Maple Leafs 2021-2022 Player’s Point Projections

Editor’s note: I’m very excited to have a good friend of the blog Clay Collins making his TLN debut today in a guest post. My fingers are crossed that we can make it more of a regular thing. Clay has been developing a player point projection model, and admittedly I’m a sucker for it as I am a sucker for anything that gives me a range to work with rather than an absolute number. I encourage you all to check out Clay’s work, and give him a follow on twitter. Hopefully this will lead to more of his work appearing on The Leafs Nation.
Maple Leafs 2021-2022 Player’s Point Projections
by Clay Collins

DISCLAMER – This model is NOT using best practices when creating and implementing a model. And this was sort of by design. I wanted to put together a very quick and dirty model this season and see my own personal growth through my models as I progress through my schooling and career as a data scientist.  This season is a baseline for me, and as such has some very major issues. There are plenty of much smarter and more experienced modelers and projections …

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Author: TLN Staff / The Leafs Nation

Toronto Raptors: This fun lineup combo could close out games in 2021

Toronto Raptors: This fun lineup combo could close out games in 2021

The Toronto Raptors decided to run back a good chunk of the starters from last year, as the re-signings of Gary Trent Jr. and Khem Birch will assuredly put them back in the preferred opening lineup this season alongside Fred VanVleet at point guard, Pascal Siakam at power forward, and OG Anunoby at small forward. […]
Toronto Raptors: This fun lineup combo could close out games in 2021 – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Leafs get an outdoor game, but unfortunately it’s against the Sabres

Good news everyone, the Leafs will be playing outside again this year. The bad news is it will likely be against a Jack Eichel-less Buffalo Sabres team in Hamilton.

The 2022 Tim Hortons NHL #HeritageClassic will feature the @MapleLeafs and @BuffaloSabres on March 13 at Tim Hortons Field, in Hamilton, Ont. Info: https://t.co/S1v1ewXgdd pic.twitter.com/bn8twg6A6q
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) September 16, 2021

The game counts as a Sabres home game, so you can hold back any possible outrage over having to drive to Hamilton for a Leafs game instead of it being in Toronto, this is just shaving some time off the drive to Buffalo for Leafs fans who normally make that trip, and saving people the inconvenience of the border crossing, which ironically the home team fans will have to put up with. It being a Sabres home game seems like it will be so in name only, as Leafs fans generally take over the arena in Buffalo anyways, and in this scenario it seems very unlikely their fans will outnumber the Leafs fans.
This also marks the first time that an American team has been involved in the Heritage Classic, let …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 46: A statement against the Rays, Charlie Discourse, and more!

The good times keep rolling!

After sweeping Oakland and New York and then scoring 1000 runs over Baltimore in a four-game set, the Blue Jays returned home to face a big test — the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
And it went really well, as the Blue Jays took two of three in the series, including a commanding win on Monday night. I was joined by our good pal BK to take about the series, which featured amazingly good starting pitching, the slaying of the Ryan Yarborough Dragon, and some positive vibes when it came to George Springer’s health.
We also dove into some Charlie Discourse, as Montoyo made a puzzling decision on Tuesday night late in the game that pissed a lot of people off. Is Charlie Montoyo the guy who’s going to lead this team to glory? I mean, he’s got a good chance of winning Manager of the Year, right?
Finally, we looked ahead to the upcoming series against the Minnesota Twins!
You can listen to the episode here…

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

It looks like Julian Merryweather will be joining the Blue Jays soon

The good times keep rolling!

As we’re all still riding high from this weekend’s sweep of Oakland, news has come out that Julian Merryweather is with the team in Toronto. There’s no word yet on what’s happening or if he’s been activated, but that’s obviously a good sign.

Julian Merryweather just walked onto the field so safe to say he’s up with the #BlueJays
— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) September 6, 2021

Merryweather has had a pair of appearances for the Bisons during his rehab assignment. On Friday, he tossed a scoreless frame, and then on Sunday, he got tagged for a couple of earned runs while recording just one out. Given the fact he pitched yesterday, you’d assume he won’t be activated for Monday’s matinee game with the Yankees.
Getting Merryweather and Nate Pearson back around the same time is a huge win for the Blue Jays bullpen. Jordan Romano has pitched a lot and looks gassed and the same goes for Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber. There aren’t many consistent options back there right now, so let’s hope either, or, ideally, both of Merryweather and Pearson can be difference makers …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 41: Ups and downs with Chicago, the bag of cash on Robbie Ray’s horizon, and more!

A 2-2 split against a good team is pretty good, but not exactly great when you’re climbing the mountain the Blue Jays are.

That was quite a week of ups and downs. Alek Manoah helped the team to a gritty win on Monday, Jose Berrios got shelled immediately after on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Robbie Ray threw one of the better starts we’ve seen from a Blue Jay in a while, on Thursday, Hyun Jin Ryu got knocked around.
All told, two steps forward, two back.
Anyways! BK joined the show and we distracted ourselves from the chase by taking a needlessly early look at the off-season, based on Ross Atkins’ comments when talking with Bob McCown earlier this week. We went into some depth about Ray’s season, what kind of contract he’s going to earn, and whether the Blue Jays will open up their wallets to make it happen.
Finally, we took a quick look at the easy schedule on the horizon.
You can listen to the episode here…

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Toronto Raptors: Dwane Casey discusses Kyle Lowry’s legacy

Toronto Raptors: Dwane Casey discusses Kyle Lowry’s legacy

A good chunk of the memories that Kyle Lowry was able to create during his time with the Toronto Raptors came under the watchful eye of head coach Dwane Casey, who led the franchise to a period of consistency that they simply were not used to during their first few years of existence. While the […]
Toronto Raptors: Dwane Casey discusses Kyle Lowry’s legacy – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Dusty Imoo (The Campbell Whisperer) joins the Marlies

The Leafs and their unlimited funds are sometimes good. I’m not ready to go “three cheers for telecomm monopolies” but I do appreciate when it comes to staffing their hockey operations departments, the Leafs bring in the guys who best meet the needs of the Leafs. Today the Marlies were the target for improvement by bringing in a new goaltender coach and one that has a name many of you will recognize…

The Toronto Marlies announced today the hiring of Dusty Imoo as the team’s Goaltending Coach.
Jon Elkin has been promoted within the organization into the role of Goaltender Evaluation and Development. pic.twitter.com/UEKDBRorm2
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) August 8, 2021

So here’s the thing, if you’ve read an article about the emergence of Jack Campbell over the past couple of seasons, you’ve read about Dusty Imoo, and probably have developed a very favourable opinion of him even if you don’t really know a whole lot about goaltending or goaltender coaching. He turned Jack Campbell around, he’s been a part of a pretty good goalie pipeline in Los Angeles, and when you consider that he’s been successful with Campbell, and he’s …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Looking for a long man

The Jays starting pitching is pretty damn good.

Robbie Ray is an ace, as I’ve been saying since mid-June. Ryu has had his issues such as his change-up, but overall he’s been solid this season. Manoah? He’s been so good that I wonder why he wasn’t with the Jays from the start of the season. Now with the addition of Jose Berrios, the Jays have four starting pitchers with an ERA under 3.31.

Starting pitcher ERA for the #BlueJays @Alek_Manoah6: 2.47 ERA@RobbieRay : 3.04 ERA@HyunJinRyu99: 3.26 ERA@JOLaMaKina: 3.31 ERA
Fantastic.#WeAreBlueJays
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) August 2, 2021

That begs the question, who’ll be the fifth starter and who’ll be the long man?
Steven Matz:
This has been a weird season for Steven Matz. He started the season off incredibly hot allowing only 6 earned runs in 23.1 IP. This was good for a 2.31 ERA. At this point, he was also striking out a lot of batters as he had a K/9 of 9.64 during this span. Furthermore, his opponent’s BABIP was incredibly low at 2.14.
His next five wasn’t the same result. In those five games, he pitched 24.2 innings, allowing 19 runs. That is a 6.93 ERA. While his K/9 …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 33: A Split at Fenway, trade deadline talk, catching up with the new-look Yankees, and more!

All things considered, that was a pretty good week.

The Blue Jays rolled into Fenway and took two of four from the first-place team in the American League. They suffered a heartbreaker on Monday, the game was rained out on Tuesday, Robbie Ray guided the team to a win with an ace start on Wednesday, Steven Matz had a tough go in the night cap, and then the bats exploded for 13 runs in the finale on Friday.
All said, two out of four ain’t bad. It doesn’t move the needle in terms of catching Boston, but it keeps them in the mix for the wild-card and it ensures that Friday’s homecoming won’t be a bummer.
Anyways! With Tyler still lost in the woods and BK on a flight from B.C. to Toronto, I tackled talking about the Boston series ALL BY MYSELF. I also talked about the acquisition of Brad Hand from Washington and where he fits in the team’s bullpen along with the rumour that the Blue Jays are in the mix for Jose Berrios.
Finally, I welcomed Neil Keefe to the show to talk about the New York Yankees, who just had …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation