Future of the team is incredibly bleak
- Thread starter HockeyVirus
- Start date
It's funny because the core is pretty close to in line with their 3 & 5 year averages for production outside Matthews. Willy had a great year last year, but he's about PPG this year just like he was the 2 seasons prior to his outlier.
Marner's scoring at an almost identical pace to last year and both his 3 and 5 year averages. Tavares is a touch ahead of both his 3 and 5 year averages.
It’s always doom and gloom on this board. The reality is this team still has a chance to win this year and for the next 5 years at least. It’s the best leafs roster we’ve seen probably in my lifetime (35 years). Every team goes through a rough patch and I’m glad it’s now and not playoff time. If we can get hot in playoffs and get some hot goaltending we can definitely take a run at it.
Absolutely NO WAY should the Leafs sign Ekblad. His knee is done and he’s going to cost a fortune. He’s so desperate that he’s resorting to PED’s to try and rehab it. Paying $9M+ for the next half decade to a guy with a gimp knee whose best days are long gone is a terrible idea.
I get being frustrated, but there is not even a remote possibility that the leafs would finish bottom 10 in the league in any of the next several years.
I guess you could argue we've underachieved most of the year.
For me - I see a team that's struggled in many key areas all year and has largely been propped up by goaltending. We're adequate defensively, albeit slipping, with weak special teams and can't carry the play. Typically there's something I can point to for hope, but honestly the biggest glimmer of hope is that we haven't put anything together as team.. yet?
So let's pay 16 and 91, $20+m and hope they figure it out after failing a 7th time as a group? If Mitch's game does not translate to the playoffs this year, it never will. He may also decide that the heat is too much and wants no part of this market in which case, you have to move on anyway.
And when it’s not “doom and gloom” it’s ridiculous hyperbolic euphoria. Leaf fans just don’t have the ability to assess things in an objective and rational manner.
It’s laughable for anyone to proclaim “the future is bleak” for the Leafs. Three of the best plum the league in their prime and people want a complete tear down rebuild.
Pittsburgh is a team with a “bleak future”. A bunch of overpaid washed up has-beens that they’re stuck with and very little in terms of prospects. The Penguins only hope is to hit a few draft miracles.
You’re wrong. Big games in Four Nations and Mitch was all over it. Without his overtime goal they are not in the finals and he read that play before it actually happened. You know who’s not a big game guy? Mathews. You guys say the future is grim. Hell no! To me he’s a five piece player. I want two first rounders. I want a dog on the back end and a dog for a forward with a skill guy there. He was no where to be found at four nations. His game doesn’t translate to playoffs. No difference between Mitch and Keon. Trade Austin and watch this team evolve.
Unfortunately they would need Matthews permission to trade him
That’s true. I think most logical fans know that the regular season doesn’t matter, although it is nice to see them play well to give us some hope. My rationale is that they are saving themselves for the playoffs. Maybe that’s a pipe dream haha.
If he team hasn't found success by 2027 it's going to have to do a full rebuild anyways.
It'll be Matthew's final year on his contract, so either he gets moved for a package to accelerate the rebuild, and the team keeps its remaining picks, or there in a spot comfortable enough to justify extending him.
It's doubtful any of the futures moved this tdl are going to be franchise defining one way or the other. Doesn't mean you can't be annoyed at them doing it, but by not trading Marner this off-season Tre and Shanny locked themselves into a strategy this tdl of bringing in more 'win now' assets.
If Marner leaves this free agency that 2027 retool/build may get bumped up a year though
It'll be Matthew's final year on his contract, so either he gets moved for a package to accelerate the rebuild, and the team keeps its remaining picks, or there in a spot comfortable enough to justify extending him.
It's doubtful any of the futures moved this tdl are going to be franchise defining one way or the other. Doesn't mean you can't be annoyed at them doing it, but by not trading Marner this off-season Tre and Shanny locked themselves into a strategy this tdl of bringing in more 'win now' assets.
If Marner leaves this free agency that 2027 retool/build may get bumped up a year though
It's tough when they haven't really "turned it on" all year long. Typically the saving themselves for playoffs teams show their top end from time to time
Like a Saturday night vs a rival on a losing skid or against a top team you're likely to face on a cup journey.
All in for McDavid next year. Then trade Matthew's for an absolutely absurd return that can build around McDavid. Get our #1 D, plus.
Absolutely. I like to think of Washington drafting Ovechkin and it took them a lot of years to finally win a cup. Staying the course with this group is definitely the right thing to do although a lot of fans are very impatient and think it would be a good idea to blow it up. No team ever gets better by selling off top players or letting them walk.
Equally, no team ever gets better by not addressing needs. We have need at position, but we also have need in terms of team toughness. When we look to Burns era and Quinn era teams, those clubs would absolutely maul our gentle group.
I think Treliving has improved if only by half, elements of those needs and character. But it shows how far we need to go still to have any resemblance to a true contender.
Remember, Ovechkin is/was a complete unit and he was surrounded by workman ethic types from back to front and the Capitals had a true number one horse on defense in Carlsson.
Who knows? Maybe things come together in moments where pressure heading toward the end of the season requires it of our club and our new acquisitions. That wouldn't surprise me either. But whatever the likely outcome, July 1 approaches. Happy to be surprised. Don't care enough about a failed outcome to be disappointed because the expectation has shifted past possible on-ice outcomes to greater interest in the off-ice outcomes.
The difference is that Washington had two years where they were first overall in the NHL, the Leafs have never done this. Our best showing in nearly a decade is 4th overall, not even close to sniffing first.
Also Ovechkin was actually a good playoff performer, he went ppg+ in his first four playoff years. Our core has gone ppg 9/30 playoffs. Ovechkin's CAREER total is ppg 8/15, basically equally as good in half the playoff showings.
Even watching them play its a major difference, Ovechkin might be the greatest physical specimen of all time whereas our guys are either physically soft, mentally soft or just don't care.
I honestly don’t think getting Matthews to waive will be hard.
He's got his money and I don’t think his heart is here in any way, the way it’s kind of barely believable with Marner and completely believable from Tavares:
Matthews is from Arizona, from a Mexican American family. What actual rips does he care about playing in Canada or Toronto?
He’s gotten paid and had as good of a chance to win wherever he picks to waive his NMC to go to, so why wouldn’t he?
I think he’d appreciate being out of the media spotlight here so his lack of give a crap can hide in an American market while he continues to cash his MLSE cheques.
I think he would waive pretty quickly to be honest…
Forget losing to the Sens. Losing to Florida who was minus MT, EE and BM in a 4 point game with 1st place on the line is concerning when Domi was your best player. Losses to Vegas and Colorado and blowing a 3 goal lead to Utah cannot be brushed under the carpet unless one has blinders on.
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Im sure if someone did a poll on who was better, Marner would win overwhelmingly. I’ll make a poll thread.
