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The ****ing Season Thread 2018-19

LeafGm said:
This raises the question for me:

Which RHD was Dubas picturing Liljegren replacing in this Leaf lineup?
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that's the real question for sure.

A simple flip of Lilly for Ozzy doesn't smell quite like what their deliberate-sounding plan there would entail.
 
zeke said:
I don't really doubt that Sandin-Lilly would be more than fine in the NHL now - from the start of the year really - albeit with all the rookie mistakes that go along with that.

thing is it's not all about quality of play - babcock is just addicted to bringing along kids in a certain way. it's why dermott is still on the bottom pair, and why kappy still doesn't get PP time.

So I doubt Sandin is even allowed to be in the picture this year - though Dubas might have something to say about that if the need arises before playoffs.

Dermott - Rielly
Gardiner - Ozzy
Sandin - Lilly

I'm sure would be every bit as good as what we have now....and could easily be better.
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At minimum we can assume Sandin gets a real quality look in camp next year...and if he plays like he has, makes the team.

Sandin-Lil as our bottom pair looks plenty plausible to start next season.
 
Asked Dubas if #Leafs are actively pursuing an upgrade on defence. He said team needs to be moving the puck out better (both forwards and defencemen), and if that isn't an area they're improving on by February, "I think we will certainly look to improve."

He gets it!


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Artnes said:
Take all his misfit toys away. Give him no choice but play good pros who can move the puck
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Yeah, that's probably Dubas' long term vision for the team. If he can't get Babcock to play the right players, then he's just going to ensure that there are no "wrong" players on the roster. I would be very surprised if we entered camp next season with Zaitsev on the roster, we know that Ron is gone, and I'd also be surprised if Dubas wasn't looking for a new home to send Brownie to. He looks really replaceable internally (Grundstrom is almost fully cooked imo) and the cap space is getting important to preserve whenever and wherever we can.
 
Yeah if we're keeping Gards or landing a AP...we can't have Zaits and his $4.25m on the books.

Not to mention, when you go back and listen to Dubas' Sloan talk from a few years ago, and he's talking about the "safe" players he hated, its damn near like he's describing Zaitsev to a T.

I'll even be a little surprised if he's still on the team come playoffs.
 
Artnes said:
Asked Dubas if #Leafs are actively pursuing an upgrade on defence. He said team needs to be moving the puck out better (both forwards and defencemen), and if that isn't an area they're improving on by February, "I think we will certainly look to improve."

He gets it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

they've been looking for multiple seasons.
 
Volcanologist said:
they've been looking for multiple seasons.
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Dubas hasn't though. I think he has a bit of a different spin on what constitutes an upgrade there, than Lou did. Pretty sure that LouCock saw Zaitsev as a bonifide top 4 defender. Pretty sure Dubas sees that subtracting Zaitsev and putting anything competent at puck moving there, is actually an upgrade.
 
Also don't think Dubas puts as much weight into short term fixes as old school guys do. He's not looking to buy a guy for one run, he wants guys on term that improve our chances at a cup over many seasons.

I don't think there's going to be any "2nd round pick for Pleks/Boyle" type deals....if he's going to add, he's going to add term imo. AP/Pesce/Parayko types who will be a part of numerous playoff runs.
 
Yeah, it will take some time to get this team built in his vision, but based on everything I've seen him say in public about his theories on how the game is supposed to be played, I'm looking forward to it.
 
This team is going to improve a shit ton as soon as Zaitsev is gone and replaced with a guy that doesn't fire rocket launchers at people's shins. That's a huge addition by subtraction. Huge. Having five of their six d capable of making a two foot pass in stride would do wonders for a team with incredible talent up front.
 
I am pretty sure Dubas sees all of Rielly, Jake, Dermott, Sandin, Liljegren as top-4 quality puck-moving dmen, and soon.....and thinks all of Ozzy/Rosen/Marincin/Holl/Borgman are more than good enough depth, to boot.
 
Dubas on team toughness: “We focus a lot on the division and we’re usually bigger than the opponent and for whatever reason that takes on a whole life of it’s own, the whole toughness question. It’s at every level, with Soo and the Marlies. I don’t buy it."
 
Dermott - Rielly
Sandin - Liljegren
Rosen - Ozhiganov
(Marincin - Holl)
(Borgman - Durzi)

if we can fit in a Gardiner or Pietrangelo or something on top of that, it would be nice, but I'm not sure Dubas is super-stressed about needing to do that.
 
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