Leafs don't tend to have the same problems retaining Americans that other Canadian cities do. To lump all the Canadian cities together is overly simplistic. It's like comparing NYC or Chicago to Buffalo.
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1specter
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- Sep 27, 2016
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The one thing that Toronto has on the rest of Canada at least is that's a major hub city and it is a 'premium city'. Montreal is quite nice but it's in a Francophone province that has some different laws/customs and may not be where players, especially American, would want to raise a family, not to mention the media there is even more insane than Toronto's.
Toronto has every possible amenity though, the franchise has endless amounts of money to accommodate whatever needs and provide world class support systems, and also it's in a good location with many direct flights to all over the U.S. And if you truly want to be a star in hockey on the biggest stage, then this is the place.
Of course, if they fail in the playoffs again and Dubas gets fired, then we're potentially f***ed. So much is riding on the performance of the team this year, more than ever before...
Sure seems it these days.
I get the owners are billionaires and bitch and whine too and that's a whole other thing but I'd be more ruthless after seeing stuff like this.
Look at Mik. Hasn't done much really in the league. Treated him like gold. He left for the pay cheque. Most guys do.
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1specter
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- Sep 27, 2016
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Would've been nice to get that 8 years.
Mickey Marner
Registered User
What an absolute duster Treliving is though. Clearly he had no plan for this off-season. Hope we don't own-rental Matthews in two years.
Toronto doesn't have the same problem for the most part but I still feel for other Canadian cities getting screwed like that.
what conceivable plan could he have had while icing a competetive team with valuable free agents that wanted to go there?
do you think he knew gaudreau would truly leave?
do you think he knew for sure tkachuk was going to leave?
Leafs will have no choice. Matthews could inform them next year July 1 and he'll have a NMC at that time. Pretty much up to him if he wants to move/where he wants to go.
Tkachuk wants out, teams know it, and he holds the power.
Calgary isnt going to get the ransom their fans think they will.
Calgary isnt going to get the ransom their fans think they will.
as Pure as Evil
Registered User
yeah 100 % the stone trade shouldn't count melnyk/dorion should have gotten so much more since they already agreed to a extension we saw that a couple years later with the jones trade
SprDaVE
Moderator
- Sep 20, 2008
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I think Gaudreau leaving was a gamble. They can easily fix it by getting a good return for Tkachuk and mixing it up. They still have good parts of a team that can retool. They'll take a hit but they can rebound within a year or two.
Americanadian
Registered User
Forgive my ignorance but who was the last top American player to sign a UFA contract with the Leafs besides Kessel? All I can think of is Hainsey, Komisarek, Blake, Connolly but thats going back 15 years and they were all overpays by the Leafs.
as Pure as Evil
Registered User
mathews wants to make the most money he can . he damn well knows winning a cup in Toronto gives him a life long lottery with sponsors guest appearance eons of commercials and local opportunities as well as the largest fan base on the planet and he lives for it
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
Definitely. It's the one market (with the exception of maybe Vancouver) that can offer anything remotely comparable to the bigger US ones. I
If the leafs and Matthews haven't come to an agreement in principle on a number and term by February I'd be moving him and the same for Nylander. Then the team decides wether they rebuild or retool around Marner, Reilly and the pieces from both trades and our prospects.
JVR wanted to stay but we showed no interest in retaining him. And, I said retain, and we really haven't gone after any big name American players.
OVO16
#WeTheNorth
- Apr 16, 2017
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Toronto isn't like other Canadian cities. It's as American as it gets and is practically Hollywood North.
Mathews got Justin Bieber and Drake hyping him up during the playoffs. He aint getting that in Arizona. Mathews is gonna be a Leaf for a long time.
Mathews got Justin Bieber and Drake hyping him up during the playoffs. He aint getting that in Arizona. Mathews is gonna be a Leaf for a long time.
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
Though the team (rather than city) itself hasn't been an attractive draw for players since the end of the Quinn era to the start of the Shanahan one.
If you were a high profile free agent would you have signed with the Leafs in that 2003-2015ish period? I certainly wouldn't have.
Mickey Marner
Registered User
It's his job to know and have a contingency plan. He failed to determine that they were living and sat around waxing his carrot rather than reallocating that cap space or recuperating assets.
Like, anti-Canadian sentiment is likely to be higher in the MLB for example, and Jays have had no problems brining in Springer and Gausman who were two of the biggest UFA's in their class. Ray wanted to stay and we didn't pursue keeping Semien at close to what the Rangers offered. We've had issues losing NBA players over the years, but the big issue is Kawhi who left us to go home and play in LA, and was only here for a year.
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
Wonder if they'll go for the Eichel package for Tkatchuk or 1st + prospect + younger top 9 guy. Or if they'll try and swing a hockey trade for him
I am sure sometimes a player via his agent says we only want to discuss when the contract is up
I believe this happens consistently.. do you guess then?
Sometimes it happens
Americanadian
Registered User
I agree - I would not have wanted to sign in Toronto during that time.
Toronto is fairly different than most American cities. For example, the city's richest neighborhoods tend to be within City limits, and our downtown isn't a hollowed-out shell. But, it has a lot in common with certain American cities. But, Toronto is a large city, very affluent, has a vibrant downtown, and unlike the NBA players can take advantages of certain tax loopholes.
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