kipwinger

I shouldn't just pick on Bertuzzi for sucking though. He, Mantha, AA, and Zadina have as many goals this season as Alex Debrincat does.

Big game from the Matthews/Marner/Knies line tonight in the Toronto v. Tampa game. Turns out Matthews and Marner are pretty dynamic when they don't have a boat anchor for a linemate. Update: Knies has 3 points tonight on that line. Coincidentally that's the same number of points Tyler Bertuzzi scored on that line in the 10 previous games.

Has there been a more important addition to this team than bringing in Bob Boughner to handle the defense and PK?

I remember when Datsyuk was at that period of his career when he was JUST ABOUT to take off. Where he was just dominating shifts over and over. That's how Raymond is beginning to look. He's been awesome. That said, hard to consider him "driving the line" when Larkin is top five in league scoring.

How's our other 1st round pick from 2023 looking? Would you describe his play as...promising?

Nice to see Larkin line humming again. Dylan has been elevating guys forever. Mantha has career numbers with Larkin then goes to a "better team" and falls off a cliff. Bertuzzi has career numbers with Larkin then goes to a "better team" and falls off a cliff. Debrincat is on pace for a career year with...you guessed it...Larkin as his center. What a horse this guy is.

Lombardi with points in three straight games. Promising.

I agree with that 100%

I don't disagree. Was just opportune that Maatta and Holl blew coverage immediately after my post.

So...about Maatta and Holl and their in ability to play defense. You see that blown coverage on the last Boston goal? Yikes.

Carter Mazur with a point in this first AHL game. That's promising.

Imagine how good we'll be when none of Czarnik, Perron, Holl, or Maatta are playing regular minutes for this team.

Take it or leave it, I'm not really too interested in your "thoughts" in either case.

Here's a pretty good article that lays out all the ways in which Bert has been lazy and disinterested for Toronto...earning his time on the 4th line. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/upon-further-review-why-is-tyler-bertuzzi-in-sheldon-keefes-doghouse/

There are as many people here as there are Tyler Bertuzzi goals in the last 8 games.

Don't take it too personally. It's not like every Tom, Dick and Bunting is cut out to play with Matthews and co.

I don't work for you. You've got fingers, use them. Nobody here at LGW is a stranger to Bert's mercurial behavior.

Teams make space for players all the time. Look at Tampa and Vegas. It's not hard to find cap space if you need it. Boston could have traded their 5 million dollar backup goalie (for instance). What more needs to be said about what's going on in Bert's head? His coach just demoted him to the fourth line and said he couldn't (or wouldn't) execute a simple game plan. Sounds lazy and entitled to me. Pretty much jives with all the rumors we've heard over the years.

I think it's been solid but unspectacular. Our even strength defense has been amongst the worst in the league so far this season tho. I'd expect shaky play out of the depth guys, but Seider-Walman haven't been very good either.

A "cap heavy team" that lost Bergeron, Krejci, and Hall off their books couldn't find 5.5 million on a one year deal? Lol. They clearly didn't want him. Just like Detroit. But I'm sure it's a feather in his cap knowing that the criminally incompetent Maple Leafs were dying to bring him into the fold. What a great idea that's shaping up to be.

Boston chose not to re-sign him so that should probably tell you something. As for the rest, I'm sure you know how to use Google.

The aforementioned Hyman and Bunting didn't seem to have much of a problem scoring in Toronto's top six. Maybe Bert just doesn't like riding shotgun with better players. It's not like his bad attitude hasn't been well reported at this point.

If I were Toronto I’d be less worried about his lack of grit and more concerned that he can’t execute a game plan. That’s a huge red flag for an average skilled guy who relies on his “smarts” to be effective. Sounds like he just doesn’t get it. In the interest of fairness this article addresses the injury issue: https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/we-had-a-very-simple-plan-and-he-failed-to-execute-that-maple-leafs-head-coach-sheldon-keefe-explains-tyler-bertuzzis-demotion-in-game-against-bruins

Looks like the Wings dodged a bullet with this one… https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/leafs-tyler-bertuzzi-isnt-delivering-snot-or-scoring-punch-that-was-promised-175240156.html

I'd also be looking at stripping the bones of Vancouver and St. Louis as well. Keep an eye on them as their season plays out. If either team really struggles they're likely to start retooling sooner rather than later.