I'd give Keefe till the 20 game mark

[Leaf Fans]

LOL. I've cheered for this team since the 70's. I've more than paid my dues, and cheered them on plenty. That doesn't mean I have to blindly follow along like a zombie forever, "rah rah rah-ing" for whatever meaninglles regular season successes they have, only to watch them lose AGAIN when it matters. No, losing to Montreal was the last straw for me. Now I'll wait for the changes that will have to come for us to get any true hope again. You do whatever you like.

There are no dues.

 

[ACC1224]

Yes there are. This team makes us all pay through the nose, in every way imaginable, for their mediocre product.

They don't make me, I choose to.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Yes there are. This team makes us all pay through the nose, in every way imaginable, for their mediocre product(at best) over the last 55 years.

The team doesn't "make" you do anything.

 

[Rob Brown]

 

[TheBeastCoast]

It is interesting how the Jets are basically Islanders west.

Edit: Has a team ever been kept afloat by the PP alone like this Oilers team to this extent? It is actually funny to look at in this format.

 

[Leaf Fans]

lmao. This year's different! This year, we mean it!

Every year is different. It certainly has been since the 70s.

No one is getting over excited in November - sure some people gave up after the first 4 games, but it is a long season.

Yes there are. This team makes us all pay through the nose, in every way imaginable, for their mediocre product.

The team doesn't make me pay anything. If I buy something that profits the Leafs, I do it voluntary. The team doesn't owe us anything. Personally, I enjoy the games because I am a fan of hockey and the Leafs.

 

[AcerComputer]

they haven't won a playoff round in 20 years

please explain how that equates to "They do well in the playoffs"

What players on the team or on the management side is playing or running the Maple Leafs Organization from 20 years ago?

 

[ACC1224]

What players on the team or on the management side is playing or running the Maple Leafs Organization from 20 years ago?

The Puppet Master

 

[notDatsyuk]

lmao. This year's different! This year, we mean it!

Here, Charlie Brown, I'll hold the playoff football and you kick it.

 

[Twine Tickler]

I don't always agree with Sheldon's roster decisions, but that being said he is usually the one that is right and I am the one that is wrong.

The boys on the overdrive panel were chatting last Friday after the Minny game about how well Keefe has coached this season and they were giving him his flowers. I have to agree with everything they said. He's had so many man games lost this season due to injury, to very prominent roster players and they are still top 5 in the NHL standings. This is a record that was accomplished with 9 games started by their 3rd string tendy and some of which missing their top 3 defensmen.

I've always appreciated his willingness to juggle the lines. I think it's why we seemingly have so much success when guys go down with injury/illness. Obviously a lot of that credit goes to the players themselves, but I truly believe its how the team prepares in practice that allows these guys to step in so seamlessly. We've seen a healthy rotation of forwards come in and out of the lineup which has made our bottom 6 more effective and hungry, and then our D has just stepped up massively.

Keefe deserves a lot of credit for how this team has played recently IMO

 

[AcerComputer]

View attachment 615055

The Puppet Master

Ah, you got me. He was working for the Lightning and the Coyotes from 1999-2007, but was still secretly working for the Leafs under operation Draft Schmaft. Also known as the Fall off the Cliff Plan.

 

[Twine Tickler]

I also think Curtis Sanford deserves some love too. I obviously am not privy to his work on a day to day scale, but he was tasked with 2 reclamation projects in Murray and Samsonov and they have a combined record of 11-3-1 and a combined .924 S% in the 15 starts they have had.

Murray was less of a risk in terms of skill IMO. He showed the ability and technique in Ottawa but he just couldn't stay healthy. That was really the only concern I had with him coming to us. Sammy on the other hand was a technical nightmare. Far too active in the blue paint, and he really did need a complete overhaul to his game.

Both goalies have shown up and played great so far. How much of that is Curtis' doing is anyone's guess. I will say, both goalies are seemingly playing very big in the net and they both have been excellent on second chance opportunities. We've never been very effective at making saves through traffic, redirections, and on second chance scrambles. So It is really encouraging to see them both look to have that aspect of their games figured out.

 

[hfman]

Play well and do well are two different things.

They play well enough to get to a deciding game and then they stop

so what you're saying is they "play well" in the playoffs between games 1-6 and then stop.

And even though they're eliminated every first round, this somehow equates to them "playing well" in the playoffs lol.

or was it "do well"?

I forget now which one you said.

 

[Jojalu]

so what you're saying is they "play well" in the playoffs between games 1-6 and then stop.

And even though they're eliminated every first round, this somehow equates to them "playing well" in the playoffs lol.

or was it "do well"?

I forget now which one you said.

Now I have forgotten as well.

I thought I had said they play well up to Game 7, which they have, then break our hearts.

They certainly don't do well.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Dubas who acquired our 2 stud goaltenders and depth on D ?

You gotta stop. Facts are it takes a while for alot of young teams to mature into a championship team. Like Drew Doughty once said about their Stanley cups . It takes times for teams to completely buy in.

You gotta stop. Facts are it takes a while for alot of young teams to mature into a championship team. Like Drew Doughty once said about their Stanley cups . It takes times for teams to completely buy in.

Sorry I quoted the wrong post. Not you This covers alot of comments thought.

 

[Gabriel426]

Despite we are winning. I still not like how Keefe instructs the Dmen to join the attack. Bc it leads to odd man rushes, and we are lucky our goalies are not letting in odd man rushes goals.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Despite we are winning. I still not like how Keefe instructs the Dmen to join the attack. Bc it leads to odd man rushes, and we are lucky our goalies are not letting in odd man rushes goals.

Having your defense activate and pinch in is a pretty essential part of any good team in the league at this point. There isn't any competent system that has their defensemen hanging back all the time. When we get caught it is usually either a decision making error and/or the forward not covering for the defensemen. That doesn't mean we shouldn't activate our defense it means we need to refine the details of the system.

 

[Menzinger]

Since splitting Marner from Matthews there's not been a ton of gripes left with the guy other than Robertson's usage.

Which is admittedly complicated for Keefe given his obvious priority is to win now not develop prospects. Robertson unfortunately ends in a bad situation as a result of this though

 

[Gabriel426]

Having your defense activate and pinch in is a pretty essential part of any good team in the league at this point. There isn't any competent system that has their defensemen hanging back all the time. When we get caught it is usually either a decision making error and/or the forward not covering for the defensemen. That doesn't mean we shouldn't activate our defense it means we need to refine the details of the system.

It depends on who the Dman is. I just fail to see someone like Mete, or Benn or Holl parking in front of the net trying to jam in rebounds.
Maybe not so much now, but in the playoffs, players tend to block more shots, a block and a bounce the other way will lead to odd man rushes.

 

[Martin Skoula]

It depends on who the Dman is. I just fail to see someone like Mete, or Benn or Holl parking in front of the net trying to jam in rebounds.
Maybe not so much now, but in the playoffs, players tend to block more shots, a block and a bounce the other way will lead to odd man rushes.

If they know for a fact Holl will never pinch, they're free to ignore him and put an extra man on Matthews or Marner. It's not purely about Holl scoring, it's about forcing the other team to make decisions they don't like.

 

[Its not your fault]

If they know for a fact Holl will never pinch, they're free to ignore him and put an extra man on Matthews or Marner. It's not purely about Holl scoring, it's about forcing the other team to make decisions they don't like.

Thomas Kaberle Syndrome. Got to keep your offense unpredictable can be a fantastic player but if you only have 1 move teams will use that to there advantage.

 

[leafsfan5]

I'm sick so I have time to overanalyze way too much but I was watching Keefe's post game presses after SJ and he said something interesting.

He mentioned how the Leafs have been usually playing the defensively solid, laid back approach and get their goals off the counterattack. But against SJ, they were more of the aggressor and gave up the big counter-attacking opportunities (breakaways, odd man rushes). He called it a "strange game" and a "ugly win", saying you need to have those during the year and it's not always going to look like you want it to.

I'm probably trying to confirm my bias here, but the fact that he said it didn't look how he wanted to directly after addressing the change in style of the game suggests he's trying to turn us into more of a CBJ/TB/NYI style. The defensive-first, hard-nosed effort and to use our elite skill to capitalize on the opponent's mistakes

I hope it stays, this way of playing is essential for playoff success imo. Either you run an insanely skilled team like Colorado did, or you grind it out and use your elite talent as a difference maker like Tampa. We don't have the blueline of Colorado so the Tampa method is better suited for us tbh

 

[Ciao]

I have no f***ing clue what is going on with AM and MM but they are doing absolutely nothing 5v5. Rielly playing like shit is helping things either. Whatever is going on with them it should cost Keefe his job

Yep, I've hit that point now. He's managed to make all the same stupid mistakes Babcock made, but compound them with his own cowardice. And the room has clearly tuned him right out.

Is this game 20? For the love of god MLSE just blow this front office to smithereens

I would probably just fire Dubas and Keefe on the same day and signal that we’re turning the page on this era, no players are safe. Enough of this.

This Leafs team is in big big trouble. They are going to miss the playoffs.

If they lose today THEN TODAY.

Looks to me like the Leafs have passed the 20-game mark and then some.

Despite the odds, Keefe, Dubas and the rest of the Leafs' front office are still hanging on.

Chances they pull through to the end of the season?

Is it possible they were never quite as incompetent as their critics?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

 

[Lightsol]

Looks to me like the Leafs have passed the 20-game mark and then some.

Despite the odds, Keefe, Dubas and the rest of the Leafs' front office are still hanging on.

Chances they pull through to the end of the season?

Is it possible they were never quite as incompetent as their critics?

At that time, it looked a lot like Keefe had lost the room. Doesn't look like that anymore.