alexstream Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 After lining 3 x 50 pts dmen for 15M $ the Maple Leafs are gonna be icing 3 X 20 pts dmen for 11.8M I would so lmao if they end up trading Kaberle. what style of game are they gonna play without any blue liner able to make some good first passes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Er... I'm envious of their top-4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Probably one of the better top 4 D in the league man. Kaberle, Schenn, Komi, and Beauchamin. Looks pretty solid to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Yea, that is a funny thread considering most people around here wanted Komi nd FB to be in the Habs top 4. Also the Leafs also signed that Swedish goalie this morning i beleive. 900k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Ryder Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 They have a lot of defense but not a lot of lefties. Beauchemin paired with Schenn i think are able to get the puck out of the zone. Now Burke can trade Kaberle for a forward. They still have Finger, Komisarek, Van Ryn. Exelby and White. Laugh all you can but the Leafs are rebuilding from the defense. Our small forwards will be roughed up. And now they have the swedish monster in net with Giguère to coach him. I don't like them but their rebuilding plan is on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexstream Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 Well my thread was actually because I just see Kaberle (and he's gonna get traded pretty soon I believe) as a potent puck mover. Am I wrong? So the leafs have, as offensive threats : Kaberle, Grabovski, Jason Blake, Ponikarovsky, Stajan, Stempiak, Hagman, Kulemin I mean, maybe they're gonna be though and rugged.. but they better have a strong PK unit and they better be tight defensively, cause I don't see them scoring lots of goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) As much as I hate them, the Leafs are doing things the right way. THey are building from the back out. They just signed the Sweedish Monster to play in nets (900,000$), and they have the best goalie coach in the NHL to help him out! They picked up Exelby, Komisarek, Beauchemin. With Luke Schenn, i'd say that is a pretty damn solid blue line, nothing to be ashamed about. True that they will most likely trade kaberle, but they will get something good in return. Kaberle's value is pretty high! Our small forwards will be roughed up. On some nights our forwards will be quick enough to get away from big d-men, but the long 82 games season grind will wear them down. Edited July 7, 2009 by Habsfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForumGhost Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 definitely one of the better top 4s in the league, plus they signed Gustavsson this morning. Now all they need is some way to get the puck in the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzer Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 When did Garnet Exelby all of a sudden become "good"? And while I don't think he's a bad dman, when did Beauchemin become the apparent stud everyone makes him out to be? To me, the Leafs line looks serviceable, but far from solid. Seriously? People are nervous about Van Ryn, Finger, Exelby, Ian White (Dandy-Lite), as I think he played more forward last year than D? Luke Schenn, in his sophomore year. Komi and Beauchemin are hardly the 1-2 punch of Niedermayer and Pronger. Man, the grass is always greener... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) I didn't say that they had a cast of All-Stars on the blue line. I said that their top 4 is SOLID!! Now if you misinterpreted my meaning, it can happen, but it doesn't change the fact that, as of this morning, the Leafs have a very decent blue line. Their defensement aren't offensive all-stars, but they are all very good defensively, and after all, that's what a DEFENSEman's job is...to protect the defensive zone. The Leafs will give up a heckuva lot less goals than they did last year...maybe even less than the Habs! Edited July 16, 2009 by Habsfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafikz Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Burke is slowly building an Anaheim Ducks type of team They will be very good in a few years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Burke is slowly building an Anaheim Ducks type of team They will be very good in a few years The thing is, he is doing it fast and relatively cheap. The only player he is overpaying is Komi. This Monster goalie was the best goalie in the Swedish elite league. I bet in two years, this Leafs team will be very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Their blue-line somewhat reminds me of Columbus'. Guys who are mostly solid in their own zone (the except being Kris Russell in C-Bus), but nobody who is a legitimate offensive threat. Assuming they move Kaberle, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Burke is slowly building an Anaheim Ducks type of team They will be very good in a few years Agreed. Let's just hope he doesn't build too much of a good team. I think I would die if the Leafies were to win the Cup before the Habs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Agreed. Let's just hope he doesn't build too much of a good team. I think I would die if the Leafies were to win the Cup before the Habs! I think Gainey is doing a really good job. I also think Burke is one of the best GM's in the game. It wouldn't surprise me to see them compete for the Cup long before anyone else expects it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I think Gainey is doing a really good job. I also think Burke is one of the best GM's in the game. It wouldn't surprise me to see them compete for the Cup long before anyone else expects it. On the other side of the scope you have Greg Sherman who just gives away your best prospects for 30 year old AHL scrubs. Anyone want Matt Duchene or Kevin Shattenkirk? You can probably have them for a couple of 6th round picks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 The Leafs better give up less goals than last year... last year they had the worst GAA in the entire NHL! They've got a long ways to go. Burke is laying a foundation, but there are some gambles he's taking along with it. But I can't see them being a real threat this year. Burke traded their second best offensive player last year in Antropov and still hasn't replaced that, opting to work on the goals against. They were 10th in goals for last year. Burke isn't anywhere close to the Ducks-style team. Within a year of taking over as GM in Anaheim, he brought in Scott Niedermeyer, Chris Pronger, Teemu Selanne and Francois Beauchemin to a core that already had Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Andy MacDonald, Chris Kunitz, Dustin Penner, Sammy Pahlsson, and Rob Neidermeyer with J-S Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov in goal. Again, it was 12 months of work and he got all that, plus adding Bobby Ryan and Jonas Hiller to their prospect pool. The Leafs are a completely different team with a lot more fundamental issues. Burke may be bringing in the goons, and he might be adding some good pieces on D (though he did ditch a top 4 D in Kubina for a marginal d-man in Exelby for cap space, remember), but he sure doesn't have the talent base that he had in Anaheim to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wamsley01 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 The Leafs better give up less goals than last year... last year they had the worst GAA in the entire NHL! They've got a long ways to go. Burke is laying a foundation, but there are some gambles he's taking along with it. But I can't see them being a real threat this year. Burke traded their second best offensive player last year in Antropov and still hasn't replaced that, opting to work on the goals against. They were 10th in goals for last year. Burke isn't anywhere close to the Ducks-style team. Within a year of taking over as GM in Anaheim, he brought in Scott Niedermeyer, Chris Pronger, Teemu Selanne and Francois Beauchemin to a core that already had Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Andy MacDonald, Chris Kunitz, Dustin Penner, Sammy Pahlsson, and Rob Neidermeyer with J-S Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov in goal. Again, it was 12 months of work and he got all that, plus adding Bobby Ryan and Jonas Hiller to their prospect pool. The Leafs are a completely different team with a lot more fundamental issues. Burke may be bringing in the goons, and he might be adding some good pieces on D (though he did ditch a top 4 D in Kubina for a marginal d-man in Exelby for cap space, remember), but he sure doesn't have the talent base that he had in Anaheim to start with. I agree 100%. People want to fast track things, but the Leafs are starting essentially from scratch. Championship teams are built on the backs of elite, young, cheap talent. And the Leafs are lacking that element. He is building a solid foundation, but they are nowhere near a quick turnaround. A one year run is not out of the question based on a trap style system with some luck, but it would be followed by a regression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazy26 Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Brian Burke has invested more than $22 million in the Maple Leafs defence, which is about $5 million more than the Boston Bruins will pay for their defence this coming season. The Bruins, for the record, allowed 96 fewer goals against than did the Leafs last season From the Toronto Sun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 From the Toronto Sun But that's why they had to go and spend money on their defense. They shouldn't be criticized for addressing their top need (at good rates). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 All these Habs fans praising the crap out of the Leafs I feel like I'm in bizarro world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.