Holl is A Major Concern
Photo From Editor in Leaf
I’m not
going to do my usual breakdown of last night’s overtime loss in San Jose, I
want to talk about how this team is going to struggle all season unless they
fix the blueline. I understand injuries are obviously part of the game and the
Leafs are without some helpful pieces in the likes of Jake Muzzin, Jordie Benn,
and Timothy Liljegren although Liljegren is on the verge of returning. The team’s
biggest problem is Justin Holl. The season is only eight games old for the Leafs,
but he has been an issue right from the season opening faceoff. Last night’s
game saw San Jose open the scoring just 26 seconds into the first period.
Former Leaf Alex Barabanov was being chased down by Holl, Alex then fell
leaving Holl with an opportunity to gather the puck and clear the zone. Instead,
Justin Holl decides not to try for the puck and Logan Couture would score his
first of the game. Now, I saw last night and into this morning fans were all over
Auston Matthews because he “stopped skating” on the play. To those you see it
that way let me explain something to you, Auston stopped skating because he was
switching to offense because he like the rest of the Leaf coaches and bench
thought the Leafs would have possession and begin the transition into the
Sharks end of the rink. Let’s fast forward to period two with the game tied at ones.
The Leafs would find themselves down two man as Pierre Engvall and TJ Brodie
for minor penalties. Brodie’s penalty would be because he didn’t move his feet.
Being short two men is a difficult
situation for any team but when one of the penalties is being served by a reliable
defensemen it makes it even more difficult. The three man unit for the Leafs
saw David Kampf, Mark Giordano, and Justin Holl start the penalty kill, After a
won draw from Kampf, Justin had a perfect opportunity to send the puck down the
ice forcing San Jose to have to reset their attack and instead of firing the puck
out of the Leaf zone he decided to send a soft ball to the point that was
easily kept in by the Sharks. A failed clearance is just a pass to the point,
and they usually end up in the back of your net and that is exactly what would
happen as San Jose took the lead. Holl would then serve a puck over glass minor
after sending the puck out of play with absolutely no pressure on him, instead
of skating forward with the puck, you know the simple play he tried to send the
puck off the glass and out. I know earlier in the season I talked about Holl
positively after scoring the game winning goal against Ottawa but sadly when it
comes to Holl for every positive game he plays he follows it up with a series
of events that will leave you scratching your head, or in my case yelling four
letter words at your TV.
After
the pandemic season that saw Toronto win the Canadian Division there was all
kinds of talk about teams having plenty of interest in trading for Justin Holl
and to those teams, I have one simple question? Are we talking about the same
Justin Holl? Or is this possibly a case of mistaken identity? If you’re
thinking Holl would be a nice addition to your roster then fine but I think looking
at Holl as an upgrade is like when in the mid-2000s then Leaf GM Cliff Fletcher
mistook Jeff Finger for Avalanche defender Curt Sauer, and readers if you don’t
believe me look it up that actually happened Toronto thought Jeff Finger was
the physical shutdown defender they were desperately searching for when in
reality he was a liability when on the ice.
Hopefully
with Timothy Liljegren likely returning after Toronto’s California road trip he
can hopefully slot in on the pairing with Sandin giving Justin some much needed
time in the press box because I think a reset is needed for Holl’s game because
if they continue to play him frustrations are just going to continue to build. Unfortunately
knowing the loyalty to Holl that both Sheldon Keefe have it will likely be Victor
Mette who is taken out of the lineup so the Leaf coaching staff can dress both
Justin Holl and Timothy Liljegren, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
I know
it was frustrating watching Toronto lose to a rebuilding San Jose Sharks team
but there were some positives fans can take away from the game. The top six forward
group continues to produce as Marner, and Tavares all picked up points in the
Leafs comeback and of course Auston Matthews ended his seven-game drought
finding the back of the net leveling the game at three. Once the game was tied
up starting goalie Erik Kallgren managed to keep his team level with their
opponent allowing the Leafs to salvage a point. Also, with that single point Toronto
for the time being now sits in 2nd place in their division. Sure,
wins are what we want but every point picked up in the standings has its value
and importance. Toronto has collected three out of a possible six points on
this five-game road trip the next games come Saturday in Los Angeles and then
Sunday night in Anaheim before returning home. Remember I said you break the
season off into ten game sections and if Toronto can rebound this weekend and grab
two wins then the Leafs will finish the first ten games with a 6-3-1 record
which many teams would happily take. Also, last season at this point in the campaign
the Leafs had a record of 2-4-1 before winning the final two games of October.
It may not feel like it right now, but this current team is in a better spot
then they were last year. We know this team can take games over and has the
talent to dominate their opponent and there is now doubt in my mind that it will
happen again. Saturday in LA I am sure we will sure more positive signs that
show this Leaf team turning things in the right direction.
That’s all for this one thanks for reading.
It is time to get rid of Holl he is done in a Toronto market where they won't let him forget his mistakes
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