How did it come to this
I dont get how our core guys can be so talented yet have such a IDGK attitude
MTL has some talent but its still in development stage, yet they come out hard and hungry vs us almost everytime
2017 and 2018 leafs were pretty hungry. We werent as developed in terms of core guys and worse defensive players but they had higher motor and compete level
Was dubas really this catastrophic? Or was it just the players and we got fooled.
The entire talking point with Dubas was the emphasis on "talent" and the inevitability of wining, which is always in tension with the concept of "effort." So I don't think this core group of Matthews, Marner and Nylander really ever deeply learned those values.
I mean just look at the Columbus series in Game 4. They just figured they could turn it on in the last 90 seconds and win. And they did. Then they got burned in Game 5. Look at Florida Game 4. They played the perfect hockey game. Then it fell apart.
Their character has been called into question for 8 years and they always remind us who they are.