Dave Nonis: PLEASE GET US A #1 CENTER
 

Pretty please ?

Phil Kessel will vouch for this !

does o'rielly count?

We need Getzlaf asap. Bozak is a no show in big games.

kessel for getzlaf

Bozak was truly amazing for the first couple of games but now he's just a shadow of that performance. I can't believe how scared the leafs play against the bruins. Only Komarov, Frattin, Fraser and Orr were really going out of their way to be physical.

Just ride out the season to see where we're at, unless we can get ROR.

ROR in between Lupul and Kessel would be great. Defensively great, playmaker, and young- exactly what we need. Kessel just needs players who can make a bit of space for him. JVR doesn't do that.

I still think we need to go huge at Getzlaf. We have the financial means and cap-space to make him an offer he can't refuse.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/d...mackinnon6.jpg
:sarcasm:

The problem was no bodies in front of the net and no shots from the point.

Phaneuf needs to shoot instead of passing to kostka.

There are no legit number 1 centers available. Your going to have to wait till free agency perhaps.

Draft one.

Kessel, Bozak and a 2nd rounder for Getzlaf

He's a kid with a lot of learning to do still. He's actually stagnating alongside of Drouin this season. He barely touches the puck as Drouin has it all the time. I hope he gets traded from the Moose, i think he's regressing under the current system; the team is too good.

Then you have no one to play with Getzlaf. We're not in a position to make a trade for a player of that calibre who can literally walk away at the end of the season.

If Kessel needs a number 1 centre we shouldn't have traded 2 firsts and a 2nd for him. Kinda of tired hearing an elite player need this or that. He should be better than to need an excuse, sort of reminds me of the excuses Grabo gets around here. Sundin was great and he played with Hoglund much of his career. Great players don't need excuses.

Hasn't that been obvious for a long time now? I mean, we're rehashing the same old story. It's probably time we accept it for what it is, make do with what we have and move on.

Mats Sundin all his life never had a true winger, Kessel will never have a true Center. The irony is painful and disgusting

That would be nice.

He had a number 1 Center in Boston and scored 36, he had a #3C in Toronto and scored 37, he had worse and still scored 30+ in other years. Not sure what he needs, maybe this is the best he is, a one dimensional scorer Burke sold and packaged to Leafs nation, we keep expecting more, but maybe this is all he's got.

Throw kadri on his line. Problem solved ;)

Phil Kessel's 37G-82pts were the highest of any Leaf forward since Sundin hit 37 in 02/03 and when Sundin hit 83pts back in 98/99. Only 3 instances in Sundin's 13 seasons with the Leafs did he pass Kessel's high of 82pts.

It was admirable how Sundin was able to consistently produce even without competent linemates. But post-lockout, how well did this one-man offense work?

Kessel, and Sundin for that matter, may be able to produce without a top notch #1 center/winger on his line but this is not a sustainable framework for success. All we're arguing in this thread is that Kessel would substantially benefit from a big #1 center (who can make space, finish his great passes and anchor the line defensively) playing between Lupul and himself.

He doesn't NEED a #1 center, but for the team to truly succeed the acquisition of one would go a long way..

it's so damn frustrating
no one since mats sundin
always 2nd line cant cut the mustard guys
the list of guys theyve tried since mats is extensive

Kessel doesn't need a #1 centre; this leafs team needs a #1 centre. You can't expect to be a successful team with Bozak playing as your top centre.

I agree.
Kostka doesn't do a hell of alot.
At the end he just kept passing to a covered Kadri cuz he didn't have a clue. He's under alot of pressure right now tho so keep that in mind. I thought his penalty was ******** and aside from one big turnover and Horton dancing around him he had a really good, smart game, offensively and defensively. His problem is that he's probably too honest and looks for the good play when everybody is yelling "shooooot!' and it just isn't there. For the sake of his career he should probably just throw it on net and stop trying so hard to be a gamebreaker cuz he definitely isn't.