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Around the NHL: Part XX

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aufheben said:
Looks like we're finally seeing what happens to the Islanders when they don't have elite goaltending. +6 goal differential, lost 4 in a row, and the Flyers just grabbed their division spot.
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Best team in the league and #THESYSTEM or something though, right?
 
Edge said:
And that’s what they get for being stupid.

You’ve got two boats in your fleet. One is sinking and the other is full of holes.

And you go and you bring in....Jack f*ckin’ Campbell?

You’re just begging for a salvage crew at that point.
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I have a feeling the leafs are going to turn into the next "well look at the (sabres, islanders, panthers, coyotes, ect.)" excuse people make for pointing out bad rebuilds.

But what's the common denominator again? Bad Management.
 
TheBloodyNine said:
I have a feeling the leafs are going to turn into the next "well look at the (sabres, islanders, panthers, coyotes, ect.)" excuse people make for pointing out bad rebuilds.

But what's the common denominator again? Bad Management.
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The challenge with the Leafs is that we fell in love with high-end skilled forwards, and then forgot to build out other areas of the team.

At some point you need to cash in one of those skill forwards and solve those other areas.
 
Edge said:
The challenge with the Leafs is that we fell in love with high-end skilled forwards, and then forgot to build out other areas of the team.

At some point you need to cash in one of those skill forwards and solve those other areas.
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Nylander should have been out the door the minute they signed Tavares. They also didn't need Tavares.
 
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Edge said:
The challenge with the Leafs is that we fell in love with high-end skilled forwards, and then forgot to build out other areas of the team.

At some point you need to cash in one of those skill forwards and solve those other areas.
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They got rid of a couple of gritty third and fourth line guys that would look better than what is there currently... Also, that defence is brutal. Most Leaf fans and analysts think they are talented contenders. Cinderella is looking in the mirror, but most see an ugly stepsister, warts and all. Injuries have hurt them, but that wears thin when most teams have had to deal with that.
 
Edge said:
The challenge with the Leafs is that we fell in love with high-end skilled forwards, and then forgot to build out other areas of the team.

At some point you need to cash in one of those skill forwards and solve those other areas.
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I feel relatively at ease because it seems like the Rangers did not do this. The build is different, but we have not forgotten that you need defense coming up with these guys as they progress. They probably have the ability to trade 3 to 4 of their forwards, not even the high end ones, and get the defense they truly need.
 
Edge said:
The challenge with the Leafs is that we fell in love with high-end skilled forwards, and then forgot to build out other areas of the team.

At some point you need to cash in one of those skill forwards and solve those other areas.
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Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if they'd only signed their own in house guys. It was going out and paying UFA rates for Tavares on top of that that's killing them, IMO.

Dubas needs to change that mix. I know Rielly is out, but if they flame out and miss the POs this year, he's got to trade one of his big four for assets elsewhere.
 
Edge said:
The challenge with the Leafs is that we fell in love with high-end skilled forwards, and then forgot to build out other areas of the team.

At some point you need to cash in one of those skill forwards and solve those other areas.
Click to expand...
A good Trotz like coach can teach players to play defense. You can’t teach Matthews’ shot or Marner’s skill. Ovechkin was right, they have to decide whether they care more about playing pond hockey and padding their stats or if they want to win. Everyone’s focusing on their defense saying they need better d-men, but they just play horrible team defense and their forwards aren’t responsible.
 
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KirkAlbuquerque said:
A good Trotz like coach can teach players to play defense. You can’t teach Matthews’ shot or Marner’s skill. Ovechkin was right, they have to decide whether they care more about playing pond hockey and padding their stats or if they want to win. Everyone’s focusing on their defense saying they need better d-men, but they just play horrible team defense and their forwards aren’t responsible.
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Agreed. I think defense is part of it, and I get the whole coaches can teach defense approach. All of this is accurate.

But when I look at Toronto, one thing becomes immediately apparent --- I don't see a well-constructed team.

And at the end of the day, you need to have a team that strives for some degree of balance, with different players filling different roles, understanding those roles, and going out and executing a game plan.

Toronto, in many ways, suffers from the same problem Tampa has faced --- they produce wonderful stats, everyone gushes over what the elite skill "can do" to create highlight reel material, but once you figure them out, and really push them, they don't have that extra something.
 
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Brooklyn Rangers Fan said:
Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if they'd only signed their own in house guys. It was going out and paying UFA rates for Tavares on top of that that's killing them, IMO.

Dubas needs to change that mix. I know Rielly is out, but if they flame out and miss the POs this year, he's got to trade one of his big four for assets elsewhere.
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Tavares was the tipping point.

Not necessarily because of anything he can control, but because they didn't go out and then make deals from positions of strength to shore up the other areas.

Instead, they went out and traded for even more skill in Barrie. And in the process, they lost something that gave them variety and essentially became a one trick pony. Granted, the one trick looks spectacular. But it's also a roster that looks like it could be fed its lunch by a more balanced team.
 
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Rumblings out of Montreal this morning is that Price could be traded sooner rather than later, ie possibly by Monday...Bergevin has been in Colorado the past 3 days and there is speculation Price has been discussed. Montreal traded Roy to Colorado many years ago, could it happen again??
 
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