Could the Leafs miss the playoffs?
- Thread starter Sens With Benefits
- Start date
Nope, you know that they will make some tweak in the off-season that the media will blow out of proportion to hype up the fanbase and the results will be the exact same in May 2026.
Its been a few seasons since we got the "up 3-1 in the series and choke in game 7" ending.
I think the Leafs will go on a tear for the last 5-10 games and end up #2 in division and dominate the Lightining during the first 4 games, only to choke away the series
leafsfan5
Registered User
- Jun 14, 2014
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They have Berube wanting them to play playoff hockey in a way that Berube wants it to be played. For example, Colorado does not play that style and has had playoff success. On the other hand, Florida excels at playing playoff hockey the way Berube wants. It all comes down to the personnel you have
The Leafs are at a philosophical crossroads and their timidness in moving a core 4 player has led to this clash. They like the dump and chase + forecheck style but the players they have aren't suited to play that way. You can sit there and blame the players for not being able to play that style, but it just doesn't optimize their strengths and at a certain point it's on management for creating this situation
If the Leafs want to lean into the Florida style, go for it! But change the core. If for some reason the Leafs still want to run the core 4, get a coach who works for that and find puck moving defenseman. But pick a lane
The Hockey Tonk Man
Registered User
First it's assistant coaches
Then it's the GM Dubas
Then it's the coach Keefe and captaincy change
Then it's Shanahan?
....Then Nylander, Matthews and Marner have nmc and can't be touched.
....Then it's gonna be alot harder to get rid of these guys than the Muskoka 5.
Pyrophorus
Registered User
TLEH
Pronounced T-Lay
They've got 2 games in hand and a 9 point lead on the Rangers. or just a 10 game lead on the Canadiens, with 16 games to go. They're not missing the playoffs bare a historical collapse. They're closer to winning the Atlantic than missing the playoffs.
WarriorofTime
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- Jul 3, 2010
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The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
Even Leafs haters wouldn't want them to miss the playoffs , the whole fun/shtick is the post season
FunkySeeFunkyDoo
Registered User
MXD
Original #4
- Oct 27, 2005
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It would take some crazy shit like Montreal sweeping the Sens, the Sens sweeping the Blue Jackets, the Devils holding on and the Rangers do great to finish the season, so as 4 teams make it on each side.
Like, it would take a combination of things that can absolutely happen, but with the odds of all of them happening being very low.
Like, it would take a combination of things that can absolutely happen, but with the odds of all of them happening being very low.
BHD
Vejmelka for Vezina
Berube is the third coach for this group, and it's the same song and dance. Yes, he's more of a motivator than a tactician. However, the players continue to make embarssing plays, under perform, or just not show up. It happened under Babcock, it happned under Keefe, and it's happening under Berube. At some point, brass has to adress the core.
Do Make Say Think
& Yet & Yet
- Jun 26, 2007
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Pretty much. It's Steve Dangle, who's more than just a little bit notorious. I think he's funny in small doses for the shock value, but that's just me. If I watched a Steve Dangle video every day I'd probably get sick of him though.
I’d love them to miss, but they aren’t lol. They have 81 points and could virtually sleepwalk through their remaining schedule to make it.
- Oct 18, 2010
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Force his hand to do what?
Matthews, overpaid + NMC.
Nylander, overpaid + NMC.
Rielly, overpaid + NMC.
Tavares and Marner are UFAs. You let them go and replace them with more overpaid UFAs? Odds are, especially with how poorly managed this team is, that this will make the team worse. Which shouldn't be a problem, because then at least we can move on, but it's a problem for the ownership who wants to milk all the yuppies for as long as they can.
The writing has been on the wall for at least half a decade, but yet here we are. What has changed in the year that Pelley has had his job? The same thing that has changed in the last 8 years. Nothing.
No changes will be made because they quite literally have no reasonable ability to improve the team.
And people will with a straight face tell you that this torture is the greatest era of Leafs ever.
NYRfan85
D'oh!
The Leafs aren't missing the playoffs, but I very well can see them dropping to a WC spot with the way Ottawa's been playing.
FerrisRox
"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
With Hedman playing heavily hobbled and Cernak knocked out of the series after taking an elbow to the head from Bunting in a 7-3 blowout in Game One.
Hedman and Cernak are the Lightning's two top defensive defensman. Cernak is a shutdown guy and would have played an enormous role in that series.
Pressing a rookie 6th round draft pick in Nick Perbix into a big role in the post-season isn't exactly ideal. With Hedman hobbled and Cernak out the Lightning were nowhere close to the team that had won the Stanley Cup the year before.
I'm not saying they are a bad match up for the Leafs, I'm saying don't like at the Leafs beating them previously as some kind of indicator that they would beat them again because the injuries on the Bolts blueline were an enormous factor in the outcome of that game.
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