NHL 2017 -Official Discussion Thread

[Smitty-48]

Based on his advanced stats, his possesion numbers look like they've fallen off a bit in the last three years, but fallen off from elite to just above average, thing is, I think Babs can get that going in the other direction, I think Babs is at his best when it comes to correcting deficiency and deploying effectively, is he going to be a possession god again? Maybe not, but with Auston Matthews? I think those numbers will come back up, because bear in mind, with Auston Matthews, the other team is not going to be able to focus on Marleau, they will have their hands full, so Marleau will get more time and space than he did, playing on a line with Logan Couture.

[StCapps]

Based on his advanced stats, his possesion numbers look like they've fallen off a bit in the last three years, but fallen off from elite to just above average, thing is, I think Babs can get that going in the other direction, I think Babs is at his best when it comes to correcting deficiency and deploying effectively, is he going to be a possession god again? Maybe not, but with Auston Matthews? I think those numbers will come back up, because bear in mind, with Auston Matthews, the other team is not going to be able to focus on Marleau, they will have their hands full, so Marleau will get more time and space than he did, playing on a line with Logan Couture.

That's more like it, sort of.

Yay Smitty.

[Smitty-48]

Thing is, I have to factor the team into the equation, the Sharks are slow, the Leafs are not, the Sharks are a grinding team, the Leafs are superdynamic. the Sharks didn't play Marleau on a line with a Matthews or a Marner or a Nylander, the Leafs will, near as I can tell, Marleau now, even compared to Marleau a few years ago, still perfectly compliments the Leafs superkids, with huge potential upside.

[Smitty-48]

Seriously, dude, JVR really does fuck all, he stands beside the net and pots 30 goals, but it's all Mitch Marner at this juncture, I think this is why JVR is difficult to move, because the rest of the league knows the score; "it's Mitch Marner, JVR is not likely to do that for us, we don't have Mitch Marner on our third line to carry a JVR, so fuck off"

Now, if I pull JVR out and insert Patty Marleau? The way Marleau plays around the net and scores from close in? With Marner playing quarterback? Could that be close to 30 goals, with 10 of them from the PP alone? Doesn't seem that crazy an idea.

Just look at MacKinnon at the worlds, with Mitch Marner feeding him, he was off the hook, don't tell me MacKinnon is not like Matthews, he just needs better coaching, and better complimentary players to play with. If MacKinnon had Zach Hyman mucking the puck out for him, and Willy Nylander setting him up, Mitch Marner quarterbacking from the point? He'd score 40 too, easy.

That's the thing about Willy and Marns, they draw everything to them, then they dish the perfect pass, it opens up huge time and space, for Matty, Naz, and JVR.

[StCapps]

Nate MacKinnon playing on the Avs is like Steven Jackson playing on the Rams. A waste of a great talent on a shit team. You almost wish they would play for someone else just so they can succeed at the highest levels and win themselves a championship. Steven Jackson never did, stuck around on the Rams too long for his own good, I don't want that happen to MacKinnon too. That would be so lame.

[Smitty-48]

He's a Matthews, dude, I don't underrate Big Mac at all, he could be generational, if he had a better coach and someone super elite to play with, hit em' with the four like Auston Matthews? Indeed, but Willy set three of those four up, by drawing the play to him and then dishing the perfect pass on Matty's tape in the A1 position, Matty only took one of those four to the house unassisted... stripping Erik Karlsson along the way, booyah.

[StCapps]

MacKinnon has this next level gear he brings out sometimes, and in big situations, and when does he looks like the best player on the planet and looks like he can go through an entire team and score Mario Lemieux style, but with this just insane compete level, never really seen anything quite like it to be honest, maybe it's because of the way his speed combines with that next level gear or something, he just pops off the damn screen, and he had it out the box as an 18 year old rookie. In big game situations, he can be an absolute monster. If he could just tap into that WAY more consistently, was surrounded with much better talent, and had some real coaching, then watch the fuck out.

[Smitty-48]

So, this is the upside which I can't help but see with Marleau, better coach, better center to play with than Logan Couture, new town, new team, new system, breath of fresh air? I think it could be a Marleau-aissance, and it's not like he was actually sucking in San Jose to start of with.

I don't buy the Toronto is a bad place to play yadda-yadda, San Jose is nice, but Big Smoke, Original 6ix, Centre of the Universe? I think Patty Marleau is actually going to really enjoy it, he's going to have a ton of fun, and I think that's going to go straight to his legs.

[Smitty-48]

And with the family situation, which is clearly the most important thing? With Shanny, Lou, and Babs? The Marleau clan ain't gonna have nothing to worry about, it will be VIP of the VIP, G5 on call 24-7, whatever they need, they will be pampered beyond anything they could imagine in San Jose, all Patty will have to worry about is his game, he can eat, sleep, breath hockey, all day every day, no worries on the homefront out in Oakville, nobody will bother them.

[Smitty-48]

Like I said, other than the wheels coming off him before year three, I'm having trouble finding big downside to this, and there is no catastrophic downside whatsoever, as even if the wheels do come off earlier than expected, that's not going to sink the Leafs, because Marleau is not and will not be the Franchise, basically the Nathan Horton money will be in play, let's try to deploy it, if it doesn't work out, no biggie, the team has more than enough firepower to carry on.

Contrary to the blather of concern trolls, there's no cap problem here, Marleau is not actually on the cap for all intents and purposes, this is the Nathan Horton money, it was dead money anyways, not going to spend that money on Matty, Marns, or Willy, because it's only a three year window, so a UFA with big pontential upside, but who would be willing to accept just the Nathan Horton money for just three years? That is a Unicorn... but guess what? Lou just went out and got one... and fuck me, will you look at that, it's Patty fuckin Marleau, yo.

So, Nathan Horton at home on the couch, just got turned into Patty Marleau with Auston Matthews on the ice, no assets given up, no cap issues going forward? What's not to love?