Brad Treliving is doing a great job.

[Mess]

If only we could have chosen to bring back high character hardworking depth players from last years team and supplemented them with similar players to build and identity with continuity in the bottom 6.

Oh wait. We could have chosen to do that

You're 1/2 right.

If Leafs could have kept players like Hyman and Kadri who bleed blue and white in the past and not replaced them with whiners and wimps like Bunting and Kerfoot.

We would not be questioning where is the chemistry with Bertuzzi and Matthews and/or Tavares if that was Hyman who had a long and successful role based on long term team building and playing together.

If Kadri was our #3C we wouldn't have a need for Domi to try and fit in and find a role and chemistry with players he never played with.

Once our new GM BT can get out of the Cap Hell situation he inherited and JT contract ends can real planning begin.

 

[HockeyVirus]

John Tavares by a country mile.

lol FLames fan troll. Tavares has been over PPG his entire time here be gone

 

[Drytoast]

You're 1/2 right.

If Leafs could have kept players like Hyman and Kadri who bleed blue and white in the past and not replaced them with whiners and wimps like Bunting and Kerfoot.

We would not be questioning where is the chemistry with Bertuzzi and Matthews and/or Tavares if that was Hyman who had a long and successful role based on long term team building and playing together.

If Kadri was our #3C we wouldn't have a need for Domi to try and fit in and find a role and chemistry with players he never played with.

Once our new GM BT can get out of the Cap Hell situation he inherited and JT contract ends can real planning begin.

That isn't a luxury this team has because we have lopsided contracts where 4 players eat half the cap because everyone is of the opinion that we need to sign Willy to whatever he wants.

Want a good goalie? We can't afford it.

Want a few solid defenseman? We can't afford it.

Want some solid depth pieces? Nevermind. We can't afford it.

Our summers will always consist of a string of depth pieces being shuffled out and bunch of cheap new pieces either looking to cash in to big contracts or trying to reinvent themselves for a year stint in Toronto. So far under Dubas, he was able to make that work. This year? It's finally bit us in the ass.

I absolutely HATE our contract structure which results in shit team chemistry of haves' and have nots. Drafting Matthews has led us down the wrong path here. We have a team consisting of a few diva's who are our leaders, they ask for the moon in payment to stay here and the rest of the team are poverty commoners of the NHL. It's no wonder that this team doesn't stand up for itself.

I'm over it.

lol FLames fan troll. Tavares has been over PPG his entire time here be gone

He's right.

Tavares signing for 11 put a price tag on Matthew's ask. Which fueled Marner and Nylander's contracts and made us a top heavy contract team that now consists of have and have nots. Everything wrong with this current team's attitude and cap build can be traced back to signing Tavares. Making him the captain just put a stamp on it.

Tavares is not captain material and he's certainly not worth 11. Even in today's price tag. He's realistically 9 or 10. Max. But we need to over pay our stars by 1-2 mil each to get them to stay and I'm over that.

 

[ULF_55]

Put OEL on this team with this D and see how he does

That's an unknown.

Given time maybe Klingberg will be usable.

 

[ULF_55]

How could you forget a first for a dozen games from this broken down war horse? Dubes probably would have added a second if Nick had hair as nice as Willie's.

View attachment 766237

This guy is ancient and has played all the games this year and played 137 games since his ill-fated visit the the Leafs.

Strange.

 

[arso40]

I think they would have to move one of Brodie or McCabe to bring multiple D in. Which isn’t the worst thing in the world. Both should be easily movable and would go a long way towards offsetting the cost of acquiring the guys brought in.

It would be Brodie for me he’s the better defender but we have McCabe with term on low cap

 

[ULF_55]

Ok but you're then replacing them with league minimum players. The end result being a true studs and duds forward group where you're either making a core-four salary or you're making David Kampf money ($2.4M) to league minimum. That too is just as unprecedented as the current setup.

I'm sure the long-term plan is to shift money to D/G but it wasn't going to be done in the span of one off-season where the new GM had only been here for what, a month?

There was zero boat-rocking and probably for good reason, I wouldn't expect him to have an appraisal of the team after just a few weeks of being here.

Were you expecting Treliving to come in and trade a 1st, two 2nds, and a former first round pick defenceman for our own Hampus Lindholm? Because that's what it took to get him on Boston...

And Carlo was drafted and developed, wasn't a free agent signing or a trade so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make mentioning him.

I think the one-year deals are fine given the circumstances of how the GM change happened this off-season.

The premier free-agent defenceman of the off-season was Ryan Graves who arguably could have helped us, aside from him there was Holl, Orlov and Clifton available..,

We will see how his off-season goes.

It isn't like he wasn't already a GM and as GM in Calgary should have had information about all pending UFA players, all RFA players and teams who had assets that might have been available. The fact he walked in April, when the regular season was done doesn't change history.

He wasn't some rookie GM elevated from a minor league system.

To this point it isn't good.

However, he left the coach in place and as many have speculated it's his scapegoat chip.

Still very early, and there have been a couple signs that Domi might be finding a spot.

 

[BallardEra]

However, he left the coach in place and as many have speculated it's his scapegoat chip.

True but I never saw the point of wasting another year with Keefe behind the bench.

He's clearly not the coach to take them all the way and that's been evident for quite some time now.

Perhaps Shanahan told Treliving to keep Keefe.

 

[ULF_55]

True but I never saw the point of wasting another year with Keefe behind the bench.

He's clearly not the coach to take them all the way and that's been evident for quite some time now.

Perhaps Shanahan told Treliving to keep Keefe.

There's the rub.

We know the previous GM wanted more authority and was let go because of that want.

Perhaps Treliving is in the same boat of not having authority to make independent decisions either.

If true then we aren't evaluating GM's we're evaluating their bosses.

 

[HockeyVirus]

He's right.

Tavares signing for 11 put a price tag on Matthew's ask. Which fueled Marner and Nylander's contracts and made us a top heavy contract team that now consists of have and have nots. Everything wrong with this current team's attitude and cap build can be traced back to signing Tavares. Making him the captain just put a stamp on it.

Tavares is not captain material and he's certainly not worth 11. Even in today's price tag. He's realistically 9 or 10. Max. But we need to over pay our stars by 1-2 mil each to get them to stay and I'm over that.

No he isn't. Matthews had dollar signs in his eyes regardless. And before we signed Tavares Nylander had already held out to get every cent he could. If this is the logic, then the worse signing we got was Marleau who was there to mentor the kids and told them to get every penny while you can.

 

[ULF_55]

Tanev and maybe a peeke if it’s not too expensive on the draft cap

Tanev's age and history concern me.

He'll be 34 in December, but if he was a "dump" and could be had for a expendable prospect and one of:

 

[DraftSchmaft]

Domi is starting to settle in. Skill is oozing.

When teams are half dead in the playoffs, it's gonna be hard stopping us when you still have to deal with Bertuzzi, Domi, Knies, Robertson, the legs and strength of Gregor, Yarn Cocks sneaky shot. Majority of these guys are under 30. Bertuzzi and Domi were missing puzzle pieces though. The depth scoring help for the playoffs is suddenly not that appealing if you remove them. Knies for example needs a Domi to make the plays.

We still have work to do, but I'm more confident today than last season we can finally "chip away" at teams in the playoffs. Core 4 on the bench, but then Domi puts on the jets with the hands to match. Bertuzzi is out there with 30 goal pace potential. Knies with the legs to keep pace with Domi and vice versa.

Treliving just needs to find a way to make the blue line or goaltending better. Not an easy task based off what he inherited but sky's the limit if he can figure something out.

It's funny, if we win a cup, every GM since Burke would have helped lol. Wish we still had Kadri.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

There's the rub.

We know the previous GM wanted more authority and was let go because of that want.

Perhaps Treliving is in the same boat of not having authority to make independent decisions either.

If true then we aren't evaluating GM's we're evaluating their bosses.

Until Shanahan opened his mouth, I had said Keefe should go (based off of on ice decisions). While I still think there is better than Keefe, the moment Shanahan opened his mouth, it was abundantly clear who needs to go. His subsequent GM search seemed to leave much to be desired (I am not speaking individual, rather process). Didn’t seem overly exhaustive but of course we don’t have all the details.

 

[BallardEra]

Until Shanahan opened his mouth, I had said Keefe should go (based off of on ice decisions). While I still think there is better than Keefe, the moment Shanahan opened his mouth, it was abundantly clear who needs to go. His subsequent GM search seemed to leave much to be desired (I am not speaking individual, rather process). Didn’t seem overly exhaustive but of course we don’t have all the details.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Good try but i will just send you highlights from gm game.
Watch especially back checking of kucherov/awful cover from hedman starting at 3:24 and backcheck from point/ awful play by tampa D for the tying goal...

See there's your first problem. Trying to create a narrative out of highlights.
I'm not sure what you think showing a highlight of a defensive mistake on a goal against proves, but it's not your claim. I'm not sure how we got from "intangibles" to measurable things like defensive play in the first place. But just so we're clear, every team has defensive breakdowns. Cup winning teams have defensive breakdowns. Tampa in 2020 and 2021 had defensive breakdowns. A ton of them.

The difference was not "intangibles". The difference was primarily Vasilevsky going from a garbage performance in 2019, to the two best goalie playoff performances in the cap era in 2020 and 2021. The difference of Vasilevsky alone from 2019 to 2020 was more than 2 goals against per game. And then secondarily having their best forward and best defenseman throughout instead of injured and suspended helped quite a bit.

It's also true that as a team in front of Vasilevsky, they played much worse, but that had nothing to do with intangibles.
In fact, they were literally one of the better teams a year prior.

 

[arso40]

Tanev's age and history concern me.

He'll be 34 in December, but if he was a "dump" and could be had for a expendable prospect and one of:
View attachment 766665

I rather pull the trigger right now for peeke and see if he fits with Reilly then we don’t need tanev

 

[DraftSchmaft]

Also, every move Treliving made in the off season actually covered areas of need.

Depth scoring: Bertuzzi, Domi

No points, crisp passing or anything offensive outside of Rielly on D: Klingberg

No heart: Reaves

Cheap injection of speed and strength both through Gregor. Both of these were lacking in the playoffs.


So far both Reaves and Klingberg went through waves of being liked and then hated (current state: hated) but overall you can state that Treliving knows what we lack. The fact these 2 started off as "liked" says there's still hope they end the season that way.

You can't fix all of the flaws through 1 UFA round, but he at least showed he will be active and target them based on whats available.

All 1 year deals incase he needs to bow out, take the L and try again. Reaves getting term is the only head scratcher but I'll wait until the playoffs to see if that one is a total fail.

More players become available in the season, especially when other teams go through motions and their own goals and plans change.

His tenure as GM has been brief so far, but all evidence points towards chipping away at what we lack when a pool of assets become available to choose from.

Forgot to add, he kept the old GM's coach instead of cleaning house. This suggests he's not a dinosaur stuck in his own ways and unwilling to adapt.

 

[thusk]

See there's your first problem. Trying to create a narrative out of highlights.
I'm not sure what you think showing a highlight of a defensive mistake on a goal against proves, but it's not your claim. I'm not sure how we got from "intangibles" to measurable things like defensive play in the first place. But just so we're clear, every team has defensive breakdowns. Cup winning teams have defensive breakdowns. Tampa in 2020 and 2021 had defensive breakdowns. A ton of them.

The difference was not "intangibles". The difference was primarily Vasilevsky going from a garbage performance in 2019, to the two best goalie playoff performances in the cap era in 2020 and 2021. The difference of Vasilevsky alone from 2019 to 2020 was more than 2 goals against per game. And then secondarily having their best forward and best defenseman throughout instead of injured and suspended helped quite a bit.

It's also true that as a team in front of Vasilevsky, they played much worse, but that had nothing to do with intangibles.
In fact, they were literally one of the better teams a year prior.

It was not a mistake, it was player stop playing, stop skating and lack of work... just for fun try to find me 1 game since 2020 with defensive commitment that low especially with a 3 goal lead...

 

[Drytoast]

No he isn't. Matthews had dollar signs in his eyes regardless. And before we signed Tavares Nylander had already held out to get every cent he could. If this is the logic, then the worse signing we got was Marleau who was there to mentor the kids and told them to get every penny while you can.

Yes. He is. Tavares while great is not an 11 mil value. Not in any year with the Leafs. He has parity value with Stamkos especially when he signed and that was certainly NOT 11 mil. Now you can say his value is whatever anyone is willing to pay for him and sure, that's correct. You can be that dumbass GM would be stupid enough to pay 14 for JT to play in San Jose. Doesn't mean that's his honest value. I base his value on the average contracts of those that are his compariables. And nobody was making 11 mil at the time. We overpaid. We are still overpaying. And of course once you put a direct comparable that locker room, Matthews is going to say "my number starts at whatever JT is making ++ because I'm better than JT"

Putting John in that locker room, put a timer on Kadri, took the team away from Matthews. And started us off into the contract nonsense we are in now.

John is NOT an 11M value. He just isn't. He's 9 or 10. Not 11. We started overpaying with John and it's bled into all our other stars.

 

[BallardEra]

Forgot to add, he kept the old GM's coach instead of cleaning house. This suggests he's not a dinosaur stuck in his own ways and unwilling to adapt.

It just means he either chose to save that bullet for another day or listened to what Shanahan told him to do.

 

[80shockeywasbuns]

If I were Keefe I wouldn't give Reaves a regular shift. I would instead slot him in the first or second line irregularly as needed especially after the other team takes liberties. And then ask either Willy or Marner to double shift the 4th line. Reaves would play maybe 6-8 shifts a game. A tool you use when you need to send messages or light a fire up the team's ass with a hit or crash the net or rough people up after the whistle.

This shouldn't be hard ffs.

That’s not a tool, that’s just a massive detriment to the team forcing them to be down a player and 4th line. They’re much better off just icing an actual 4th line with speed and the ability to transition the puck out of the zone and forecheck so that they’re not getting lit up every shift while the top 9 gets a break

 

[Drytoast]

That’s not a tool, that’s just a massive detriment to the team forcing them to be down a player and 4th line. They’re much better off just icing an actual 4th line with speed and the ability to transition the puck out of the zone and forecheck so that they’re not getting lit up every shift while the top 9 gets a break

You just described the third line. Because if you think the third line is gonna be a scoring machine or offensive prowess expect to remain disappointed.

 

[myleafs]

Bringing in Zadorov would be a dandy start to rectifying this D.

Absolutely would want Zadorov, he is definitely what we need but what would Calgary want in return that we could offer? Bertuzzi?, Brodie? Robertson? A 1st? What would we be willing to offer?

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Also, every move Treliving made in the off season actually covered areas of need.

Depth scoring: Bertuzzi, Domi

No points, crisp passing or anything offensive outside of Rielly on D: Klingberg

No heart: Reaves

Cheap injection of speed and strength both through Gregor. Both of these were lacking in the playoffs.


So far both Reaves and Klingberg went through waves of being liked and then hated (current state: hated) but overall you can state that Treliving knows what we lack. The fact these 2 started off as "liked" says there's still hope they end the season that way.

You can't fix all of the flaws through 1 UFA round, but he at least showed he will be active and target them based on whats available.

All 1 year deals incase he needs to bow out, take the L and try again. Reaves getting term is the only head scratcher but I'll wait until the playoffs to see if that one is a total fail.

More players become available in the season, especially when other teams go through motions and their own goals and plans change.

His tenure as GM has been brief so far, but all evidence points towards chipping away at what we lack when a pool of assets become available to choose from.

Forgot to add, he kept the old GM's coach instead of cleaning house. This suggests he's not a dinosaur stuck in his own ways and unwilling to adapt.

You realize to date our depth scoring is significantly worse, yes? Going into last night the Big 4 accounted for 68% of team scoring versus 52.5% the year prior.

 

[myleafs]

John Tavares by a country mile.

Murray was pretty bad. At least Tavares was a very good player when we got him. Murray not so much.