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The Centennial Season thread (aka the ****ing season thread)

number17

number17

Mod Squad
This is the catch-all season thread for 16/17 season

Last few seasons we called it the ****ing season thread ... and they have indeed turned out to be ****ing seasons ... tank is over now the top kids have made the team, we don't need any more ****ing seasons ... let's hope this will be the season when things go on the rebound towards a contending team

Season's only 2 days away, can't wait to see Marner, Rielly, Matthews, Brown, Nylander etc play together ... Go Leafs Go!!!
 
Either we play really well and contend for or get a playoff spot (great), improve from last year and get a pick 5-10 (fine), or finish at or near the bottom of the standings and pick 1-5 (also fine, I'll take another top prospect). Should be a good year.
 
It is going to be a fun season to watch. I am not expecting them to make the playoffs but I am excited to see all of our kids grow together this season. It is nice to have a roster with so much skill and upside, unlike last years roster filled with veteran plugs.

There are going to be some growing pains this year but hopefully as the season rolls along we will see them start to emerge as a cohesive unit.
 
Laich and Sosh will be sent down, but yeah it's pretty much set.

Will be interesting to see if they pick up Pulk though. He's a lot of what they already have, and after more examination it seems like his strong possession numbers are tied to an abnormally long shot distance (the guy shoots from everywhere; even an eye-test would tell you that). So I'm not sure he's worth a flyer but either way I'll trust the decision that they make. There's a major logjam so I'd understand if they want to give the guys that they've been developing a shot.
 
zeke said:
so is our roster set yet or what?
Click to expand...
Sort of. We're one man over the 23-man roster limit. Greening's been demoted to the AHL, they've announced Prust hasn't made the team (but will keep hanging around the team in Toronto), and Laich is still on the roster. Leivo may or may not still be injured.

Here's where the roster lines & defense combos stand right now:

James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Mitch Marner
Milan Michalek - Nazem Kadri - Leo Komarov
Zach Hyman - Auston Matthews - William Nylander
Matt Martin - Peter Holland - Connor Brown
Josh Leivo - Brooks Laich

Morgan Rielly - Martin Marincin
Jake Gardiner - Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick - Nikita Zaitsev
Frank Corrado - Roman Polak

Frederik Andersen
Jhonas Enroth

My guess is that they'll go with eight defensemen for the forseeable future, and Laich will get demoted as soon as Leivo's confirmed to be healthy.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Hunwick really has to go.
Click to expand...
Yep. He's brutal, and keeping him our top-6 forces us to play someone else on their off-side. Hopefully before long, our everyday top-six ends up being:

Morgan Rielly - Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner - Connor Carrick
Martin Marincin - Frankie Corrado
 
Babcock and Lou have made some pretty smart decisions on the past few days allowing themselves not to be persuaded by veteran presence and give the spots to kids who earned it.

Hunwick has been outplayed this camp and deserves the boot so I think (hope) the right decision will be made. It might take a few games but it will happen
 
Well Hunwick has been on the third pair (I think) with Zaitsev all camp, so It looks like his role has been reduced. I assume Zaitsev will move up pretty quickly.
 
I'm glad Babs, despite some questionable moves in the off-season (which may be his or Lou's) has not stuck with the old school rules, in which ...

- He's playing the new kids like Marner, Matthews and Nylander in top 9 role, probably even top 6, to start the season, instead of using them sparingly on a 3rd/4th line duty like Kadri was when he was first brought up to the NHL

- He didn't give 'good veterans' like Laich and Hunwick the inside track to NHL jobs, and instead has waived Laich, demoted Hunwick to 3rd unit minutes ... in fact, with 8 D, i don't think Hunwick or even Polak will be in the lineup every night

Like every other team, the lineup and icetime will adjust as the season goes on, but it's good to see Babs' investment in the young guys, in skill and speed, and into winning rightaway
 
Yeah you might be right. Not sure if this is accurate because it doesn't seem like enough total ice time but pre-season ES TOI according to Fox:

1. Marincin - 14:35
2. Zaitsev - 14.19
3. Reilly - 14:15
4. Hunwick - 13:38
5. Carrick - 13:26
6. Gardiner - 13:08
 
A young, tough D that can skate would be really nice to have. I love the line up but I'm worried they get pushed around.
 
Paul Hendrick
@HennyTweets

Leaf line rushes:
JVR-Bozak-Marner
Michalek-Kadri-Komarov
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Martin-Laich-Brown
Prust-Holland

Defence Pairings:

Marincin-Rielly
Gardiner-Carrick
Hunwick-Zaitsev
Corrado-Polak
#TMLtalk
 
and just when I thought we were getting clarity, Mark Masters tweets that Holland Laich were splitting line rushes on the 4th line.
 
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