R1 - Series Thread - Bruins (A2) vs Maple Leafs (A3)

[Beninho]

Lots of talk about Matthews being a no-show, but Nylander has been a ghost. 1 assist in 4 games. I wonder how desperate the Leafs will be for a top 4 D-man with a low cap hit...

[Erick Estrada]

Yep. That's why I shake my head at any Nylander for Hamilton proposals. Nylander has to be scoring or he's not a factor. You don't trade a top pairing defenseman for that. Good player but to me he's a younger Eberle.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Game summary: Jake Gardiner is terrible.

[spuzzum]

Does anyone else get satisfaction from seeing the Leafs lose? They're a young team and will eventually make a few deep runs. They only need to shore up their defense over the next few years. I see TO signing Tavares and dealing with the cap issues as a result which would be a nice problem to have.

[Erick Estrada]

I don't think Andersen has been as good as they would have hoped in this series and what's going on in Toronto isn't much different than Calgary as they are depending on these young forwards to carry the team and in the playoffs it is a big adjustment as there's tighter checking and goals are harder to come by. This experience will probably do them good but they aren't going anywhere with that defense group.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Beninho

Lots of talk about Matthews being a no-show, but Nylander has been a ghost. 1 assist in 4 games. I wonder how desperate the Leafs will be for a top 4 D-man with a low cap hit...

He's the go-to guy in the biggest market in the NHL.

Contrast that to his background and being from Arizona, and it's not impossible to see that the insane pressure is may be affecting his play.

[savemedrzaius]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yep. That's why I shake my head at any Nylander for Hamilton proposals. Nylander has to be scoring or he's not a factor. You don't trade a top pairing defenseman for that. Good player but to me he's a younger Eberle.

Serious question because I don't watch enough Flames games. When Hamilton isn't putting up points is he contributing in other ways? Is he a good shutdown guy?

[CaptainCrunch]

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by savemedrzaius

Serious question because I don't watch enough Flames games. When Hamilton isn't putting up points is he contributing in other ways? Is he a good shutdown guy?

Leafs already have 2 50 point d man. They should target a different d man IMO.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by savemedrzaius

Serious question because I don't watch enough Flames games. When Hamilton isn't putting up points is he contributing in other ways? Is he a good shutdown guy?

He's competent defensively but not what I'd call a shutdown guy. He's behind Gio and Hamonic defensively, ahead of Stone , Kulak and Brodie. He has good comeback speed and reach, plays OK positionally and in puck battles, but isn't heavy on opposing forwards and not great at netfront clearance. I wouldn't say he takes defensive risks.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Leafs already have 2 50 point d man. They should target a different d man IMO.

Yes - a defensively responsible, solid, lower-event defenseman. Like, say, Ryan McDonagh, or Chris Tanev, for example. Not that either of those guys were available at the deadline, of course.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by chummer

Talking about extreme announcers, did you hear Joe Bowen's calls last night?

At least Peter Maher saved his "Yeah Babys" for momentous events. Bowen uses "Holy Mackinaw" far too much.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Leafs already have 2 50 point d man. They should target a different d man IMO.

Hamilton is a 60-70 point Dman on the Leafs

50 on a team that doesn't score and with a coach who doesn't put the leagues leading goal scorer on the PP until the season is 2/3rds over.

He can also play a 2 on 1 lol

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Hamilton is a 60-70 point Dman on the Leafs

50 on a team that doesn't score and with a coach who doesn't put the leagues leading goal scorer on the PP until the season is 2/3rds over.

He can also play a 2 on 1 lol

Here in the centre of the universe the complaint all season about Babcock was that Matthews wasn’t getting PP time. Heard boring bono talk about it on the radio a few times.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Hamilton is not a 60 point defenseman on the Leafs. Morgan Reilly isn't a 60 point defenseman on the leafs and Morgan Reilly is at least as good an offensive player than Hamilton (despite Hamilton being quite a bit better all around). Moreover, if they had Hamilton, they wouldn't use him in a primarily offensive role, because they have those guys already. He's not a good fit for them.

Not that the Flames should ever, ever consider trading Dougie Hamilton. Those players are almost impossible to find. Nylander, while a very good player, can be replaced or his role replicated by other forwards.

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Hamilton is not a 60 point defenseman on the Leafs. Morgan Reilly isn't a 60 point defenseman on the leafs and Morgan Reilly is at least as good an offensive player than Hamilton (despite Hamilton being quite a bit better all around). Moreover, if they had Hamilton, they wouldn't use him in a primarily offensive role, because they have those guys already. He's not a good fit for them.

Not that the Flames should ever, ever consider trading Dougie Hamilton. Those players are almost impossible to find. Nylander, while a very good player, can be replaced or his role replicated by other forwards.

Reilly isn’t in the same league offensively, very confused by that take. Hamilton is better offensively by a fair margin then any of Toronto’s Dmen.

Hamilton scored 17 goals this year while spending half the season off the #1 pp unit. Reilly has 31 career goals.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Hamilton is a 60-70 point Dman on the Leafs

50 on a team that doesn't score and with a coach who doesn't put the leagues leading goal scorer on the PP until the season is 2/3rds over.

He can also play a 2 on 1 lol

And.. how does getting Hamilton solve their defensive woes?

They don't need another offensive D man.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Beninho

Reilly isn’t in the same league offensively, very confused by that take. Hamilton is better offensively by a fair margin then any of Toronto’s Dmen.

Hamilton scored 17 goals this year while spending half the season off the #1 pp unit. Reilly has 31 career goals.

Goals are not the only measure of offense. They're not even a good one. Reilly scored more points this year than Hamilton ever has. Reilly's biggest strength is transitioning the puck from his end to the other, which produces offense, but usually assists (and that depends on how many passes take place after he moves the puck).

Even points are an imperfect measure of offense - they just show you who touched the puck last. A D-man whose offensive talents lend themselves more to getting shots through for tips or rebounds is more likely to have a higher point total than a transition player, but that doesn't mean they generate more goals.

Anyway the underlying point is that Hamilton isn't a 60-70 point guy on the Leafs. There are very few real 60-70 point defensemen in hockey. To end up with those totals on a consistent basis in the modern game, you pretty much either need to be very good at the skills I just talked about (e.g. Brent Burns) or be a generational talent (e.g. Erik Karlsson). That was what I was really trying to say - my point wasn't a comparison between Reilly and Hamilton.

[Textcritic]

So, setting aside whether or not TO is a good trading partner for the Flames, what NHL teams are most likely looking for upgrades in mobility and offence on their blue line?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Yes - a defensively responsible, solid, lower-event defenseman. Like, say, Ryan McDonagh, or Chris Tanev, for example. Not that either of those guys were available at the deadline, of course.

A guy like Hamonic would also fit in great. Which, I guess, shows how valuable and hard to find those guys are.