Are things as bad as we're saying?

[Nineteen67]

If you are what your record makes you.
Then Tampa was the cup champs last year. the blues were first round fodder.

This year Tampa and Dallas and San Jose are out of the playoffs and we are looking at a buffalo Edmonton final.

there might be more to it

no, that’s not what that means at all.

 

[BlueStorm]

The team has been playing 500 hockey for the past 60 games. You can come up with all of the excuses in the book but the past 60 games tells the tale.

 

[hullsy47]

We just have to get through Tuesday’s game, then we’re off until Saturday, a nice reset moment. Things can change quickly, while we’re rightfully down on certain things, it’s a fluid situation sport and we still have great talent. Just sack up.

Can see us hovering at 500 0r maybe 520 percent
High payroll for that

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

2 points out of 11th spot in the conference, all teams behind us with at least 2 games in hand. Seems bad to me. 13 games is a pretty good sample size IMO. The good news is we have a head start on Babcock Departure Watch.

 

[egd27]

A good chunk of this fan base including many frequent posters here have decided that Babcock needs to be fired. The mood on this board will not change until that happens. Little else matters for this group.

Sky is falling.......Babcock is to blame. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Gary Nylund]

A good chunk of this fan base including many frequent posters here have decided that Babcock needs to be fired. The mood on this board will not change until that happens. Little else matters for this group.

Sky is falling.......Babcock is to blame. Rinse and repeat.

Speaking for myself, this is completely untrue. The only thing that matters is how the team performs but the thing is, we've basically sucked for 10 months now. If we can turn it around with this coach I'd be more than fine with that but with each passing month, it's becoming harder to believe that this can happen.

 

[Trapper]

Speaking for myself, this is completely untrue. The only thing that matters is how the team performs but the thing is, we've basically sucked for 10 months now. If we can turn it around with this coach I'd be more than fine with that but with each passing month, it's becoming harder to believe that this can happen.

It's not always losing, it's how you lose. And how the big guys paid to perform look while losing. And so far (goals/assists aside) Matthews and Marner look like they have just stopped progressing.
Nylander is being praised at 7 million for being on the same pace as Johnsson/Kapanen if you like points only.
Something is wrong. Sure JT is out but are you telling me Matthews and Marner can't carry this team for 2 weeks. 2 lousy weeks? We didn't have Matthews and Nylander for 1 and 2 months last year. Please don't tell me it's Hyman and Dermott missing.

Something looks wrong. You can say it's early but something looks wrong.
Do you want to start by trading Matthews/Marner/Nylander? No. Then what do you change before you can assess if you have the right trio? Mayber one or 2 of them need to change but not before the coach.

 

[egd27]

Speaking for myself, this is completely untrue. The only thing that matters is how the team performs but the thing is, we've basically sucked for 10 months now. If we can turn it around with this coach I'd be more than fine with that but with each passing month, it's becoming harder to believe that this can happen.

Interesting that you essentially put yourself in "that group"

 

[Gary Nylund]

Interesting that you essentially put yourself in "that group"

What's your point? I've been saying for some time now that if it was up to me, Babcock would be fired so sure - I'm in that "group".

However, you're assuming that "the mood" won't change until this happens and "nothing else matters for this group", I'm just letting you know that you're 100% wrong. Like I said, the only thing matters to me is how the team performs. I don't think we'll have the kind of success we could have with this coach but if it happens, I guarantee you that my "mood" will change.

 

[Gary Nylund]

It's not always losing, it's how you lose. And how the big guys paid to perform look while losing. And so far (goals/assists aside) Matthews and Marner look like they have just stopped progressing.
Nylander is being praised at 7 million for being on the same pace as Johnsson/Kapanen if you like points only.
Something is wrong. Sure JT is out but are you telling me Matthews and Marner can't carry this team for 2 weeks. 2 lousy weeks? We didn't have Matthews and Nylander for 1 and 2 months last year. Please don't tell me it's Hyman and Dermott missing.

Something looks wrong. You can say it's early but something looks wrong.
Do you want to start by trading Matthews/Marner/Nylander? No. Then what do you change before you can assess if you have the right trio? Mayber one or 2 of them need to change but not before the coach.

100% this. This early in the season, it's never about wins and losses for me, it's about how we're playing. We're playing like crap and we've been playing like crap for 10 months now. With the talent we have, it's unacceptable, simple as that.

 

[Daisy Jane]

A good chunk of this fan base including many frequent posters here have decided that Babcock needs to be fired. The mood on this board will not change until that happens. Little else matters for this group.

Sky is falling.......Babcock is to blame. Rinse and repeat.

do you think he's blameless? and/or should not be let go?

 

[Nineteen67]

The team has been playing 500 hockey for the past 60 games. You can come up with all of the excuses in the book but the past 60 games tells the tale.

Under 500 over the past 76 games - almost 11 months.

 

[Brown Dog]

This team has never truly had big expectations or aspirations in the post-lockout, social media-era world.

Expectations were sky high going into this season.

Things are going to go nuclear if they can't right this ship.

 

[ottomaddox]

Not concerned right now. If the team is playing like this around Christmas time, than yeah I would be concerned. If the Leafs still are showing very little defense awareness come February, EVEN with a good record, then I likely jump on the "something has to change" boat. But panicking right now is just a waste of time.

Panicking is probably the wrong interpretation of what's going on.

People post about firing Babcock all through the summer. Marner's contract was signed before training camp. The offseason changes to the roster had little to do with improving the defense or team toughness.

All these criticisms have already been spoken. Now we are ticking them off as we see them unfolding.

That being said, yes it's early. The leafs are not going to find themselves out of playoff contention in Nov., but it's unfair to the fans to label them as "panicked". They want to see improvement. They want to see them play better against good teams, and they don't want TOR to squander divisional games.

 

[rumman]

A good chunk of this fan base including many frequent posters here have decided that Babcock needs to be fired. The mood on this board will not change until that happens. Little else matters for this group.

Sky is falling.......Babcock is to blame. Rinse and repeat.

team's performance will improve when the player's effort improves. Lot's to be concerned with about this group, shouldn't have to worry about their effort on top of it all.

 

[stickty111]

Pretty sure the Pens at the end of 2015 were closer to the bottom of the Metro division than the top? Then went on to win the 2016 Cup. And again. it's October.

They also changed the coach during that time.

 

[MarnerElite]

A good chunk of this fan base including many frequent posters here have decided that Babcock needs to be fired. The mood on this board will not change until that happens. Little else matters for this group.

Sky is falling.......Babcock is to blame. Rinse and repeat.

I would like to watch a team that we can all be proud of and this team doesn't do anything for me at the moment(in 25+ years i am always glued to the tv and now i'm basically looking at something else to watch). So while i'm actually a fan of Babcock i don't care at this point. In fact i'd like him gone just to see a lot of head scratching here when the next guy(and next guy after him) can't do anything with these ballerinas.

 

[rumman]

A good chunk of this fan base including many frequent posters here have decided that Babcock needs to be fired. The mood on this board will not change until that happens. Little else matters for this group.

Sky is falling.......Babcock is to blame. Rinse and repeat.

how many people here have had a boss who they thought was incompetent? Now how many went to work and under performed hoping it meant your boss would be fired? Exactly, only one being fired would be the worker not doing their job properly.

 

[Trapper]

team's performance will improve when the player's effort improves. Lot's to be concerned with about this group, shouldn't have to worry about their effort on top of it all.

Sometimes after awhile players tune out a coach and the effort drops.
However, a tiger can't change his stripes and just like the old days, what kind of players we have will ultimately creep back in.
But in order to expose that, something needs to change. And if the players don't have the effort under Babcock, it needs to change sooner rather than later.

 

[Bomber0104]

Pretty sure the Pens at the end of 2015 were closer to the bottom of the Metro division than the top? Then went on to win the 2016 Cup. And again. it's October.

Comparing this Leafs team with the Crosby/Malkin-led Pens I see..

Never change HFboards.

 

[X66]

6-2-1 in games that Hutch hasn't been in(2nd game of the back to back).

That's why i'm not really worried about the team, but this was an awful schedule to have and the team really **** the bed for not addressing the backup problem.

 

[Ms Maggie]

Comparing this Leafs team with the Crosby/Malkin-led Pens I see..

Never change HFboards.

Are the Blues' stars that much more talented than the Leafs? And if big star power were the key factor, how did Boston lose to the Blues?

No worries, won't be changing.

 

[JEI]

Give them 20 games + key guys coming back into the lineup and see how they do. It's still early. Now that the tough October schedule is behind them, they'll need to make up for it with a winning streak here. If not, it's going to get interesting really quick.

 

[KuleminFan41]

It's not as bad as people are making things out to be, but they certainly aren't as great as they could be either, its been a bit shaky but the Leafs are still in a solid position. All it takes is to ring off a couple solid wins and they're right back in the thick of things, which this team is more than capable of doing. It's better to have your struggles in October, than it is in March when making a push for the playoffs. I understand its a little tough for some people, but this team is too good to struggle for much longer.

Not to make excuses but the schedule was pretty tough, 4 back to backs, 3 games in 4 days twice, 8 games against playoff teams , including the cup winners. Not to mention the roster turnover from last season. It's not exactly surprising that the season hasn't gone as well as people assumed it would.

 

[Dayjobdave]

Not nearly as bad as we are saying, but way worse than we were hoping.