FrenchConnection44

Wow! Anderson!!! And, man, I love this team! They still have needs, IMO, but I also loved the end. F*** Tkachuk! Skinner did nothing wrong. It’s not like he is sitting there on the ice looking up at the clock! He was shooting as the buzzer went off. But how about Cozens and Krebs going after him! You gotta love both those guys. I love the feistiness of Krebs and Cozens both. Hell yeah!

Great to see. Tage needs to continue to grow and get better. He could be top 5 or 4 with his size and abilities. And he’s still only 25.

You can tell that was a good no call on the alleged hook. Clearly a dive by Stamkos. He fell the wrong way from where the stick was (as if Lyub hooked his lower legs on the opposite side of where his stick was. What a sneak little B Stamkos is). Great play and shot. We had one fortunate goal but five really good ones on Vas who was just rated the top goalie in an ESPN article a couple of days ago. Lol. Not last night and not against the Sabres. Huge win. Would love to get at least a point tonight. Big game against a fellow playoff contender.

Over reaction city.

UPL has talent. He needs some better coaching on positioning. But ultimately the Sabres are just getting dominated by a more physical team. And playing with poor fundamentals. Happens a lot with this young team. Granato has to correct that over the rest of the season.

We simply don’t hit. That’s the reality of the season. Haven’t all year. UPL was in bad position that first goal. But we have been very bad at back checking.

I don’t doubt that the Leafs fans bought these tickets early in the season since it’s such a close game for them. And there were probably thousands available.

When playing physical teams that can skate, we are. But still young.

Just getting physically manhandled. Which is what has happened several times this year. That’s our big weakness. Players we have, almost to the man, could add 10 lbs of muscle and need to if they are going to become a strong contender. And then play more physical. They could also add a veteran forward and defenseman - both of whom need to be physical players. Just as the Leafs added Acciari. He’s like playing a bowling ball. Like Rick Tocchet was. We just don’t have anyone who can set the tone physically. Lots of talent. and the top prospects like Savoie and Julich are not close to physical players.

Missed the game and had planned to watch later. Saw some highlights. WTH? WTH Happened? Man. That was a disaster. We do know what we need aside from growth of the young players. Another strong defenseman - who plays serious defense. A two-way forward who can be physical. We just don't have that. A guy like Horvat would have been ideal. I don't see anyone on the horizon among our prospects. I'd be willing to give up a couple of those - and we have to hope a free agent comes available. Now that we have Cousins locked up I feel pretty good about going after a big free agent or two and also being able to lock up Dahlin in 2024.

Even if it’s mainly the former it’s also the latter it seems to me. He wouldn’t be the player they ship out of he was performing at a high level.

I wouldn’t give away much of the farm just to make a playoff push this year. Maybe we can swing a trade for a long term option and not just a 1/3 season rental. Granato has to both keep the team confident and grounded about how much work they have to do to get to a high level. But definitely need to make some moves in the off season to shore up weak points.

Yes. Agree. That’s part of what I love about the team. And why I expressed such. They have some really nice talent. Generally a joy to watch I’m simply expressing what I think needs to happen to be real contenders. (I mean, that’s part of what message boards are for - to discuss those areas. And to either rejoice or commiserate depending on outcomes). No telling how many teams in various sports I’ve seen have great potential and either the players didn’t develop as they could have or the GM never saw the weak points to enhance. I certainly don’t want the peak years of Tage / Tuch to go by the wayside. So I am enjoying the year immensely. And hopeful. Usually by now it’s “where are we drafting and who can we get?And how soon can the draft arrive?” Just observing the direction I have thought they have needed to go … evident for the past couple of years. They can’t simply continue down this road of being a soft team on the ice. The management, which has done pretty well, needs to (and needed to this past draft, imo) start addressing that overall physicality issue.

Oomph. Talk to text and then didn’t think correct it.

I love this team. But let’s face it. As constructed they are not physical enough to compete against stronger teams. They simply get out manned. Some of the boys can get bigger and MUST do so (Power; Cousins) and all of them need to add some muscle. But Power will need to get to the 230 area (in muscle). His comp he should be shooting for is an Hedman or a Burns whom we went against tonight. And at 6’3, Cousins should not be anywhere close to below 200. He should be at 200-210 with that frame. Obviously they are young but have to focus on becoming a more physical team. Yet they also need a real power forward or two. Girgensons has size but is just not a fast ,big hitter. It doesn’t need to be someone 6’4, 240 (though that would be nice). Even some players in the league who are 6’0, 210 can be physical and difficult players to go up against. The whole team doesn’t need that but they just get the hell checked out of them in some games. It’s like men against boys. They need at least a couple of other vet forwards and another physical defenseman Whether it’s a trade or signing a free agent or two that’s where they need to look. They have needed this among their forwards for a while now. Yet they drafted 3 undersized centers in round 1 last year. Talented. But they aren’t going to intimidate or out muscle anyone. I like a number of our prospects but there really isn’t anyone young, in the system with size. Maybe Bloom will get there but he has a ways to go. Again, not trying to be critical and I really love the young players on this team. But they just don’t match the physicality of other top teams to be able compete for the Cup.

Given Meier has to be signed to become a long term value not just a half year rental, unless there is strong competition, I’d hope we wouldn’t have to trade those young guys. Or give a ton up. And no way I’m letting go of Ólafsson. I would give up Mitts and our first. Maybe another prospect (Bloom?). Since Timo would fulfill a major need of a physical / power wing.

Agree straight down the line here. No way I move Ólafsson. Dude is a sniper capable of scoring 40 with a good center.

Agreed. It seems to me Toronto's problem has been lacking top tier goaltending come playoff time. Don't know whether we have a great goaltender right now but it has really flashed the last 3-4 games.

Man I love this team. Not just the early season flatter to deceive as the past few years. A phenomenal game. When the crowd was booing the Jets - that was a sign of how well we played. Though perhaps the Jets were a bit flat. Was surprised they weren't as aggressive - but our offense was very aggressive early. Put them on their heels. We really seem to struggle at the end of games with the lead. Seems like our D is a bit passive. But with a young team those things will happen. That first goal the other night really seemed to have given Power some offensive confidence. His goal was fantastic. The passing on the Tage goal was great also. Good to see him get a couple of goals the past two games. Not the "special" goals where he either maneuvers past 2-3 defenders or rips a 100 mph shot. But just getting the puck into the net can help re-gain that feeling of scoring. Thought Comrie had a very good game. He was fortunate on one play with a great pass across the center and the Jets player (can't remember who) missed the net. Hope Samuelsson is okay. Joker seemed to play really well. Top two defensive pairs have such a hopeful future!

I'd trade our 1st, Mitts, and ... Rosen? (That would be great) as long as we got Meier on a reasonable deal for the next few yrs ($6 Million range) in the trade. Meier is 6'0, 210. Not tall but he's still a very physical player and getting hit by a guy 6'0 210 is tougher than say 6'3, 200. His body type is physical and solid. Two big needs are obvious: a 6th defensemen, with solid physical defensive skills (not likely this year) and a physical two way forward who adds overall physicality to the team. Meier fits the latter in the ideal.

But you just made the comparison about who played more games in the OHL "since being drafted" did you not? You're not making sense here. Prior to or after being drafted doesn't really matter. The only point of contention of any validity is one is 19 1/2; the other is 19. But you're also ignoring Bloom's experienced competition (equal to himself in his league and which is comparable to or more mature than Savoie at the top). and also that Bloom couldn't play at all in 2020-21. Whereas, Savoie, because he was in the US, was able to play competitive hockey that year. If you look at who they've played against the past two seasons - it's virtually identical in terms of games and leagues. All this goes back to the original point of contention - that you raised, not me - that Bloom had some sort of advantage in playing "against a bunch of kids you are older than in a league you are too good for" in comparison to Savoie. That simply is not so. Nor is the discussion about better prospects. Clearly Savoie is the better offensive prospect and talent at this stage. But Bloom is not that far down the rung. And scoring is not the be all end all. Defensive play is a vital factor (which is the main reason we lose games these days). So too the calibre of teammates (both for assists and being set up). Savoie has had a much better surrounding caste than Bloom has much of the past two seasons.

I mentioned Bloom for the first time in that post (other than a post or two of highlights as I have with Savoie and others). For the record: You came at me! lol. Second, who played where prior to being drafted isn't a factor. You're arguing apples to oranges. If two kids of comparable age played on the same team and one was drafted at age 16, and the other at age 18 ... none of that would make a difference in terms of their calibre of competition.

I brought up Savoie because you made the comparison of Bloom having an advantage over him in terms of age, experience and playing lesser competition. Wasn't my comp; it was yours 😊. Savoie has played in a comparable league (WHL) the past two years just as Bloom has. So there is no difference between the two in terms of either leagues or experience in those leagues. The only measurable difference is one is a few months older in age and as a result became draft eligible a year earlier by just making the cut off, where as the other didn't. If you want to say that's a big deal, fine. I don't really think that is the case. I noted also that I wasn't arguing a comp in terms of prospective talent. Simply that the other comparisons made (level of competition; experience against comparable competition; and age) are a virtual wash and therefore meaningless (though Bloom's top level competition is actually more mature than Savoie's, so there is that).

Yes, the article indicated they were conference numbers.

There is a twofold problem here on what arguing about Bloom and, say, Savoie. Not arguing Savoie may not be the better prospect. But, first, there is on going debate over which league is better - WHL (Savoie) vs OHL (Bloom). Both are comparable. And even the QMJHL (several prospects there) is somewhat comparable. Their champion won the CHL cup over the WHL and OHL champions last year, though most point to stronger depth in the OHL as the stronger league. Second, Bloom and Savoie are virtually the same age - both are 19; Bloom is 6 months older - and Bloom isn't going against younger players than Savoie. Simply because he was drafted prior to Savoie due to eligibility doesn't really mean anything. And, in fact, the vast majority of leading scorers in the OHL are drafted and in the 19-20 year old range, whereas in the WHL the top of the heap are not drafted and are age 17-18. So Savoie is often going against less mature players than Bloom. That distinction you're drawing between the two is meaningless with respect to age or experience or competition. If anything it favors Bloom as having tougher competition. And then there is Johnson who is 21 playing against a lot of 18-19-20 year olds in the NCAA - which, granted, is a stronger league than the Canadian leagues. Still, he's up there in age, relative to a lot of his competition, and yet is not dominating at that level. Good player. But not a superstar.