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Tyler Toffoli: Analyzing His Style Of Play (and Why Teams Will Covet Him On July 1st)

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TrickOfShapes

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https://streamable.com/3oiuv

 

This article features a ten-minute video presentation highlighting Tyler Toffoli’s performance against the New York Rangers on February 9, 2020. In the footage, he wears #73 for the Los Angeles Kings. If the video above is unavailable, view it here.

 

A sense of tentative buzz blanketed the Vancouver Canucks' supporters when the team unexpectedly acquired Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli last Monday. The Canucks have been desperate for offensive support in recent weeks, as the team's regular forward group has managed to provide little help for the team's star scorers. With a playoff position potentially slipping away, this dire concern required immediate treatment, especially in light of the recent news about top-line scorer Brock Boeser's rib injury and his estimated eight-week recovery period.

 

Some have suggested that the price to acquire Toffoli was high: the Canucks' 2020 Hobey Baker nominee Tyler Madden, depth forward Tim Schaller, a 2020 second round pick, and a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick. There were certainly naysayers who questioned this acquisition, but also many curious spectators who merely wished to learn exactly what type of player the team had acquired. Those familiar with Toffoli will confidently state that the Canucks have stumbled upon a gem.

 

Five days have passed since that pivotal moment, and Toffoli has paid immediate dividends for the Vancouver Canucks. In his debut against the Minnesota Wild, he tallied one assist and directed four shots on goal. In his follow-up performance against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, Toffoli scored two goals, recorded an assist, and was named the game's first star -- an impressive start in Vancouver for a player who had, for nearly a decade, feasted upon the Canucks with 13 goals in 28 career games as an opponent. These point totals are among the accomplishments of a player who has been relatively underrated throughout his career. He is a three-time twenty-goal scorer who once achieved a 31-goal season in the NHL -- a campaign in which he received six votes for the Selke Trophy as the league's best two-way forward. An exploration into his style of play will reveal whether these votes were warranted.

 

With Toffoli slated to become an unrestricted free agent, the Canucks must decide whether they should re-sign him. Depending on his performance this spring, it will become obvious whether or not he and the team are a proper fit for one another. One very encouraging takeaway from his two performances in blue and green, however, is that he played exactly as he did in Los Angeles.

 

Many of Tyler Toffoli's contributions to his team have received little attention. His reputation is that of a goal scorer, but his smart defensive game requires some discussion. To further elaborate, let us consider some footage from one of his performances with the 2019-20 Kings just prior to the trade: a match against the New York Rangers on February 9, 2020. That evening, Toffoli was featured on a line with center Anze Kopitar and winger Alex Iafallo. He recorded seven shots on goal that night. A busy evening such as that in which he was effective and yet recorded no points requires an investigation to determine the on-ice situations that best suit his style of play and the combination of linemates that would best complement this player.

 

The full breakdown of Toffoli's game is available at Nucks Misconduct:

 

 
You can find me @CambieKev on Twitter. Follow if you like this article and want to stay up to date with my content.

 

Edited by TrickOfShapes
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8 minutes ago, LowerMainLander18 said:

JB put it correctly. 

His style reminds me of Brock's but he's more seasoned. 

He doesnt let up when he gets the chance to shoot and he doesnt second guess himself.

The thing I liked most about his game was his quick decisions. He rarely holds onto the puck and he's very quick to make plays. 

On his stick and off it goes right away and often, it turns out to be a pretty reliable play. 

 

He knows his strengths well. He finds good ice in the Ozone and trusts his linemates to feed him. 

He's not unreliable defensively either. 

 

I know things like that comes as u play more NHL games. And I think Brock will benefit a lot from watching TT play. 

 

Sample size is small and TT won't come cheap.

But if anything, with this experiment, I think the management has confirmed their belief on who to place in that RW slot in the future. 

Well, they're not going to have both Brock and TT

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I get the feeling that Toffoli is a winner and wants to win. He looks happy out there.

 

Some players would prefer to be in a winning culture and grow with an up and coming team. At 27 he has 3-4 more solid years of prime hockey, but being quite smart and his lack of injuries I could see him having a similar curve as Bergeron and just keep on getting better.

 

A 6x5.5-6 mil contract would be a good deal for the team, though he likely could get up to 7 on the open market.

 

We'll have to see what happens with the roster, but if the team can unload Baertschi and Rousell without retaining any salary Toffoli can be signed for 6 

 

Based on cap moving up to 83 mil from 81.5

 

Toffoli 6x6

Tanev 4.5x4

Tryamkin 2.5x1

Virtanen 2.5x2

Gaudette 2x2

Motte 1.2x2

Mac 900x2

And Markstrom at 6x4

 

Leaves 1 million in space

Takes into account 3 million for bonuses

 

This also then leaves 8.6 million the following season with Sutter off the books to resign Hughes Petey and Pearson. Hughes will have no rights like Boeser this season and Pearson will be pushing 30 with players pushing him out of the top six and likely to sign as a third liner or been moved on from with Hoglander and podz coming in.

 

The following year Eriksson is done when Boeser will have his raise.

 

I have this feeling that we'll enjoy this team for 3 years before the turnover by numbers game starts to happen. 

Edited by Wanless
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5 minutes ago, Wanless said:

I get the feeling that Toffoli is a winner and wants to win. He looks happy out there.

 

Some players would prefer to be in a winning culture and grow with an up and coming team. At 27 he has 3-4 more solid years of prime hockey, but being quite smart and his lack of injuries I could see him having a similar curve as Bergeron and just keep on getting better.

 

A 6x5.5-6 mil contract would be a good deal for the team, though he likely could get up to 7 on the open market.

 

We'll have to see what happens with the roster, but if the team can unload Baertschi and Rousell without retaining any salary Toffoli can be signed for 6 

 

Toffoli 6x6

Tanev 4.5x4

Tryamkin 2.5x1

Virtanen 2.5x2

Gaudette 2x2

Motte 1.2x2

Mac 900x2

And Markstrom at 6x4

 

Leaves 1 million in space

Takes into account 3 million for bonuses

 

This also then leaves 8.6 million the following season with Sutter off the books to resign Hughes Petey and Pearson. Hughes will have no rights like Boeser this season and Pearson will be pushing 30 with players pushing him out of the top six and likely to sign as a third liner or been moved on from with Hoglander and podz coming in.

 

The following year Eriksson is done when Boeser will have his raise.

 

I have this feeling that we'll enjoy this team for 3 years before the turnover by numbers game starts to happen. 

You think Tanev is going to take $500k raise?  And no way NT comes back for less than $3m.  I do think AG gets under $2m though.

 

I'm all for moving Roussel today or tomorrow though.

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38 minutes ago, stawns said:

Well, they're not going to have both Brock and TT

Sure they can.  If Loui does retire and they can get Sutter off the books and possibly Baertschi then they can make it work and even re-sign Markstrom.  Not sure about Tanev.  At this point I'd re-sign Toffoli before Tanev.  Toffoli completes the top line and frees up Brock to play with BO.  Hopefully Tryamkin can replace Tanev to some degree.

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8 minutes ago, stawns said:

You think Tanev is going to take $500k raise?  And no way NT comes back for less than $3m.  I do think AG gets under $2m though.

 

I'm all for moving Roussel today or tomorrow though.

I think tanev, given his injury history and being 30 is worth about that.

If this year was more indicative of his career he would be worth 5.5-6. But you can't go spending money like that on injury prone players.

 

I think with Tryamkin he still has to prove he's more that a 3rd pairing dman. Right now that's all he's proven. Most I could see is 3 million.

 

The smaller the number for Gaudette the shorter the contract. 1.5-1.8 for 1 year could bite us. He could be worth 3.5-4 the following year and that could cause trouble for the Petey Hughes negotiations

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8 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Sure they can.  If Loui does retire and they can get Sutter off the books and possibly Baertschi then they can make it work and even re-sign Markstrom.  Not sure about Tanev.  At this point I'd re-sign Toffoli before Tanev.  Toffoli completes the top line and frees up Brock to play with BO.  Hopefully Tryamkin can replace Tanev to some degree.

thats one big IF

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5 minutes ago, mikeyman109 said:

thats one big IF

It's not far fetched.  You pay him his $3 million bonus in July and he walks away from $5 million.  So he's earned $31 million of his $36 million contract.  Him and his family can move back to Sweden and he can play in the SEL for 2-3 years to make up the difference.  Not saying it's guaranteed but it's possible.

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6 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

It's not far fetched.  You pay him his $3 million bonus in July and he walks away from $5 million.  So he's earned $31 million of his $36 million contract.  Him and his family can move back to Sweden and he can play in the SEL for 2-3 years to make up the difference.  Not saying it's guaranteed but it's possible.

yes but the cap hit stays with us, thats the issue

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