Confirmed with Link: Joe Thornton to Leafs [1yr/700k]

[IPS]

Werent you clamoring against greed time and time again? Thorton once took 17.09% of his teams cap. Thats over 13.9mm in todays money. Isnt greed really really bad? Will he infect everyone to be someone worse than your obvious high standards?

Holy f***ing shit do you have to make every thread about Marner.. lay off it for once, it's getting ridiculous.

 

[supermann_98]

I’m not an everyday reader on HF but man this stopped being funny for me today. The main thread on Thornton signing is now saying he isn’t that vocal leader. The second anyone signs with the leafs everything flips on them and they’re negative. So dumb.

Don’t even bother with the main boards. It’s all fans from other Canadian teams and buffalo, Boston, and especially NYI fans getting to all congregate about how much the leafs suck blah blah blah. It’s a joke. Jumbo is known as one of the more vocal leaders in the game

 

[Duckrider]

we should compare post histories to see who has the greater hockey knowledge

Dude are you sure? I know I remember you being on the wrong side of history many many times in the past. I have never seen you say anything positive about this team ever.

 

[Wiseguys]

Hey guys catch the recent interview on YouTube of Thornton's thoughts on joining the leafs. It aired about 1/2 hour ago. He fielded alot of questions from different sports writers. Excellent interview.

 

[Jmo89]

If they brought him in for a bigger role or at higher cost I wouldn't be a fan, but at 700k/1y I can't complain. Hopefully helps the young guys grow a bit and get over their mental hurdles.

 

[saltming]

Pffft!
What does he know. We have so many goalie experts here on HF that know better

 

[Zybalto]

 

[IPS]

Don’t even bother with the main boards. It’s all fans from other Canadian teams and buffalo, Boston, and especially NYI fans getting to all congregate about how much the leafs suck blah blah blah. It’s a joke. Jumbo is known as one of the more vocal leaders in the game

It's the same cult following of ex girlfriend-like haters that post the same garbage in every thread. I've honestly never seen them post about their own teams before.

 

[TheScandal89]

Something that I thought about when we signed him was now we have the potential to play our money line if big Joe can handle 2nd Centre with Nylander, and anyone of Hyman, Robertson,Mikheyev etc

The money line
Tavares - Matthews - Marner

Would be great to see that for a full season, even if its just for the 1 season

 

[hotpaws]

Dude are you sure? I know I remember you being on the wrong side of history many many times in the past. I have never seen you say anything positive about this team ever.

never said i was perfect

i'm always entertained by who and what people on our board view as positive/negative

- crapping on previous employees like Lou/Babs/Hunter - positive
- crapping on and blaming Andy and at times Willie and Marner - positive
- going on the main boards and crapping on the rest of teams players - positive

funny how these negatives are considered positive but one comment about the Dube not being great and it upsets all the "real Leaf" fans , lol

 

[AreBe]

I've made this comment before but I fully stand by it to this day. Some fans on HF who claim to be Leafs fans deserve to be tossed back to the late 2000s and early 2010s. You will realize where we came from and where we are now. 10 years ago, we would've killed for a #1 C to play with Kessel who most of us viewed as an elite winger who carried the team on his back. We would have been beyond elated to have a Willy Nylander even as PKs center in those days. Right now, Willy who is a natural C doesn't even sniff the C spot because we have 2 franchise level players in Matthews and JT. Life is about growth and we are growing, even through all the playoff failures. People pretend like Matthews, Marner, Nylander are all 28-30 years old and about to move past their primes and our window of opportunity is closing. When in reality, these guys are barely hitting their prime or are still 1-2 years away and they've already accumulated valuable life lessons in the playoffs. You think guys like Bergeron/ Marchand became resilient studs and excellent leaders, winning the cup every year? These guys are seasoned vets who've been battle tested and failed many times over. They know how the league plays and how they can take advantage of it. Their careers offensively didn't take off until their late 20s/ early 30s. People need some perspective.

Let this team grow and build on what we have already because what we have is dominant. We have arguably the BEST core in the league when you take age and level of talent into consideration. Fanbase just needs to be not stupid. Let the media take over those duties.

But we are very stupid. We are the Leafs Nation.

We are "all in all the time" - blow up the farm, trade the picks, win now! And then we suck, with no kids and no picks.

And now, right here with Thornton, we have President's Choice Memories of When They were Good. We are getting the washed-up victory lap version,. The pylon version, who is going to have to clutch and grab because now he is too slow, and so he will be in the box.

We are in the golden age of Leafs management and fans want to can Dubass because he is not bringing in O'Thuggo to sit in the box for us and, when given the chance, drafts another Svensky, time and time again, and if not some Euro, a Yankee from the NCAA and not some illiterate good Canadain kid. that Leafs Nation demands.

Leafs Nation sees fighting as an integral part of the game- above and beyond a strategy - but part of the entertainment package, that goal scoring is important, but fighting is also important. People go to games and like a good fight, especially in traditional hockey markets. For Leafs Nation, fighting in hockey is not at all controversial- what is controversial is getting rid of fighting. That is to say: Leafs Nation is pretty stupid and proud of it

The American Association of United States Ice Hockey Teams needs to grow the brand: Fighting is moving towards being weird like it is in the NBA NFL and MLB- it happens- but it is weird.

and the Canadian Branch Plant Division is culturally indoctrinated so itis not going anywhere- In order to keep the New Orleans Booze Hounds and the Houston Empty Spacers afloat a big US TV deal is required, and as long at there is a chance of an Ottawa Winnipeg final that is not happening- of course, the AAUSIHT has the good sense to put the screws to Canadain teams.

So there is no confusion- Thornton cross chacking a Vancouver Canuk into the boards during the playoffs while wearing a Sharks jersey = No penalty and" a great gritty play" . But in the Leafs jersey against an American team? Plainly a penalty, you cannot just go crosscheck someone into the boards and get the puck, Stupid, undisciplined penalty. Thornton looks surprised but he should know better"

 

[AreBe]

SIMMONS SUNDAY: Leafs signing of veterans an indictment of club leadership
Author of the article:Steve Simmons
Publishing date:Oct 17, 2020
Other Leafs management groups of the past have gone back to the future without a great deal of success. Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Eric Lindros, Phil Housley and Brian Leetch all became Leafs late in their careers. Only Leetch, who played 15 regular season games and 13 playoff games, contributed significantly.
The Leafs even brought back legends Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark in their final days
and each of those moves were treated with a certain sense of excitement. The Leafs will look at Thornton as a flexible piece, able to win a faceoff, able to play more than one position depending on circumstances, not really fast enough to be a full-time centre. The value in this inexpensive signing is really in how much influence Thornton can have over the rest of the Leafs roster.
The last time the Leafs won a playoff round, Thornton played for the Boston Bruins and Leetch and Francis played for the Leafs. SIMMONS SUNDAY: Leafs signing of veterans an indictment of club leadership | Toronto Sun

 

[taurine330]

SIMMONS SUNDAY: Leafs signing of veterans an indictment of club leadership
Author of the article:Steve Simmons
Publishing date:Oct 17, 2020
Other Leafs management groups of the past have gone back to the future without a great deal of success. Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Eric Lindros, Phil Housley and Brian Leetch all became Leafs late in their careers. Only Leetch, who played 15 regular season games and 13 playoff games, contributed significantly.
The Leafs even brought back legends Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark in their final days
and each of those moves were treated with a certain sense of excitement. The Leafs will look at Thornton as a flexible piece, able to win a faceoff, able to play more than one position depending on circumstances, not really fast enough to be a full-time centre. The value in this inexpensive signing is really in how much influence Thornton can have over the rest of the Leafs roster.
The last time the Leafs won a playoff round, Thornton played for the Boston Bruins and Leetch and Francis played for the Leafs. SIMMONS SUNDAY: Leafs signing of veterans an indictment of club leadership | Toronto Sun

We need less Simmons here not more. I'm not going to read a word that hack has written. He is not worth my time.

 

[NinjaKick]

low risk with extremely high reward do to Joe being a leader in the locker room... absolutely no probs with this move. Overall I like what Dubas has done this offseason

 

[Clark4Ever]

SIMMONS SUNDAY: Leafs signing of veterans an indictment of club leadership
Author of the article:Steve Simmons
Publishing date:Oct 17, 2020
Other Leafs management groups of the past have gone back to the future without a great deal of success. Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Eric Lindros, Phil Housley and Brian Leetch all became Leafs late in their careers. Only Leetch, who played 15 regular season games and 13 playoff games, contributed significantly.
The Leafs even brought back legends Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark in their final days
and each of those moves were treated with a certain sense of excitement. The Leafs will look at Thornton as a flexible piece, able to win a faceoff, able to play more than one position depending on circumstances, not really fast enough to be a full-time centre. The value in this inexpensive signing is really in how much influence Thornton can have over the rest of the Leafs roster.
The last time the Leafs won a playoff round, Thornton played for the Boston Bruins and Leetch and Francis played for the Leafs. SIMMONS SUNDAY: Leafs signing of veterans an indictment of club leadership | Toronto Sun

Leave it to that POS to put a negative spin on a tremendous off season.

 

[Nylander88]

Leave it to that POS to put a negative spin on a tremendous off season.

I truly don't read his stuff. People like him aren't worth anyone's time. GLG

 

[Gallagbi]

Steve Simmons announced in his column today that Joe Thornton cannot play centre any more. So I guess that's that.

While I think that's garbage, the idea of him on LW with Tavares and Nylander is certainly interesting. Let's Nylander do the puck carrying, Joe play downlow and you have a nice mix of shooters/passers. Could push Nylander more to cycle and control with those two as well.

 

[Racer88]

I understand your position, I understand the concerns. It comes down to this, "big contracts for a small number of players have consequences".

If Leafs had $4M more per year to spend, they'd be able to pick up a Brodie and another major player in their prime. They simply don't and they need to fill in a lineup card every game, hopefully with players who have some NHL experience.

Thus, they are looking for bargains to not only change the culture in the dressing room, but also bring some size and passion to the ice. We have plenty of depth now, a function of bargains due to the pandemic.

Most of their key pick ups are from Ontario, Bogosian the exception, but he played in the OHL, so he knows how much this franchise means to the hockey world. When Tavares was signed, he had a career high in goals his first year at 47, by far his best year. He felt the pride of wearing the Blue and White.

Even as a lifelong fan by circumstance and geography, I find it somewhat silly, I'm rational enough to understand it, but, it's ingrained in many of us from the time we played road hockey or watched it on TV with our dads. Nothing wrong with a little nostalgia.

What will this team get from this collection of guys for the year? Impossible to quantify, but a new team, Original Six franchise and a chance at helping this team make some noise? I expect full value.

They will never change the culture of the room until the high paid 4 decide that the team comes before their own personnel stats.
If they can do this and make the choice to put in the effort on a consistent basis.
The Leafs have has some supposed roll models in the last 4 years.
Roman Pollack, Marleau, Tavares and Hainsey just to name a few and nothing has changed. Change has to come from within, not because someone takes you home for Christmas.
Can they do it? I sure hope so but we really don't know

 

[nobody]

They will never change the culture of the room until the high paid 4 decide that the team comes before their own personnel stats.
If they can do this and make the choice to put in the effort on a consistent basis.
The Leafs have has some supposed roll models in the last 4 years.
Roman Pollack, Marleau, Tavares and Hainsey just to name a few and nothing has changed. Change has to come from within, not because someone takes you home for Christmas.
Can they do it? I sure hope so but we really don't know

The big 4 have not once cared about their personal stats. Every single one of them has stated over and over again that the teams success is all they care about and not their individual accolades. I'm not sure where your narrative is coming from. 3 of the big 4 are still young and growing and will improve overtime. JT has been a good player for us and tries his ass off every game. The guy has been ineffective at times and neutralized but it's not because of a lack of effort. There hasn't been one single player on this team who has "mailed it in" or is playing for a big pay day.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Cool the new Leafs are like the Old Leafs. We are olding up again lol.

There are 2 players over 32. The 12th and 13th forwards.

 

[nobody]

There are 2 players over 32. The 12th and 13th forwards.

I hope 45 year old Mats Sundin and 44 year old Gary Roberts can carry Thornton and Spezza.

Some Leafs fans make me smh.

 

[hotpaws]

There are 2 players over 32. The 12th and 13th forwards.

we have over a 1/4 of cap tied up in three players 30 and older with 4/5 yrs of term left

 

[Notsince67]

Holy f***ing shit do you have to make every thread about Marner.. lay off it for once, it's getting ridiculous.

The stupidity needs to be called out. Stupidity that included predictions that he will be an 80 to 85 point produces when he has been trending at over 90 for 82 consecutive games since december 2018. Stupidity that prejudges him being a lesser player than Kane when he has already exceeded his numbers at the same point in their careers. Stupidity that judges Point to be a superior player while playing Tandem with one of the highest point producers of a cherry picked year and being part of a very good stanley cup winner this year. Stupidity that puts Rantanen and Aho above Marner in skill. Will love to see how well your prognostications bear out. I am quite certain if Marner fails to outperform these guys over time, people like you will be quite free to point it out on this forum. You put yourself out there and Ill be happy to remind you of you of your fantastic assessments over time.
The ad hominem attackers need to be called out. Pretty simple.

 

[ACC1224]

There are 2 players over 32. The 12th and 13th forwards.

Is there a reason why you used 32?

 

[Notsince67]

We need less Simmons here not more. I'm not going to read a word that hack has written. He is not worth my time.

Bottom line. If Simmons hates it, it is probably a good idea. That tool most certainly has an alias here.