Who plays D?

[Halladay]

Going into the season I see Ranger being signed. He's a legit NHLer gents. Gardiner is concussed, Rielly needs more time,Komisarek blows, Liles' head is questionable. I see it as:

Phaneuf-Gunnar
Ranger-Liles
Holzer-Franson

Now, Gardiner will be in the lineup ASAP but who knows when he'll actually be ready. No point in rolling the dice with such a great young player in a shortened season.

[Lavy16]

Going into the season I see Ranger being signed. He's a legit NHLer gents. Gardiner is concussed, Rielly needs more time,Komisarek blows, Liles' head is questionable. I see it as:

Phaneuf-Gunnar
Ranger-Liles
Holzer-Franson

Now, Gardiner will be in the lineup ASAP but who knows when he'll actually be ready. No point in rolling the dice with such a great young player in a shortened season.

I agree with you that is who the Leafs should go with, but that might be the softest defence in the NHL. I know the game has changed, but there isn't a shut down d-man in that group. I have a feeling Komi is going to be given a shot this year and if it doesn't work out he won't be part of the 2013-14 team.

[OptiMized]

IMHO:

Dion - Gunner
Liles - Kostka
Komi - Holzer
Gardiner(he's hurt)

I have a feeling Franson will be traded to Edmonton for either Gagner/Paajarvi/Omark or picks...just a hunch

Franson is untouchable for me, yup i'm still on his bandwagon.

The way i see it is, Gardiner is out, Liles might still be dizzy, and Komi is ...anyway i think he could get big minutes and really show what he has to offer.

[jrice9]

I would say yes considering how high he was drafted and what expectations were placed on him prior to playing in the NHL. Many people thought he was going to be the the second coming of Scott Stevens. As an 18 year old he had zero offensive game and this is something that needed to be worked on and should have been worked on in junior. No one ever expected him to be an offensive threat, but he needed to add that to his game to become a more rounded defenceman. He should have been sent to the minors at times in his stint with the Leafs, but for some reason he never was. I think it's because the Leafs management didn't want to publically admit they made a mistake by rushing him. They ruin his confidence and we all know how that turned out last year. My question to you again is...what is the rush to get an 18 year old into the NHL???

There's no rush but there's not so much evidence either that sending sending players to junior helps them. I could understand a small kid if he got injured when he shouldn't be in the NHL.

Also for Schenn, why is he only able to deveop an offensive game in junior?Also his defense never became elite either.

I think being hyped doesn't mean results. What happened to Peter Mueller, he went back to junior?

What happened to Nazem Kadri?

Also, an argument can be made based on that he wouldnt help the roster or its not worth blowing a year of RFA but that depends on how good he would be.

I think have RNH in the NHL last year was a good decision for the Oilers as was Adam Larsson or Gabriel Landeskog.

I leave that up to my talent evaluators.

[Lavy16]

There's no rush but there's not so much evidence either that sending sending players to junior helps them. I could understand a small kid if he got injured when he shouldn't be in the NHL.

Also for Schenn, why is he only able to deveop an offensive game in junior?Also his defense never became elite either.

I think being hyped doesn't mean results. What happened to Peter Mueller, he went back to junior?

What happened to Nazem Kadri?

Also, an argument can be made based on that he wouldnt help the roster or its not worth blowing a year of RFA but that depends on how good he would be.

I think have RNH in the NHL last year was a good decision for the Oilers as was Adam Larsson or Gabriel Landeskog.

I leave that up to my talent evaluators.

Once again 2 out of the 3 players you reference are forwards...notice the trend here...it's a lot easier to break into the NHL as a forward at that age...out of the 9 players to play in the NHL last season that were drafted in the 2011 entry draft, how many of them were defencemen? I'll save you the time looking it up. There was one (Adam Larsson). Teams tend not to rush 18 year old defenceman into the league.

[Halladay]

I agree with you that is who the Leafs should go with, but that might be the softest defence in the NHL. I know the game has changed, but there isn't a shut down d-man in that group. I have a feeling Komi is going to be given a shot this year and if it doesn't work out he won't be part of the 2013-14 team.

Well, lets say Burke grabs Luongo, that changes things. I'd be much more nervous with Reimer in there. Luongo can bail you out, Reimer can't. Just not athletic enough. I'd still like to see Regehr brought in, he'd help this team tremendously.

[Lavy16]

Well, lets say Burke grabs Luongo, that changes things. I'd be much more nervous with Reimer in there. Luongo can bail you out, Reimer can't. Just not athletic enough. I'd still like to see Regehr brought in, he'd help this team tremendously.

Burke grabs Luongo and the Leafs limp into the playoffs and will only go as far as Bobby Luo takes them. No Bobby Luo and the Leafs are picking top 10, maybe even top 5.

[TravisB]

I agree with Lavy. I'd prefer not to see Rielly get a look until next season. Let him develop, have another shot at the WJC and save his ELC.

Side note comparing Schenn to other 18yo forwards is rediculous, apples to oranges. Hell, even comparing him to Rielly is an off mark, 2 completely different styles of players in the same position. Defensive style players virtually always take a long time to develop. Schenn never got that chance and was thrown into a run and gun kind of game.

Let Rielly refine his game. Yeah he's got great hands, puck movement and skating ability; this franchise needs to learn from its flops. If he is too good for junior and it's evident at training camp, bury him with marlies for a year and leave him there until next season, why take a chance on potentially buckling his confidence with the Leafs?

[KingerSox]

I don't want Rielly up here this season exposed to crappy goaltending either. But Carlyle was very candid in saying that if he's one of the 6 or 7 best D men in camp that he'll make the team. Says he has no problem playing an 18 year old. You take a look at our D and it's not out of the relm of possibility that he is one of the best 6 D men. But I hope they do the right thing and send him back to Jr. There could be an outside chance that the kid is one of those special 18 year olds that can play. And I'm not talking about Luke Schenn special hah.

[Lavy16]

The negative out weighs the positive big time when it comes to rushing Reilly to the NHL. The three things that stand out to me are 1. shattered confidence 2. injury 3. ELC
I could see Carlyle keeping him with the big club until Gardnier is healthy again and then returning him to junior. Decisions...decisions

[Halladay]

Burke grabs Luongo and the Leafs limp into the playoffs and will only go as far as Bobby Luo takes them. No Bobby Luo and the Leafs are picking top 10, maybe even top 5.

With Luo here the Leafs are in the 6-8 range in the East IMO. I don't think they simply squeek into a playoff spot. The team will be all offense, probably similar to the Caps from a few years ago. I know Carlyle's a defensive coach but with his current roster, he's not going to have much choice to try and simply outscore the opposition any given night. Lets hope Komisarek can return to form but I'm sure as hell not holding my breath.

[KingerSox]

Is the 9 game audition for Junoir players still good to go in this shortended season? I'd have no problem giving him a few games if he earned it before sending him back.

[jrice9]

Once again 2 out of the 3 players you reference are forwards...notice the trend here...it's a lot easier to break into the NHL as a forward at that age...out of the 9 players to play in the NHL last season that were drafted in the 2011 entry draft, how many of them were defencemen? I'll save you the time looking it up. There was one (Adam Larsson). Teams tend not to rush 18 year old defenceman into the league.

Nice cherrypicking.

You say 8 forwards.


That's cherrypicking. There were 3 forwards who were regulars and maybe a 4th in Andrew Shaw. The rest played 10 or less games.

It also came from a season where 7 of the top 8 picks were forwards. The only defenseman played in teh NHL at 18.

Of the defenseman who have played in the NHL at 18, I havn't really seen a discernable difference.

The reason guys play at 18 is because A, their good enough B, their teams need them

This might be both true for Rielly.

If the kid is good enough for the NHL, I don't see why not. If he's not, he shouldn't be there.

I really don't see why Schenn's rookie season hurt his career in the long term.

If Schenn got injured you would have an argument.

[Lavy16]

Nice cherrypicking.

You say 8 forwards.


That's cherrypicking. There were 3 forwards who were regulars and maybe a 4th in Andrew Shaw. The rest played 10 or less games.

It also came from a season where 7 of the top 8 picks were forwards. The only defenseman played in teh NHL at 18.

Of the defenseman who have played in the NHL at 18, I havn't really seen a discernable difference.

The reason guys play at 18 is because A, their good enough B, their teams need them

This might be both true for Rielly.

If the kid is good enough for the NHL, I don't see why not. If he's not, he shouldn't be there.

I really don't see why Schenn's rookie season hurt his career in the long term.

If Schenn got injured you would have an argument.

The forwards still got a cup of tea to start the season...still a ratio of 4:1 if you want to look at it that way... teams that drafted defenceman could have done the same, but chose not to because there is more of a risk taking a chance on a defenceman. Dougie Hamilton was probably the most NHL ready of all the defenceman drafted, but the Bruins decided not to rush him. They could have let him play in a bubble and bring him alonmg slowly in the NHL last season. They chose not to and sent him back to junior where he plays 25-30 mins a night and plays in all situations. I's rather see a kid play 20-30 mins a night in the CHL than 6-10 mins a night in the NHL.

[OptiMized]

@Halladay

I'd still like to see Regehr brought in, he'd help this team tremendously.

what? i suggested regehr months ago and got laughed at because of his contract and decline.

needless to say i agree with you.