Mark Masters ‏@markhmasters 3m Toronto, Ontario
Babcock felt JVR-Bozak-Marner was Leafs "best line by far" on Saturday night ... really liked Tyler's game in particular

gotta be a pump n dump, no?

I didn't think Bozak was that great at all. In fact, me and the guys watching thought he kind of dragged the line down a bit.

Clearly my idea of good and Babcock's are very different. Oh well, TITS boys. TITS
- WingmanWillie

No, Bozak has been decent all year.
This isnt a Phaneuf situation.

trading for players who will fill much needed voids (Andersen, Zaitsev, Martin)

I think they only traded for one of these players

Jesus, a 3rd blog in 24hrs.
- Fakepartofme

Well, we needed the Enroth update because none of us have access to TSN or twitter

I can't find the article, but the difference between a "good" faceoff guy and a bad one, is like an extra second of possession time a game.
- gravyface

The REAL difference between a good and bad faceoff man is 15-20 seconds of a penalty kill after dumping it down the ice, or controlling the puck when the pressure is on at the end of the 3rd in a one goal game.
Just because the stats don't vary too much across the league doesn't mean faceoffs aren't important.

The REAL difference between a good and bad faceoff man is 15-20 seconds of a penalty kill after dumping it down the ice, or controlling the puck when the pressure is on at the end of the 3rd in a one goal game.
Just because the stats don't vary too much across the league doesn't mean faceoffs aren't important.
- Tonybere

The stats say faceoffs don't matter. Listen to any NHL coach, and they talk about faceoffs being important. So, we have to wonder what is more likely, NHL coaches don't know what they're talking about, or the stats don't tell the whole story.

The stats say faceoffs don't matter. Listen to any NHL coach, and they talk about faceoffs being important. So, we have to wonder what is more likely, NHL coaches don't know what they're talking about, or the stats don't tell the whole story.
- BestRapperAlive

Does possesion matter? Cause face off wins lead to possesion.

Faceoffs is one of those things where, if you ever watched hockey, played hockey, hell even played XBOX hockey, how anyone can argue faceoffs don't matter is just beyond all comprehension.

Does possesion matter? Cause face off wins lead to possesion.
- bobbyisno1

In the grand scheme of things it's so far down the line of importance.

Look at bozak..... High fo% but his possession sucks.

I'd rather have someone with ability to control the play and be able to make plays.

Faceoffs is one of those things where, if you ever watched hockey, played hockey, hell even played XBOX hockey, how anyone can argue faceoffs don't matter is just beyond all comprehension.
- Zezel

Babcock is a coach who wants the puck as much as possible, you can bet they will be working on it upon other things with the 4 off days in 5 days time.

In the grand scheme of things it's so far down the line of importance.

Look at bozak..... High fo% but his possession sucks.

I'd rather have someone with ability to control the play and be able to make plays.
- burn

yeah things don't always correlate, but I totally agree with you.

Simple:he's a very good goalie. He stoned us in Vancouver--were you not watching.
- BreathLeafs2015

I was watching.. .and yes he was good against the Leafs in this particular game.

He's a diva, and his play has declined - some would say - demonstrably in the past couple of seasons...

I wouldn't want him - at his age - anywhere close to that locker room.

yeah things don't always correlate, but I totally agree with you.
- Lucas.Neilson

Of course you WANT to win the faceoff everytime, but it's no gonna happen. If you win the faceoff more often than not but still get dominted that's not good

Yeah, I am thinking pump 'n dump for sure.
- Aetherial

not adverse to the "pump 'n dump"... but who at approximately the same $$ would be the replacement for Bozak? I'm not being argumentative... but that might be a role that can be filled in FA with all the $$ the Leafs would have the coming summer.

Nylander will be a whipping boy at some point, despite scoring plenty for the team.

Book it.
- Scabeh

Can you blame us? His last name doesn't sound like our last names, and he looks too pretty for a man.

not adverse to the "pump 'n dump"... but who at approximately the same $$ would be the replacement for Bozak? I'm not being argumentative... but that might be a role that can be filled in FA with all the $$ the Leafs would have the coming summer.
- BorjeFan4Ever

If Bozak was traded tomorrow, the first thing I would do is move Nylander back to C (which it seems is happening on the 4th line anyway)

If Bozak was traded tomorrow, the first thing I would do is move Nylander back to C (which it seems is happening on the 4th line anyway)
- WingmanWillie

Agreed which is part of why I think they're doing that (nylander to c) to get him ready to play center soon.

Isn't Marner among the league leader in blocked shots? HH is adorable.
- Zezel

He's 6th among rookie forwards, a few spots behind fellow Leaf rookie, Connor Brown.

He's 53rd amongst all forwards, and god knows where if you include d-men.

He's 6th among rookie forwards, a few spots behind fellow Leaf rookie, Connor Brown.

He's 53rd amongst all forwards, and god knows where if you include d-men.
- Feeling Glucky?

That's not too shabby. He'd probably have more blocks if he didn't have the puck so much.

HH "proving his worth"

That's not too shabby. He'd probably have more blocks if he didn't have the puck so much.
- Zezel

yeah he's too busy weaving magic

yeah he's too busy weaving magic
- Lucas.Neilson

That's not too shabby. He'd probably have more blocks if he didn't have the puck so much.
- Zezel

Also have better possession if he wasn't pushed off the puck so much

That's not too shabby. He'd probably have more blocks if he didn't have the puck so much.
- Zezel

It's not, and you're right.

A lot of the classic RTSS stats are given meanings that aren't necessarily true.

High blocked shots could mean you're willing to throw yourself in harms way to save a goal, but it also could mean the other team has the puck a lot while you're on the ice.

High takeaways is the same. You could be super skilled at stealing the puck, but it could also be a missed shot that you've picked up, because the other team gets so many shots while you're on ice.

Some of the best puck carriers in the league also have the highest giveaway totals.

Players don't hit much when they've got the puck on their stick, so high hit totals aren't necessarily the greatest indicator of a good player.

Just thinking back to the last time the Leafs were actually a good team... Sundin was a physical player, but always had low hit counts. Kaberle was the best d-man the Leafs have had for a long time, but he always had low hit counts, low blocked shot numbers, and high giveaway number.

Faceoffs is one of those things where, if you ever watched hockey, played hockey, hell even played XBOX hockey, how anyone can argue faceoffs don't matter is just beyond all comprehension.
- Zezel

Because the difference between a good faceoff guy (55%) and a terrible faceoff guy (45%) is one extra faceoff win per game.

Some simple, back of the envelope math:

2nd best centre this year is Claude Giroux.

27 GP
54.2% faceoff wins.
326 wins
275 losses

So he's taking just over 20 faceoffs a game.

Winning roughly 11 out of 20 (as I said, back of the envelope math).

1 more faceoff per game than a guy who is exactly average.

Does that really give your team a huge advantage?