Young Leaf appears to be coming out of the lineup after impressive performance; this one is a headscratcher
The Leafs are coming off of a stellar performance against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, picking up a huge 5-2 win to get back into the win column. Part of the story on Wednesday was the stellar play of 24-year-old Conor Timmins, who recently signed a 2-year extension with the Leafs, which carries a $1.1M cap hit.
Timmins was not only physical in the contest, but also helped out on the score sheet as well with a 2nd period rocket from the point, finishing with a +3 on the night.
After a performance like that one, it appeared likely that Timmins would get at least another game to show what he could do to continue to help the team. However, when practice got under way on Friday morning, Timmins was back to skating as an extra defenseman, with Justin Holl appearing likely to draw back in.
Holl was skating alongside Rasmus Sandin on the team's third pair, while Timmins skated on the 4th pair with veteran Jordie Benn.
There's no question that Holl has played some solid hockey for the Leafs this year. However, pulling out Timmins after one of the best games of his young NHL career is probably sending the wrong message. Holl came out of the lineup for performance related reasons. With Timmins performing so well in the opportunity provided, it seems a little counterproductive to just turn around and remove him from the lineup. Just my two cents.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 17 | 392 ANSWERS Young Leaf appears to be coming out of the lineup after impressive performance; this one is a headscratcher Does Conor Timmins deserve to play over Justin Holl right now? | ||
| Yes | 364 | 92.9 % |
| No | 28 | 7.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
