Leafs @ Panthers - Dec. 28th, 7:00pm - SN, TSN 1050

[CarltonTheBear]

@

14-12-7, 35 points | 15-14-6, 36 points

Projected Lines

Komarov-Kadri-Nylander JVR-Bozak-Marner Hyman-Matthews-Brown Martin-Gauthier-Soshnikov Rielly-Zaitsev Gardiner-Carrick Hunwick-Polak Andersen ​

Griffith-Barkov-Jagr Marchessault-Trocheck-Bjugstad Jokinen-Malgin-Sceviour Thompson-MacKenzie-Thornton Yandle-Demers Kindl-Ekblad Matheson-Pysyk Luongo​

Scratches

Frank Corrado Josh Leivo Byron Froese ​

Kyle Rau Dylan McIlrath​

Game Notes

TOR
?Andersen (14-8-6, 2.49 GAA, .923 Sv%) likely starts for the Leafs
?The Leafs are on a B2B so Bibeau could squeak in a start here
?Bozak practiced with the team yesterday and is hopeful to return to the line-up in the next 2 games, but it hasn't been confirmed yet
?Toronto trails Florida for 5th place in the Atlantic by just 1 points. The Leafs also have 2 games in hand

FLA
?Luongo (11-9-4, 2.44 GAA, .918 Sv%) likely starts for the Panthers
?The Panthers also have a game tomorrow so we could see Reimer play against his former team instead tonight

Injuries

?Nathan Horton - Back - Out indefinitely ?Joffrey Lupul - ?\_(ツ)_/? - Out indefinitely ?Stephane Robidas - Old - Out indefinitely ?Martin Marincin - Lower Body - Injured Reserve ?Ben Smith - Hand - Injured Reserve ?Tyler Bozak - Lower Body - Questionable Wednesday​

?Reilly Smith - Concussion - Out indefinitely ?Alex Petrovic - Ankle - Injured Reserve ?Jonathan Huberdeau - Achilles - Injured Reserve​

Stream Options

https://www.reddit.com/r/NHLstreams
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[herman]

Thanks Carlton!

Poll: Griffith on the top line is an indictment of
A) the Leafs coaching staff mismanaging an asset
B) Florida's depth

 

[Frank E]

Thanks Carlton!

Poll: Griffith on the top line is an indictment of
A) the Leafs coaching staff mismanaging an asset
B) Florida's depth

He has 4 points...I don't think there is an indictment.

And if someone mentions his possession stats in his defense, I'm going to puke.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

And if someone mentions his possession stats in his defense, I'm going to puke.

Over 54%.

 

[Highlander]

And if someone mentions his possession stats in his defense, I'm going to puke.

Over 54%.

where is that dam vomit icon

 

[bustaheims]

Ahh, the classic post-Christmas break game. They're often fun for all the wrong reasons.

 

[herman]

And if someone mentions his possession stats in his defense, I'm going to puke.

Over 54%.

Nearly 62% in his three games with the Leafs, getting mostly defensive zone starts with our fourth line. On a team that bleeds shots against.

Small Sample Size:
He pulled up Ben Smith (36%) and Matt Martin (37%) to 60% playing on their wing (because he could hold the puck). It's not nothing.

 

[sneakyray]

anyone surprised that laich didn't get the callup ahead of one of froese and gauthier?

does he need waivers or something else I'm not thinking of?

 

[Frank E]

anyone surprised that laich didn't get the callup ahead of one of froese and gauthier?

does he need waivers or something else I'm not thinking of?

The Leafs could put Laich through waivers 18 times a day and no one would take him.

The Leafs are calling up guys that figure into the longer term plans of the team, or at least trying to figure out which guys look like they're going to make it.

 

[herman]

anyone surprised that laich didn't get the callup ahead of one of froese and gauthier?

does he need waivers or something else I'm not thinking of?

He would need waivers going back down after.

He is also too expensive for our current cap space. Considering that the Leafs dropped Bibeau, Froese, and Guthrie for two-way contract cap savings over the 3-day break, management is looking to eke out every dollar available.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I'm no Marlies expert but his stats don't exactly show a player worthy of a call-up either really.

None of those big contracts that were waived really seem to be showing that they don't belong in the AHL.

 

[Coco-puffs]

anyone surprised that laich didn't get the callup ahead of one of froese and gauthier?

does he need waivers or something else I'm not thinking of?

My answer is no, definitely not surprised.  Furthermore:

1.  Nobody requires waivers to get called up.  However, sending him back down afterwards would require waivers.  The Leafs would gladly allow some other team to take Laich and his hefty salary off their hands on waivers, so Laich not being called up has nothing to do with waiver eligibility.

2.  Why call up someone who's no longer part of the teams plans?  Froese may still be part of the plan here- or at least be that guy who gets the call up when injuries/trades hurt your center depth.  Gauthier is definitely a part of the long term plan for the 4th line center, so why not see where he is in his development towards that position.

 

[disco]

https://twitter.com/HennyTweets/status/814148179360944128

 

[bustaheims]

I'm no Marlies expert but his stats don't exactly show a player worthy of a call-up either really.

None of those big contracts that were waived really seem to be showing that they don't belong in the AHL.

I think that's a big part of it, too. If any of those guys were producing at a rate that warranted a call-up, I think the Leafs would have tried to find a way to make it work - even if only to showcase them as potential trade deadline pieces. Of the three, the only one producing at a rate that wouldn't be a massive disappointment is Greening.

 

[Kin]

I think that's a big part of it, too. If any of those guys were producing at a rate that warranted a call-up, I think the Leafs would have tried to find a way to make it work - even if only to showcase them as potential trade deadline pieces. Of the three, the only one producing at a rate that wouldn't be a massive disappointment is Greening.

But is someone like Laich really going to find a scoring touch in the AHL? Especially on a team that has a bunch of legit prospects who you want getting the best minutes/opportunities?

If you're trading Laich at the deadline it's on the basis of him being a depth piece/defense/leadership sort of guy and even if he is doing that in the AHL that's hard to gauge statistically. What you want is Babcock talking to the media about how great a guy he is and how he's showing up at the rink at 3AM and how he yells the speeches from Patton at all the Rookies when they finally show up.

 

[TBLeafer]

Leafs are a heavy possession team, so that may negate Griffith's possession some. Anyone here think he's better than Nylander, who's up with Kadri, tonight?

Didn't think so.

Barrage Bobby Lou and GO LEAFS GO!!!

 

[bustaheims]

But is someone like Laich really going to find a scoring touch in the AHL? Especially on a team that has a bunch of legit prospects who you want getting the best minutes/opportunities?

If you're trading Laich at the deadline it's on the basis of him being a depth piece/defense/leadership sort of guy and even if he is doing that in the AHL that's hard to gauge statistically. What you want is Babcock talking to the media about how great a guy he is and how he's showing up at the rink at 3AM and how he yells the speeches from Patton at all the Rookies when they finally show up.

I wouldn't expect him to suddenly become a first line performer or anything, but, as an NHL player with multiple 20+ goal and 40+ point seasons, I would have hoped he would have put up more than 1 goal and 6 points in 16 games - especially in a situation where he should be trying to prove that he's still capable of being an NHL regular. With his cap hit, he needed to show he can be more than just a leadership/depth piece to have any real appeal at the deadline.

 

[Kin]

I wouldn't expect him to suddenly become a first line performer or anything, but, as an NHL player with multiple 20+ goal and 40+ point seasons, I would have hoped he would have put up more than 1 goal and 6 points in 16 games - especially in a situation where he should be trying to prove that he's still capable of being an NHL regular. With his cap hit, he needed to show he can be more than just a leadership/depth piece to have any real appeal at the deadline.

I see what you're saying but keep in mind this is in the context of the relative value of playing him vs. playing Froese so while I'd be the first to agree that his low scoring output in the AHL isn't a good sign and a token call up with some bullshoot attached isn't likely to yield anything in the return department the other end of the seesaw is a great big who cares.

 

[herman]

Leafs are a heavy possession team, so that may negate Griffith's possession some. Anyone here think he's better than Nylander, who's up with Kadri, tonight?

Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying here.

No one said anything about Griffith being better than Nylander, either. But if we're going to bring that up, Griffith is more skilled than Smith, Martin, Hyman, Soshnikov, Komarov, Holland, Leivo, Froese, Gauthier, and Leipsic, and might be comparable to Brown. Picking him up on waivers was a coup. Letting him go because he did not fit our preconceived requirement that our fourth line had to be a certain way is a missed opportunity.

 

[McGarnagle]

No one said anything about Griffith being better than Nylander, either. But if we're going to bring that up, Griffith is more skilled than Smith, Martin, Hyman, Soshnikov, Komarov, Holland, Leivo, Froese, Gauthier, and Leipsic, and might be comparable to Brown. Picking him up on waivers was a coup. Letting him go because he did not fit our preconceived requirement that our fourth line had to be a certain way is a missed opportunity.

Is there a single team in the league, or even historically ever, that hasn't deployed role players? Are all of them wrong?