I have serious concerns for next year (2023-24)

[Ianturnedbull]

^If you look at 39:00 of the video you see Bozak pushing his weight around: cross-checking, shoving, etc. He was not exactly known for toughness, but on that tough Leafs team he could do this stuff.

 

[nuck]

I agree that your lineup looks better, I would tweak it this way...

Bertuzzi Matthews Nylander
Domi Tavares Marner
Knies Kampf Jarnkrok
McMann Lafferty Reaves

Where is gets interesting is if Robertson has a good camp. What then?

Knies Matthews Bertuzzi
Robertson Tavares Marner
Domi Holmberg Nylander
Lafferty Kampf Jarnkrok

That is a very solid group of forwards with lots of PP and PK options. If course, requires us to sit Reaves. Which will happen eventually, thought not out of the gate.

Domi drops to #3c between Robertson and Jarnkrok, and Knies is #2 LW. Knies idscloser to Hyman's game and Hyman was the JT/Marner LW that first breakout year. I am not a big Jarn fan. I don't think he puts up the same kind of numbers out of the top 6 and I don't think he is particularly good in his own end but he isn't a scrub. I am not sure I see Holmberg as an every day top 9 player. It looks to me like they have one too many top 9 wingers.

 

[conFABulator]

Domi drops to #3c between Robertson and Jarnkrok, and Knies is #2 LW. Knies idscloser to Hyman's game and Hyman was the JT/Marner LW that first breakout year. I am not a big Jarn fan. I don't think he puts up the same kind of numbers out of the top 6 and I don't think he is particularly good in his own end but he isn't a scrub. I am not sure I see Holmberg as an every day top 9 player. It looks to me like they have one too many top 9 wingers.

Yeah, I am not sure with my lines but I don't like Robertson and Domi as two-thirds of a line as I don't think either of them are very strong defensively.

I am hoping Holmberg can bring a two way game and that he has enough creativity to complement Willy and Max. I don't love Domi at centre.

 

[Fogelhund]

Lines, as always, will be fluid and will change from game to game, and as the season goes. Typically, 25% of the roster that starts game 1, is no longer with the team by the playoffs. Being focused on lines, and what the team is... is entertaining, but that's about it.

We don't even know if further changes will be made, or if there will be more signings. Chances are, we are still going to sign one forward, one D, and one G. How that impacts that lineups, is TBD, and that is without us making a trade at some point... which is always possible before the season.

I'm not particularly concerned with this team as a regular season team. I don't know how the new pieces will work, but we've got a team good enough to compete for first in the division, with some injury luck, and a fully healthy Matthews. I'd like to see Marner shoot more this coming year, like he did the year before. Even Bunting was down in EV goals last year, from 21 the year prior, to 16. When Matthew's linemates are shooting, or scoring more, it opens up space for him as well.

Plus, I do hope they separate Nylander/Tavares. The team is better with Matthews/Nylander Tavares/Marner.... though if they want to try other options, like Nylander on a third line... that's fine too... but Nylander/Tavares needs to be a thing of the past.

I'm not a fan of the Domi or Klingberg signings TBH, but they are Leafs now, and I hope that they succeed, and prove me wrong.

 

[Voodoo Child]

I don’t but I also don’t have high expectations - with this team that’s the healthy approach.

Don’t much care for Domi and Klingberg but it’s one year - would have been perfect to get Kling 4 years ago though.

Bert I’m more up on but again wish it was more than one year.

Wanted to keep Kampf but for four? He did earn that money though.

Holl is gone - awesome.

Kerfoot gone - not quite as awesome but kinda funny he got the same rate - if he kept his play from 21-22 he’s a mil and a half richer a season.

Bunting is gone - meh, a kid in house peewee could score with Matthews and Mitch and probably pitch less tantrums.

Another year of growth from Knies, Woll and hopefully Liljegren - who stepped back a little last year. Woll is especially key because Sammy went to Arbitration, so he has a repeat year and he’s gone.

This is it for Nicky Bobby. He has to stay not injured and produce or else he probably goes - once more he’s not a 6’3 205 beast like his brother so don’t bring it up.

I could never think of even saying this 2-3 years ago but TJ Brodie concerns me, but he’s gone after the year, frees up cap.

Prediction:

Stumble out of the gate, .550 after ten and countless main board gloat threads.

Then a monster heater - think 17 wins in 20 games.

Then stabilize around a .650 team and make the yoffs, hopefully they don’t play Tampa but you know they will.

Top three in the division and possibly 1st.

Lose in first or second round.

This is otherwise known as what happened last year and the year before.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

The last time we had a fun team was the shortened season 2012-2013.

JVR
Bozak
Kessel
Lupul
MacArthur
Grabovski
Kulemin
Kadri
Frattin
Komarov
McClement
Orr
McLaren
Dion
Kostka
Liles
Gardiner
Fraser
Fransen
Holzer
Riemer
Scrivens

People want to talk about a Frattin what if? Or they want to talk about coaching/goalie/team melt-down. I don't want to think about that. They were never supposed to win that series in the first place, but they sure made it interesting. The regular season was so fun and the cherry on top was February 9th, 2013 vs MTL at the Bell Center. 6-0 Leafs victory, 6 fighting majors, and 4 x 10 min. game misconducts. I know it's not for everyone, but this team had an identity.

Do I have majors concerns for Toronto this season? No. Do I hope that they find a back-bone to win in the post-season? I hope so. I do hope that they have an identity and personality. That can go a long way IMHO.

Enjoy:

The last Bay Street Bullies season. The ending was horrible but that season was the most fun I had watching them as a teen/adult before the 16/17 season. Beyond the heavyweights in Orr, McLaren, and Fraser, a lot of guys on that team were warriors and took no shit, those being Grabovski, Kadri, MacArthur, Komarov, Lupul, and Phaneuf. That attitude bled into softer, non-aggressive players in Bozak, Kessel, Kulemin, and JVR. They weren't as good as the shortened season standings showed but they took no guff and went to the mattresses for one another.

It's difficult to replicate that kind of attitude but hopefully the Leafs have somewhat addressed this in a way. Reaves is the lone heavyweight but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and Lafferty is no stranger to chucking them. Bertuzzi, Domi, and McCabe are assholes who'll stick up for themselves and teammates. That attitude needs to transfer over to our stars, though some of them have shown flashes of it. Rielly and Brodie went to Robertson's rescue after he took a hit, Nylander surprisingly went after Myers after he hit JT before McCabe came flying in, and Gio's shown his willingness to throw down as we saw when he tackled Konecny and fought Bogosian. Really it's the Captain and the two forwards who rotate an 'A' that could stand to grow a pair. Maybe with more jerks dragging them into scrums will wake them up.

 

[Nineteen67]

The last Bay Street Bullies season. The ending was horrible but that season was the most fun I had watching them as a teen/adult before the 16/17 season. Beyond the heavyweights in Orr, McLaren, and Fraser, a lot of guys on that team were warriors and took no shit, those being Grabovski, Kadri, MacArthur, Komarov, Lupul, and Phaneuf. That attitude bled into softer, non-aggressive players in Bozak, Kessel, Kulemin, and JVR. They weren't as good as the shortened season standings showed but they took no guff and went to the mattresses for one another.

It's difficult to replicate that kind of attitude but hopefully the Leafs have somewhat addressed this in a way. Reaves is the lone heavyweight but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and Lafferty is no stranger to chucking them. Bertuzzi, Domi, and McCabe are assholes who'll stick up for themselves and teammates. That attitude needs to transfer over to our stars, though some of them have shown flashes of it. Rielly and Brodie went to Robertson's rescue after he took a hit, Nylander surprisingly went after Myers after he hit JT before McCabe came flying in, and Gio's shown his willingness to throw down as we saw when he tackled Konecny and fought Bogosian. Really it's the Captain and the two forwards who rotate an 'A' that could stand to grow a pair. Maybe with more jerks dragging them into scrums will wake them up.

I hope Keefe and all the team captains don’t take they fight out of them. I won’t be one bit surprised if Reaves and Domi end up hating this team.

 

[ACC1224]

I hope Keefe and all the team captains don’t take they fight out of them. I won’t be one bit surprised if Reaves and Domi end up hating this team.

It’s more likely the Team ends up hating Domi

 

[Rob Brown]

I don't like moves Treliving has made so far

I don't like MM is still on the team, he should have been traded

I don't like AM still doesn't have a contact (I really don't like how AM is so adverse to long term contracts)

I don't like the defense AT ALL

I'd say my biggest concern is this team is going to be too complacent and I think there is a real chance Toronto might actually miss the playoffs

I have never been this low on the team, at least when Toronto was tanking we could look forward to the future, what do we have to look forward to now? Toronto hasn't done ANYTHING with this core, why should I think this year will be any different?

With all due respect, what you 'don't like' has no real bearing on reality or on how the team will perform.

 

[Nineteen67]

It’s more likely the Team ends up hating Domi

They may hate him now.

 

[Trapper]

The key to being a Leafs fan:
Have zero expectations and you should have zero concerns.
This team and core is like a wave. You ride it until the next one comes.

 

[weems]

When looking at the roster, Liljegren is such a huge x factor.

He's shown the ability for streches where you can easily see him turn into a top flight 2 way defensemen but then other stretches where it's questionable if he should even be a regular in the lineup.

Liljegren, Knies and Woll are three players that all have tremendous upside but who really knows what you'll get from them next season and their overall performance could dictate just how good of a team we are.

 

[Mr Bill Waters]

I don't like moves Treliving has made so far

Shanajudas made such a wrong turn.

 

[IPS]

When looking at the roster, Liljegren is such a huge x factor.

He's shown the ability for streches where you can easily see him turn into a top flight 2 way defensemen but then other stretches where it's questionable if he should even be a regular in the lineup.

Liljegren, Knies and Woll are three players that all have tremendous upside but who really knows what you'll get from them next season and their overall performance could dictate just how good of a team we are.

Whatever development team Dubas had/has in here - it's gotta be one of the absolute worst in the league for developing D.

I don't know how many times I heard about Dermott/Sandin/Liljegren being the future of the Leafs D and we're literally on the brink of batting 0/3 on them.

I hope Keefe and all the team captains don’t take they fight out of them. I won’t be one bit surprised if Reaves and Domi end up hating this team.

Why are you guys pretending like Domi is this uber-gritty competitor who's like the 2nd coming of Jonathon Toews?

He's nothing of the sort. Like not even close. Domi's future opinion of the team is of absolutely no concern to me.

 

[LeafGrief]

I don't like our goaltending and I don't like our defense. I like the forwards well enough, but yet again this team really is only going to go where Matthews and Marner take us. Frankly, I think the writing is on the wall for this core and this is the year that they'll see it. We've stumbled hard out of the gate the last two years and all it takes is for that stumble to continue into November for the wheels to really come off. Keefe is on thin ice; this whole team just strikes me as a house of cards that's one strong gust of wind from tumbling down.

Sure, we might rattle off 110 points, there's plenty of talent. But I think this year will be the start of the retool where we finally start to move on from the big4 era.

 

[leafsfan5]

The only real threat this team has of missing the playoffs is if catastrophic injuries take place. A concern that applies to every team

With that said, I do think the defense needs to be improved for the playoffs

 

[Havoc]

Yeah so much concerns. How ever will Matthews survive if he has to go 1 on 1 in the corners with defensive beast Karlsson. Might as well forfeit now, these other teams are miles ahead.

 

[uncleben]

it's almost like the fanbase is split in two.

who cares about regular season wins/points.

I think you're reading a little too much into it.

I'm going to say something controversial on a forum with diehard fans and antifans. I'm going to say something that will likely have my word twisted down the road, but here we go.

Most fans, even on here, do not tie their personal happiness and success to the success of the team. They do not require a Stanley Cup every season to get on with their lives. Most fans watch the game as a distraction from other things, or a way to wind down at the end of the day. The entertainment that comes from the success is appreciated, and those fans certainly would like the team to win the Cup, but sometimes watching their favourite team is just an escape, and having a competitive team in the regular season make that escape enjoyable and it goes on much longer through the long winter months than the playoffs do. Some people want that regular season success so they can enjoy cheering on their team in those evenings, and they would like their team to go far, but when they're eliminated, that sucks, and they move on with their lives understanding how stacked the odds are to actually be the last one standing in most elimination sports tournaments.

The slightly more advanced understanding, but still pretty layman understanding, is that usually good teams do well, mediocre teams do okay, and bad teams do poorly. So yeah, of course you root for your team do well in the regular season with the implication being that they are one of the more competitive teams and it will better their odds in the post season.
To actively root for your team to be middling and squeak in on a wildcard spot, expecting them to finally become competitive and win the Cup is certainly not a "route one" stance.


So, yeah. A lot of fans here do want to celebrate and see regular season success. But that doesn't mean they don't want to see post-season success or they want the regular season success to be at the expense of the post-season, in fact, 99.9% of the time the desires go hand-in-hand.

I don't see how wanting regular season success could ever be framed, in good faith, as a bad thing.

 

[notbias]

I hope Keefe and all the team captains don’t take they fight out of them. I won’t be one bit surprised if Reaves and Domi end up hating this team.

Is the team going to be blamed when Domi plays his typical soft game?

Domi is not his father... he basically jumps people to start fights, that is the only thing he does that is kind of tough... his game is skilled.

 

[Nineteen67]

Whatever development team Dubas had/has in here - it's gotta be one of the absolute worst in the league for developing D.

I don't know how many times I heard about Dermott/Sandin/Liljegren being the future of the Leafs D and we're literally on the brink of batting 0/3 on them.


Why are you guys pretending like Domi is this uber-gritty competitor who's like the 2nd coming of Jonathon Toews?

He's nothing of the sort. Like not even close. Domi's future opinion of the team is of absolutely no concern to me.

I’m not. He’s a good third line player, however the previous management left them with few options other than Domis and Klingbergs.

 

[Zack47]

It's just too quiet out there. There are MAJOR issues on the table, and.... silence. Not good. I am in the camp of needing to trade one of the Core Three, getting a stronger third line, and fixing the defense. You need to trade big to do this. Silence.

Others are bold. Why are we so scared to be bold? The summer is passing. Silence, it scares me....

 

[Nineteen67]

Is the team going to be blamed when Domi plays his typical soft game?

Domi is not his father... he basically jumps people to start fights, that is the only thing he does that is kind of tough... his game is skilled.

I‘m thinking more along the lines that Max might be more concerned with winning and Matthews et al may put a damper on that spirit

 

[Nineteen67]

It's just too quiet out there. There are MAJOR issues on the table, and.... silence. Not good. I am in the camp of needing to trade one of the Core Three, getting a stronger third line, and fixing the defense. You need to trade big to do this. Silence.

Others are bold. Why are we so scared to be bold? The summer is passing. Silence, it scares me....

Management is in a tricky spot because teams don’t have the cap space and the Leafs can’t take on contracts unless under 25. The TDL might provide the best opportunity to trade Nylander, Brodie, etc. Paying Nylander almost 50mm and getting nothing for him would be horrible.

 

[Notsince67]

I think you're reading a little too much into it.

I'm going to say something controversial on a forum with diehard fans and antifans. I'm going to say something that will likely have my word twisted down the road, but here we go.

Most fans, even on here, do not tie their personal happiness and success to the success of the team. They do not require a Stanley Cup every season to get on with their lives. Most fans watch the game as a distraction from other things, or a way to wind down at the end of the day. The entertainment that comes from the success is appreciated, and those fans certainly would like the team to win the Cup, but sometimes watching their favourite team is just an escape, and having a competitive team in the regular season make that escape enjoyable and it goes on much longer through the long winter months than the playoffs do. Some people want that regular season success so they can enjoy cheering on their team in those evenings, and they would like their team to go far, but when they're eliminated, that sucks, and they move on with their lives understanding how stacked the odds are to actually be the last one standing in most elimination sports tournaments.

The slightly more advanced understanding, but still pretty layman understanding, is that usually good teams do well, mediocre teams do okay, and bad teams do poorly. So yeah, of course you root for your team do well in the regular season with the implication being that they are one of the more competitive teams and it will better their odds in the post season.
To actively root for your team to be middling and squeak in on a wildcard spot, expecting them to finally become competitive and win the Cup is certainly not a "route one" stance.


So, yeah. A lot of fans here do want to celebrate and see regular season success. But that doesn't mean they don't want to see post-season success or they want the regular season success to be at the expense of the post-season, in fact, 99.9% of the time the desires go hand-in-hand.

I don't see how wanting regular season success could ever be framed, in good faith, as a bad thing.

Nothing controversial at all about this. Those not routing for regular season success are typically casuals who have little investment in time watching the team. As for playoffs...nothing worth anything is easy. When it does come, it will be blissfully sweet to the die hards and the rest including the bandwagoners will try to latch onto any aspect of that bliss by swearing their lifelong commitment and tribal bonafides.
I shall name them the Leaf fan Gatsbys

 

[Dekes For Days]

Is the team going to be blamed when Domi plays his typical soft game?

Absolutely. It's the cycle around here.
1. People see highlight packages of "tough" guys on other teams hitting, fighting, etc.
2. People overestimate how often these events actually happen, and think that they'd be a nonstop wrecking ball that answers every tiny hit and facewash.
3. They come here and play like they always have - which is not that.
4. When it doesn't live up to expectations, blame the GM and coach and core that must be forcing them to play differently.