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 2^nd 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.