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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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    Maple Leafs get a necessary break from NHL postseason madness

    jedi17
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    • Post n°1

    Maple Leafs get a necessary break from NHL postseason madness Empty Maple Leafs get a necessary break from NHL postseason madness

    Post by jedi17 Mon 09 Jan 2017, 2:48 pm

    Maple Leafs get a necessary break from NHL postseason madness

    The postseason madness was getting out of hand after the Leafs beat the New Jersey Devils last Friday and briefly moved into a playoff position, third in the Atlantic Division. However, a game against one of the NHL’s best teams, in which the Leafs were never in a serious position to beat the Canadiens, plus the existing evidence, shows the most likely outcome is that the Leafs will flirt with a playoff spot until late March and then fade when everyone gets serious about playing defence.
    The Leafs are probably the most exciting young team to watch in the NHL. They’re the closest thing the NHL has to Team North America, the 23-and-under World Cup of Hockey fan favourite. But they still have too many holes in their game and their roster to be considered a bona fide playoff team even if their rebuilding plan is ahead of schedule as the halfway mark of the season approaches.
    This is not to say the Leafs will definitely miss the playoffs, since they are fortunate enough to play in a mediocre division. The third-place finisher in the Atlantic, which is guaranteed a playoff spot, could well have fewer points than the No. 2 wild-card team.
    The Leafs are in the easy phase of an improving team’s jump up the standings, the big one that signals a team is no longer a punching bag. At this point, the Leafs could finish with 93 points, a 24-point improvement from 2015-16. Those leaps in the standing usually result in coach-of-the-year awards.
    However, it is the next improvement that is the tough one, going from making the playoffs to legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup. The Leafs are still a few years away from that and, fortunately for them, management is well aware of that.
    Both Leafs president Brendan Shanahan and head coach Mike Babcock have said recently there will be no veering from the slow-but-sure development plan.
    “We’re finding players every day as we watch them grow, and we have aspirations to be a really good team in the National Hockey League. One that in the summer you know you’re going to make the playoffs,” Babcock said after the Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings in the New Year’s Day outdoor game. “That’s not where we’re at right now, but we’re a work in progress. We like the direction we’re going.”
    Most of the signs the Leafs are not there yet come in the third period. Their penchant for blowing third-period leads is well-documented. They are also not much for comebacks, as their record when behind at the start of the third period is 2-11-1.
    The good news is that these are common traits of young teams. They are generally weaker defensively, so third-period leads can disappear when the opposition turns up the heat. While the Leafs were seventh in goals-scored in the NHL before Sunday’s games with 120, they were 19th in goals-against with 116. So the kids on the forward lines still have a few things to learn, the defence needs an upgrade in personnel and a reliable backup goaltender would be nice.
    Frederik Andersen was in goal for both of the back-to-back, home-and-away games against New Jersey and Montreal. He is on target to play nearly 70 games, an astounding workload considering this is his first season as a No. 1 goalie. He showed signs of wear in the loss to Montreal.
    “Obviously I didn’t make the right decision there,” Babcock said of playing Andersen. “In saying that, the last time we did it we thought it was the right decision. This time it wasn’t the right decision.”
    The best thing about Shanahan and Babcock insisting they will stick to the plan is that Shanahan and general manager Lou Lamoriello will likely resist jumping into the trade market for a defenceman before the Feb. 28 trade deadline. This will not do anything for the Leafs’ playoff chances but in the long term it’s a no-brainer.
    Even decent defencemen nowadays are expensive. When the Edmonton Oilers finally decided to do something about their defence and traded for Adam Larsson, a young and good-but-not-great defenceman, it cost them Taylor Hall, one of the most dynamic young forwards in the league.
    Since the Leafs are still a year, and more likely two years, away from being a sure bet for the playoffs, it makes no sense to trade away someone such as James van Riemsdyk or even William Nylander right now for one piece of the puzzle. At the same time, Babcock is starting to use his players with an eye on winning as well as putting star rookies such as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in learning situations. This is paying off with some unexpected success but it is also paying other dividends.

    By slowly combining the two approaches, Leafs management is avoiding the trap of sticking young players in a losing environment longer than is healthy for them. Look no further than the Colorado Avalanche or the Oilers for what happens when top draft picks get stuck in a losing culture. The Avalanche are a mess and the Oilers took way too long to become a playoff contender, requiring a management housecleaning to do so.
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