Tlusty + leaf youngsters

[gagnerific]

If anyone saw the leafs sens game last night, I really do hope they were touched with the magic of old. that was the most spirited game i have seen the leafs play all year if two years...

something to point out, im not sure if anyone else noticed this, but did you guys see tlustys edge in this game?? he was like an angry bull out there, playing with HUGE confidence bumping, grinding and hitting... and hitting HARD... he creamed heatley, and a couple other players into the boards. and to accompany his spirited effort an amazing deke on gerber to give the team its GTG, was this a glimpse of the future tlusty??? i really hope so, thats the first time ive seen that kid play with confidence and heart all year.

to follow up with that, there was one rush that steen absolutely flew, all the players leafs and sens were flying out there, definitly one of the best games this season... im not saying this because im a leafs fan, im positive the sens fans despite loosing can relate.

im making a statement, sundin holds these youngsters back, cliff/ new gm, do whats best for the team going forward in development and do not sign sundin, i love him and all but it seems to me that the players rely on him too heavily and it disrupts there ability to do things their way on their own...instead of being pressured to \"get the puck to the star captain mats sundin\".

[L2TG]

The Leafs are garbage, if you want to see true young talent watch the Oilers. I personally think Steen, Tlusty, etc are all mediocre players and one good night against a slumping Senators team doesn\'t change that. They decide to show up when their playoff hopes are dead. I guess they really want that 9th spot. I heard if you come 9th you make the playoffs! stupid leafs...

PS: I live in Toronto, but I despise the leafs.

[gagnerific]

hey whoa whoa!!!! i love the oilers!!! if i didnt grow up being a leafs fan they\'d be my #1 team... but right now they can only be 1b in my heart but im desperately trying to make the transition from toronto to edmonton!

definitly gagner, nillson, brodziak, hemsky, penner, cogliano are all amazing players and are leaps and bounds better than what the leafs have but i was just making an observation at how amazing they played last night... mostly just tlusty and steen (who i acknowledge are going to be good 2nd liners, with the prospect of tlusty being a 1b lw)

[Fighting_Emu]

Yeah I think that is a realistic estimate. I watch so many leaf games being in this part of the world and Steen has definitely surprised me a lot of times. I haven\'t rushed out to pick him up but I think he would be a great 2nd line center for the leafs. He can skate, he doesn\'t give up on the puck- I guess he just seems to lack finish at times, and hence the low ceiling. Tlusty is more of a puzzle to me. I missed the game in question but for all his skill he has looked very out of place at times. I wish I would have seen it.

I think you may be on to something with Sundin. Maybe I am just sick of the stagnant state of the team but I really feel that saying goodbye to Mats is the only way to truly start re-building. I think the world of his playing and his character but he is wasting away in that organization. Also, for the leafs part a year to 2 of losing may be needed and implementing your younger core to start gaining chemistery and learning to gel with each other may be the more effective route.

Im not even a leafs fan myself but you cant help but feel frusterated for them. Any team in the league with a bad record right now seems to have hope, in terms of youth to build around or impending cap space (likely both)- but the leafs have managed to paint themselves into a corner bigtime. I dont foresee a philly like resurgence here. As an optimist I would say they might be getting on track in 3 years or so. These next few winters will definitely be long ones...

[gagnerific]

extremely well put emu, you hit it right on the nose