Some reports that they are looking to waive Skinner now.. What a tire fire
- PatC80

He has a NMC.

My first of many random thoughts for today:

The Leafs should have outbid Scotiabank to sponsor the Division.

"The Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing very well lately, sitting atop the Toronto Maple Leafs' North Division."

"Montreal is currently mired in a slump, falling to 4th in the Toronto Maple Leafs' North Division."

It would have been glorious.
- Atomic Wedgie

I think the NHL would not allow that but it would be funny..

Note: I will need to PVR the game

(so your payment may be delayed)🤕

I mean.... how do you want to do this? Should I break your legs first?
- mr.sir

lets watch the first 5 minutes before we make any rash decisions

Unreal what is going on with that team. Skinner has 1 pt and a 9 mill per yr deal, for 6 more years.

Kyle Okposo - 1 frankin point. 6 mill per for next 2 after this year.
- bixll

So bad. I wonder at this rate what they will get for Hall at the deadline. Id try to pry Dahlin out of Buffalo somehow.

I don't think he's particularly tough to play against either. The offense thing . . .he was decent in Erie. He has offensive instincts - he even carried them to the Marlies, but on the Leafs he's pretty stifled. Some guys just get shuffled into roles they're not suited for, so this might be a square peg / round hole thing for him.

The $875k in capspace is negligible for what he brings, and at this point, he plays better than Lehtonen (and Sandin is injured). If he were hurt and Lehtonen were to get a number of games in sequentially, it might be nice to really compare them once they got the feel for the game. A comparison I'll make here is that I was ready to jettison Barabanov into low orbit, but having given him some more ice, he's not bad. Still not top-6 worthy, but not awful.

But the bottom line is that you feel he could and should be better by now; I know a number of people feel that way. Right _now_ he's probably #6 on our depth chart (or #3 depending on how you count, apparently), and it's probably good to have that insurance. In the offseason he's an RFA so that's a different ballgame.
- Monkeypunk

Barabanov should be in the lineup all day every day before giving Vesey even a sniff. At least Barabanov seems to have a ceiling which he's far from hitting, Vesey maxed out on what he can provide to this team in game 1.

To me, "the ballet" means one of two things:

- going to see the little bear in the car
- something else.
- Atomic Wedgie

See. Here's the thing. I didn't know it was a ballet. I had seen the Disney cartoon. I was expecting something completely different.

My wife knew it was ballet.

And even though Phantom of the Opera has the word 'Opera' right in the title, I didn't think it was ACTUALLY an Opera. I thought it was more like a . . that hook from the Andrew Lloyd Weber organ . . .that's very misleading.

My wife knew it was an opera.

I'm ok with it.
- AdamFrench

Jack sat out for several games.. Too funny..

I think Dermott is a pretty damn good 6th/7th D to have come playoff time. If injuries hit he can move up a pair without completely disastrous consequences.

Unless we prefer Marincin step into that role anyways... 🤷🏻‍♂️
- joel878

If by "pretty damn good" you actually mean "isn't Marincin" then yes, I agree with you.

The Leafs have Lehtonen and Sandin if injuries happen. If Marincin has to step in at any point than the Leafs are probably missing key pieces that are likely to deep six a Cup run anyway, amirite/amirov?

Just trying to think which roster pieces the Leafs could move to bring one back -- Dermott being one of them.

So bad. I wonder at this rate what they will get for Hall at the deadline. Id try to pry Dahlin out of Buffalo somehow.
- Archaic

Poor guy -17 already, has no help. The Buffalo forwards can't even spell Defense, let alone play any.

My first of many random thoughts for today:

The Leafs should have outbid Scotiabank to sponsor the Division.

"The Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing very well lately, sitting atop the Toronto Maple Leafs' North Division."

"Montreal is currently mired in a slump, falling to 4th in the Toronto Maple Leafs' North Division."

It would have been glorious.
- Atomic Wedgie

Week’s Home Hardware of Hamilton actually submitted a bid but “Week North Division” was considered redundant

I think the NHL would not allow that but it would be funny..
- PatC80

Maple Leafs foods would have been perfect.

See. Here's the thing. I didn't know it was a ballet. I had seen the Disney cartoon. I was expecting something completely different.

My wife knew it was ballet.

And even though Phantom of the Opera has the word 'Opera' right in the title, I didn't think it was ACTUALLY an Opera. I thought it was more like a . . that hook from the Andrew Lloyd Weber organ . . .that's very misleading.

My wife knew it was an opera.
- Monkeypunk

My niece was actually in it one year - thought for sure my mom was going to make me go.

Dodged that bullet!

Poor guy -17 already
- bixll

Not that I believe in +/-, but Jack Eichel is a -67 in his career

Week’s Home Hardware of Hamilton actually submitted a bid but “Week North Division” was considered redundant
- Canada Cup

I very much disagree with this take.

Brodie has been the most effective Leaf on managing zone entries against, and really to be more fair about it - puck management in general in the defensive zone. Just because you didn't like the idea of signing him in the off-season doesn't mean you can't adjust your thinking once the evidence proves it out. I didn't think he'd be as effective as he is.

Holl has been terrific save for a couple of games, and Bogosian has offered us everything we thought he would, including bringing some physical play and muscle in front of the net. Nothing flashy, but he's solid.

Dermott makes smart plays and does little things that aren't always distinctly noticeable - picks, slowing his pace, pulling a forechecker in, but his defensive game could still use work. He is outmuscled in places where he needs to be stronger and outworked in his zone when he should be working harder. I think he's getting better - and having played consistently in a few games, I think it's more noticeable. But if he's our 3rd best defenseman this year, our goalies must be stellar.
- Monkeypunk

Brodie is excellent with puck, in particular with the first pass out of the defensive zone.
He's a great stick-checker as well.
My issue with him is, that he doesn't box offensive players out, and when defending he is 'skating along with the offensive opponent on the puck' but rarely makes it difficult for that player to keep posession apart from his good ability to stick check -- so on the defensive side, he's very one-dimensional.
Holl and Bogosian are positionally weaker players, but at least they try to take the body and engage in puck battles in the corners.

Dermott is Leafs 3rd best d-man after Rielly and Muzzin. Brodie has been much better than I expected, but in my opinion he is worse defensively than Dermott. Brodie has been really good when in possession, he has great patience - I like that aspect of his game a lot.
All by all though -- I see more need to add on FW/in goal than on D at this point (with Holl being steady as well, and Liljegren, Sandin out there as well -- Bogo being a good 6/7 guy).
- MaximusAurelius

I haven’t seen enough to be comfortable being one injury away from having Sandin being an everyday defenceman in the playoffs. If Dubas had any idea of moving Dermott, we’d be seeing a lot more of potential replacements. My guess is that he’s far happier having a defensive structure that finally works than the Leaf fan base.

I think we have enough bottom 6 forward parts to not need to worry about adding a third liner with truculence (is this still Bennett?). I’ll check with Max but I don’t think Simmons has died and our various third line combos have been really good.

If we want to add a forward, look for a rental that we pay from somewhere other than defence. I like leading the Division in lowest Goals Against.
- Canada Cup

Another Bennett reference.

Cute.

If by "pretty damn good" you actually mean "isn't Marincin" then yes, I agree with you.

The Leafs have Lehtonen and Sandin if injuries happen. If Marincin has to step in at any point than the Leafs are probably missing key pieces that are likely to deep six a Cup run anyway, amirite/amirov?

Just trying to think which roster pieces the Leafs could move to bring one back -- Dermott being one of them.
- mjones242

I like the leafs lineup structurally as it stands, I personally don't really want to add anything significant. They're fairly well rounded across the board, decent depth. The only player I think they need is Simmonds and we don't have to trade for him.

I like Dermott with bottom pair minutes in a more than "he's not Marincin" type way. He doesn't scare the (frank) out of me every time he touches the puck, and if he has to move up due to injury I feel comfier with him than most.

If I had to tinker, an 8th defenceman with experience perhaps? I really don't want to shake anything up. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Week’s Home Hardware of Hamilton actually submitted a bid but “Week North Division” was considered redundant
- Canada Cup

I didn't know they had one in Hamilton. I can walk to the one in Waterdown in less than 5 minutes.

So I'm reading a lot about more NHL arenas opening up to limited fans, and I guess my question is: would you really want to go to one of those games?

I imagine sitting in the ACC with 2,000 other fans would be an incredibly weird, surreal, eerie experience.

No pre-game or post-game meal or drinks.

No buzz of the crowd outside the arena.

Sorry, but to me, that's just not worth the price of admission.

If by "pretty damn good" you actually mean "isn't Marincin" then yes, I agree with you.

The Leafs have Lehtonen and Sandin if injuries happen. If Marincin has to step in at any point than the Leafs are probably missing key pieces that are likely to deep six a Cup run anyway, amirite/amirov?

Just trying to think which roster pieces the Leafs could move to bring one back -- Dermott being one of them.
- mjones242

No, not Amirite, in fact very, Rongsikov. Having defensive system that finally works is more important than adding a truculent 3rd line forward and we can’t rely on Sandin, sorry

- gergeswillems

- gergeswillems

My internet connection sucks this morning, so this was in super-slow-mo the first time.

He has a NMC.
- Atomic Wedgie

My bad, thought it was an NTC only.. I guess the other option would be to buy him out, but he'd be on the books until 2031/32.

I didn't know they had one in Hamilton. I can walk to the one in Waterdown in less than 5 minutes.
- Monkeypunk

It’s probably the same one but the Hamilton-centric bastards in corporate probably think of you as Hamilton (Aldershot stands in solidarity)