Do you like this team?

[Dreakmur]

Terminator? Lol. More like Johnny five. He'll wear a sweet hat and no socks with his shoes. Fashion doesn't take a day off.

Yep. Matthews dominated in that series. He was great defensively and actually played a really aggressive physical style - no he didn’t run guys, but he made tons of contact to win battles.

Hopefully, that was part of his development rather than an aberration.

 

[souL]

I don't think history is repeating itself. We're more like the early 2000s Senators that needed to grow up in a hurry and play a more mature game than the Maple Leafs of the 2000s. If we could marry the best qualities of the 2000s teams with the 2020s teams, we would be in serious business.

Thats a really good comparison. Spezza Heatley Hossa Havlat Alfredson were all pretty young and the older leafs kept beating them. Just like the bruins do us. We are def heading in the right direction adding some toughness and vet presence.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Q&A: Brian Burke on Maple Leafs shakeup, Oilers goalies, Hall's big deal - Sportsnet.ca

The Leafs also added Wayne Simmons and Zach Bogosian. Are they tough enough yet to contend, or do they need to get tougher still?

I have a different theory of toughness. To say, we’re going to dress one forward that’s tough — that’s never enough. Zach Bogosian is a big guy, but he’s not going to fight much. He’ll play hard. I like all the moves they made. I’m not sure it’s enough.

You have to put the team on paper next to the Washington Capitals. You gotta put them on paper next to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s how you measure whether you have a chance or not. Who are the best teams in the East? In the West? Are they as good as Vegas now? I don’t think so. Are they as good as St. Louis? I don’t think so. Are they as good as Tampa? I don’t think so. But I like all the moves they made. They’re clearly better. They’ve added some sand and some leadership. Don’t underestimate Wayne Simmonds’ leadership skills.

Kyle Dubas speaks about toughness developing from within. Do you believe players develop toughness with age, or that players generally are what they are in terms of makeup?

I like the moves they made. We’ll find out see if this is enough. And if not, I believe Kyle will continue to try to address it. I think Kyle’s a smart man. He’s a great guy. I hope this is enough. And if it’s not, I hope he figures it out.

How much time does he have to figure it out? How many more chances do you get? He’s changed the coach. They haven’t won a playoff round…

Hang on. They switched out the assistants first. That’s the first thing you do. They tried to give (Mike) Babcock a chance and bring in two new assistants, just like I did with Ronnie Wilson. I switched out the assistant coaches, Tim Hunter and Rob Zettler, and brought in Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon. And it wasn’t enough. It didn’t save him. So, now Kyle brings his own coach in and makes a change for the better. That team was better under Sheldon Keefe. But, again, lack of success in the playoffs. So, at some point you run out of chances. I don’t sense they’re there yet. Kyle’s so confident, I think they’ve got the reins.

 

[Notsince67]

Thats a really good comparison. Spezza Heatley Hossa Havlat Alfredson were all pretty young and the older leafs kept beating them. Just like the bruins do us. We are def heading in the right direction adding some toughness and vet presence.

Vets know how to adjust their game. Look at how Tampa beat Columbus. They didnt overwhelm them with horespower. They played the same stifling game knowing that their skill would win out. Smart playing

 

[Notsince67]

I agree, cant see us winning anything in the playoffs with Andersen.

Teams often win playoffs when the coach is willing to replace a stale goaltender. Andersons failures are not unique. Coaching that sticks to a goalie that has a rough couple of periods is pretty unique and not a recipe for success. The team has a decent backup. They should use him when Anderson gets into trouble.

 

[Notsince67]

I have been critical of Matthews too, but he went full terminator mode in the playoffs. If that’s the new Matthews, he’s a Hart candidate.

Matthews has it in him to use a nasty disposition to his advantage. He is a big body that can dominate when he has a bit of edginess. The teams needs to stop blowing smoke up his ass emphasizing his skill and encourage his cocky swagger and desire to win. He is better than an extremely talented shooter. He is a strong player with the ability to dominate physically when he chooses to do so. Player need to fear him in more situations than in front of the net.

 

[Peiskos]

The team should be better, but still seeing a lot of butter softness in the top 6, Matthews, Marner and Nylander in specific all need to grow a bigger pair, I know their role isn't to be physical but this is still hockey, this is still the NHL, they're going to need to up the grit and heart on their sleeve attributes if the Leafs are going to have any chance of winning a round for the first time in what will be 17 years. Can't rely entirely on skill alone.

 

[Cleetus]

Yep. Matthews dominated in that series. He was great defensively and actually played a really aggressive physical style - no he didn’t run guys, but he made tons of contact to win battles.

Hopefully, that was part of his development rather than an aberration.

I was really impressed, the man was blocking shots, using the body, just playing like a beast.... thought he was the best forward by a mile, in that play in series!

 

[Smif]

Dubas sure has brought in a quite a few Ontario boys since he's come in.

Tavares
Muzzin
Spezza
Simmonds
Brodie
Thornton

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

You have to put the team on paper next to the Washington Capitals. You gotta put them on paper next to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s how you measure whether you have a chance or not. Who are the best teams in the East? In the West? Are they as good as Vegas now? I don’t think so. Are they as good as St. Louis? I don’t think so. Are they as good as Tampa? I don’t think so

it makes me giggle that the man who traded 2 1sts and a second because he thought Phil Kessel’s Leafs with Tyler f***ing Bozak as #1C were contenders, can keep a straight face while listing teams that he thinks are better than the Leafs with Matthews and Tavares down the middle.

 

[34]

Not until the goaltending changes.

Also our bottom six contains a lot of risk, as well as our 3-6 dmen. But no team is perfect, hopefully with the competition for those spots something useful will come of it.

Agree that Andersen is still the weak link. I was really hoping he would have been traded already. That just shows that no other teams want him.

 

[RaptorLeaf13]

On paper, this team looks like a good team. But what kind of success are we going to get out of this team? Is this team good enough to win a Stanley Cup? Or is this team a tease? I am excited about the new acquisitions we got in Thornton, Simmonds, Bogosian, vesey and Brodie. However, I am more excited to see the other new leafs like Barbanov and Lehtonen. Also I want to see if Robertson picks up where he left off and I think he was the Johnson replacement. So are we now finally going to be a team that is really difficult to play against? If we had added Perry and Chara then yes I would agree. But I am not sure if these changes are enough. Also did our young core learn their lessons of being beat last couple of years. Hoping our new vets wills give them a reality check. Now the biggest question is our Goalie Anderson. Will he show up as our Elite goaltender or just a choke when we really need him the most in big games? I have noticed that teams really rely on their goalie to show up in the playoffs and it gives that team momentum in the series. Otherwise, poor goaltending will deflate the team. Can’t wait for the season to start. Us leaf fans have been waiting far too long for a cup.

 

[Joedoggy]

NHL 2020 Cap Tracker Check out the shape other teams are in. There are teams not as talented offensively spending more or close. We were second in scoring because of our few that got much. Now we are really solid on defense at spending that will be very efficient. Way to much made about the way the team is constructed. Check how other teams are spending offensively that aren’t near as high quality. This is a team that needed tweeks. If it doesn’t work we will see tweeks again. The posters insisting we need drastic moves with are highest salaries are actually for the most part totally wrong.

with all due respect the theory is there....problem is you cannot tweak a cake which has the wrong recipe..too much flour and the cake will never "Rise"

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Is this team good enough to win a Stanley Cup?

Absolutely. Has been for about 3 years now.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I'm going to answer my own question, I like this team A LOT I think this team has all the pieces to win a championship and I'm not kidding.

I'm not worried about our backup shitting the bed every time he starts.

I'm not worried about EVER seeing Marincin play because there is a minimum of 7, and very likely 8 or 9 NHL roster.

The top 6 is still intact.

Maybe I'd like to see bumped to the bottom pair but that is a deadline move,Larsson, Hammer, Savard would be perfect.


I agree with Thornton I think they can do it.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

on paper this is probably the best roster this team has had since 2002 .............
its up to the players now

There is no "Probably" to it, it is

 

[The90]

Its improved but not complete.

On the backend: They are still missing another top four RD. Holl & Bogosian are at best 5/6 D's.
Up front: Missing a reliable #3 center. Kerfoot is at best a decent winger and a passenger up the middle.

The big 4 make it so that Kerfoot is the best they can afford at 3c. I’m ok with that. For now anyways

 

[B Champman]

I'm going to answer my own question, I like this team A LOT I think this team has all the pieces to win a championship and I'm not kidding.

I'm not worried about our backup shitting the bed every time he starts.

I'm not worried about EVER seeing Marincin play because there is a minimum of 7, and very likely 8 or 9 NHL roster.

The top 6 is still intact.

Maybe I'd like to see bumped to the bottom pair but that is a deadline move,Larsson, Hammer, Savard would be perfect.


I agree with Thornton I think they can do it.

agree with it all except the worry about marincin

maybe it’s irrational fear at this point but he’s like Jason vorhees. Every time you think he’s finally dead and gone forever, there he is next time on the bottom pairing again.

I’m truly praying he’s played his last game as a leaf already, but I’m not clinging to any hope until it’s a guarantee

 

[RaptorLeaf13]

Absolutely. Has been for about 3 years now.

Well, the last 3 years has been rather disappointing and they haven’t proven that they were a Stanley cup winning team last 3 years. Looks good on paper, but there is a difference. Hopefully, this season will be different with the experience our core gained and with new veterans helping our young talent.

 

[AreBe]

Trade Kerfoot for Kapenen or Mango- bring them home!

 

[glue]

agree with it all except the worry about marincin

maybe it’s irrational fear at this point but he’s like Jason vorhees. Every time you think he’s finally dead and gone forever, there he is next time on the bottom pairing again.

I’m truly praying he’s played his last game as a leaf already, but I’m not clinging to any hope until it’s a guarantee

LMAO

 

[slimbob8]

I'm very excited about the roster now. I don't think it's much of a debate that we're an overall better roster than we were last year. Single biggest problem was no backup goaltender for most of the year. That cost us a lot of games. Now we have excellent depth at the position.

Our D-core is worst case on par with last year, but with the potential to be much, much better depending on how Lehtonen works out and the young guys progress. People like to harp on the fact we don't have an elite top pairing RHD, but neither do a lot of teams. Look around the league at other rosters; our D-core is very solid in comparison and definitely not below average. We also addressed our depth issues so we'll hopefully not be seeing Marincin again. Losing Muzzin really hurt us last year because we didn't have NHL caliber replacements at times.

From the forward group we still have without a doubt one of the very best top 6's in the entire league. You can count the number of teams on one hand (and have a few fingers left to spare) that can match our elite talent. The big concern with having all our money locked into the big 4 was we'd have no room for depth players anymore. With the magic Dubas has pulled this offseason, so much for that theory. We're still as deep as any team in the league at forward and didn't lose any core players.

Our team toughness is also much improved since last year which was clearly a concern. The only thing we've gotten worse at compared to last year's roster is team speed. Hopefully that doesn't cause any issues, but I'm not the least bit worried about it. Yes it'll cost us some goals throughout the year and people will do what they always do and overreact. But the positives guys like Thornton will add will vastly outweigh their lack of speed.

I didn't think there was anyway we'd be going into next season with a better roster than last year and I was fine with that because on paper our core is good enough to compete for a cup. But Dubas had an excellent off season and somehow improved our team in every area of need which I honestly didn't think was doable with the cap. Now we just need the season to actually happen!

 

[TheProspector]

Love it. This is gonna be the best Leafs team most of us have been alive to see.

 

[qqaz]

There's honestly no player on this team that I wish was not on it.

Can't remember ever feeling that way before.

 

[bert]

Thats a really good comparison. Spezza Heatley Hossa Havlat Alfredson were all pretty young and the older leafs kept beating them. Just like the bruins do us. We are def heading in the right direction adding some toughness and vet presence.

The leafs didnt make the playoffs when Ottawa was making its runs in the second half of the 2000's what are you talking about?