F/7D come playoff time. If the team is healthy I don't really think there is a "missing" forward. That line-up would look something like:

Kerfoot-Matthews-Marner
Bunting-Tavares-Nylander
Jarnkrok-O'Reilly-Lafferty
ZAR-Kampf-Acciari

Lines of course could/would be juggled a bit but that's 12 forwards strong (still looks like a group that could have used another middle-6 winger, but alas...). Knies would be the wild card. If he blows everyones socks off I could see ZAR getting pushed out of the line-up with Lafferty going down to the 4th line.

But I don't see ZAR coming out to bring in a 7th defencemen. It just makes sense to do it now with ROR out, the defence group still needing time to settle in and figure out where everyone fits, and to give the team experience with the format in the event that circumstances change and it makes more sense to go with 7D.

With that said, I think this attempt at 11F/7D has gone much, much better than it has when Keefe tried it in the past. For starters the 7th defencemen is generally a lot stronger than those last attempts, and is someone that Keefe trusts playing a lot more. I seem to recall the 7D before being someone like Liljegren early in his career or another rookie defenceman. And the forwards make a lot more sense since instead of say Spezza-Simmonds being the duo needing a rotating forward it's more of a 3rd line duo, which gives Matthews/Marner/Nylander or whoever gets the extra shift something more to work with.
 
I can roll with the argument that they're keeping all the d-men in game shape, and O'Reilly's line can't gel anyways with O'Reilly being out.  I also can buy into the idea that they're moving things around so as to not give TB any homework tips.
 
https://twitter.com/APetrielli/status/1636043687099613195
Nylander realizing he can just cut through whoever is there to get to the net is going to be fun.
 
If Schenn is willing to sign a cheap deal as a 7th defenseman, I'd be open to him coming back, particularly if Holl is leaving as a free agent.

Rielly/Liljegren/McCabe/Brodie/Timmins/Giordano/Schenn isn't the end of the world.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1634577318638239745

David's just spitballing here but for awhile now I've wondered if the league would ever expand the playing roster size by 1 or 2. They do that in the KHL and it allows teams to regularly run 8 defencemen.

Obviously a team would still need to be cap compliant, and if teams would rather stick to 18 skaters that's fine too. Assuming that I don't really see a downside for the league/teams and on the players side it gives more people an opportunity to play so that'd be a plus for them.
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It's not that crazy to suggest 10 forwards, many times in a playoff game you'll see coaches roll 3 lines and then 4th line barely gets time.
 
L K said:
If Schenn is willing to sign a cheap deal as a 7th defenseman, I'd be open to him coming back, particularly if Holl is leaving as a free agent.

Rielly/Liljegren/McCabe/Brodie/Timmins/Giordano/Schenn isn't the end of the world.
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He will.  He isn't going to want to move on from the Leafs twice.
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
L K said:
If Schenn is willing to sign a cheap deal as a 7th defenseman, I'd be open to him coming back, particularly if Holl is leaving as a free agent.

Rielly/Liljegren/McCabe/Brodie/Timmins/Giordano/Schenn isn't the end of the world.
Click to expand...

He will.  He isn't going to want to move on from the Leafs twice.
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https://twitter.com/sunhornby/status/1636032916617584640

The Hockey News: Luke Schenn?s Returns to Maple Leafs? Home Rink: 'Coming Into This Dressing Room, It's Surreal'
?Just walking into this building and coming into this dressing room, it?s surreal,? Schenn explained.
...
?I think I can draw on that experience to understand the preparation and work that needs to go into it,? Schenn said. ?I feel like I could step in here and play as soon as they need me.?
...
?You?re always kind of hoping the Leafs would give me a second chance, maybe the timing never worked out, maybe the timing wasn?t right.?
...
?My No. 2 Leafs jersey is probably now of the only jerseys that family and friends back home own over the course of my career so I wanted to try and put it to good use for them again.?
...
?:You appreciate what it means to play in Toronto, but not to the extend that I do now,? Schenn said, ?It comes with maturity and age and what I?ve gone through in my career. You realize how great of an organization this is. Not disrespecting others but this is as good as it gets as far as how they treat players, the passionate fanbase and everything that goes along with it.?
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If they want him, he'll come back.
 

The Athletic: Auston Matthews opens up about the hand injury that?s hampered him
?I think my hand and everything has been feeling a lot better, just stronger,? Matthews said, acknowledging the nature of that injury for the first time. ?So yeah, I?d have to agree with you there. Just shooting it a little bit more fluidly I?d say.?
...
?It was bothering me,? Matthews told me. ?It just felt like something was off. I just felt like not completely, like I wasn?t able to do exactly what I wanted to at times.?
...
?Now it?s feeling a lot better.?

The fluidity was a big thing, Matthews said. And getting that back, he said, involved more than just getting his hand healthy. That?s where pre-practice skill development sessions with Darryl Belfry really paid off.

?I really enjoy the skills sessions before practice,? Matthews said. ?I just think you can get a lot out of it. You jump into a regular practice, you?re not really thinking too much about that kind of stuff.?
...
?I think it?s nice to get those kind of touches and get that kind of skill work that you wouldn?t necessarily get throughout practice and then try to maybe implement some stuff too,? he said.
...
?Just getting repetitions,? Matthews said, ?and shots and putting yourself in those kinds of situations and movements that you?d be in during a game and in situations and trying to work through different stuff.?
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Doubt many will be surprised to see that ...
 
herman said:
https://twitter.com/toddcrocker/status/1636707234863276033
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Can all 3 get championships?  Imagine, Marlies win Calder Cup, Growlers win Kelly Cup, Leafs get bounced in round 1
 
https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1637848933924843522

He's not exactly a high level 3C, but I do like Lafferty there instead of Kampf. That should make it a little easier to possibly keep ROR in the top-6 if the Leafs want to.
 
Some practice notes: Acciari says he's good to play tomorrow. Brodie is considered day to day because of a blocked shot he took in the last game. Samsonov is expected to start tomorrow despite the impending birth of his child and the fact that he still admits to be playing through a minor injury.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Some practice notes: Acciari says he's good to play tomorrow. Brodie is considered day to day because of a blocked shot he took in the last game. Samsonov is expected to start tomorrow despite the impending birth of his child and the fact that he still admits to be playing through a minor injury.
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Damn.  If only the Leafs had some extra d-men who could play.  Big loss.
 
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