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Posted

The Leafs do not play Housley's system, or what Housley has described as his system (3 games in we haven't really seen it yet)

Actually they do. All 5 players involved in all zones. They contest every pass and aggressively press the puck carrier. No one standing still. It is what the Preds did without the star caliber blue line. They can’t match the preds blueline but they play fast.

Posted (edited)

Actually they do. All 5 players involved in all zones. They contest every pass and aggressively press the puck carrier. No one standing still. It is what the Preds did without the star caliber blue line. They can’t match the preds blueline but they play fast.

Involving 5 players and being aggressive is a general attribute of every single good team there is, it's not a system on its own. That's why I dismissed almost everything Phil said this summer. Leafs use a variety of particular pick plays and cycling, playing their centers in an entirely different spot in the o-zone relative to what the Predators did and do. The Leafs transition is funneled through their forwards, and Housley almost wants to do the exact opposite. 

Edited by Randall Flagg
Posted

No, that isn't true. Watch closer.

 

I can't be 100% sure what Housley wants since we really haven't seen it executed properly but from what he has said, and what I see the leafs doing, it isn't very different. 

Posted

No, that isn't true. Watch closer.

 

I can't be 100% sure what Housley wants since we really haven't seen it executed properly but from what he has said, and what I see the leafs doing, it isn't very different. 

I trust dudacek and he says I shouldn't be doing system projects this year. 

 

But the Leafs structure is quite different. The wingers have different responsibilities. The defensemen do. The centers do. It's entirely different. Skate hard, be aggressive, and use everybody is not a system. 

Posted

Housley's transition game is more reliant on the D yes, but the Leafs are not playing a cycling game like you said. They are better at possession than us but again, that is because we aren't executing the system. If we were, it would look more similar. 

Posted (edited)

Housley's transition game is more reliant on the D yes, but the Leafs are not playing a cycling game like you said. They are better at possession than us but again, that is because we aren't executing the system. If we were, it would look more similar. 

Watch game clips of what Johansen, Fisher, and Jarnkrok did off the puck last year and compare it to Matthews, Bozak, and Kadri in both zones. Next, watch where Forsberg and Arvidsson go in Nashville and compare to what Toronto's wingers do and when. In Nashville the goal for forwards is to control the corners and to find FF9 in the soft spots that open up by engaging a defenseman down there. Toronto in general wants their center in the slot. They like cycling against the grain, towards the points, because they employ the Babcock pick when they're ready to move towards the center. They get loads of high danger chances from the slot this way, Matthews and the team in general lead the league in high danger shots. Nashville does the exact opposite because they work from down low when Forsberg is out, but in general prefer Ellis, Subban, and Josi to qb the play. Hockey systems are a lot more homogeneous than, say, the NFL, but the difference between what those particular styles are is about as big as a difference can be in hockey. 

Edited by Randall Flagg
Posted (edited)

As I said about DD and his system, no system works without the right players.  10 player turnover and a "emphasis" on speed.  Moulson and Gorges are where they belong, in the pressbox, but the team lacks any real finish.  

 

I still don't think we have the horse to run Housley's system.  It may be 20-30 game before we know that for sure, but the omens are already showing.

 

Having watched the Housley/Laviolette system that past several years in Nashville, this is pretty much my take. You can get by with average forwards as long as they're fast and give great effort on every shift. Thus far, our current group of forward haven't exactly been playing with reckless abandon. But, they also don't know the system well, so I assume they'll be able to play faster once they get more comfortable. That said, I don't see much talent in the new forwards (Pouliot, Griffith, Josefson).

 

Lousy defensemen will get exposed in this system. We have a lot of new d-men but none of them look very good thus far (I like Scandella the best of the new guys). Beaulieu was terrible against NJ. Antipin hasn't been very good, but he is just learning the North American game so I give him a pass.

Edited by Potato
Posted

Don't agree but not going to keep arguing it. 

 

Bottom line problem for us is that the system don't work for us cause almost every shift 1 or 2 guys screw up or quit on the play and the whole thing consistently breaks down. It's a mess, but I don't blame Housley because I simply don't think he has enough to work with. 

Posted (edited)

Don't agree but not going to keep arguing it. 

 

Bottom line problem for us is that the system don't work for us cause almost every shift 1 or 2 guys screw up or quit on the play and the whole thing consistently breaks down. It's a mess, but I don't blame Housley because I simply don't think he has enough to work with. 

I don't mean to prod at something you don't want to talk about anymore, but what do you take issue with? Which part of my analysis is faulty, and do you have examples why? I like to follow system stuff as much as I can with as many teams and coaches as I can but there's always more to learn. Just from a spreadsheet I can see that Nashville prefers their defensemen to drive play in the offensive zone, they quarterback everything. This by default removes a substantial chunk of high danger chances, which is reflected in their low rank in that stat. This take is backed up every time I watch them. Conversely, when I watch Toronto, I have already laid out what I see, and their ludicrous amount of chance generation and goal scoring from their forwards supports it. If I'm missing something I'd really like to know it. 

I'll post each team's offensive zone heat map to see what we can find.

Nashville.png

 

This is Nashville's - off the cuff, it looks a lot to me like a team that has Roman Josi as a LHD who takes a lot of shots and thus creates a lot of rebounds, which get pounded away at from that zone in front.. Then you have the "Forsberg soft spots" scattered around the slot, and the place on the wall they try to pass it to him from (and fling it on the net when the pass isn't there). 

 

Then you have the shot on goal results from what Toronto likes to do:

Toront.png

 

Which is obviously "get pucks to the place that you score from as often as possible". The way they do that is outlined in my post above. 

 

Edit: I tried to get 16-17 but I clicked the wrong year. You get the idea though.

The left-bias definitely shows that Ellis is hurt :lol:

Here's last season's sample size for each team. Same result

Nashville2.png

Toronto.png

Edited by Randall Flagg
Posted

Antipin hasn't been very good, but he is just learning the North American game so I give him a pass.

 

Yes, he has to learn the NA game, but he did show some flashes of being an effective puck-carrying defenseman who can transition the play to the offensive zone.

http://www.wgr550.com/articles/news/housley-we-need-be-smarter-hockey-team

"We've got to keep our game simple. We're trying to make plays that are not high percentage plays. We've got to protect the puck a little bit better." - Housley

 

Platitudes.  "A little bit better."  A LOT BETTER, Phil.

Posted (edited)

I'd be fine going back to basics with this team. They need it. I'd start at skating hard. Then simple passing. They wanna play like crap then practice the basics.

Edited by LGR4GM
Posted (edited)

I wonder if Phil needs to relax his system a little.  Maybe focus on getting 4 guys into the play and the 5th guy, a D, to play more conservatively to help reduce the negative plays going the other way.

 

Frankly, I'm betting that's what they're already supposed to be doing. Lindy used to "activate the D", where one D comes down the wall, and a forward moves out the point to cover the spot. I'd be shocked in Housley's system advocates both D moving down the wall at both times. What we're seeing is miscommunication and/or hesitance where the D comes down, but the forward is still grinding down low (habits!) and you have a 2-on-1 the other way.

Edited by MattPie
Posted

lines today at practice

 

9 90 26

28 15 29

67 10 17

23 22 25

 

I don't care what system they are playing, they simply are not good enough.

So Reinhart is gonna get traded

Maybe, but that last line there is actually line 3.

 

Omg I don't care. He's playing on a bottom line on his off wing. Doghouse

Just saw this in the other thread. Fair enough.

This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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