Mark Norman
@mnorman87
Born and raised Newfoundlander Bearded doubledad Hockey analytics hobbyist Puns always intended
People may bristle at the $8.5M AAV for Raddysh, but with the cap rising so rapidly we have to constantly recalibrate our understanding of good value. Here's a list of active NHL dmen who signed deals for 8.0-8.3% of the cap as UFAs:
There's something absolutely beautiful about Carter Hart being the most lit-up goaltender of the last 10 Stanley Cup Finals.
By all accounts, Pavelski is a sharp, modern hockey mind with loads of experience commanding rooms, a sparkling reputation among teammates, and an eagerness to mentor young players. Why do we have to watch him succeed in Coachella Valley for 3 years before we give him a chance? He can do this, now.
I hate this shit. Oh yeah? You have a directory of people who were silent on Hart, and a directory of people who complain about Babcock, and you've cross-referenced the lists to confirm the hypocrisy? Any post that begins with "the same people who..." is a lazy generalization not worth the time.
One of the most glaring issues in Rielly's game in recent years is his puck management: the giveaways are often glaring and he's become less effective at getting stops and turning it back up ice.
Rielly's overall skating speed remains strong, but his elite explosiveness has backed off. The eye test confirms he can still skate, but gone are the end-to-end rushes where he blows through coverage. Also, when you have the puck less, you're going to have fewer opportunities to skate with it.
The Leafs, noticing this decline in effectiveness, have been trying to feed him more offensive zone starts but they're not translating into more offensive zone time. You would expect the possession metrics in the last post to improve with more favourable deployment but the results have worsened.
Five years ago, the Leafs clearly controlled 5v5 play with Rielly on the ice. Today, they're roughly break-even or slightly underwater. This possession decline was undoubtedly not helped by Berube's system, but had already started under Keefe. He's just not tilting the ice the way he used to.
On the powerplay, it's been frustrating to watch for a few years now. Couple his decline in mobility with penalty kill units not respecting his shot, & things have become very stale. Twenty-six dmen had >175 mins of PP TOI in 25-26: Rielly had the worst P/60 (1.7) by a WIDE margin (25th had 3.1).
His offensive peak has likely come and gone. He's gone from a top-pairing offensive driver to more of a support/transition defenceman, and his recent seasons indicate he's much closer to a 35-45 point dman than a 55+ point getter.
I hope for Caleb Malhotra's sake that he isn't drafted by the team his father will likely be coaching next season. Just all sorts of potential for messiness.
Never got the sense Berube was a "player's coach". PC's are especially good at managing relationships w/ players & instilling culture. You'd go through a wall for a PC. PC's don't say the things CB did in post-game interviews. The vibes were so bad. CB's just an old school guy who preferred vets.
Reading about the relationship between Chayka and Tocchet (the only coach Chayka has ever hired), and thought this was interesting:
I think the latter is an unfair framing of my clarification of the article, which is much more along the lines of "Matthews is uncertain about the direction of the franchise." Some examples of how this has been sensationalized:
The Drive to Bottom Five, April 15 April 14 outcomes: +2 points: +1 point: 0 points: CGY, VAN Current Leafs placement: 5th-last Points away from 5th-last: 0 Leafs clinch bottom-5 with a loss of any kind tonight. If they win, they need to hope SEA get 1 of 4 points in their remaining games.
The Drive to Bottom Five, April 14 April 13 outcomes: +2 points: +1 point: 0 points: SEA, TOR, NYR, CHI Current Leafs placement: 5th-last Points away from 5th-last: 0 With NYR loss, 3rd-last is no longer a possibility. If CGY get at least 1 point vs. COL, the Leafs' dreams of 4th-last persist.
The Drive to Bottom Five, April 13 April 12 outcomes: +2 points: CGY, VAN +1 point: 0 points: Current Leafs placement: 5th-last 🎊 Points away from 5th-last: 0 Teams within striking distance of TOR: CGY, NYR TOR are finally in the bottom five + CGY/NYR each have an outside chance of overtaking
Biggest night of the season for the Leafs’ tank. A must-lose vs Florida tonight + Seattle’s best remaining chance to bank points this season. May be a tall order expecting points vs the bottom three teams here. Tonight is pivotal.
The Drive to Bottom Five, April 10 April 9 outcomes: +2 points: WPG, SEA +1 point: 0 points: SJS, STL, FLA, TOR, CGY, CHI, VAN Current Leafs placement: 6th-last Points away from 5th-last: 1 Teams within striking distance of TOR: SEA Huge win by the Kraken last night.
The Drive to Bottom Five, April 9 April 8 outcomes: +2 points: +1 point: 0 points: SJS, TOR, NYR Current Leafs placement: 6th-last Points away from 5th-last: 3 Teams within striking distance of TOR: None Leafs need to stay below 83 points for any shot at bottom 5.
The Drive to Bottom Five, April 8 April 7 outcomes: +2 points: NSH +1 point: FLA, CGY 0 points: NJD, STL, SEA, VAN Current Leafs placement: 7th-last Points away from 5th-last: 3 Teams within striking distance of TOR: FLA