Line-up changes

[maplesyrup]

You missed the edit...

The rest of my points still stand.

I get 'em in principle but I don't think Connolly in the top 6 makes any practical sense at all. If he wants to mix things up, how about taking Connolly right out of the line-up? There are probably three other guys with the Marlies that could contribute at least as much to the group that Connolly does. 

 

[Erndog]

 

[maplesyrup]

Great. 

Carl Gunnarsson helped off the ice after he and Jay Rosehill crash heavily into end boards. Looking at right leg. #Leafs
by SNTonyAmbrogio via twitter 10:41 AM

 

[L K]

Great. 

Carl Gunnarsson helped off the ice after he and Jay Rosehill crash heavily into end boards. Looking at right leg. #Leafs
by SNTonyAmbrogio via twitter 10:41 AM

Incredibly awesome...

 

[Mikhail Bloodnovsky]

Great. 

Carl Gunnarsson helped off the ice after he and Jay Rosehill crash heavily into end boards. Looking at right leg. #Leafs
by SNTonyAmbrogio via twitter 10:41 AM

Incredibly awesome...

Roooobot House! I mean Rosehill!

 

[Corn Flake]

Remember a few weeks ago when Lupul and Kessel were broken up and talk shows produced 400 hours of discussion on it? 

It lasted about a half a game as I recall, if that much.  Let's not overreact. 

 

[bustaheims]

I get 'em in principle but I don't think Connolly in the top 6 makes any practical sense at all. If he wants to mix things up, how about taking Connolly right out of the line-up? There are probably three other guys with the Marlies that could contribute at least as much to the group that Connolly does.

It's really pretty simple, and, if you can look past the obvious hate you have for Connolly right now, I imagine you'd be able to see it as well. Sure, he hasn't produced well playing with Lombardi and Crabb, but, at the same time, he's been playing with Lombardi and Crabb. He's been asked to play more of a defensive role, and he has, for the most part, performed reasonably well in that role. No coach is going to choose to take a player out of the line-up when they're doing at least a reasonable job in the role in which they've been asked to play. On top of that, Connolly has a pretty good track record as a top 6 forward, something that can't be said about anyone on the Marlies, so, whether there are three guys down there that can contribute as much as he can is highly debatable.

 

[maplesyrup]

I get 'em in principle but I don't think Connolly in the top 6 makes any practical sense at all. If he wants to mix things up, how about taking Connolly right out of the line-up? There are probably three other guys with the Marlies that could contribute at least as much to the group that Connolly does.

It's really pretty simple, and, if you can look past the obvious hate you have for Connolly right now, I imagine you'd be able to see it as well. Sure, he hasn't produced well playing with Lombardi and Crabb, but, at the same time, he's been playing with Lombardi and Crabb. He's been asked to play more of a defensive role, and he has, for the most part, performed reasonably well in that role. No coach is going to choose to take a player out of the line-up when they're doing at least a reasonable job in the role in which they've been asked to play. On top of that, Connolly has a pretty good track record as a top 6 forward, something that can't be said about anyone on the Marlies, so, whether there are three guys down there that can contribute as much as he can is highly debatable.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree... I'm not sure what parts of Connolly's game has entitled him to anything other than then bench much less a top 6 role.  Especially considering they're moving him to Kulemin's spot. Can you honestly say Connolly has been at least as good in his own end of the ice as Kulemin has? I can't... and it's not even close. In spite of Kulemin's lack of production, he's still been a rock in his own end and without the puck.... Sorry, I haven't seen that with Connolly. 

 

[Bullfrog]

I don't understand your hate with Connolly. He's scoring at a very similar pace to MacArthur with very similar ice-time. (Connolly gets about two minutes more per game, but all of that is shorthanded.)

Should we be sending MacArthur to the press box? And like I asked before, who replaces Connolly? Kadri (6 pts in 19 games with same ice-time as MacArthur)? Colborne?

Wilson is doing the right thing, I think. He's putting Connolly -- a skilled forward who is slightly underachieving offensively -- in a position to succeed by playing with the team's hottest player.

 

[maplesyrup]

I don't understand your hate with Connolly. He's scoring at a very similar pace to MacArthur with very similar ice-time. (Connolly gets about two minutes more per game, but all of that is shorthanded.)

Should we be sending MacArthur to the press box? And like I asked before, who replaces Connolly? Kadri (6 pts in 19 games with same ice-time as MacArthur)? Colborne?

Wilson is doing the right thing, I think. He's putting Connolly -- a skilled forward who is slightly underachieving offensively -- in a position to succeed by playing with the team's hottest player.

I think the question about who replaces Connolly gets much easier if we're talking about him as a winger. Personally, I liked what I saw with Frattin much better than what I'm seeing with Connolly. Also, I'm not sure we should be looking to MacArthur's season as the standard to which Connolly should be trying to achieve... and "slightly underachieving?" C'mon man, over the last 15 games or so he's been completely invisible. Prior to that, I think you can say he was an underachieving. 

 

[Corn Flake]

The truth is that Sarge hates bald guys.

 

[maplesyrup]

The truth is that Sarge hates bald guys.

Sundin? Nope.. that can't be it.

 

[maplesyrup]

Maybe it's just the fact that he isn't a fit anywhere. Not good enough offensively to be a top 6 player and not exactly fantastic in his own end either. Sure, he kills penalties but is he all that special at it? I don't think so. Does he sacrifice his body or hit and do all the little things that folks like about Kulemin or even Armstrong? I don't see that either. I'll always view his signing as a mistake and at very best, view him simply a guy holding a spot for someone else for a very short period of time. I'm 100% convinced this team wouldn't be any worse off without him... Sorry to upset all you Connolly fans out there. 

 

[Corn Flake]

Connolly looked as he expected to when he started the year with Kessel & Lupul. Seemed like he would give us that "okay" 1st line centre production with them until he got hurt and Bozak stole back his job.  I think outside of a top six role you can't expect much from him production wise. Its basically what happened to him in Buffalo as well. 

Connolly, like Bozak, needs good wingers for him to put up any numbers.  I think that is part of the problem with the structure of the forwards right now. 

 

[maplesyrup]

Connolly, like Bozak, needs good wingers for him to put up any numbers.  I think that is part of the problem with the structure of the forwards right now.

See, that kind of speaks to my problem with him. Was he brought here to help or to be helped? 

 

[bustaheims]

See, that kind of speaks to my problem with him. Was he brought here to help or to be helped?

Like the overwhelming majority of players in professional sports, both.

 

[Mikhail Bloodnovsky]

Connolly, like Bozak, needs good wingers for him to put up any numbers.  I think that is part of the problem with the structure of the forwards right now.

See, that kind of speaks to my problem with him. Was he brought here to help or to be helped?

He is grossly overpaid for someone who hit more than 60 points only freaking once but that was the price we had to pay to lock him up for only 2 years. Other than that he is more of a luxury than anything, a skilled guy who can "awaken" at any time and contribute versus someone you build your team strategy around. 

I just think this team cannot afford to have overpaid Lombardi, Connoly and Armstrong eating so much cap space and contributing so little. When playing together they are easily the most over paid 3rd line in the league.

 

[Corn Flake]

Connolly, like Bozak, needs good wingers for him to put up any numbers.  I think that is part of the problem with the structure of the forwards right now.

See, that kind of speaks to my problem with him. Was he brought here to help or to be helped?

He was brought in to help, but as the best of not many options out there, knowing that Bozak could not be counted on to be the #1 based on how lousy he was the previous year. 

Help or be helped is really the difference between primary (basically All-star level) and secondary offensive players.  He is not a primary player and we all knew that going in.  He is meant to be a good secondary option, or at least a better one than we had from Bozak last year. He looked fine running the top line until he got hurt and lost the gig to Bozak, who credits Connolly with helping him up his game. 

But right now as a 3rd line centre, playing a role that I think around the league is getting increasingly defensively oriented as the season rolls on, is not a good one for him and not really what was expected of him.

 

[maplesyrup]

See, that kind of speaks to my problem with him. Was he brought here to help or to be helped?

Like the overwhelming majority of players in professional sports, both.

Okay.  Sure... but who has he helped? I mean can you honestly say one player on this team has benefited for Connolly being here?

 

[maplesyrup]

Connolly, like Bozak, needs good wingers for him to put up any numbers.  I think that is part of the problem with the structure of the forwards right now.

See, that kind of speaks to my problem with him. Was he brought here to help or to be helped?

He was brought in to help, but as the best of not many options out there, knowing that Bozak could not be counted on to be the #1 based on how lousy he was the previous year. 

Help or be helped is really the difference between primary (basically All-star level) and secondary offensive players.  He is not a primary player and we all knew that going in.  He is meant to be a good secondary option, or at least a better one than we had from Bozak last year. He looked fine running the top line until he got hurt and lost the gig to Bozak, who credits Connolly with helping him up his game. 

But right now as a 3rd line centre, playing a role that I think around the league is getting increasingly defensively oriented as the season rolls on, is not a good one for him and not really what was expected of him.

So let's stop pretending that he's a fit here. Burke has to realize that in the same way he did with Versteeg and shuffle him along... If he can.