I'm Just Not Feeling It This Year

[JT AM da real deal]

Normally I'm excited for the start of every year but this year it's just meh. There is just so little to look forward too. They've done everything

-Team set it's points records.
-Auston won the individual awards now and set the Leaf Records.
-Marner is B2B 1st team All Star, nothing left to prove.
-Rielly signed long term, no UFA drama
-Nylander had his best year it will only go down
-Tavares will regress, and we will continue to complain about his cap hit
-Robertson is the only prospect that could even make the team and might still end up in the minors
-Goalies are new but it's pretty much lateral changes at best.
-All the new skaters players are bottom 6 wingers

They'll score a lot of goals, they'll give up a lot of goals, they'll win a lot of games, make the playoffs and play someone from Florida. There is no cap space to make a big TDL deal so this is it. Can we just fast forward to April.

I thought last year was an 82 game preseason but for the individuals it really meant something so that was fun to watch..... Now that they've accomplished basically everything possible in the regular season it really is an 82 game preseason and I just DGAF. Never thought I'd say that.

Anyone else feel like this?

I think a lot of fans have this feeling too .. to me i look at it as a small JOY to be heading back to Scotiabank again this year for live games since 2020 .. i got COVID twice now and 2nd time it was really mild with Omnicron .. so I feel much better about getting through a possible 3rd infection .. bottom line great to see hockey buddies in person again on Saturday night at Hot Stove too .. it has been too long since people have stopped living their normal lives .. so for me it goes beyond this team on da ice which I think is yet another 1st round flop

 

[Sypher04]

so for me it goes beyond this team on da ice which I think is yet another 1st round flop

Based on what exactly? Talk about being negative for the sake of being negative. They haven’t been played a game yet for Christ’s sake.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Based on what exactly? Talk about being negative for the sake of being negative. They haven’t been played a game yet for Christ’s sake.

I think it is an combo issues of team make-up and in individual and team culture .. bottom line we got a bunch of really NICE guys .. to me a NICE guy hockey player not da right guy .. combined with 4 offense focused players in a CAP world .. bottom line da MIX just does not work and never has .. team needs a restructuring and a culture reset .. in life like in business like in hockey you don't talk winning you just win .. we got OBAMA of word smiths .. sounds great but can't deliver

 

[Sypher04]

I think it is an combo issues of team make-up and in individual and team culture .. bottom line we got a bunch of really NICE guys .. to me a NICE guy hockey player not da right guy .. combined with 4 offense focused players in a CAP world .. bottom line da MIX just does not work and never has .. team needs a restructuring and a culture reset .. in life like in business like in hockey you don't talk winning you just win .. we got OBAMA of word smiths .. sounds great but can't deliver

Ok cool, so based on nothing like I suspected. Just a bunch of made up problems

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Ok cool, so based on nothing like I suspected. Just a bunch of made up problems

JT 1 playoff series win in his life
Willy/Matty/Mitch ZERO playoff wins in their lives
Losers lose but they can be really really nice guys who just don't have what it takes

 

[Notsince67]

JT 1 playoff series win in his life
Willy/Matty/Mitch ZERO playoff wins in their lives
Losers lose but they can be really really nice guys who just don't have what it takes

Cliches starting early this year I see.

Love the pearls of wisdom

 

[kb]

JT 1 playoff series win in his life
Willy/Matty/Mitch ZERO playoff wins in their lives
Losers lose but they can be really really nice guys who just don't have what it takes

And? That means that 25 year olds are doomed to fail for the rest of their lives?

Good construction workers recognize when to stop digging.

 

[mapleleaf979]

The important players on this team have proven they dont hate losing as much as they should. How will they get thru playoffs for a Round when teams are fighting tooth and nail to win. Reilly, Matthews, Marner, Nylander dont play like they hate losing when attempting at closing out a series in the playoffs. I see them as being scared, unsure, lacking hunger, in some very important moments. They can outskill a team and win a playoff round but they lack will power from my stance and the d core has holes in it, namely Muzzin/Holl in the top 4 is a bottom pair on a cup team.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Cliches starting early this year I see.

Love the pearls of wisdom

View attachment 592808

Facts are facts .. some people hope and pray .. I am not one of those types .. heh just so you know next year won't change either 73M tied up in same 12 guys so only 10M left to sign 11 guys .. but team should have enough to have another highly successful regular season which satisfies a few people including core and then wholesale changes in bottom 6 again .. rinse and repeat

 

[colchar]

I didn't watch last year until the playoffs, stupidly hoping for a different result.

I have been the eternal optimist when it comes to the Leafs, and that is saying a lot for someone who survived the Ballard years. But the loss to Montreal - not just who they lost to but how they lost - broke me. I was done. And because of that I just couldn't bring myself to give a damn last year. I am not sure yet how I feel about this year, but I am not really planning to watch the games this week so I guess that tells me something.

At this point I honestly don't think I can bring myself to care unless a) they make a significant trade to open up cap space and change their lineup; or b) Kyle 'Spreadsheet' Dubious gets fired and someone else comes in who will, hopefully, make a difference. Unless one of those two things happens it will just be more of the same and I'm done, they broke me but haven't fixed anything yet.

 

[Sypher04]

Facts are facts .. some people hope and pray .. I am not one of those types .. heh just so you know next year won't change either 73M tied up in same 12 guys so only 10M left to sign 11 guys .. but team should have enough to have another highly successful regular season which satisfies a few people including core and then wholesale changes in bottom 6 again .. rinse and repeat

I agree, facts ARE facts and nothing you’ve said remotely resembles one.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I agree, facts are facts and nothing you’ve said remotely resembles one.

Keep dreaming .. they do say life is better in a dream

 

[Sypher04]

Keep dreaming .. they do say life is better in a dream

Lol dreaming? All you’ve done is spout a litany of opinions and then try to call them facts

 

[Sypher04]

I didn't watch last year until the playoffs, stupidly hoping for a different result.

I have been the eternal optimist when it comes to the Leafs, and that is saying a lot for someone who survived the Ballard years. But the loss to Montreal - not just who they lost to but how they lost - broke me. I was done. And because of that I just couldn't bring myself to give a damn last year. I am not sure yet how I feel about this year, but I am not really planning to watch the games this week so I guess that tells me something.

At this point I honestly don't think I can bring myself to care unless a) they make a significant trade to open up cap space and change their lineup; or b) Kyle 'Spreadsheet' Dubious gets fired and someone else comes in who will, hopefully, make a difference. Unless one of those two things happens it will just be more of the same and I'm done, they broke me but haven't fixed anything yet.

The Montreal loss was a definite low point, but I don’t think there’s much shame, if any, in the Tampa Bay series. You’d like to see them close than one out, but there was some bad luck at play, and Tampa has been to 3 consecutive cup finals. They know how to get up off the mat when they are under pressure.

As for firing Dubas: all I’m gonna say is, the guy is far from perfect, but the grass isn’t always greener. We have had very good teams here.

 

[therealkoho]

I've become immune to the letdown only because it's happened so often since 67, I'm old enough to have seen all 4 cups back in the 60's, so I do know the highest of highs and like any junkie I've been chasing that high ever since.

I'm excited every year, I have hope almost every year, and almost every year I think this could be the year, and this is one of those years.

I resisted the idea for at least a short while that Matty and MM were going to be the greatest Leafs of all time. I'm now convinced they will be, totally convinced, and if everything lines up, although there ar no guarantees the SC will follow. If that's not enough for you I'm not sure anything will ever be.

If you lived through the early 80's Leafs, this is nirvana.

 

[ACC1224]

I've become immune to the letdown only because it's happened so often since 67, I'm old enough to have seen all 4 cups back in the 60's, so I do know the highest of highs and like any junkie I've been chasing that high ever since.

I'm excited every year, I have hope almost every year, and almost every year I think this could be the year, and this is one of those years.

I resisted the idea for at least a short while that Matty and MM were going to be the greatest Leafs of all time. I'm now convinced they will be, totally convinced, and if everything lines up, although there ar no guarantees the SC will follow. If that's not enough for you I'm not sure anything will ever be.

If you lived through the early 80's Leafs, this is nirvana.

Amen to that.
(Sadly, you don't even need to go that far back)

 

[Tak7]

That series loss to Montreal was hard on a lot of the fanbase, myself included.

The bad taste it left is still there and will probably still be there in five years, unless they win the Cup at some point.

And also last season, I don’t know if it’s just fatigue or if it’s because the East playoff picture was clear in December, I definitely felt the season starting to drag a little.

I don’t think they’ll do as well in the RS this year, lots of teams got inflated, but if goaltending holds up they should be able to win the division; Tampa lost two key guys and is a year older, and Florida lost a ton of their depth.

Had we not had the Matthews chase for 60 or the 50-in-50, plus the goalie crisis, I would have tuned out significant parts of last season - I enjoyed it, but found myself so emotionally disconnected from it.

Don't get me wrong, that comes back in spades come playoff time. However, when you know that the only thing that matters is hockey in the spring, it becomes really challenging to care about what they do in the fall and winter.

I suspect that this season will be even worse for many.

 

[Notsince67]

Had we not had the Matthews chase for 60 or the 50-in-50, plus the goalie crisis, I would have tuned out significant parts of last season - I enjoyed it, but found myself so emotionally disconnected from it.

Don't get me wrong, that comes back in spades come playoff time. However, when you know that the only thing that matters is hockey in the spring, it becomes really challenging to care about what they do in the fall and winter.

I suspect that this season will be even worse for many.

I felt like this last hiatus between seasons was the longest in my memory. I can't wait for puck drop

 

[keonsbitterness]

I'm feeling it for the regular season. This is the most talented Leafs team on paper in my many centuries of watching the team.

As for the playoffs, check back in six months.

 

[Advanced stats]

Critical in this division to finish 1st.

No one wants to play Tampa or Florida in a 2-3 match up.

 

[Leafblooded]

Unless one of our goalies turns into Patrick Roy, this year's edition of these Leafs may not even make the playoffs, let alone win a round. We somehow got even softer than last year. It's difficult to watch.

 

[seanlinden]

An uninspiring loss... from honestly... an uninspiring team.

You look at all the regular season success the Leafs had last year, and have to ask yourself... how is this team, in any way, better than last years? Personally, I just can't see it.

You lose Campbell who was stellar and Mrazek who was crap, but it's a pretty far stretch to think that Murray or Samsonov is going to be better than Campbell on any given night.

On D, you let Lyubushkin walk, but retain Jake Muzzin, who has become a shadow of his former self. Giordano is only getting older.

Up front, you lose Mikheyev, Kase & Simmonds, replace with Jarnkrok, Aston-Reeese and Aube-Kubel... seems like a lot of deck chair shuffling, but certainly a loss of scoring depth on a team that's already a bit shallow. Add another year and subtract another bit of footspeed for John Tavares.

 

[yubbers]

Ok cool, so based on nothing like I suspected. Just a bunch of made up problems

shall we review the last 6 years?

 

[Osmows OReilly]

You know losing to Montreal had the opposite effect on me. I was curious to see what would happen to the team after such a terrible loss.

Well they managed to have a stellar regular season with many Leafs records being broken, but the result in the playoffs was exactly as I expected and there were the holes in the roster.

This season, nah, I just simply don’t care at this point. Not until serious changes are made or they doing something in the playoffs. Watching the team feels like a chore some nights.

 

[Jozay]

This is definitely the least excited ive been since the season after the 4-1 choke.

Should still be a good watch though with the talent on the team.