First impressions

[Ianturnedbull]

This is Domi's fifth team since the end of the '19-20 season.
I think there's a reason for that and we're finding out first-hand.

After 3 games? Really?

If you were Treliving who are you trading him for?

 

[Racer88]

Nothing fixes the team until the cap is evenly distributed between F, D, and G……….

I agree 100%

Leave Domi on one of the top two lines and see if he will sink or swim.

5.4m in cap space allocated to Domi and Kampf leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Imagine that money invested into the D or a legit 3C.

Imagine Tavares 11 million allotted to goalie and defence

After 3 games? Really?

If you were Treliving who are you trading him for?

Should have never signed him in the first place

 

[Byron Bitz]

I agree 100%


Imagine Tavares 11 million allotted to goalie and defence


Should have never signed him in the first place

Just goalie and defence? You wouldnt want to put some of that money towards a new second line Center to replace Tavares?

 

[Racer88]

Just goalie and defence? You wouldnt want to put some of that money towards a new second line Center to replace Tavares?

i would spend it on D and goaltending

 

[A1LeafNation]

Treliving put together a terrible team

 

[Racer88]

I’m having a crisis of faith right now. I’m just not sure how many games I will be able to watch with the same crap every dam year. Dubas and Tre had a chance the last couple of years to start correcting the major mistakes Dubas made with this core but the only bullet left in the gun is Nylander and even that isn’t much room to operate.

Treliving put together a terrible team

He made a lame attempt to fix the mess he inherited and totally failed.
This team needed much more then some tinkering around the edges

 

[Byron Bitz]

i would spend it on D and goaltending

Then who is playing second line Center?

 

[Racer88]

Then who is playing second line Center?

I’m sure they can find someone but the point is they need a major cap realignment, the details could have been worked out along the way.
with this current core this team will never go anywhere

 

[rumman]

I’m having a crisis of faith right now. I’m just not sure how many games I will be able to watch with the same crap every dam year. Dubas and Tre had a chance the last couple of years to start correcting the major mistakes Dubas made with this core but the only bullet left in the gun is Nylander and even that isn’t much room to operate.


He made a lame attempt to fix the mess he inherited and totally failed.
This team needed much more then some tinkering around the edges

I’m not ready to give up on Tre, he didn’t do much and what he did so far doesn’t look good, but he had zero time to do anything meaningful imo. God himself cannot build a successful team where half the cap goes to 4 players so until MLSE as a organization abandons this idea I see nothing meaningful changes especially come playoff time. Why they re upped on Keefe is befuddling imo, should have made him earn a extension………

 

[Mess]

The lack of offence from the D is staggering. Weren't we like 29th last year in goals from the D? You need your D to contribute sometimes as well. That issue just gets magnified in the ploffs.

A Big, Mean Mobile defense that can exit their own zone and get the puck up to the forwards in transition will hopefully be the objective as we transition towards the new GM vision once we get out of Cap Hell of the previous GM.

When the playoffs happen things tighten up and checking gets tighter it emphasizes the lack of offense from the defense and getting the puck up to the forwards.

Leafs only got 1 single goal from a part time spare Gustafsson (not named Rielly in the playoffs) and most of that defense is back again for more of the same outside of adding Klingberg to try and attempt to start to address that.

Leafs have a lot of work to do with that defense.

 

[Sypher04]

It's super early, but so far the team looks much worse than last year.

Give it til game 20 though and then make this thread, hopefully, they tighten up defensively and can still produce offensively.

Not entirely sure I agree with the bolded part. Last year we were 2-2 out of the gate (just like this year), we’d been out scored by one (just like year), the only real differences being:

1) we had scored 11 allowed 12 instead of this year having scored 15 and allowed 16
2) last year at this point we hadn’t even played a good team yet (mtl, ott, was and arz - none of which even came close to making the playoffs). At least this year we’ve played Florida and Minnesota, even if Florida was a bit beat up.

I think we look similarly poor starting to last year. I do agree with the second part of what you said however

 

[Strangle]

Team seems pretty mid right now, ngl

 

[Maple Leaf]

Just goalie and defence? You wouldnt want to put some of that money towards a new second line Center to replace Tavares?

I have Kadri in my lineup not Kerfoot

 

[Clyde Brewer]

Nylander seems to improve every year, this is the best we've seen him.

Matthews looks healthy and seems to be able to flip the switch and dominate when he wants. Hopefully we see him do this more consistently.

Liljegren looks confident with the puck, i think most people are going to consider him our best all-around defenseman by season's end.

Marner has been disappointing, I like him less each year.

 

[Nineteen67]

They are what I expected.
The D looks worse than last year, Nylander is an offensive force that still doesn’t seem interested in his own end, Matthews and Marner will rack up points, especially against the lower tiered teams, within a 20 foot radius of the net Tavares is great player, and Woll will be the starter if they the playoffs.

Overall, they still play a boring style of hockey.