MacK_Attack

Leafs line-up... Marleau - Matthews - Marner Hyman - Tavares - Kapanen Brown - Kadri - Nylander Lindholm - Gauthier - Johnsson Muzzin - Rielly Gardiner - Zaitsev Dermott - Hainsey Andersen

Leafs lines... Hyman - Tavares - Marner Marleau - Matthews - Nylander Johnsson - Kadri - Kapanen Ennis - Lindholm - Brown Rielly - Hainsey Gardiner - Zaitsev Dermott - Ozhiganov Sparks

Could be worse. Could be stuck in eastern Ontario and be forced to watch the train wreck in Ottawa.

Blame Gary, the league sets the region boundaries.

Zach Hyman - John Tavares - Mitch Marner Patrick Marleau - Auston Matthews - Kasperi Kapanen Par Lindholm - Nazem Kadri - Connor Brown Josh Leivo - Frederik Gauthier - Tyler Ennis Morgan Rielly - Ron Hainsey Jake Gardiner - Nikita Zaitsev Martin Marincin - Travis Dermott Frederik Andersen (Garret Sparks) Andreas Johnsson - Healthy Justin Holl - Healthy Igor Ozhiganov - Healthy William Nylander - Unsigned

Universal health care. Booze and cigarettes pay for it. Although you can buy beer and wine at most grocery stores now.

That bolded statement is absolutely, positively, 100% false. Pretty well the ONLY way to build a perennial Cup contender nowadays is to drop to the bottom and draft like mad. Star players don't get to free agency except in rare circumstances and to trade for one forces you to deplete your depth. The one way to build up a bunch of high end talent is to draft them. The thing about what the Leafs have done is that it's not just one 1st rounder. They've finally decided to take their time, develop these kids and do it properly. They have three top-5 picks in the fold now in Matthews, Marner and Rielly. They have another top-10 in Nylander. They have Pittsburgh's 1st this year, so there's another one, if they keep it. Won't get a great player in the high 20's, but should get a good one. They also have the 31st overall pick and another one in the 2nd round (Washington). They should get another decent 1st rounder in 2017 (don't think it will be top-5, but you never know), plus they already have three 2nd round picks in 2017. Will those players be as good as their draft position indicates? Who knows, but you don't get them unless you're in those early spots in the draft. The way it is shaping up, I think the Leafs will be a really, really good team in 3-4 years. They'll start climbing the ladder pretty soon, I hope. By the way, your entire post is completely contradictory. You say the 1st overall doesn't matter, then list off how good the Oilers were with McDavid, and how lousy they were without him. Doesn't that prove the point? That said, the Oilers are a completely different animal, they have screwed that up in every way imaginable. They let the inmates run the asylum and the results showed, which is not unlike what the Leafs had been doing for 45+ years until the Shanahan regime took over.

I still don't believe it. I'm fully expecting to wake up tomorrow and find out it's all a cruel joke. These things don't happen to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ever. Don't ya think if they were going to purchase a 1st overall pick, it would've been last year?

Michel Petit played for 5 Canadian teams. Canucks, Flames, Oilers, Leafs & Nordiques.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=306136

The Leafs are due for a complete stinker. Leafs are tired, Wings are rested, so it seems this would be the one. Seems fair, though. The tables will be turned on Saturday.

James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel Joffery Lupul - Nazem Kadri - Mike Santorelli Daniel Winnik - Peter Holland - David Clarkson David Booth - Trevor Smith - Richard Panik Dion Phaneuf - Cody Franson Jake Gardiner - Korbinian Holzer Morgan Rielly - Stephane Robidas Out: Leo Komarov - Concussion Roman Polak - Knee Brandon Kozun - Healthy Stuart Percy - Healthy Carter Ashton - Suspended (16 of 20) Starting goalie not announced, despite being reported otherwise.

Can I push the button? With all due respect, it's a craphole.

JvR - Bozak - Kessel Lupul - Kadri - Winnik Komarov - Santorelli - Clarkson Kozun - Holland - Panik Phaneuf - Franson Gardiner - Rielly Percy - Polak Reimer

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/hockey_hear...ure_nhl_to_sea/

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2010/09/05/report_quebec/

The problem is that there's so little incentive to win in regulation and the overtime is too short. If the game is tied in the 3rd period, they will make sure they get their point before they try to win the game. That's where the problem of the short OT comes in, because try as they may to win, it's hard to score with only five minutes to do so. The end result is a lot of shootouts. Here's the best way to cut down on shootouts, IMO: Use a winning percentage based system, or 2 points for a win and zero points for any kind of loss, if you want to keep a points system. First tiebreaker in the standings is regulation wins. Second tiebreaker is regulation + overtime wins. Overtime format of 10-minute 4-on-4, with goaltenders switching ends after the 3rd period. Then a shootout. The problem is that the extra point for reaching overtime is too enticing for teams to risk by opening the game up in the 3rd period. The second problem is that a 5-minute overtime is generally too short. Hence, you end up with a lot of shootouts. So you remove the incentive to reach overtime and you extend the overtime period to give teams more of an opportunity to end the game without having to play a shootout. The other alternative is two points for a regulation or OT win, one point for a shootout win, zero points for a loss of any kind. I can't support any system that rewards losing. Either way, it downplays the impact of the shootout on the standings and encourages teams to win in regulation. As long as there is a reward for reaching overtime, teams are going to be all too willing to let a game get to overtime.

Just get rid of the OT point. If there's no incentive to get to overtime, teams will stop strategizing with overtime in mind. Teams play to win the game (or not lose) in the first 40 minutes. If it's tied or a one-goal game heading into the 3rd, the entire focus is getting the game to overtime. They will grind the game to a halt to ensure they get that point. I don't like the idea of 3-on-3. I don't like the shootout because it's gimmicky and decides a hockey game with a skills competition. 3-on-3 isn't far off that. Just do away with the loser point and have a 10-minute 4-on-4 and I think there would be a tremendous decline in the number of games going to a shootout.

I never hated ties, I just hate that teams completely shut the game down to ensure they got the single point. The addition of the loser point helped alleviate some of that, but then you had teams shutting the game down in the 3rd period to ensure they get to overtime. That's what you see nearly every game when it's tied in the 3rd period. The solution is simple. Get rid of the loser point. It was introduced when there were still ties, but it serves no purpose today other than to reward losing. People hate the shootout, but the real problem is that too many games get that far because far too many teams are happy to choke the life out of the game to ensure they get the OT point. If you take away the incentive of getting to overtime, logic suggests teams may actually try to win a tied game in regulation.

van Riemsdyk - Bozak - Kessel Lupul - Kadri - Clarkson Raymond - Kulemin - Bodie Ashton - McClement Gunnarsson - Phaneuf Gleason - Rielly Gardiner - Franson Ranger Reimer starts

Jerred Smithson centers Leafs 4th line and Liles is playing in place of Fraser.

There's no longer re-entry waivers. Under the new rules for players on one-way contracts in the AHL, teams get $925,000 in cap relief (pro rated) if they send down a player who makes more than that. The player continues to collect his full salary in the minors.

8 years. $64 million.