THE LEAFS ARE CHUGGING WITH A LOT OF STEEN...

Nov 05, 2005 20:32

And here comes Alex Steen (son of legendary Thomas) making it 4-1!

I only hope that Mike and Chantal aren't too pissed off at me formy non-stop happy hockey hollerin'!

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Our Toronto Maple Leafs craft November 7 2005, 08:19:09 UTC
Yes, we do need to see more Tellqvist, because he seemed to miss the first 2 periods of todays game :p

The best part about this year for the Leafs is so far we have a BUNCH of promising youth. Steen, Stajan, Wellwood, Telly, Wilm, Kilger... it's not just the old guys this year.

As much as I hate to say it,I'm looking forward to Antropov coming back, and possibly seeing Czerk on a solid line with Sundin. If I were Quinn I'd try my lines like:

Czerk-Sundin-O'Neill
Antropov-Stajan-Steen
Tucker-Lindros-Allison
Wilm-Wellwood-Kilger/Poni/Domi/Belak/whomever

McCabe-Klee
Khavanov-Kaberle
Kronvall-Berg (till Pillar gets back)

Three solid forward lines, assuming Czerk puts a little effort in (if not, send him to waivers... who'd pick up a guy that won't even play hockey with his "best" friend :p), and Antropov can start using his size. The fourth line would have some decent grinders that could fight for the puck and set up Wellwood (who definitely has some skill). Splitting up McCabe and Kaberle are getting worn out already, so splitting them up will give the defense a bit of depth, and as you said Klee and Khavanov are fairly consistant. Start Telly every third or fourth game, as he needs the experience and has shown he CAN play at the NHL level. The more games he has, the better his performances will be. You don't get better riding the pine.

O'Neill's gone on a tear since Sundin came back, which is good to see. If he can step up his physical play (which I can see happening now that he has his scoring touch back and isn't worrying so much about that) we've got an excellent first line. All in all things are shaping up for the Leafs, a little more focus on D and we'll be golden.

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Re: Our Toronto Maple Leafs damonk13 November 7 2005, 12:06:58 UTC
Not a bad lineup suggestion!

My only worry is Czerkawski, since he really didn't impress me at the start of the season. But I do remember himplaying really solidly in the past years, so we can hope.

Splitting up Kaberle and McCabe is also a good idea, even if only temporarily. They seem to be getting sloppier each game, which I suspect is due to tiredness.

I was very pleased to hear that Perrott was traded away last night during the game -- we certainly won't miss his lackluster play.

And Poni just seems invisible to me on most nights -- I'm not sure what it is that Quinn sees in him. Sure,he racked up a few points this year so far, and there are the rare moments where he seems to actually TRY playing hard, but they are too few and far between.

Antropov was just starting to show glimmers of major potential when he got sick, so here's hoping that he'll be able to pick up where he left off...

And man oh man, but the talent is there. We just need a few of our key guys to rekindle their "spark"!!!

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Re: Our Toronto Maple Leafs craft November 7 2005, 16:15:16 UTC
I think Antropov's got some stuff to prove. He did well in the preseason, and was doing alright in the season till he got sick, and his father died. I'd like to see him come back with a mission.

Getting a 5th or 6th rounder for Perrott was great, and it lets us keep wellwood up.

Czerkawski didn't show up so far this season, but I know he was friends with Sundin, so maybe having Mats back will help him find his game... if not, well, we seem to have 3 spare forwards that I'm sure will be willing to play. There should be competition right now, not this sloppy play they seem to be going on.

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Re: Our Toronto Maple Leafs damonk13 November 7 2005, 23:01:29 UTC
Heh.

You know, Carson... it's nice to be able to talk about the Leafs like this with someone else who knows what's going on.

Thanks so much for coming back out once in a while and satiating my hockey talk cravings! :)

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Re: Our Toronto Maple Leafs craft November 8 2005, 03:14:22 UTC
I'm always looking for someone to talk hockey with... and the scary thing is most leaf fans are clueless. Lose a game, worse team ever, win a game, they're going to the cup. Nice to talk with someone sensible!

Anyways, I'm not hard to find, if you wanna talk hockey, let me know. Oh, and good to hear all the non-hockey stuff is going alright with you too :p

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