I did some analysis of the Leafs main roster versus top teams in the league and threw in a few bottom dwellers as well. As this is pretty time consuming exercise, I went by average weight only.
The media perception is that the teams out west are big, massive, strong, along with the Bruins in the East. They play a "heavy" game that the Leafs simply are not capable of. But is that really so, is size making a huge difference?
Here is some of what I found, which I thought was interesting enough to share. I tried to use the closest I could get to what would like be the average skaters a team would typically employ, though for d-man I actually averaged the top 7. Here are the results, with some of my thoughts, comments at the bottom.
Top teams versus Leafs
Forwards Avg. Wgt. Defence Avg. Wgt.
1 LA 208 1 LA 214
2 STL 205 2 Bos 211
3 SJ 205 3 STL 210
4 Pit 204 4 Pit 210
5 Tor 203 5 Ana 207
6 Min 202 6 Mon 206
7 Ana 201 7 SJ 205
8 Bos 201 8 Tor 204
9 Chic 201 9 NYR 204
10 NYR 200 10 Chic 203
11 Mon 197 11 Min 198
Some Bottom Dwellers
Forwards Avg. Wgt. Defence Avg. Wgt.
1 Ott 204 Ott 212 *
2 NYI 202 Buf 204
3 Buf 201 * NYI 200
4 EDM 197 EDM 196
* Take out John Scott, drops to 196 lbs
* Take out Eric Karlson, jumps to 217 lbs
Some of my thoughts.
1. Skill and "compete" outweigh size. Kadri is bigger than either Marchand or Gallagher, but what if he had their "compete" level every night. Bozak is bigger than Giroux and the same size as Tyler Seguin.
2. I was surprised that Leaf forwards upfront actually have a combined weight more than BOSTON, Anaheim and Chicago. Their defence is actually bigger than Chicago's as well. Take Lucic out of the Boston forward group and it shrinks quite a bit, obviously. Guys like Marchand, Krejci and even Bergeron are not that big, except when it comes to "compete."
3. While the top teams, pound for pound, are a little bigger, the size difference is not huge. I think what's gives the strong impressions is that some of the top teams have the size where it matters - among their best players, which are the ones that draw all the attention. The Leafs three biggest players are Orr, Kulemin and Bodie, hardly difference makers, though I would argue Bodie's "compete" level is 4th line worthy. The Leafs clearly need to replace Orr with a better fourth liner, and should have done so at the trade deadline. Kulemin has only drawn second line duty because Clarkson's been a bust, so they are missing a true second winger as well. Matt Moulson would have been my choice.
Anyway, interested in your thoughts?
PS: Is it my imagination but do the Leafs seem to be getting continually out-muscled on the puck? Given their relative size, is their something missing in the conditioning?
The media perception is that the teams out west are big, massive, strong, along with the Bruins in the East. They play a "heavy" game that the Leafs simply are not capable of. But is that really so, is size making a huge difference?
Here is some of what I found, which I thought was interesting enough to share. I tried to use the closest I could get to what would like be the average skaters a team would typically employ, though for d-man I actually averaged the top 7. Here are the results, with some of my thoughts, comments at the bottom.
Top teams versus Leafs
Forwards Avg. Wgt. Defence Avg. Wgt.
1 LA 208 1 LA 214
2 STL 205 2 Bos 211
3 SJ 205 3 STL 210
4 Pit 204 4 Pit 210
5 Tor 203 5 Ana 207
6 Min 202 6 Mon 206
7 Ana 201 7 SJ 205
8 Bos 201 8 Tor 204
9 Chic 201 9 NYR 204
10 NYR 200 10 Chic 203
11 Mon 197 11 Min 198
Some Bottom Dwellers
Forwards Avg. Wgt. Defence Avg. Wgt.
1 Ott 204 Ott 212 *
2 NYI 202 Buf 204
3 Buf 201 * NYI 200
4 EDM 197 EDM 196
* Take out John Scott, drops to 196 lbs
* Take out Eric Karlson, jumps to 217 lbs
Some of my thoughts.
1. Skill and "compete" outweigh size. Kadri is bigger than either Marchand or Gallagher, but what if he had their "compete" level every night. Bozak is bigger than Giroux and the same size as Tyler Seguin.
2. I was surprised that Leaf forwards upfront actually have a combined weight more than BOSTON, Anaheim and Chicago. Their defence is actually bigger than Chicago's as well. Take Lucic out of the Boston forward group and it shrinks quite a bit, obviously. Guys like Marchand, Krejci and even Bergeron are not that big, except when it comes to "compete."
3. While the top teams, pound for pound, are a little bigger, the size difference is not huge. I think what's gives the strong impressions is that some of the top teams have the size where it matters - among their best players, which are the ones that draw all the attention. The Leafs three biggest players are Orr, Kulemin and Bodie, hardly difference makers, though I would argue Bodie's "compete" level is 4th line worthy. The Leafs clearly need to replace Orr with a better fourth liner, and should have done so at the trade deadline. Kulemin has only drawn second line duty because Clarkson's been a bust, so they are missing a true second winger as well. Matt Moulson would have been my choice.
Anyway, interested in your thoughts?
PS: Is it my imagination but do the Leafs seem to be getting continually out-muscled on the puck? Given their relative size, is their something missing in the conditioning?
