Confirmed with Link: It's Started! (Management firings)

[Josey Wales]

Of the names that Seravalli mentioned I wouldn't mind Darche but yeah not a huge fan of Botterill or Bergevin or Chayka.

I mean I don't think any of them would be terrible but they wouldn't be my first choices.

Seravelli was throwing shit at the wall & hoping some stuck

Why does this only apply to Doobler though?

I can point at any half baked GM, like Chayka…imagine all the hard lessons he’s learned by now?

Give me the guys with a track record of success.

Dubas has a track record of total failure.

UMMMMMM who has had a "Track Record" of success who is available ?? Do some of you actually think before you post ?

 

[Jacob]

They’ll probably do that thing when they’re not happy with the coach but there’s no clear upgrades available where they just shake up the assistants.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Realistically, I think Jacob's right. Ownership and the FO, whoever it ends up being, is just gonna shrug and be like "Sully's won Cups" and that's that.

Would be cool if, y'know, half a decade of losing meant heat for the coach though. But the NHL absolutely falls over itself for coaches who have made the Finals, let alone won a Cup (or two, back to back). Sully's got a literal lifetime of leash, imo, sad as it is.

-edit- FWIW, Reirden and Valooch can hit the road regardless of whether or not Sully's kept--he will be.

 

[Josey Wales]

James Mirtle
@mirtle
·
7m
Leafs will have their end of season media availabilities beginning at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

 

[pistolpete11]

One good thing about Dubas would be that I think he would be given enough power to fire Sullivan. I don't think he'd do it right away because Sullivan seems to have the entire NHL world under his spell, but it sounds like Dubas wants more power to stay in Toronto. Can't imagine he'd leave for the Pens if he wasn't given that same level of power. So maybe....just maybe....if they get off to a bad start or lose in the first round/don't make the playoffs altogether, he'd be able to rid us of this stubborn jackass, especially if he continues to misuse players the GM brings in.

 

[FSGDontScrewUp]

Chayka had his chance, did he even do anything good? He is hated by the old boys club and has an awful draft record. Maybe he would be good the second time around but I don't get the attraction.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Yeah, the rumors around Dubas seem to indicate FSG really likes him, thinks he's a rising star, and is willing to give him all the power he'd want to run the team. I don't know if that'd be a good or bad thing, but if he wasn't enamored with Sully, I think he'd have full power to send him packing.

Though, again, this message board seems to be the only place that has any issue whatsoever with Sully. Dude's adored, if not venerated, in the hockey world.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

Yeah, the rumors around Dubas seem to indicate FSG really likes him, thinks he's a rising star, and is willing to give him all the power he'd want to run the team. I don't know if that'd be a good or bad thing, but if he wasn't enamored with Sully, I think he'd have full power to send him packing.

Though, again, this message board seems to be the only place that has any issue whatsoever with Sully. Dude's adored, if not venerated, in the hockey world.

What rumors are you referring to?

 

[Factorial]

Jay Caufield

Keith Jones was a far superior player to Adams. He was a PIA to play against while on the Caps and later Flyers.

 

[Jacob]

I could see Dubas hiring his own guy. At the very least I could see him bringing his guy into WB/S and keeping him on stand-by in case a change is needed with the big club.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

From what I understand things between Dubas and Shanahan kinda came to a head this season so it's one or the other (or both) leaving town after the Leafs' exit too.

What rumors are you referring to?

Hockey News iirc, so not somebody like Bobby Mac or Seravalli but not exactly Dan Kingerski either /shrug

-edit- It was Rossi like a month ago. Nevermind. Dubas is 100% not on FSG's radar.

-edit2- I always see stuff from The Athletic and take interest because it's a solid site, but I forget the Pittsburgh guys who write for the Athletic are like Rossi and Yohe.

 

[pistolpete11]

Yeah, the rumors around Dubas seem to indicate FSG really likes him, thinks he's a rising star, and is willing to give him all the power he'd want to run the team. I don't know if that'd be a good or bad thing, but if he wasn't enamored with Sully, I think he'd have full power to send him packing.

Though, again, this message board seems to be the only place that has any issue whatsoever with Sully. Dude's adored, if not venerated, in the hockey world.

It'd be nice to have the GM and coach on the same page for once, whether it's forced by organizational hierarchy or not. So I don't know if it would be "good", but it would be better than what we have now.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

It'd be nice to have the GM and coach on the same page for once, whether it's forced by organizational hierarchy or not. So I don't know if it would be "good", but it would be better than what we have now.

Yeah. I don't know if that'll ever be a thing with Sully because I can't imagine he has anything but serious input when it comes to roster composition, but he still manages to misuse the guys he gets.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Chayka had his chance, did he even do anything good? He is hated by the old boys club and has an awful draft record. Maybe he would be good the second time around but I don't get the attraction.

It's not an awful draft record at all. It's pretty strong actually.
When people say this, 95% of the time they don't actually know or look up the history, and are going off vague feelings based on one or two picks.
They don't know how often draft picks actually work out in varied positional brackets historically.

And yeah, his trade level is above average for sure.
He wasn't insanely brilliant or anything, but he has more to give than a lot of dinosaur GMs. He's probably only gonna improve with more opportunity.

 

[pistolpete11]

Yeah. I don't know if that'll ever be a thing with Sully because I can't imagine he has anything but serious input when it comes to roster composition, but he still manages to misuse the guys he gets.

Not any time soon anyway. He'd probably have to get fired a few times before he's willing to take a job where he doesn't have as much input. And if he finds success again, his ego will never be checked again

The only exception in my mind would be if they had to give Dubas that power to get him here. Tulsky would probably be my pick otherwise, but Dubas is the only one I think that they might give the power to check Sully.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Not any time soon anyway. He'd probably have to get fired a few times before he's willing to take a job where he doesn't have as much input. And if he finds success again, his ego will never be checked again

The only exception in my mind would be if they had to give Dubas that power to get him here. Tulsky would probably be my pick otherwise, but Dubas is the only one I think that they might give the power to check Sully.

I am interested in Tulsky because he's just a smart dude. I don't know if that'll translate to being a successful NHL GM, but he won't be an outright moron like JR or Hextall and at this point, that's all I'm really hoping for. Somebody who isn't gonna be an absolute dipshit.

-edit- And yeah, if Dubas has the balls to not back down when it comes to an NHL legend like Shanahan, he'll probably (hopefully) tell Sully to f*** off from time to time, or fire his ass after yet another failure.

 

[pistolpete11]

I am interested in Tulsky because he's just a smart dude. I don't know if that'll translate to being a successful NHL GM, but he won't be an outright moron like JR or Hextall and at this point, that's all I'm really hoping for. Somebody who isn't gonna be an absolute dipshit.

-edit- And yeah, if Dubas has the balls to not back down when it comes to an NHL legend like Shanahan, he'll probably (hopefully) tell Sully to f*** off from time to time, or fire his ass after yet another failure.

Yeah, I think Tulsky is a very good candidate for a GM spot, whether with the Pens or not. You'll never know how he'll do until he's given a shot, but he seems as good of a bet as anyone else.

I just don't think anything is fixed until Sullivan is gone. So I prioritize having even a shred of hope that the GM can fire Sullivan and I think Dubas is probably the only one.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Yeah, I think Tulsky is a very good candidate for a GM spot, whether with the Pens or not. You'll never know how he'll do until he's given a shot, but he seems as good of a bet as anyone else.

I just don't think anything is fixed until Sullivan is gone. So I prioritize having even a shred of hope that the GM can fire Sullivan and I think Dubas is probably the only one.

My stance is that it doesn't matter anymore anyway. Sully sucks shit, but nobody's coming in and getting anything more out of this team than a 1st round appearance, mayyyybe a 2nd round appearance at best. Team's cooked.

Give me a smart, forward-thinking GM who can handle the rebuild. I don't exactly like Carolina, but they're built well and seem to always be competitive despite lacking anything approaching star power. Aho's good, Svechnikov's good, but they're not elite imo, let alone star players.

-edit- Also, someone with the guts to fire Sully's ass after the next inevitable failure of a season. Dude cannot be in charge of coaching the next crop of top-10, top-5 picks this team's gonna be stocking up over the next decade.

 

[pistolpete11]

My stance is that it doesn't matter anymore anyway. Sully sucks shit, but nobody's coming in and getting anything more out of this team than a 1st round appearance, mayyyybe a 2nd round appearance at best. Team's cooked.

Give me a smart, forward-thinking GM who can handle the rebuild. I don't exactly like Carolina, but they're built well and seem to always be competitive despite lacking anything approaching star power. Aho's good, Svechnikov's good, but they're not elite imo, let alone star players.

They're not gonna focus on a rebuild until Crosby is gone and/or they are just so far away from making the playoffs, though. So might as well make the best of it. I don't think they are some sleeping giant, but they've underperformed 5 years in a row now.

2023 - Team had flaws. It should still have been a playoff team.
2022 - 3-1 series lead with leads in Game 5, 6, and 7.
2021 - A lot can be blamed on Jarry, but who's the guy that continued to trot him out there?
2020 - What an embarrassment.
2019 - Swept by a team that got swept in the next round

If they get beat in the first round by a better team, so be it. Just don't make it absolutely painful and embarrassing to watch.

 

[Coffees]

Besides the final buzzer what is your favourite memory from the 2009 playoff run?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

They're not gonna focus on a rebuild until Crosby is gone and/or they are just so far away from making the playoffs, though. So might as well make the best of it. I don't think they are some sleeping giant, but they've underperformed 5 years in a row now.

2023 - Team had flaws. It should still have been a playoff team.
2022 - 3-1 series lead with leads in Game 5, 6, and 7.
2021 - A lot can be blamed on Jarry, but who's the guy that continued to trot him out there?
2020 - What an embarrassment.
2019 - Swept by a team that got swept in the next round

If they get beat in the first round by a better team, so be it. Just don't make it absolutely painful and embarrassing to watch.

I want a rebuild, but I know they're not gonna rebuild. But not rebuilding doesn't mean continuing to hemorrhage assets in a stupid, vain attempt to remain barely relevant.

They have no goalie. They have no 3rd line (especially how Sully wants to use them). They're paying 3 middle-6 wingers $5 million each, and maybe a 4th if Zucker sticks around. Geno needs a scoring winger. Their coaching group sucks shit.

I dunno man. Team's cooked. I'm not saying they're gonna tear it down, but let the era play out and focus on the next chapter, cuz it's comin', and fast.

-edit- I do think they have to deal Jake before the deadline next season. They cannot hold on to him for too long or that eliminates any and all value for the one (1) valuable asset they have. If he inks a new deal, he's getting $9 million AAV and a super restrictive NTC because apparently everybody gets one nowadays. I think that'll be a colossal mistake, but I don't think very highly of Jake as anything but a sidecar leech to Sid. /shrug

Besides the final buzzer what is your favourite memory from the 2009 playoff run?

Geno's hat trick goal against the Canes or Sid/Ovechkin dueling hat tricks. Both were insane.

 

[wheelz87]

Besides the final buzzer what is your favourite memory from the 2009 playoff run?

Letang OT goal vs Washington G3. Gonchar slapper to go up I believe 3-2 in the third, again G3. Lucky enough to be there for both.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Besides the final buzzer what is your favourite memory from the 2009 playoff run?

That and Geno completely destroying by himself the Hurricanes

 

[FSGDontScrewUp]

It's not an awful draft record at all. It's pretty strong actually.
When people say this, 95% of the time they don't actually know or look up the history, and are going off vague feelings based on one or two picks.
They don't know how often draft picks actually work out in varied positional brackets historically.

And yeah, his trade level is above average for sure.
He wasn't insanely brilliant or anything, but he has more to give than a lot of dinosaur GMs. He's probably only gonna improve with more opportunity.

Conventional wisdom is that GM's choose the 1st round pick, scouts choose the rest.

So Chayka chose Soderstrom ahead of Boldy in 2019, and took Barret Hayton 5th overall in 2018 when it was a big reach. Hayton was ranked as a late 1st. Arizona could have had Quinn Hughes and Matthew Boldy instead of Soderstrom and Hayton.

 

[3ladesof5teel]

One good thing about Dubas would be that I think he would be given enough power to fire Sullivan. I don't think he'd do it right away because Sullivan seems to have the entire NHL world under his spell, but it sounds like Dubas wants more power to stay in Toronto. Can't imagine he'd leave for the Pens if he wasn't given that same level of power. So maybe....just maybe....if they get off to a bad start or lose in the first round/don't make the playoffs altogether, he'd be able to rid us of this stubborn jackass, especially if he continues to misuse players the GM brings in.

I think the 1st half of next season will be a big part of whether Sullivan finishes the season as the coach here.

Would be extremely surprised if it happened right away but if this team falters the 1st half of the year I would expect him to be let go.