Leafs favorite for the Atlantic division this year?

[Notsince67]

REGULAR SEASON DOES NOT MATTER ANYMORE, ONLY PLAYOFFS MATTER

I'm a sports fan. Everything matters to me. I don't require instant gratification for that. I guess we will see u in the spring

 

[Larcos_Unal]

I'm a sports fan. Everything matters to me. I don't require instant gratification for that. I guess we will see u in the spring

I didn't say I won't be watching, I just don't care if they win the division since ultimately they're gonna be judged in the spring.

 

[notDatsyuk]

You asked me why I think Matthews can improve upon 40 goals if he’s already 26. That was his lowest goal rate since his rookie season. I am not sure why you think the subject you brought up is irrelevant.

I think the Leafs fall between 100-105 points.

I asked why you thought Matthews at 27 would improve on 40 goals but Nylander at 28 wouldn't, and your reply was "who was the last person to hit 60 goals twice?" I think that's irrelevant.

You expect them to fall off that much? Honestly that wouldn't surprise me, but I'm a bit more optimistic.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I didn't say I won't be watching, I just don't care if they win the division since ultimately they're gonna be judged in the spring.

Exactly. Man I feel so jaded at this point, I looked at odds to win the cup the other day, saw that the Leafs are right up there with the top favorites and I just rolled my eyes. As far as who wins the Atlantic, I can't for the life of me figure out why this would matter to anyone.

Whatever. Another scintillating 82 games coming up. Go Leafs Go I guess. LOL.

 

[JKG33]

Win the Atlantic in the playoffs? No, absolutely not.

When the Atlantic in the regular season? Who cares

 

[Americanadian]

I asked why you thought Matthews at 27 would improve on 40 goals but Nylander at 28 wouldn't, and your reply was "who was the last person to hit 60 goals twice?" I think that's irrelevant.

You expect them to fall off that much? Honestly that wouldn't surprise me, but I'm a bit more optimistic.

The conversation has been centered around "was last year Nylander's career year". Matthews' already had his career year with 60 goals, I don't think he'll ever top that. I do think he will bounce back to his career norms, as will Nylander. Also - Matthews will be 26 this season. Nylander 27. Sorry for creating any confusion.

 

[NMacrules]

Boston likely takes a step back, Tampa has gotten worse, we should still be a top 5 team. I doubt one of the young teams comes out and takes the division.

The implication of winning it is pretty big. They get a wildcard team in round 1 and not Tampa or Boston.

Wasn't Florida a wild card team?

 

[NMacrules]

It doesn’t matter. They will just choke to a wildcard team like Buffalo or Ottawa or Pittsburgh just like they did in 2021. None of the additions matter one iota as long as the core is still here. I mean it would kinda interesting to see them finish 1st, but I just don’t think it matters with this core group. They will find a way to lose. They will just get outworked once again by a less talented team.

Well there are 2 players in the league that don't get out worked by anyone. Those are Bertuzzi and Domi. Too bad that the Leafs don't get players like that....oh wait! Holl and Kerfoot are both gone, which is addition by subtraction.

 

[LeafLoyalist]

Stamkos, Point, Kucherov

Killorn, Hagel, Colton, Perry... replaced with Conor Sheary, Josh Archibald, Luke Glendening and Logan Brown.

Also returning, Cirelli (29pts), Paul(32pts) and Jeannot(18pts).

Yes, plenty of talent in the top 3... and not much else...

Quite easy to forget they have Hedman/Sergachev on the back end who bring offense, and a stud goaltender.

Also, Cirelli missed a third of the season after shoulder surgery, a top 5 selke player, who's offensive numbers will climb with more PP time and OZ starts. He was their 2C for their Cup runs, Solid top 6 player
Hagel is not gone, easily a 40 goal scorer and a top 6 power forward
Paul had a great start last season, with consistency will be a slod middle six player.
Jeannot is a question for sure, has potential to be a solid top 6, but hasn't cracked through, his physicality will make a difference
Sheary will add grit to the top 6, experienced and will look to revitalize his game
Archibald/Glendening will fill the 4th line, they will be quicker and hand full
Logan Brown likely in the minors and the 13th/14th forward

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Doug Gilmour finished 2nd for the Hart with 127 points at the age of 29.

What a season. We had one of the most dominant players that year. He was such an inspiration in the regular season and the playoffs. I loved that he used a hockey stick with a short curve.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Win the Atlantic in the playoffs? No, absolutely not.

When the Atlantic in the regular season? Who cares

Uhh, a lot of people? Wasn't long ago we knew how hard it was to win at all. Saying regular season is meaningless annoys me. Ultimately sure, but the team is good and that is enjoyable.

 

[JKG33]

Uhh, a lot of people? Wasn't long ago we knew how hard it was to win at all. Saying regular season is meaningless annoys me. Ultimately sure, but the team is good and that is enjoyable.

It's not at all enjoyable when they have so much talent that can't be bothered to give a shit when the going gets tough. This team is somehow more frustrating to watch than the Kessel/Phaneuf era Leafs.

The regular season is meaningless, Florida showed that this year.

 

[HockeyVirus]

It's not at all enjoyable when they have so much talent that can't be bothered to give a shit when the going gets tough. This team is somehow more frustrating to watch than the Kessel/Phaneuf era Leafs.

The regular season is meaningless, Florida showed that this year.

In that case there is 31 meaningless seasons every year. Nearly every historic event is meaningless because they happened during the regular season. I don't agree with that at all

 

[1specter]

No, we always leave points on the table because shit teams and rivals play us like we're their Stanley Cup while we don't take them seriously.

 

[JKG33]

In that case there is 31 meaningless seasons every year. Nearly every historic event is meaningless because they happened during the regular season. I don't agree with that at all

A lot of reams have the hope of winning a cup, or seeing something built, or whatever.

The Leafs are in that weird spot where it's painfully obvious this group isn't winning shit where it counts, yet no actions been taken to clear out the losers. We're coming into the 7th year of this bullshit core group

 

[Racer88]

Exactly. Man I feel so jaded at this point, I looked at odds to win the cup the other day, saw that the Leafs are right up there with the top favorites and I just rolled my eyes. As far as who wins the Atlantic, I can't for the life of me figure out why this would matter to anyone.

Whatever. Another scintillating 82 games coming up. Go Leafs Go I guess. LOL.

I think a lot of us are feeling jaded. It’s hard not to when all we have to look forward to next season is the same dysfunctional core and the same lame coach. Expect a good regular season and the same disappointment in the playoffs

 

[notDatsyuk]

The conversation has been centered around "was last year Nylander's career year". Matthews' already had his career year with 60 goals, I don't think he'll ever top that. I do think he will bounce back to his career norms, as will Nylander. Also - Matthews will be 26 this season. Nylander 27. Sorry for creating any confusion.

So what is Matthews' career norms? Certainly not 60 goals, which is why I think that comment was irrelevant.

 

[ACC1224]

Leafs coming back and NFL starting up is the only positive to summer ending. Feel sorry for the grumps not looking forward to enjoying that.

 

[francis246]

Leafs coming back and NFL starting up is the only positive to summer ending. Feel sorry for the grumps not looking forward to enjoying that.

So looking forward to the NFL season starting up again. Best part of the fall easily. I wish the NHL was more like the NFL in terms of personality. You get it a little bit with the Bruins and Tampa but man the NHL sucks in that regard. Story lines drive ratings.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Well there are 2 players in the league that don't get out worked by anyone. Those are Bertuzzi and Domi. Too bad that the Leafs don't get players like that....oh wait! Holl and Kerfoot are both gone, which is addition by subtraction.

Holl is only addition by subtraction because of the role he was playing. Keefe seemed to see him as a top 4 dman and a go-to guy in critical situations. But that just means Holl shouldn't have been the guy who was subtracted. Kerfoot was a decent player. My only gripe with him was his penchant to take stupid penalties at bad moments.

 

[Gary Nylund]

What a season. We had one of the most dominant players that year. He was such an inspiration in the regular season and the playoffs. I loved that he used a hockey stick with a short curve.

I loved absolutely every single little thing about Gilmour. Him and Borje are my all time favorite Leafs.

I think a lot of us are feeling jaded. It’s hard not to when all we have to look forward to next season is the same dysfunctional core and the same lame coach. Expect a good regular season and the same disappointment in the playoffs

I expect the same. You never know 100% for sure but same core, same coach after all these years it sure is hard to expect anything else.

Leafs coming back and NFL starting up is the only positive to summer ending. Feel sorry for the grumps not looking forward to enjoying that.

Everybody's different. Summers too hot for me, I love the fall, it's my favorite season because of the awesome weather and I have very little interest in the NFL (though I will watch a few Bills games).

Re. the Leafs, with each year that ends in underachieving playoff disappointment, the level of my enthusiasm for the coming season goes down a bit. If you're one of those who can enjoy every game as if we we're no in the habit of embarrassing ourselves in the playoffs and we're not the laughing stock of the league, then I kind of envy you. I guess I feel like I'm too grounded in reality to just ignore our history though, it's not like I think about it all the time but it's always there in the background somewhere.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Uhh, a lot of people? Wasn't long ago we knew how hard it was to win at all. Saying regular season is meaningless annoys me. Ultimately sure, but the team is good and that is enjoyable.

It's not meant to be taken literally. Every game has meaning, but for most people playoffs are what really counts, that's all. And after all these years of regular season success followed by playoff failure, it's natural for people to say the regular season is meaningless.

 

[HockeyVirus]

So what is Matthews' career norms? Certainly not 60 goals, which is why I think that comment was irrelevant.

Well last season was the worst in his career basically since he was a teenager.

He had :
47 in 70
41 in 52
60 in 73
then 40 in 74

Even including last year, the past 4 seasons his average is 57 goals / 82 games pace. If not for covid years he would get that respect. His norm is very close to a 60 goal scorer his entire current contract.

 

[Americanadian]

So what is Matthews' career norms? Certainly not 60 goals, which is why I think that comment was irrelevant.

I previously stated I think he gets back to the 50 goal range.

 

[Fogelhund]

Bergeron has announced his retirement.

Boston will drop this season in all probability, how far, it's hard to tell.

C depth is something like

Zacha
Coyle
Geekie
Patrick Brown.

To suggest that a team can drop 40 odd points in the standings seems ridiculous, yet here we are. IMO, this is a team that will struggle to be a Wild Card team now... no Bergeron, Krejci, Hall... The next question appears to be... what next? Too good to really replace the C depth through the draft, not good enough to compete for much longer. They've conditionally traded away their 2024 first round pick, which if top ten goes to 2025.... so they can't even trade either pick for a C such as Lindholm. Their prospect pool doesn't have a lot of quality to bring in compete now pieces either.

Maybe they get lucky in Free Agency next year?

I mean... as it currently stands.... oof... stolen from @Clownfish