Damn, it's starting again, that dreaded optimism.

[PROUD PAPA]

I’m interested in seeing how Knies and Woll progress this season. Other than those 2 as key storylines I’m more or less just expecting another rerun.

Around the league there are definitely some interesting things for me to follow though so that helps a lot.

 

[Nineteen67]

I’m interested in seeing how Knies and Woll progress this season. Other than those 2 as key storylines I’m more or less just expecting another rerun.

Around the league there are definitely some interesting things for me to follow though so that helps a lot.

And Cowan. If he’s as good as we hope they could have something and those youngster could carry them in a round or two over the next few yrs.
We don’t want him to be too good and demand 11 million, but good enough.

I just hope Berube can get them to play the right way and with commitment before they get him fired

That could be an interesting storyline over the next couple of years.

 

[wingman75]

Just cut the cord and get a streaming box. You can either mess around with finding feeds on your own for free, or do what many of us do and pay a place or website $10/mth and get just about every tv show, movie, sports, PPV.

Tried that one year, it was a complete pain in the ass. Terrible feeds. Games blacked out because of source location, quality was also not great. I want to turn on a channel or start a stream and watch the game with no fuss. My experience with illegal streaming has not provided that; not saying it's not there, I just didn't find it.

My brother this is 2024. Please, you do not need to pay for games. I haven’t had cable for 10 years and I’ve watched pretty much any leafs game I want.

I don't have to, but the quality and experience I get from the paid service is higher than the free ones. That is a personal thing for sure. I will say I am on the fence this year though as for paying for the regional games. See what the pricing looks like and how I feel.

 

[Fogelhund]

Tried that one year, it was a complete pain in the ass. Terrible feeds. Games blacked out because of source location, quality was also not great. I want to turn on a channel or start a stream and watch the game with no fuss. My experience with illegal streaming has not provided that; not saying it's not there, I just didn't find it.


I don't have to, but the quality and experience I get from the paid service is higher than the free ones. That is a personal thing for sure. I will say I am on the fence this year though as for paying for the regional games. See what the pricing looks like and how I feel.

I've been using a Streaming service for five years without the issues that you speak of.

 

[banks]

Storylines that have me investing in this season:

Is Woll legit? And can Stolarz push for starts?
Can Berube create some defensive cohesion?
Does Tanev mesh with Rielly?
How does Matthews act as Captain?
Does Tavares re-sign, can he fight off father time a bit longer?
Is Marner happy to be here?
Can McMann chip in 20 goals?
Any players coming in on a PTO? That's always fun.

 

[francis246]

Tried that one year, it was a complete pain in the ass. Terrible feeds. Games blacked out because of source location, quality was also not great. I want to turn on a channel or start a stream and watch the game with no fuss. My experience with illegal streaming has not provided that; not saying it's not there, I just didn't find it.


I don't have to, but the quality and experience I get from the paid service is higher than the free ones. That is a personal thing for sure. I will say I am on the fence this year though as for paying for the regional games. See what the pricing looks like and how I feel.

Totally fair, every Saturday I watch through CBC gem app. But I’ve found some alternatives that work amazing for me. But with NHL going to Amazon and potentially other streaming services I might pivot that way as well.

 

[therealkoho]

I've seen some really bad Leafs teams through the years, some really solid teams as well. This year's Leafs look mostly solid, if certain guys play to their potentials the D might be the best since the Quinn years.

The forwards 1 through 12 may be the best since Dougies years 2-5. If everyone on this seasons team is hitting on all cylinders. If the two rookies(who I think make it) Minten and Cowan contribute 30 goals between them and and not get eaten up.

If the penalty kill can be top 6 and the PP makes the top ten, and the 5v5 offense is also top 10, the I think we'll have enough goaltending that a highly successful regular season is indeed possible and the playoffs certainly within reach.

Playoff success I think will be dependant on none of the corps 4 being hurt and memories of the past stay out of their heads.

That said, I go into every season with a hopeful outlook. I want them to win, I keep the negative thoughts out of it.

People buy lottery tickets and/or gamble not because they believe they'll lose, but because they believe it's possible to win.

 

[Brown Dog]

Please no more "learning lessons" and "looking in the mirror." Just win!! We're so due.

 

[HockeyVirus]

My brother this is 2024. Please, you do not need to pay for games. I haven’t had cable for 10 years and I’ve watched pretty much any leafs game I want.

I haven't found a reliably stream without trash quality

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

One day I'm gonna get too old to care anymore.

I'll realize all the time spent following this team can be better spent doing other things. I'll eventually drift away. And who knows maybe they will win it while I'm still alive.

But I won't care.

I won't even know the names of the players. At best I'll catch the highlights of the games at the bingo hall. Because I sure won't be going out of my way to watch every game like I do now.

Watching this team lose and lose and lose some more isn't something I plan on doing until the day I drop.

God help us all if I'm still bitching about the Leafs for another fifty years. There's gotta be more important things in life. Just because I can't think of what that might be right now doesn't mean I won't ever figure it out.

Better yet if I'm lucky I'll go senile and forget about this team altogether.

 

[Leaf Fans]

One day I'm gonna get too old to care anymore.

I'll realize all the time spent following this team can be better spent doing other things. I'll eventually drift away. And who knows maybe they will win it while I'm still alive.

But I won't care.

I won't even know the names of the players. At best I'll catch the highlights of the games at the bingo hall. Because I sure won't be going out of my way to watch every game like I do now.

Watching this team lose and lose and lose some more isn't something I plan on doing until the day I drop.

God help us all if I'm still bitching about the Leafs for another fifty years. There's gotta be more important things in life. Just because I can't think of what that might be right now doesn't mean I won't ever figure it out.

Better yet if I'm lucky I'll go senile and forget about this team altogether.

Good luck!

 

[Commander Clueless]

Optimism? You cut that out.

 

[Evilhomer]

Leafs/Jersey conference final this year. All of Florida, Boston, NYR and Carolina will fall back this season.

 

[darrylsittler27]

Basically the entire East below us got better.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Basically the entire East below us got better.

And so did we!


... Maybe... Probably on D. Likely in net.

Okay the forwards are probably a bit worse.

 

[Sypher04]

And so did we!


... Maybe... Probably on D. Likely in net.

Okay the forwards are probably a bit worse.

Are they? Maybe. Bertuzzi is the only player of any significance that’s gone and frankly he’s not all that good imo.

I would say a lot hinges on how the Robertson situation resolves

 

[Evilhomer]

Basically the entire East below us got better.

The Atlantic certainly didn't to any great extent. Ottawa got a goalie who can't possibly replicate his Boston numbers, and they hired one of the worst coaches in the league. Detroit got worse, Tampa got worse, Buffalo somehow managed to get worse (which is impressive), and Montreal who cares because they are so far away from competing it doesn't matter. Florida definitely got worse, and they aren't going to the Cup final three years in a row. Boston may be a bit of a wildcard. I don't think the guys they added will end up being that meaningful, but at the same time it's hard to say that they got worse as a team.

 

[BobClarkesfrontteeth]

Well a couple of things.
The positives
The Leafs scored 296 goals last year second in the NHL. They only "lost" 29 goals with Bertuzzi and Gregory leaving. I see players like Mcmann,Knies, and Holmberg all increasing their goal production by 20% to 30% add in an extra 15 goals from the Defence and 300 goals give or take for the team again. The PP will be top 3 in the league again.

With the additions to the blue line and goal there is the potential to lower the goals allowed by 40 goals from 261 down to 220 gives you a differential of about 80 goals.

Speaking of the defence the leafs finally have a true partner for Rielly in Tanev that can finally give them a true 1st pairing on the blue line for the first time in the Core 4 era. The addition OEL finally gives the Leafs the potential to put together a top flight second pairing. Benoit and McCabe rated out as the 46th best defensive pairing last year which is a solid second pairing. Depending how things work out one of Liljergren or OEL could take the McCabe pairing into the mid 30's. Berube has always iced his top two pairing signifacanty more than his 3rd pairing so it is important to have the talent to make two strong pairs. They also now have real depth as OEL and Liljegren are solid 4/5 dman so when there are injuries they can move up in the lineup with out the quality sliping.

The Leafs finally have multiple prospects who can push their way into the lineup when there is injuries or poor performance. They can also trade from this pool if needed and still have prospects to fill multiple positions.

Lastly they finally have a new coach. Keefe should have been fired after the Montreal series when he was out coached by a Junior level coach. He drastically changed the way he coached after that series and not for the better. Berube will coach to win rather than coach trying not to lose. That will traslate well on the ice. Berube will dictate playing time based on execution of the game plan and effort. Players who work their ass off every shift will see the ice.

Now the negatives.

The New coaching staff will be coming in with a completely different defensive system. This will take time to implement and the first 20 games could get ugly. Some players will get exposed as incapatible in the new system and it might be surprising who they are. There will be some surprises as well. Also anyone who thinks Berube is going to roll 4 lines and 3 defensive pairs have not really seen how he operates. He typically over plays his top 2 defensive pairing and his top 3 lines. Players will get "lost" during a game because of this.

The PK was bottom 1/3 in the league last year with the only addtions to improve it are Dewar and Tanev. Now they are two of the best PKers at their position so that should give it a lift. But how much? We cannot know until after about 40 games into the season. The PK needs to be top 1/3 for the Leafs to have any success in the playoffs.

The goaltending questions marks could turn into a massive issue should they have season ending injuries to both Woll and Murray. They need good health for their goalies.

The Bottom 6 is far to "light" at the moment especially the 3rd line. This needs to be addressed at the deadline.
20
Overall I have said this before I see the Leafs being a 115 - 120 point team and posibly winning the President's trophy. As for the playoffs they will have success if they get heavier in the bottom 6 and the special teams finally perform in the playoffs.

 

[Sypher04]

The Atlantic certainly didn't to any great extent. Ottawa got a goalie who can't possibly replicate his Boston numbers, and they hired one of the worst coaches in the league. Detroit got worse, Tampa got worse, Buffalo somehow managed to get worse (which is impressive), and Montreal who cares because they are so far away from competing it doesn't matter. Florida definitely got worse, and they aren't going to the Cup final three years in a row. Boston may be a bit of a wildcard. I don't think the guys they added will end up being that meaningful, but at the same time it's hard to say that they got worse as a team.

I agree overall but I think Ullmark should do well in Ottawa. People forget Ullmark was good on a pretty bad Buffalo team before Boston signed him.

 

[Sypher04]

Storylines that have me investing in this season:

Is Woll legit? And can Stolarz push for starts?
Can Berube create some defensive cohesion?
Does Tanev mesh with Rielly?
How does Matthews act as Captain?
Does Tavares re-sign, can he fight off father time a bit longer?
Is Marner happy to be here?
Can McMann chip in 20 goals?
Any players coming in on a PTO? That's always fun.

Don’t forget the kids.
I would expect Minten, Cowan, Greb, and maybe Niemela all see games at some point or another this year. Also looking for progress from Knies.

Another thing to watch is how we manage our special teams, especially when it matters most.

 

[Evilhomer]

I agree overall but I think Ullmark should do well in Ottawa. People forget Ullmark was good on a pretty bad Buffalo team before Boston signed him.

I think it will be another season where Ottawa is out of the playoffs by December.

 

[Gabriel426]

I am at a point where even if they go 82-0 and lead 3-0 in the first round, I still think they will get reverse sweep until they get the 4th W in a series, lol.

 

[Hockey 4 Life]

This year we go to the eastern conference finals and next year we win the cup. Figured I'd try somthing new at the beginning of a new season.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Major Changes:

1. New Coach (Berube)
2. New Captain
3. Tanev as the 2C

Medium Changes:
1. OEL/Webber/Hakanpaa (TBD)
2. Tavares giving up the Captain C

SMALL CHANGES:

1. M. Savard Assistant Coach
2. Robertson's large chip on shoulder

 

[Epictetus]

Summer over?