Brad Treliving is doing a great job.

[conFABulator]

You can't put a crown on a clown and call him a king.

Treliving's first year was a write off. I can't understand this need for new management to observe a team for a year before making changes. Why'd they hire him in the first place.

He should know everything about the team already.

The average fan on this forum could tell you the team's strengths and weaknesses. Even make suggestions about what to do. Why are they paying someone millions of dollars who doesn't have a clue.

Even looking at this team through rose coloured glasses all the red flags still look like red flags.

Were we supposed to break out the brandy and cigars because after a year of watching the team take a step backwards Treliving finally figured out Keefe should be fired. Then giving out all those retirement contracts to washed up vets. Considering the evidence calling Treliving anything but incompetent would be denial of facts.

You can call a fish a dog all you want but it won't make it true.

There was no way Treliving was moving Marner or Tavares last year. It wasn't happening. It all but confirmed by Shanny before he hired Tre and there was not enough time for Tre anyway. Those NMCs are not on him.

This team is quite different from the one Tre inherited. This team has depth and balance that we have not seen in the Matthews era. We have a new coach and a new captain.

We have the core four and a stronger supporting cast of forwards than we have had.

Our D has Liljegren as seven now and possibly movable now. Tanev, Benoit, OEL, Hakanpaa and Myers are nice adds.

Strong goaltending depth too.

We could move out Kampf, Jarnkrok and Liljegren for picks and space without really missing them because have depth and balance.

We are in a strong spot, no?

 

[colchar]

Treliving/Berube have their work cut out for them. They have a bigger, tougher blueline but it's the forwards that need to embrace the mentality: Beat the SH!T out of your opponents, aggravate them, get in their goalie's face, be like a pitbull on the puck, drive to the net like a runaway train. Then come back to bench, take a few deep breaths and go out there and do it again, every shift.

Does anyone really believe that the likes of Marner, JT, Nylander, and Captain America have that in them?

 

[Maple Leaf]

Just finished watching the 3rd episode of the Amazon series focusing on the Boston/Florida series last year.

After the Panthers beat the Bs for the second consecutive year Pasta said (paraphrasing) "They're a nasty team, very tough to play against." Until an opponent says that about the Leafs, they won't win anything.

The Panthers took it to the Bruins and never let up the entire series. The Leafs pounded the Bruins hard in game one (but lost anyway) then let up.

Treliving/Berube have their work cut out for them. They have a bigger, tougher blueline but it's the forwards that need to embrace the mentality: Beat the SH!T out of your opponents, aggravate them, get in their goalie's face, be like a pitbull on the puck, drive to the net like a runaway train. Then come back to bench, take a few deep breaths and go out there and do it again, every shift.

Let's see if there are any signs during the season that they finally understand this or are they still going to try and dangle, shoot from the perimeter and hope that their skill alone wins them games. I'm not optimistic at all, but even halfway to that could open the doors to a mindset change this group desperately needs.

The hard minutes in the playoffs go to the soft oreo core of the team
Same result