Topics

1

Non-Hockey Chatter / Books

« on: October 14, 2021, 11:39:34 AM »

Do people still read? I can't remember if I already talked about this, but I picked it back up recently.

If you've read the A Song of Ice and Fire series (so far) and/or watch Game of Thrones, I especially recommend Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy (and subsequent trilogies in this universe).

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Main Leafs Hockey Talk / F1: The Importance of Forechecking

« on: August 30, 2021, 11:04:23 AM »

As we ramp up into the new season, it's probably a good time to pour one out for ultimate team player, Zach Hyman.

Here's an oldie, but a goodie from Bourne
https://theathletic.com/581060/2018/10/10/bourne-the-fundamentals-of-an-effective-f1-forechecker-illustrated-by-the-leafs-zack-hyman/

Here’s one of the biggest points with forechecking: it’s really exhausting – I mean, it’s an all-out sprint – and you never know when it’s going to be worth your while. If you’re beyond a stick length behind the D-man who’s racing back through the D-zone circles to get the puck, you’re creating a turnover a small percentage of the time and that usually involves the other guy messing up pretty bad. Yes, that pressure is often worthwhile because it can force the D-man to make a rushed play, so it’s still worth it to your team, but there’s certainly no guarantee you didn’t just do a meaningless windsprint and burn your legs out for the rest of the shift (of which you only get so many) for absolutely nothing. [...]

That means it takes a certain mindset, a certain type of driven athlete who’s in great condition, who’s willing to just hunt and hunt and hunt relentlessly until they create those turnovers that lead to extra possessions, which lead to goals.

Towards the end of Jack Han's time with the Marlies, he noted a trend in the team's drafting showing up on the ice: a lot of puck possessors (as was Keefe's wont), and suddenly a dearth of puck getter-backers. The big ones had graduated onto the Leafs (and off the Leafs in most cases).

These past seasons of transactions have started to shift the balance back, which I would argue is the correct order of operations. Players that can do goal-stuff with the puck are expensive on the market and it seems wise to develop them in-house, while puck getters are often offensively underrated by their stats (i.e. potential $$) when they're stuck in bottom-6 roles. I have a hard time finding the reference at the moment, but Bourne mentioned on a podcast somewhere that Dubas had asked Lou to pursue Yanni Gourde some years ago while he was toiling in the minors, but was obviously shrugged off (we already had Hyman, Brown, Komarov, Martin, etc.).

In terms of technique and evolution of the art of forechecking, the Leafs preach:

• Stick on puck: stick gets there before you do, so target the puck
• Take out the hands: aim the hips into the hands of the opponent trying to corral the puck; here your size is almost irrelevant as a player's body is going to always be bigger and stronger than hands. Taking out the hands means loose puck with your body between the defender and the puck.

Here's someone else's video on Zach Hyman just gaining inside position on everybody.

3

NHL Transactions / Seth Jones to Chicago

« on: July 23, 2021, 07:02:16 PM »

Seth Jones is being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, sources tell ESPN.

— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) July 23, 2021

Adam Boqvist is going to Columbus

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 23, 2021

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Full package not certain yet, but it includes at least one first-rounder to the Blue Jackets. There is at least one other pick too

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 23, 2021

Boqvist, 1st and more picks to Columbus. What a haul for them

What the hell for Chicago
Edit: actually it is an eight year extension

4

Main Leafs Hockey Talk / 2021 NHL Entry Draft

« on: July 16, 2021, 02:19:17 PM »

One week to go until what might be the messiest NHL entry draft ever.

July 23-24

Draft Rankings can be found consolidated on EliteProspects

And we're off to an inauspicious start

In light of the Logan Mailloux news finally going public, I must say, this might be the worst draft I've ever covered in terms of character concerns. You're going to see a few surprising names drop, and that'll almost certainly be the reason why.

— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) July 16, 2021

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Main Leafs Hockey Talk / Dean Chynoweth signed as new assistant coach

« on: July 12, 2021, 04:01:41 PM »

We've hired Dean Chynoweth as an assistant coach. #LeafsForever

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 12, 2021

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NHL Transactions / Keith traded to Edmonton

« on: July 12, 2021, 02:21:43 PM »

Pending trade call, sounds like #Hawks Duncan Keith will indeed be heading to #Oilers in exchange for D Caleb Jones and a mid-round pick (3rd or 4th round).

Final details still being ironed out. @DFOHockey

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 12, 2021

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Marlies & Prospect Talk / Ranking Prospects 2021-2022

« on: July 07, 2021, 03:31:53 PM »

PPP: Top 25 under 25

2021/22 Eligible:		2021 T25U25		Winter 2020's list
Alex Steeves Artur Akhtyamov Auston Matthews Axel Rindell Brennan Menell Denis Malgin Dmitry Ovchinnikov Erik Kallgren Filip Hallander traded Filip Kral Ian Scott JD Greenway traded Joe Miller Joey Anderson John Fusco Joseph Duszak Joseph Woll Kalle Loponen Kristians Rubins Mac Hollowell Matthew Knies Mike Koster Mikhail Abramov Mikko Kokkonen Mitch Marner Nicholas Abruzzese Nicholas Robertson Nikolai Chebykin Pierre Engvall old Pavel Gogolev Pontus Holmberg Rasmus Sandin Rodion Amirov Roni Hirvonen Ryan O'Connell Ryan Tverberg Semyon Der-Arguchintsev Semyon Kizimov Timothy Liljegren Topi Niemela Travis Dermott Ty Voit Veeti Miettinen Vieni Vehvilainen Vladimir Boblyev Vladislav Kara Vyacheslav Peksa William Nylander old  William Villeneuve Wyatt Schingoethe		25. William Villeneuve 24. Brennan Menell 23. Artur Akhtyamov 22. Filip Kral 21. Pavel Gogolev 20. Pontus Holmberg 19. Dennis Malgin 18. Ty Voit 17. Veeti Miettinen 16. Dmitri Ovchinnikov 15. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev 14. Joey Anderson 13. Nick Abruzzese 12. Mikko Kokkonen 11. Mikhail Abramov 10. Matthew Knies 9. Travis Dermott 8. Roni Hirvonen 7. Topi Niemela 6. Timoth Liljegren 5. Nick Robertson T3. Rodion Amirov / Rasmus Sandin 2. Mitch Marner 1. Auston Matthews		25. Pontus Holmberg 24. Mac Hollowell 23. Filip Kral 22. Veeti Miettinen 21. Artur Akhtyamov 20. Denis Malgin 19. Dmitri Ovchinnikov 18. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev 17. Egor Korshkov (traded to CAR) 16. Nicholas Abbruzzese 15. Pierre Engvall 14. Joey Anderson 13. Mikko Kokkonen 12. Topi Niemela 11. Roni Hirvonen 10. Mikhail Abramov 9. Travis Dermott 8. Filip Hallander traded to Pittsburgh 7. Timothy Liljegren 6. Rodion Amirov 5. Nick Robertson 4. Rasmus Sandin 3. William Nylander  ( old) 2. Mitch Marner 1. Auston Matthews

TLN: Calder trophy eligible prospects

20. Kristians Rubins
19. Joseph Woll
18. Ty Voit
17. Pontus Holmberg
16. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
15. Pavel Gogolev
14. Dmitri Ovchinnikov
13. Mac Hollowell
12. Veeti Miettinen
11. Joey Anderson
10. Mikko Kokkonen
9. Mikhail Abramov
8. Nick Abruzzese
7. Matthew Knies
6. Roni Hirvonen
5. Topi Niemela
4. Timoth Liljegren
3. Rodion Amirov
2. Nick Robertson
1. Rasmus Sandin


MLHS Top 6-10, Top 1-5
10. Dmitri Ovchinnikov

9. Nick Abruzzese
8. Mikhail Abramov
7. Roni Hirvonen

6. Matthew Knies
5. Topi Niemela
4. Timothy Liljegren

3. Rodion Amirov
2. Rasmus Sandin
1. Nick Robertson

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Main Leafs Hockey Talk / Simmonds signed to a 2-year extension @ 900k AAV

« on: June 28, 2021, 02:58:38 PM »

31 Thoughts will be coming soon, but one bit of news. Nothing finalized, but word is TOR is working on an extension with Wayne Simmonds. Sounds positive.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 28, 2021

For league min?

#Leafs have signed Wayne Simmonds to a two-year contract extension. That comes with an AAV of $900,000.

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) June 29, 2021

Full details

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Main Leafs Hockey Talk / 2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

« on: June 10, 2021, 09:22:17 AM »

In
Rodion Amirov 3-yr ELC 925k AAV
Pontus Holmberg 2-yr ELC 828k AAV
Alex Steeves 3-yr ELC 834k AAV
Kirill Semyonov 1-yr UFA ELC 825k
Erik Kallgren 2-yr UFA ELC 750k AAV
Jared McCann - PIT trade
Future Considerations - BOS trade
Petr Mrazek - UFA 3 yrs 3.8 AAV
Brennan Menell - MIN trade
Michael Bunting - UFA 2 yrs 950k AAV
Mike Amadio - two-way 750k
Kurtis Gabriel - 1 yr 750k
David Kampf - 2-yr 1.5M AAV
Alex Biega - two-way 750k
Carl Dahlstrom - two-way 750k
Brett Seney - two-way 750k
Pavel Gogolev - 3-yr ELC
Ondrej Kase - 1-yr 1.25M
Nick Ritchie - 2-yrs 2.5M AAV
William Villenueve - 3-yr ELC
Braeden Kressler - 3-yr ELC
Kyle Clifford - STL trade
Chad Krys - CHI trade
Ty Voit - 3-yr ELC

Danielle Goyette, Director of Player Development
Ryan Hardy, Senior Director of Minor League Operations, GM of Marlies and Growlers
Dean Chynoweth, Assistant Coach
Spencer Carbery, Assistant Coach
Greg Harden (!!) - Peak Performance Coach
Christoffer Hedlund - Amateur Scout
Darren Ritchie - Amateur Scout
Marian Agyei-Gyamera - Management Development candidate
TJ Millar - Coaching Development candidate

PTO
Josh Ho-Sang - Marlies, 1-year
Nikita Gusev
Evan Cormier - Growlers

Re-Signed
Jason Spezza - 750k
Wayne Simmonds - 2 years 900k AAV
Travis Dermott - 2 years 1.5M AAV
Joseph Woll - two-way 750k
Brennan Menell - two-way 750k
Joey Duszak - two-way 750k

Out
Jared McCann --> SEA Expansion Pick
Kenny Agostino (UFA) --> Torpedo, KHL
Martin Marincin (UFA) --> HC Ocelari, Czech League
Kalle Kossila (UFA) --> Jokerit, KHL
Antti Suomela (UFA) --> Marlies, AHL
Filip Hållander —> PIT trade
Veini Vehvilainen (unqualified) --> Byrnas IF, SHL
JD Greenway (rights) --> BOS trade
Zach Bogosian (UFA) --> TBL
Nic Petan (unqualified) --> VAN
Zach Hyman (UFA) —> EDM
Nick Foligno (UFA) —> BOS
Freddie Andersen (UFA) —> CAR
David Rittich (UFA) —> NSH
Calle Rosén (UFA) —> STL
Riley Nash (UFA) --> WPG
Stefan Noesen (UFA) —> CAR
Joe Thornton (UFA) —> FLA
Scott Sabourin (UFA) --> OTT
Denis Malgin —> Zurich Lions
Alex Galchenyuk (UFA) --> ARI
Adam Brooks (waiver) —> MTL
Mike Amadio (waiver) —> VGK
Kirill Semyonov --> KHL
Kurtis Gabriel --> CHI trade

Scott Pellerin --> Pro Scout, Arizona Coyotes
Stephan Robidas --> Head Coach, Magog Cantonniers
Troy Bodie —> Director of Hockey and Business Operations, Seattle Kraken
Dave Hakstol --> Head Coach, Seattle Kraken
Patrick Charbonneau
John Kisil
Blair MacKasey
Sirpa Lehti
Dr. Meg Popovic
John Lilley --> Director of Player Personnel and Director of Amateur Scouting, New York Rangers
Tim Speltz —> GM, Henderson Silver Knights (AHL, Vegas)
Barb Underhill —> retirement

10

Main Leafs Hockey Talk / Pontus Holmberg 2-yr ELC

« on: June 04, 2021, 10:05:19 AM »

🖋 We’ve signed forward Pontus Holmberg to a two-year entry level contract. #LeafsForever

Details » https://t.co/JqCZbePk3C pic.twitter.com/HeAjZhNB63

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 4, 2021

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Leafs Rumours & Speculation / Armchair GM 2021-2022: Catharsis

« on: June 02, 2021, 09:43:47 AM »

You know you're thinking about it already. Which no-good bum who struggled to produce anything tangible in a 7 game sample do we need to dump?

If you're thinking about Seth Jones, do yourself a favour and just replace those two words with Miro Heiskanen so people don't laugh at you up front.

I'll start!

To LAK: Mitch Marner (signing bonus paid, 4x 10.903M), Morgan Rielly (1x 5M)
To TOR: 2022 1st, Quinton Byfield, Akil Thomas, Olli Maataa, Matt Roy, whatever buriable spare parts they want to dump

Why would LA do this?
Huge jumpstart for their impressive prospect pool on the cusp of entering the league. Immediately adds the speed they seek, especially on the backend and extending the viability of their two big tickets (Doughty, Kopitar). It's a lopsided trade on the cap side, but there isn't much real cash left on Marner's deal and it's a surefire top-end player to bridge the gap between the old Cup winners and the upcoming kids.

Why would Toronto do this?
Byfield is a high pick, but a project (they loooove projects) and is some higher-end centre depth. Thomas has existing chemistry with two Leaf prospects (SDA, Nicky Bobby) and he sort of buried pretty deep behind Turcotte, Vilardi, and the aforementioned Kopitar. Matt Roy is a good middle D get to replace Holl, Maataa is a dump.

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Main Leafs Hockey Talk / Alex Steeves signed to 3-yr ELC

« on: March 28, 2021, 06:17:41 PM »

🖋 We’ve signed forward Alex Steeves to a three-year entry level contract for the 2021-22 season.

Details » https://t.co/f8MS3Ejlc9#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/PZNbFxY2SV

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 28, 2021

Guess his height

13

NHL Transactions / 2021 Trades

« on: February 13, 2021, 01:45:25 PM »

For the ones that don't need full threads, but you still want to dunk a little bit on it

Full trade is Ryan Dzingel from CAR to OTT for Alex Galchenyuk and Cedric Paquette. No salary retained.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 13, 2021

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Main Leafs Hockey Talk / 2021 Training Camp Thread

« on: January 03, 2021, 12:33:28 PM »

The squad 👊

Here's our roster for Training Camp Fuelled by @GatoradeCanada. #LeafsForever

📰 https://t.co/QErhOtTxbL pic.twitter.com/smlNsXmvcc

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 3, 2021

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Marlies & Prospect Talk / World Juniors 2021

« on: December 12, 2020, 12:19:19 PM »

Confirmed Baby Buds that have made their junior squads
Finland: Mikko Kokkonen, Roni Hirvonen, Topi Niemela
Russia: Mikhail Abramov, Rodion Amirov, Artur Akhtyamov