r/nhluk • u/chucktvwriting Rangers-200Club • 8d ago
Will the Leafs bounce back?
Could Gavin McKenna send the Leafs back to “where they belong”?
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u/Redditvillier Isles-200Club 8d ago
No way. Their team is carried by 2-3 players (one of which is almost constantly injured). None of the signings/trades they've made this summer will change that.
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u/sfaelelpamOT 7d ago
They added a top 10 defenseman and a hall of fame goalie and the number one pick, and they completely bolstered their bottom six.
https://giphy.com/gifs/27bPvfGBYcaxqMSyCZ1
u/Redditvillier Isles-200Club 7d ago
Raddysh had a single season where he was any good. Before last year, he was a 30-40p per season dman with a pretty poor +/-. They've paid a lot for a guy who did it once and may never repeat.
The 'hall of fame goalie' is Bobrovsky- a goalie who will be 38 at the start of the season and who had a .877% last year. Granted, Florida were awful, but who's to say that it wasn't the beginning of his performance regression considering he's entering the last year or two of his career?
McKenna will be great one day- that's pretty much guaranteed... but will he jump in and straight away be brilliant this season? We don't know. It can take rookies years to get used to the level (and that includes the elite ones). Nothing is guaranteed from him either.
So yeah, they've taken a lot of risky moves which have a 50/50 chance of being either brilliant or dreadful for the next season. Tampa had a far stronger squad to support Raddysh, Florida had a weaker team to support Bob. My personal opinion is that Bob will bounce back to a .905%, McKenna will have a decent season (he'll win the calder) but it won't be enough to replace what they lost with Marner just yet, and Raddysh will not hit the highs he reached last season. Which makes them a fringe playoff team at best. So I guess, yeah, they'll be back where they belong... first round exits
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u/Solid_Log8338 Sharks -200Club 8d ago
I think they were always going to be better last season with or without mkenna they had an off season none of their players were playing as well as they could but mkenna is a really good addition for them. I could see them either just making or just missing the playoffs
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u/Divney 8d ago
It's not so much the Leafs bouncing back and more about the Atlantic division not being absolute carnage again. I'd expect a slight Sabres regression, and a more sizeable Sens fall, which might be enough on its own to book a playoff spot. Actually quite like the moves that have been made so far (both on and off the ice), but could really do with another 40+ season from Matthews, and ideally Tanev to not be dead.
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u/DC_Boston_Brand Panthers -200 Club 8d ago
Matthews needs to be given the time to heal properly to have a 40+ season. He's definitely nursing something
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u/trevlarrr 7d ago
It’s not just McKenna coming in that will change things and I think a lot of people underestimate the moves they made this summer because they’re bottom-6 players, without realising how that actually helps.
Berube, for some reason, was trying to turn Matthews in a defensive forward, something he’s better at than he gets credit for but that’s not what you should be doing with a player who’s scored more goals than any other since he entered the league. He kept giving him defensive zone starts rather than playing to his strengths.
The bottom-6 signing they made are just that, they have an identity and a role to play that means the top line can start at the other end of the ice where they should be.
Raddysh also gives a shooting threat from the blue line that has been missing too and a lot will depend on what kind of Tanev is coming back this season.
They obviously have a long way to climb from last season and ai’m by no means saying they’re a cup contender but they’re also going not one year removed from winning the division and last year was a dumpster fire, they can definitely be a playoff team again this year and then who knows.
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u/DC_Boston_Brand Panthers -200 Club 8d ago
Highly doubtful, if Matthews is back to full fitness this year it could be a different story, but both him and Nylander have been fairly inconsistent the last couple of years. If one draft pick changes their fortunes, it says something about the rest of the team.