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Ask me a week ago and I'd say yes, but this is the same garbage that's crept into every recent season that makes me hate them.

We, again, feel like a group content with being good and no drive to be great.
 
It's pretty funny the emphasis during the off season was "this team is soft and doesn't have enough grit". Our GM listened to those fans and focused on toughness in Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian(he's been fine), added Foligno for the "cheap price for grit" of a 1st rounder. Tell me where thats gotten us? Foligno is pretty much a shell of himself and none of the others have added much of anything. The game we expected to lose today we lost with that gritty outlook. If we did this with skilled players, Dubas would never hear the end of it.
Maybe shockingly the issue isn't grit, but our core who has a huge mental block?
 
I don't think the idea of grit is the problem. But it is when the guys you brought in to be gritty are not gritty...

Thornton has never been really gritty though. He had a power element to his game in his prime but is also a player who has wilted under playoff pressure for two decades. I think Corey Perry could have probably spiced things up if you wanted a playoff dirtbag.

Simmonds is unfortunately also at the end of the line and doesn't provide any of the physicality he was giving earlier in the season.

Bogosian has been great, I like him a lot.

I think we will love Foligno and wish we had him for longer.

Generally the Leafs problems are higher on the food chain though.
 
C'mon, I will not write them off. We all saw the kings could turn it on in the playoff. I just hope they find the switch :popcorn:
 
stickty111 said:
It's pretty funny the emphasis during the off season was "this team is soft and doesn't have enough grit". Our GM listened to those fans and focused on toughness in Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian(he's been fine), added Foligno for the "cheap price for grit" of a 1st rounder. Tell me where thats gotten us? Foligno is pretty much a shell of himself and none of the others have added much of anything. The game we expected to lose today we lost with that gritty outlook. If we did this with skilled players, Dubas would never hear the end of it.
Maybe shockingly the issue isn't grit, but our core who has a huge mental block?
Click to expand...
Want some cheese with that wine
 
39- 24 were the shots our favour. My concern is it being stolen be cause goal was in and they stole it from us. God darned league and refs again. The ref seen it in. It’s in its in. Ripped off. Time to plaster skilletors wanted adds at the post office
 
Anyone expecting anything but a second round loss at best is living in a dream world. This team is not built for success at this moment. Unless things change big time which doesn't happen in Leaf land they will be lucky to win round 1.
 
stickty111 said:
It's pretty funny the emphasis during the off season was "this team is soft and doesn't have enough grit". Our GM listened to those fans and focused on toughness in Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian(he's been fine), added Foligno for the "cheap price for grit" of a 1st rounder. Tell me where thats gotten us? Foligno is pretty much a shell of himself and none of the others have added much of anything. The game we expected to lose today we lost with that gritty outlook. If we did this with skilled players, Dubas would never hear the end of it.
Maybe shockingly the issue isn't grit, but our core who has a huge mental block?
Click to expand...
Thornton has never really been known for his "toughness"... hell until recently he really wasn't known for his leadership either (had his captaincy stripped from him).

Both he and Spezza were often criticized throughout their careers for their lack of killer instinct.... same goes to Marleau. It's a bit weird that management signs these guys as mentors (especially at the stages of their careers they are in)

I thought the leafs were on a better track with Martin and Komarov as veteran big brothers.
 
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stickty111 said:
It's pretty funny the emphasis during the off season was "this team is soft and doesn't have enough grit". Our GM listened to those fans and focused on toughness in Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian(he's been fine), added Foligno for the "cheap price for grit" of a 1st rounder. Tell me where thats gotten us? Foligno is pretty much a shell of himself and none of the others have added much of anything. The game we expected to lose today we lost with that gritty outlook. If we did this with skilled players, Dubas would never hear the end of it.
Maybe shockingly the issue isn't grit, but our core who has a huge mental block?
Click to expand...

Can’t be over reacting this much to a game where we outplayed the other team and got unlucky.

It’ll all be fine. Just gotta forget and move on.
 
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Antropovsky said:
Thornton has never really been known for his "toughness"... hell until recently he really wasn't known for his leadership either (had his captaincy stripped from him).

Both he and Spezza were often criticized throughout their careers for their lack of killer instinct.... same goes to Marleau. It's a bit weird that management signs these guys as mentors (especially at the stages of their careers they are in)

I thought the leafs were on a better track with Martin and Komarov as veteran big brothers.
Click to expand...

I think Justin Williams would have been the guy to bring in instead of Patrick Marleau back in the day. That's a player who wants to thrive in a big game and look at the imprint he had on the Carolina Hurricanes.
 
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Just close this tread already. Feel free to open one when he costs us a game.

I am all for being pissed off, but be pissed off at someone who played in the actual games.
 
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Stephen said:
Generally the Leafs problems are higher on the food chain though.
Click to expand...

Bingo. While Simmonds and Thornton especially are shells of their former selves, they're only role players in the bottom 6 at the end of the day, and thus unlikely to move the the needle much on their own.

Grit isn't something you just go out and get. It has to be developed within an organization.
 
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Stephen said:
I don't think the idea of grit is the problem. But it is when the guys you brought in to be gritty are not gritty...

Thornton has never been really gritty though. He had a power element to his game in his prime but is also a player who has wilted under playoff pressure for two decades. I think Corey Perry could have probably spiced things up if you wanted a playoff dirtbag.

Simmonds is unfortunately also at the end of the line and doesn't provide any of the physicality he was giving earlier in the season.

Bogosian has been great, I like him a lot.

I think we will love Foligno and wish we had him for longer.

Generally the Leafs problems are higher on the food chain though.
Click to expand...

The most pressing concern has to be higher in the lineup, sure.

But ignoring that for a second, don't you have any hope that the vets on this team might be able to take it up a notch or two during playoffs? Shit, we saw Spezza drop the gloves in the playins. That itself should give us some hope that Simmonds, Foligno, Bogosian and Thornton can elevate that element of their game, no? They may not be gritty right now, but I'm hoping that they will be when the chips are down.

Big picture, they ain't down right now.
 
Stephen said:
Simmonds is unfortunately also at the end of the line and doesn't provide any of the physicality he was giving earlier in the season.
Click to expand...


At the start of the season, before he got injured, Simmonds would park himself in front of the net on the PP and just go for deflections and rebounds. Now I only see him taking 20 foot wrist shots the goalie easily gloves.
 
Wafflewhipper said:
39- 24 were the shots our favour. My concern is it being stolen be cause goal was in and they stole it from us. God darned league and refs again. The ref seen it in. It’s in its in. Ripped off. Time to plaster skilletors wanted adds at the post office
Click to expand...
Wilson teams regularly outshot their opponents didn't they? Carlyle were the opposite.

I dont think shot count is always an indicator of a better team.
 
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