robrob1974

Ramo got the elbowing end of the stick both years here. Berra was clearly way worse than he was but still got to run a long stretch of games. Ramo had only gotten 5. When he finished the year last year as our only goalie, he ran with it and did quite well.

You can't say this about Hiller and not allow that to be true about Rano either. The team has holes and to blame the goalie in either of their situations are false. Both have played very similar aside from that extremely good start for Hiller. They both let in a bad goal from time to time. They both shut the other team down from time to time. They both have good and bad games. The one thing Hiller didn't do in Anaheim was make that one save. Not specifically, just the one that shut the door, but the rest of the game, I agree, was on the team. I don't, but I see both goalies as pretty even. Ramos record is really good and he's won some games for us. If you consider him a backup, he has been the best backup we've ever had. Imagine if our backups had his record when we had Kipper. But like Deeds said, that's the past, time to move on. I think Ramo is better than we give him credit for and he will prove it with another team.

He also has such a elbowing attitude. He and Phaneuf seem like the same player. I don't want that here. I agree with you about the warts. But it's the work ethic and the "oh woe is me" attitude that screams loser to me. We're trying to build a winner here. I think the only players I wanted off the Leaf's roster are Van Reimsdyk and Franson. Franson is gone now, and Van Reimsdyk will cost a bit to take. I thought that Carter's attitude had more to do with both Richards' and Carter's party boy lifestyles. Their will to win was second to none and helped bring Philly to the finals.

Yes, plus his rebound control all night was off too. Was it a case of playing old team jitters? I made a comment in the game-day thread to pull him, but it wasn't necessarily due to just his play, it was to shake things up and get a different view. Like in the Boston game when they switched Ramo. Ramo let in one bad goal that game, and was pulled. This wasn't Hiller's best game. There was that goal where, I think on Backlund's giveaway it went to him and he fumbled covering the puck and it bounced out and they scored. The team was weak and two examples were on Backlund's play skating in front as well as when Hudler didn't get the puck out when he was at the line. They mailed in that second half and were already packing for their 7 game road trip.

I don't see Kessel as a difference maker. I think he turtles too much. And instead of running with the comments of him being a coaching nightmare and showing people otherwise, what has he done to change the Leaf's fortunes?

But Brodie didn't look great either, with that giveaway. It seemed like the ice could have been bad in that one zone tonight where Bouma kept falling all over the place.

He probably split them to make the other two stronger, but having them together down the stretch out weighs that?

I think we'd be taking a few steps backwards in order to shore up one line. We'd risk being just like Toronto with a one-line scoring threat in the future. Why do we want to go back to the days of Iggy? I think that's pretty close to what we'd be doing. Keep focus on what we're doing. Build it right. NO TO KESSEL. Maybe they keep Kessel and win the McLottery.

I agree, they shouldn't split Brodie and Giordano. Russell has been just as important as the top 2 D pairings as he allows Wideman to be himself, which is why Russell probably only has 1 goal. Russell has the tools to have more goals but is playing a team game. I also agree that the 3rd pair is the weakness. If we can add a top4 I'd also agree with putting him on the 3rd pair.

Travel isn't saying anything about breaking up the D pairings. I don't know who he is responding to, but like you, he believes the the Top 4 are strong. We definitely need some size back there that can move the puck. That LA game, we got manhandled.

I'd pass. He's a whiner. He sulks when the play doesn't go his way. You see it on camera all the time. Poor guy looks like he's going to cry. He's just sensitive. Still. I don't know whether he has an attitude problem. I just don't think he'd do well in Calgary. The media isn't has bad as in Toronto, but there's still a big hockey media presence in Calgary. He would do a lot better in a market where there isn't much media. I just don't see us winning the cup with him, nor do I see him ever winning one.

I would trade for kessel only because I after the LA performance I think this team can use some more fire power. I suggest SVEN+2015 1st overall+ 2016 1st for Phil. TO retains 20 percent of Phil's salary Brian Burke? Is that you? Then we lose out next season and go all Seguin 2.0? No thanks. Isn't that what Burke did when he traded for Kessel. He overvalued the performance the Leafs were having and then gave up two 1sts, one of which ended up being 2nd overall. What happens if we regress enough to win the lottery next season?

Not at all, on the contrary, I don't think Bennett is a starter for any trade talks, nor should he be in any discussions. I would even give him another full year in a Juniors to get him back to game shape. That's up to him of course, if he plays his way onto the team. But I was responding to someone else suggesting him in a deal. Ludicrous

What does OEL mean? Why can't we type full words? I mean, IMO? In my opinion, people don't have to say "in my opinion" because when we make a post, it is my or your opinion unless you state otherwise in a quote. I just find it funny. I don't know if Sam Bennett is the start of any deal? He was pretty close to being a first overall that he alone could be a good chip in any deal.

Ference isn't that big but he was pretty big in the 04 run. Last year when Russell went down to injury we lost a lot of games. I don't think it was a coincidence. He is very important to this team.

Kessel gives up when the game doesn't go his way. He gets mad at his teammates when games don't go his way. I am going on what my dad said while he was watching a Leaf's game, that he was getting pissed at JVR because he probably didn't pass to him. I think Kessel is a Prima-donna and we don't need that attitude on our team. Same goes to Kane. It ruins the team atmosphere they've created with the Flames. We don't need a player who pouts.

With Ramo not having a full game in so long, do you play him against the Pens though? As a first game back in a really long time, it could be a tough one to start? But then, when do you start him?

From what I remember, Ortio was good last year in his first few games and then teams started to figure him out and he regressed. I noticed tonight the Sharks started going high on him and I think that he tends to go down a bit soon. I like the idea of seeing the 10-15 game sample size because then the teams will be able to study his tendencies and adjust. This way we know if he can handle those adjustments.

I don't see Ramo as being terrible as JJ points out. I see inconsistency, while I see the same in Hiller. I think they've been fairly even in their play. Ramo could be a good backup tender. Hopefully Ortio can continue his play. We need a consistent goalie

Ya, I kind of find it funny. We talk about our goalies. Everyone sees it different as there were some who wanted Kipper out long before he retired and placed blame on him. To those fans it was never our suspect defence at the time. In that 8 game losing streak there were games I saw our players stand around in our own end. One game in particular was the Buffalo game. Being a team game I think we tend to place blame on goaltending a little more than we should. Or we also have our favoured goat. Lately I've been watching Raymond more intently wanting more out of him, while others probably see it differently, I just never liked the Raymond signing, but it's an example. I think we have a good enough tandem to rest each goalie. A lot of those games there were a few bad luck plays and it cost us. Both of out goalies have momentary brain farts too. I think it's a matter of keeping both fresh. A part of it is keeping our players fresh too. Another thing is, we are in a rebuild, most goalies wouldn't be able to play up to the standards we are expecting of Hiller and Ramo right now. We have a young team, one of the lowest of all payrolls and a mobile defence who aren't as intimidating as some would like. Any good/great goalie would have the same results as we are seeing out of our goaltending. I think we are lucky to have ours.

Travel_dude, that's exactly what I think should happen. I noticed after the third straight game for Ramo, Hartley could have sat him even though he was riding a good 3 game win streak. That 4th game he looked like he was ready for a rest. The same thing applied to Hiller when Hartley ran with him. The last few games Hiller started giving a bad goal every game.

I hope Ramo keeps it up. I just think he's better than most give him credit for. I don't want the team to run with him through the ground. I think a healthy tandem would work well, because both will be very fresh and on top of their games. If they have winning streaks going, I don't mind if they sit one if it looks like they can be on their way to being shaky. Hiller probably would have done well with some rest and not looked as shaky as he has the last few games.

I think we could tighten up a bit more in our own end. I'd like to see the goal differential widen a bit more favourably.

I feel like they shouldn't consistently play the hot goalie every game. It gets the other goalie out of any groove they'd get in. In the Kipper days, I wonder, had they played the back-ups more often, would they have gotten more out of Kipper and their back-ups. Kipper playing so much, didn't allow for our back-ups to see game action and therefore didn't do very well. If they play one goalie too much, they run the risk of losing the other's groove

Something about this reminds me of the B. Sutter era. The importance of involving your defense really makes a difference. When Sutter was the coach, I feel like the offense was stifled by an immobile defense. Had they activated Bouwmeester, things would have been a bit different. Now, we saw the difference, and I think that's what makes Hartley's system so effective. He puts the trust in the D to keep plays going in the other team's end. Love it. Hockey how it should be played. This is where the forward prospects come in. If they can continue to impress, their worth can net us a decent D prospect from a team that is deep in D prospects. Hoping that's how things can pan out.