Could the Leafs miss the playoffs?

[Commander Clueless]

We can and we will.



But probably not.

Drop to wildcard though? Distinct possibility.

 

[FerrisRox]

It's a problem for the ownership who wants to milk all the yuppies for as long as they can.

The Maple Leafs could replace their current roster with the Toronto Marlies and it wouldn't affect their ticket sales in any way, shape or form. The Lemmings will come out and eat sushi and wear the jersey. This city, for whatever reason, will put up with whatever the ownership throws at them, no matter what.

 

[winnipegger]

I do think marner and Tavares are gone if this continues to go south. Leafs have looked very bad this month. Every other team is finding their playoff game. Leafs are still looking for it (as usual).

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

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 in 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.

maybe. you can make a lot of excuses for the Leafs too, leafs still got the W

 

[RyCam]

No, there's no chance that they're going to miss the playoffs and the Sens have proven to be way too inconsistent this season to be a threat to take the Leafs place as one of the top 3 teams in the division in my opinion. The Leafs still have one of the most potent offences in the league and it would be a mistake for any team to take them lightly.

That said, I do think all the Marner/Rantanen bullshit has affected the locker room and I personally think AM is too weak of a leader to pull that locker room together like they were before.

 

[Cats2TheCup]

The problem with Leaf fans is they watch Leaf hockey. When they see Leafs score some nice goals and get some wins, they think “this is what will bring us a cup. It’s our year if they always play like this.” Nope. You need to watch Stanley Cup winners. The Leafs need to be completely honest and literally start a rebuild from ownership out to every player on that roster. Burn it all and start over.

 

[Leonardo87]

Kinda hoping Edmonton does. Will make our jobs easier. lol

 

[FerrisRox]

maybe. you can make a lot of excuses for the Leafs too, leafs still got the W

What do you mean maybe?

That's what happened. Hedman and Cernak both left game one with injuries. Cernak never returned to the series, Hedman did but clearly didn't look like himself.

Hedman was 7th on the Lightning in time on ice that series. The year before, when the Lightning beat the Leafs, Hedman was first on the team for time on ice. Darren Raddysh, who averaged 16:29 in the regular season that year logged over 25 minutes a game against the Leafs in the playoffs. That's nearly TEN MINUTES more than he was playing during the regular season.

This isn't "making an excuse" for the Lightning, it's simply what happened in that series.

 

[The Management]

Doubt we miss, but I wouldn't put any money down on getting past the first round either.

It has been a frustrating road. I've enjoyed the regular season hockey, for the most part, but I'm getting tired of watching this team fade every spring.

 

[NVious]

Like the old saying goes

"Never bet against X"

as us Leaf fans know it

"Never bet against the Leafs letting you down in the most spectacular way possible"

The same core that is responsible for losing to a beer league middle aged man is still running the asylum

 

[FerrisRox]

Doubt we miss, but I wouldn't put any money down on getting past the first round either.

It has been a frustrating road. I've enjoyed the regular season hockey, for the most part, but I'm getting tired of watching this team fade every spring.

It's frustrating, because the talent level of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews is so high, it's so easy, as a fan, to be blinded and refuse to believe that these guys just can't get it done.

I think, for Leaf fans, there's also an element of being gun-shy in terms of "moving on" from players because the Leafs have famously made horrible decisions in this regard in the past.

The Leafs traded Larry Murphy for Future Considerations and he immediately became a top-pair defender on back-to-back Cup Champion teams and played five more years in the league.

The Leafs dumped Phil Kessel for a light return and even retained salary and then watched him also win back-to-back Cups and posting 45 points in those two playoffs.

The Leafs also decided that they couldn't win with Nazem Kadri and he had to be sent out of town. His first year in Colorado, he had 18 points in the playoffs. In ten years with the Maple Leafs, he had only managed 10 career playoff points. In his third year with Colorado, Kadri won a Cup (and racked up another 15 playoff points.)

Getting burned, this badly, this often, has made a lot of Maple Leaf fans very wary of cutting ties with chronic post-season underachievers.

I still, personally, believe that Auston Matthews could deliver in the playoffs (though I certainly have concerns about his shot this season), but I've seen enough of Mitch Marner to know that his lack of compete and lack of courage means he's not built for playoff hockey. I think, much like the Bruins moving on from Joe Thornton many years ago, Mitch Marner leaving town could be addition by subtraction.

The Bruins return for Thornton was historically bad, but without getting him off the books, the Bruins can't sign Chara that off-season and without Chara, there's no Cup for the Bruins in 2011 and the team doesn't spend a decade as an upper echelon team.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

The problem with Leaf fans is they watch Leaf hockey. When they see Leafs score some nice goals and get some wins, they think “this is what will bring us a cup. It’s our year if they always play like this.” Nope. You need to watch Stanley Cup winners. The Leafs need to be completely honest and literally start a rebuild from ownership out to every player on that roster. Burn it all and start over.

Florida fan gets to see a cup lifted and thinks he's an expert on the history of hockey.

How quickly a Florida fan forgets the torture.

Do you actually think a life long Leafs fan is unaware of their futility?

We know, and we still keep watching the same shit over and over again, and come back for seconds, thirds.......

And we all fully expect to get bounced in the first round.

I truly hope the Leafs vs Panthers happens in the playoffs this year, because that's probably conferance finals, and if the Leafs win well that's a step up, and if the Panthers lose well that's a step down...............


Down down down..............unless you think you're Tampa Bay and about to become some sort of dynasty?

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

You know the Bruins aren't scary anymore when the Florida Panthers fans have stepped into their shoes talking crap about the Leafs.

 

[johnnyonthspot]

The demise of the Leafs is unfounded. 6-1 tonight proves it. I think the parade is back on. Leafs running the table . It is their year.

 

[Metroid]

Would be epic if sens missed after this post

 

[Djp]

With the recent slide and teams making up ground is it possible? Steve Dangle breaks it down and shows how history could be repeating itself during this latest slide. I don't think they will slide that much and Ottawa will probably slow down, but what can even be done?

Love to see them miss yhr playoggs.

You Al's o havr tje devils with injuries falling as well.

Then you look at who is out looking ti get in

Montreal and ottawa are playing well in their last 10

You need toronto yo go something like 1-8-1 in next 10 and a bunch of teams going 15× pts in their next 10 to g as in 12+ on Toronto

Montreal is 12 behind, others are more.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Love to see them miss yhr playoggs.

You Al's o havr tje devils with injuries falling as well.

Then you look at who is out looking ti get in

Montreal and ottawa are playing well in their last 10

You need toronto yo go something like 1-8-1 in next 10 and a bunch of teams going 15× pts in their next 10 to g as in 12+ on Toronto

Montreal is 12 behind, others are more.

Friends don’t let friends post on st paddy’s

 

[GlitchMarner]

Love to see them miss yhr playoggs.

but yhr playoggs iz da bestest widda mapel leeves meng

 

[Divine]

If they win their next game they’re tied for the division lead with the same number of GP.

I’d say it’s more likely the Leafs win a Stanley Cup than miss the playoffs.

Take that as you will.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I can speak for most western Canadians when I say we would love to see it but it wont happen.

 

[The Shadow]

I can speak for most western Canadians when I say we would love to see it but it wont happen.

Why would you not want them in the playoffs? As a hockey fan do you seriously think the playoffs are more exciting without the leafs in it? People love to hate on them. People love to watch them. The playoffs is more entertaining when they are in and the numbers don’t lie

 

[Lahey]

With the recent slide and teams making up ground is it possible? Steve Dangle breaks it down and shows how history could be repeating itself during this latest slide. I don't think they will slide that much and Ottawa will probably slow down, but what can even be done?

Thread started by a Sens fan the day after they beat us. Makes sense.

 

[BLNY]

 

[HockeyVirus]

The Maple Leafs could replace their current roster with the Toronto Marlies and it wouldn't affect their ticket sales in any way, shape or form. The Lemmings will come out and eat sushi and wear the jersey. This city, for whatever reason, will put up with whatever the ownership throws at them, no matter what.

This isn't really possible in Toronto. You make it sound like it is fans, it is mostly corporations who buy these tickets and will always do so because A) They can write it off as entertainment expenses for clients and B) they gift a lot of tickets to clients who are likely at this first ever hockey game.

Our arena vibe sucks because of those reasons. Fans do not have the power to stop sales in Toronto.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Thread started by a Sens fan the day after they beat us. Makes sense.

They saw Leaf fans melting down and thought it had anything to do with them. It's cute.

We're melting down because going into that game they looked like trash for a month and the fan base is getting ready for the yearly early exit in the playoff. No one is scared of the Senators in Leaf land. Not because they would easily defeat the Sens, but because the Leafs could find a way to lose to the Sharks or Hawks in the playoffs.