I honestly think all the losing has gotten to him where in this point of his career he’s just going through the motions if the Tampa Bay rumors are true I think that’s a great place for his game to be Successful
- gerbe75pts

Are you saying he lost his passion for the game?

All I have to say is F the Leafs, as many times as you can before you die.

All I have to say is F the Leafs, as many times as you can before you die.
- RhinoFan

I endorse this message...

That’s cool that they’re giving him a shot

Annoys me how when we’ve changed management the last couple times the new GM just basically says FU to the previous GMs picks

GMTM doing it to McNabb comes to mind

Botts never giving Bailey & Baptiste & Guhle now come to mind
Did he really need to have guys like Criscuolo, Nolan, Josephson, etc up here?
And thank goodness we had Gorges to play over Guhle

Are Nylander & Olofsson ever gonna get a look up here?
- jdfitz77

I'll go out on a limb and predict that Montour has a better career than Fasching

Watch the game over again and tell me how many times you here Gord Miller say Eichel’s name in relation to Matthews. Matthews is God given scorer but disappears for long stretches, in game, and over the span of games much more then Eichel does. Eichel has more of an impact then point totals say and that’s why I like him more then Matthews. If Eichel goes pointless you still know he plays, when Matthews goes pointless you have to check the stat sheet to see that he played. That’s my opinion after watching 60 Leaf Games and 40-45 Sabre games this year.
- Pegullaville

Wow, either you are completely clueless as to Matthews contributions over the course of a whole hockey game or your just so biased that you can't see what is happening right in front of your eyes.

Matthews may be the most relentless hockey player in the NHL....anywhere on the ice, if the opposing player is within a few ft of him, and they don't immediately pass the puck away, Matthews is going to strip them of the puck. Are their games where is he less effective, of course!! Like any player in the NHL...but for the most part, the guy is a beast on the ice on most of his shifts. Stop being such a knob and making stupid comments. Matthews is pretty amazing at all aspects of the game - and yes, he is one of the top scoring players of the game on top of that.

I haven't watched a lot of Leafs games but in the ones I've seen Mathews just feels... different. Maybe he wasn't thrilled with the introduction of Tavares and the move to 2C. I think if you were starting a franchise from scratch you'd have to pick Matthews over Jack but I do think the gap has narrowed.
- Slump Buster

Eichel is awesome too, and that gap definitely is not as large as some fans might think it is.

First, Risto probably wouldnt get a monster load for the obvious reasons you stated. He isnt a top line D. Based on what I have seen of him, he looks like a top 4 d though.

Do you not even want him in your top 4? Didnt think he was that bad honestly.
- Archaic

This is the new reality of assessing players. There are no "good" players anymore.

You're either "great/elite" or "trash"

Risto is good. Not capital G Good, but good

First, Risto probably wouldnt get a monster load for the obvious reasons you stated. He isnt a top line D. Based on what I have seen of him, he looks like a top 4 d though.

Do you not even want him in your top 4? Didnt think he was that bad honestly.
- Archaic

Someone will value him more than they should, just like some here value him way more than he is worth. He isn't good defensively and I think people get fooled into thinking that he is better offensively than he is because of the pp1 time that he gets.

Someone will value him more than they should, just like some here value him way more than he is worth. He isn't good defensively and I think people get fooled into thinking that he is better offensively than he is because of the pp1 time that he gets.
- Slump Buster

Guess. Who is back..
89 and his inside info
Major shakeup
POPKO the weasel, Carlo Rossi and the muehlman one day after new offices, are all gone

Someone will value him more than they should, just like some here value him way more than he is worth. He isn't good defensively and I think people get fooled into thinking that he is better offensively than he is because of the pp1 time that he gets.
- Slump Buster

The powerplay production is a skill. You can throw Bogo out there and he isn't going to do what Risto does. People act like getting production from a player on the PP is a given - which to an extent it is - but not all PP players are created equal. He's very good on the PP

Guess. Who is back..
89 and his inside info
Major shakeup
POPKO the weasel, Carlo Rossi and the muehlman one day after new offices, are all gone
- Buffalo39

What ?

This is the new reality of assessing players. There are no "good" players anymore.

You're either "great/elite" or "trash"

Risto is good. Not capital G Good, but good
- jcragcrumple

*in the offensive end

Guess. Who is back..
89 and his inside info
Major shakeup
POPKO the weasel, Carlo Rossi and the muehlman one day after new offices, are all gone
- Buffalo39

I missed this angry little man. Hit us with some god damn facts, 39.

The powerplay production is a skill. You can throw Bogo out there and he isn't going to do what Risto does. People act like getting production from a player on the PP is a given - which to an extent it is - but not all PP players are created equal. He's very good on the PP
- jcragcrumple

What's that PP2 line and how many points are they getting?

golb wen

What ?
- SABRES 89

Popko Rossi muehlman gone for giving you inside info lol
Check the time, check Twitter, not announced, so I get my due props

Popko Rossi muehlman gone for giving you inside info lol
Check the time, check Twitter, not announced, so I get my due props
- Buffalo39

Are... you in drugs, son?

Popko Rossi muehlman gone for giving you inside info lol
Check the time, check Twitter, not announced, so I get my due props
- Buffalo39

I have no idea what you are talking about and I don't do Twitter or Facebook.

I have no idea what you are talking about and I don't do Twitter or Facebook.
- SABRES 89

89, you don't know who those three people are? The highest ranking people in organization. All gone, you heard it first

Popko Rossi muehlman gone for giving you inside info lol
Check the time, check Twitter, not announced, so I get my due props
- Buffalo39

These aren't common names 39, but see they are in PSE. There's a new blog so cross over.

89, you don't know who those three people are? The highest ranking people in organization. All gone, you heard it first
- Buffalo39

I think that Risto and Bogo have a ton in common. Risto is just a slightly better version (or less worse) version of Bogo.

Similarities:

- Big
- Skate fast
- Good team guy (because that seems to matter around here)
- Occasionally play tough (because that seems to matter around here)
- Play 2 spots higher in the D rankings than they should be
- Are over-compensated for where they should be playing
- Often make mind-numbing mistakes defensively
- Are often s*** shows in their own end


I'll take a D with 10 less points than Risto if he can be responsible in his own end and be able to make a good breakout pass. We can stick anyone on the pp point to pass it to 9 or 26 (you know, the actual playmakers).
- Slump Buster

Why did everyone want to dump bogo with a pick? Just to get rid of him?

No Durability consideration?


No comparison between the 2

You don’t think Eichel couldn’t light it up on the left wall of the Leafs PP ? If we had a marner and Tavares to insulate him so that eichel could get better matchups 5v5 that would be nice too. Skinner was a 50 point player before coming here, a 36 year old Pominville is no better then Zach Hyman. Matthews had Nylander and now Kapanen who is no slouch and has playmaking skills. Matthews is the scorer, Eichel the playmaker. Eichel’s point totals would be magnified even further if our PP was consistent and in the top half of the league (PP was on tonight surprisingly).
- Pegullaville

So, no facts?

Matthews wasn't even on the first PP last year and this year the Leafs are last or second last in PP opportunities... still think Eichel would be putting up more points?

The powerplay production is a skill. You can throw Bogo out there and he isn't going to do what Risto does. People act like getting production from a player on the PP is a given - which to an extent it is - but not all PP players are created equal. He's very good on the PP
- jcragcrumple

The numbers say we’ve been better since he’s been off PP1.

He’s an ok PP D man. Has a good shot

A teams PP is influenced by coaching and system 5x more than players.

We went from #1 with Risto/Eichel etc under Bylsma, to now two 19-20th ranked PP’s under Housley.

Being a PP specialist is code for just not being very good