On the flip side of that, the worst goalie since Jan. 1? That would be none other than Igor Shesterkin, who has an .863 save percentage and has allowed 9.4 goals above expected in 10 games. You have to figure he’ll bounce back from this to close the season, but if Igor isn’t Igor, the New York Rangers aren’t a contender, period.

goalies, man

he is 6.9 cap hit willy this season, so its fine..we will see next season and on.
if he contiunes 100+ point willy..great
if he reverts back to 80 point willy...its tough to like that deal
- senstroll

Oh, 1000%. He needs to be held to a new standard when the new deal kicks in next year. Hopefully he keeps progressing as a player.

goalies, man
- senstroll

Its actually mind-blowing. I don't know what they did with Sammy, but it's like he's a whole different goalie. Small sample size and we'll see if he can keep it up, but I bet the Oilers wish they could get their hands on whatever Sammy got

Who is that mascot?
- GalacticStone

The owner's grandson.

Note: this has nothing to do with Carlton the Bear - who was introduced in 1995.

IIRC, this was owner Conn Smythe's way of sneaking relatives' names onto the Stanley Cup.

In 1942, Hugh Smythe (Conn's son) was the mascot:



Hugh Smythe went on to become Dr. Hugh Smythe, a very prominent doctor in rheumatology (and physician to the Leafs for a long period).

https://www.legacy.com/ca...ythe-obituary?id=43996808

Richard was his eldest son.

I agree, you guys should trade your first and a prospect for a vet with experience who can shut it down when needed.

Enter David Savard...
- Symba007

I will counter with David Savard (50%) retained, Habs 2nd, for Toronto 5th.

What’s the good of a first for the Habs? They don’t know how to draft.
- shack67

They got Lane Hutson with a 2nd....not bad.

They got Lane Hutson with a 2nd....not bad.
- Archaic

Check out their first rounders.

Robertson is scoring at 20-20 pace with under 11 mins a game.

I wouldnt just toss him in trades. Or at least expect decent returns when you do.

Robertson is scoring at 20-20 pace with under 11 mins a game.

I wouldnt just toss him in trades. Or at least expect decent returns when you do.
- senstroll

So is Keefe ruining him by not playing him enough...

...or developing him properly by giving him sheltered minutes?

It's the Leafs Nation Rorschach test!

Lindholm's been a very good 2nd line centre. 20+G 40A type of guy that plays both ends. A late first, an inconsistent winger and a developmental prospect is a good price. Pretty similar to what the Leafs paid for RoR.
- The Law

We traded a guy who had almost 40 goals the year before for ROR?

So is Keefe ruining him by not playing him enough...

...or developing him properly by giving him sheltered minutes?

It's the Leafs Nation Rorschach test!
- Atomic Wedgie

yes

So is Keefe ruining him by not playing him enough...

...or developing him properly by giving him sheltered minutes?

It's the Leafs Nation Rorschach test!
- Atomic Wedgie

Or, he's doing well now that the season is a write-off and the Leafs are just playing for next year.

We traded a guy who had almost 40 goals the year before for ROR?
- systemtool

I had to look it it, I had no memory of what the leafs gave up for RoR..remember only the 1st

I had to look it it, I had no memory of what the leafs gave up for RoR..remember only the 1st
- senstroll

We'll always have that hatty in Buffalo, cost be damned.

We'll always have that hatty in Buffalo, cost be damned.
- Whipper

im not bothered by it. Id prefer they give up those assets for good players like that. even if it doesnt work

i had never heard of hunter bryzetweiszc before yesterday, but I guess he is putting up some nice stats.
RH shot D

could be a sneaky good get

Jonathan Willis
@JonathanWillis
I've got an old dataset of Draft+1 OHL D (from 2005-06 to 2011-12). If you adjust league scoring to an average of 3.5 goals per game, here are the leaders and how Brzustewicz compares:

1. Hunter Brzustewicz: 1.38
2. John Carlson: 1.34
3. Ryan Ellis: 1.30
4. Dougie Hamilton: 1.12

We traded a guy who had almost 40 goals the year before for ROR?
- systemtool

Bearing in mind that while Kuzmenko has skill, Vancouver sees him as a cap dump. Calgary is likely hoping he slots into their top-6 and adds more offense in their system than he was providing for Vancouver.

Both Lindholm and Kuzmenko were active on their team's power plays, but Calgary's ran through Lindholm or Huberdeau more than Vancouver's utilized Kuzmenko. Vancouver's power play is a lot more Hughes-Pettersen-Miller/Boeser.

You might see Kuzmenko put up more points with Calgary based on opportunity and giving him a shooting role vs. Lindholm who will probably be more of a passive participant on a very active Vancouver powerplay.

That said, while I think the deal will be better for Calgary than you'd expect because of this, I think it was a bad deal for Calgary because it's a late 1st and two B-tier prospects that go with, ultimately, a cap dump. Lindholm might be having a down year, but I think his value should have at least found an A-level prospect.

i had never heard of hunter bryzetweiszc before yesterday, but I guess he is putting up some nice stats.
RH shot D

could be a sneaky good get
- senstroll

According to Pronman he's not a very good skater and has a smaller frame (6'0 / 190 seems fine to me fwiw), but it was his poor skating that got him cut from the US WJC team.

We'll see, but he sounds like he's got some solid work to do in order to be an NHL player.

Isn't a cup winning strategy, YET.
- Whipper

It hasn't even been a deep playoff run strategy. "YET."

According to Pronman he's not a very good skater and has a smaller frame (6'0 / 190 seems fine to me fwiw), but it was his poor skating that got him cut from the US WJC team.

We'll see, but he sounds like he's got some solid work to do in order to be an NHL player.
- Monkeypunk

From Aug ...

https://theathletic.com/4...ospect-pipeline-rankings/

¯_(ツ)_/¯

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: NHL average

"Brzustewicz is a dangerous player with the puck on his stick. He has great offensive sense and patience with the puck. Brzustewicz makes a lot of difficult plays through seams. He has the ability to hold pucks, let lanes develop and enough skill to execute when they do. He's a strong skater who can transport pucks up ice and with his offensive touch he can walk the line well to create chances. Defensively Brzustewicz is OK. His skating helps him make some stops, but he's not an overly physical player. There's enough to him to play games, but unless his offense is just tremendous, he may not be good enough of an all-around guy to be a legit NHL minutes defender." - Corey Pronman, May 2023

strong average skater

From Aug ...

https://theathletic.com/4...ospect-pipeline-rankings/

¯_(ツ)_/¯



strong average skater
- senstroll

My apologies. It seems my interpretation or paraphrasing weren't up to snuff:

"The concerns on his game are the average-sized frame, so-so physicality and whether he’ll be able to make stops at higher levels given that his skating isn’t truly elite. Those issues are why he was cut from Team USA’s world juniors team."

So not a poor skater. Just "not an elite skater". There are a lot of not elite skaters in the NHL.

Also from today:

"If you really believe in Brzustewicz as a potential top-four defenseman, which a minority of NHL scouts do, maybe you think [Calgary got a premium asset], but I don’t project him as that currently."

Robertson is scoring at 20-20 pace with under 11 mins a game.

I wouldnt just toss him in trades. Or at least expect decent returns when you do.
- senstroll

Agreed. After a slow start he's actually been a pleasant surprise with his production given his limited minutes and dance partners.

new blog everyone

i had never heard of hunter bryzetweiszc before yesterday, but I guess he is putting up some nice stats.
RH shot D

could be a sneaky good get
- senstroll

Hunter busteweiszc

I agree, you guys should trade your first and a prospect for a vet with experience who can shut it down when needed.

Enter David Savard...
- Symba007

for a 5th round pick