Thats a terrible lineup for Columbus.

Agreed.

Clb 5 Tor 2

Nice win by the Penguins last night....

Can't read the article but, no.  He's lovely in every way except delivering playoff wins. This year should be his last chance to win at least 1 round.

Also, why any rush to extend him?  Is he threatening to go somewhere else?

If the team doesn't feel there are actually better options out there, is it worth the risk of him walking? Or do they make the change for the sake of making a change, even if it's a downgrade?

Another performance like against Tampa last spring, and I'm happy extending him without a playoff win. A poor showing, on the other hand, suggests there's a real flaw with the team beyond randomness/luck/circumstance.

That's my fear.  Get a guy for the sake of getting a guy and he trades Nylander for a Ritchie type.  That's not progress.  Look at what a great team the genius old school hockey mind of Ken Holland assembled.  Yeah the Oilers made the conference finals cause they have McDavid and Draisaitl, the team still sucks balls.

To piggyback on this last statement and expand a bit, I think the semantics of when a teams loses in the playoffs has became somewhat antiquated with the implementation of division (and not points) based seeding. Does Edmonton barely beating an average Kings team (that wouldn't even make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference) and a Flames team that couldn't stop a beachball in the post season automatically put them in a better position than Toronto, who lost by a goal in 7 games to the Stanley Cup winning team? Quite frankly look what happened to Edmonton when they finally faced a quality opponent; they got swept by an Avs team and their BACKUP goalie!

So I don't know, obviously we can't keep watching a Dubas team falter over and over again in the first round and never expect change but it's just such a weird playoff system that I have a hard time being angry with a GM that put together teams good enough to play with and even outplay both the Bruins and the Lightning, 2 of the best teams in the entire NHL...who happen to be in the same division.

Beyond how bad the Leafs can look defensively I don't get how ineffective TO's PP can be, those 5 forwards should at least be able to generate a shot every PP per game?

Said it a million times they pass it around way too often. Always looking for that pretty goal it seems instead of keeping it simple. That's on the coaches to. Either get on them to shoot more or change it up and play the 2nd unit more. Team comes before egos sorry.

I'm a little more concerned about how stationary the PP continually looks. There's nothing wrong with passing and looking for open/quality chances but when they aren't moving it's pretty much a fruitless plan of attack. Granted we're talking about a 9th overall unit, so it's not like they have been awful, but that's the main issue I see when I watch them out there. Slow, stationary and predictable.

Yep.  This happens every year, and gets worse in the playoffs.  Just baffling that they can't attack the net more effectively. 

Andy made a late comment in the Kraken thread and I thought I'd re-post it here (with my reply) in case anyone wants to comment on how the PP goes tonight.

Great, I can't wait to see how nicely they score the 5 power play goals they will undoubtedly pot tonight ;)

WOOOHOOOOOOO

BTW just wanted to give you props; have really enjoyed your comments and analysis in your short time here. Welcome! ;)

Beyond how bad the Leafs can look defensively I don't get how ineffective TO's PP can be, those 5 forwards should at least be able to generate a shot every PP per game?

Said it a million times they pass it around way too often. Always looking for that pretty goal it seems instead of keeping it simple. That's on the coaches to. Either get on them to shoot more or change it up and play the 2nd unit more. Team comes before egos sorry.

I'm a little more concerned about how stationary the PP continually looks. There's nothing wrong with passing and looking for open/quality chances but when they aren't moving it's pretty much a fruitless plan of attack. Granted we're talking about a 9th overall unit, so it's not like they have been awful, but that's the main issue I see when I watch them out there. Slow, stationary and predictable.

The wings aren't a bad team but they kind of lack that top end talent...

Agreed.

Wings 6
Leafs 2

I read that they cancelled westworld due to ratings decline.

I can't remember a show that was so good in season 1 that got so bad, so quickly. I got until about midway through 2, and that was it.

That said, I think the opening theme and visuals are up there in terms of of best ever. Very cool.

I'm always amazed The Walking Dead kept going as long as it did (or maybe even still is?). Season 1 was brilliant and from memory I think that was all there was meant to be. Season 2 and on was just... slow. Nothing really ever happened.

Although I did enjoy Walking Dead a little longer than that, I have to agree; it never returned to the greatness of the first season and got old very quickly. Frank Darabont directed season 1 and, I believe, was also the showrunner, which probably explains the quality. I'm sure there were supposed to be multiple seasons (its a very popular comic book series) but Darabont was ousted after season 1 due to behind the scenes drama.

My pick goes to "Alf." After season 1, eat the cat, fix your ship, and end the silliness already!

Puljujarvi is an interesting change of scenery candidate imo. He's still only 24, can skate, throws his body around and while his numbers are lacking this year, he's down to about 13 minutes per game, has a shooting percentage under 3% and still has a corsi well over 50% (albeit more OZ starts than Kerfoot). As for Kerfoot, despite playing multiple games in top 6, including on Matthews' wing, and averaging roughly 15 minutes, he has zero goals at even strength and a total of 6 primary assists. Puljujarvi has 4 primary assists and an actual even strength goal. I think it's worth a straight up swap for the Leafs, anyway, especially since he's still an RFA next year.

Kerfoot straight up for Puljujarvi ?

What a fun thread to re-read :D

Yes, and I find post #74 particularly poignant (squirrel blind nut analogy notwitshtanding ;) )

Nice to see Kerfoot finally got a goal.

And still doesn't have any at even strength. Yikes

https://www.insider.com/mlb-used-two-balls-again-this-year-and-evidence-points-to-a-third-2022-12


Evidence is actually pretty interesting

Ugh, I already find that act tiring. A good coach should be able to motivate without being an angry, whiny, loud-mouth. 

Quite frankly I think the Leafs probably win each of their previous 3 playoff series' if Keefe were a little more open to making adjustments and combating the different tactics and playing styles of his opponent. This living and dying by unlimited 1st line minutes and spreading the team thin by loading up said line when that doesn't work just, well, doesn't work.

I don't hate the addition but I don't like that we gave up Nick Frasso

So I don't like that we gave up Frasso either but worth noting that in addition to White, the Jays also got IF prospect Alex De Jesus from the Dodgers in the deal. He's young but between A and High A ball this year he's hitting pretty well and is a legit prospect who MLB now has as the Jay's #8 prospect.

Honestly, if you look at Groshans for De Jesus as a pretty even swap then Frasso was the only prospect of real significance the Jays moved. Meanwhile they added some pretty valuable pieces. It wasn't the day I think any of us would have said was ideal but I think the Jays added in some key areas while avoiding paying for rentals or giving up any of their high value prospects.

This is pretty much how I saw it. And as for Frasso, maybe I'm missing something here but he turns 24 soon and is still pitching in high A-ball; what is the fixation with what (at least to my inexperienced eyes) looks to be an iffy, if not lower ceiling, prospect?