NHL 2017 -Official Discussion Thread

[StCapps]

No, the Leafs are not bums, if they were, I would say so, but they're not, they're inexperienced, but they're not bums, and they weren't actually bad defensively against Washington, Washington didn't blow them out, they took the Caps to six and they were all one goal games.

Nashville has four defensemen that are better than the Leafs best defensemen, three of them are cheaper than you're most expensive defensemen. Your team is a one dimensional joke, for now anyway. Nashville is too well rounded to lose to a team lose to a team that is all offense, Chicago, St. Louis and Anaheim has a better shot than Leafs ever will of beating the Leafs and by a long shot. Even with the limited center depth the Preds are stylistic poison for one dimensional offensive oriented teams like the Leafs.

[Smitty-48]

I don't think the Nashville's D is all that, they're just being carried by a red hot Rinne. It's the goalie, Josi is better than any D on the Leafs, but the other three aren't, Subban is not the player he used to be, he's actually pretty meh these days, that's why I would trade him.

Nashville actually played shit tonight, out shot, out chanced, out hustled, out hit, Anaheim was totally dominant, the Ducks did everything right, the only reason they lost, was goaltending, Red Hot Rinne v Johnny Burns; surprise-suprise.

This Nashville team is not actually playing that well, they've just run into teams which are flat, and they have the hot goalie.

[StCapps]

I don't think the Nashville's D is all that, they're just being carried by a red hot Rinne. It's the goalie, Josi is better than any D on the Leafs, but the other three aren't, Subban is not the player he used to be, he's actually pretty meh these days, that's why I would trade him.

Nah it's the defense, Rinne had an average at best series against the Ducks, except for the last two games when he got back to clutch form. Against Chicago it was more Rinne, but ever since it's been more the defense carrying the load, not that he's been playing bad, they've just been killing it too, even more than Rinne has against the Blues and Ducks.

Subban had a down year of a regular season offensively, he's having a solid playoff, and even on a down year offensively he's way better than your best. Ekholm, Ellis and Josi are better than every single one of your defensemen, it's not even close, it's not only Josi, he's just the best of a great top 4. You can't see this objectively, your homer bias is ridiculous right now.

[Smitty-48]

Quite the opposite, I have old school Leaf homer bias; which is to be biased towards the Leafs actually sucking while being overrated by the bandwagon fans, but I'm actually being objective, you're just sleeping on what the Leafs have become already, which is still a work in progress, but which is already a run n' gun team which can hang with any run n' gun team in the league, it's the heavy teams which are the Leafs achilles heel, the Leafs smoked teams like Nashville all year, it was the heavy teams which the Leafs couldn't handle, LA, SJ, ANA, STL, etc.

[StCapps]

Quite the opposite, I have old school Leaf homer bias; which is to be biased towards the Leafs actaully sucking and being overrated by the bandwagon fans, but I'm actually being objective, you're just sleeping on what the Leafs have become already, which is still a work in progress, but which is already a run n' gun team which can hang with any run n' gun team in the league, it's the heavy teams which are the Leafs achilles heel, the Leafs smoked teams like Nashville all year, it was the heavy teams which the Leafs couldn't handle, LA, SJ, ANA, STL, etc.

Your defense sucks. Until it doesn't you'll never be a perennial contender, I don't care if you put best four forward lines in the history of hockey together, won't make a difference. I'm not sleeping on the Leafs, you are sleeping on importance of quality defencemen, and goaltending, especially in the playoffs. One dimensional offensive powerhouse has never cut in the playoffs and never will, especially not against a well-rounded team built from the back-out. If you don't have at least a little defense to go with a powerhouse forward corps come playoff time, then it doesn't mean jack.

Go home, you're drunk.

[Smitty-48]

Your defense sucks. Until it doesn't you'll never I don't care if you best four forward lines in the history of hockey. I'm not sleeping on the Leafs, you are sleeping on importance of quality defencemen, and goaltending, especially in the playoffs.

The defence didn't actually suck, the team made the playoffs, no team can make the playoffs, if their defence actually sucks, and in the playoffs, they took the P-Trophy winners to six, all one goal games, which also cannot be done by a defense that sucks. The Leafs defence moved the puck, they played the same style as Nashville, and they finished with more points than Nashville, 95 pts to 94 pts, the Leafs are just Nashville, with better forwards, but no Roman Josi.

[StCapps]

Your defense sucks. Until it doesn't you'll never I don't care if you best four forward lines in the history of hockey. I'm not sleeping on the Leafs, you are sleeping on importance of quality defencemen, and goaltending, especially in the playoffs.

The Defence didn't actually suck, the team made the playoffs, no team can make the playoffs, if their defence actually sucks, and in the playoffs, they took the P-Trophy winners to six, all one goal games, which also cannot be done by a defense that sucks. The Leafs defence moved the puck, they played the smae style as Nashville, and they finished with more points than Nashville, 95 pts to 94 pts.

In a terrible conference. Regular season is irrelevant anyway. Everyone knows more offensive teams do better in the regular season and fizzle come playoff team without a defense to go with it. The only reason the Pens are getting by is because they are facing chumps, Washington are a bunch of chokes and Mike Sullivan has a super banged up defense punching so much above their weight that it's truly remarkable. The East just sucks and it's too top heavy, once they got past a first round choke against an inexperienced and overrated team, and got passed the notorious chokes of the East in round 2, the path is wide open to the finals and they still looked like shit in the first three games against the Sens.

[Smitty-48]

In a terrible conference. Regular season is irrelevant anyway. Everyone knows more offensive teams do better in the regular season and fizzle come playoff team without a defense to go with it.

Again, objectively, the Leafs defence did not play badly in the playoffs, they faced the most stocked and veteran team in the league, with the best goal scorer of the generation, and they held them to one goal games all the way, and came one goal away from a game seven, the Leafs defence actually played great, they were in every game, Washington was pushed to the limit to beat them.

[StCapps]

Again, objectively, the Leafs defence did not play badly in the playoffs, they faced the most stocked and veteran team in the league, with the best goal scorer of the generation, and they held them to one goal games all the way, and came one goal away from a game seven, the Leafs defence actually played great, they were in every game, Washington was pushed to the limit to beat them.

Nah, Washington didn't even get out of first gear. You are delusional, they coasted the entire series, that was the Caps, not even trying and the Leafs playing as well they could and you couldn't even get to seven games, or upset them. The defense has miles and miles to go before the Leafs have any chance at a Cup run or beating a well rounded team like Nashville. Just because Babcock had the defense playing well for a bunch of bums, doesn't mean they are anywhere near adequate.

[Smitty-48]

Again, objectively, the Leafs defence did not play badly in the playoffs, they faced the most stocked and veteran team in the league, with the best goal scorer of the generation, and they held them to one goal games all the way, and came one goal away from a game seven, the Leafs defence actually played great, they were in every game, Washington was pushed to the limit to beat them.

Nah, Washington didn't even get out of first gear. You are delusional, they coasted the entire series, that was the Caps, not even trying.

Nah, you just don't know anything about hockey, you're a fan, but you're not a student of the game, and you're the one who can't be objective, you're just being a pointless Leaf Hater, without cause.

To say that an NHL team "coasted" in the playoffs, I mean, you have no clue what you're talking about, you don't know hockey, all your prattling about it is just that, prattle, on the face of it.

Washington had the same problem with the Leafs that all teams had with the Leafs this year, the Leafs had the best top nine in the league, a top two power play, a top three penalty kill, and when the Leafs knuckled down and held fast to the system, they were tough to beat, by anybody, and from the horses mouth, there wasn't a team, coach, or general manager in the league, who didn't say so.

The Leafs are not bad at all, the Leafs are actually one of the best teams in the league, just a fact, the stats back it up, and the eye test doesn't lie neither.

As a student of the game, who has played the game all my life, I would never give the Leafs credit where it wasn't due, contrary to your "homer" narrative, I'm actually hypercritical of the Leafs, I'm more inclined to not give them enough credit, but work in progress notwithstanding, fluctuation boith in game and game over game notwithstanding, the Leafs did not punch above their weight class, their weight class just went way up, with the arrival of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Babcock.

To call this Leaf team "bums"? To say that the Washington Capitals "coasted"? That's not only wrong, objctively incorrect, it's idiotic prattle.