Sportsnet: Leafs half season review.

[Nineteen67]

Does it matter who the GM is, if it's Shanahan pulling the strings?

I think it’s safe to assume the writing is on the wall for him.

 

[AllHeartNoSkill]

I think it’s safe to assume the writing is on the wall for him.

I’d like for this to be true. But we haven’t seen anything to suggest there’s any accountability for on-ice success in this org.

 

[Apotheosis]

Go watch Detroit games in the meantime then bro. This team is still young and has a new GM and will compete and win playoff rounds in my estimation. I can't imagine being an actual Leaf fan and just spewing hatred and blow it up posts towards them must be pretty miserable to be a hockey fan for you.

It's not hatred brother, we have 8 years of this team since Matthews was drafted, regular season accolades up the wazoo and absolutely nothing but one round win to show for it. This team is the laughing stock of the NHL of teams that don't actually suck in the regular season. It's called being realistic. The team's cap structure is flawed, the D core is shallow beyond Rielly (and I guess Benoit currently) and the depth pieces rarely overperform expectations while the stars besides Nylander are usually no shows in the playoffs. It's okay to have optimism but the odds of this team winning anything significant based on a very lengthy track record are very low.

 

[Gallagbi]

Fair points. But I think Acc's point that cap restraints led to letting Cambell walk means if we had the room Dubas is locking him up and dooming the franchise. We'll never know but thank God we developed Woll and Jones fell into our lap or we are terribad in net.

We spent more cap on our tandem last year than Soupy signed for, so that doesn't feel like a logical reason or accurate

 

[Nineteen67]

I’d like for this to be true. But we haven’t seen anything to suggest there’s any accountability for on-ice success in this org.

I think Keith Pelley will replace him.

 

[Mess]

I don't know. Dubas being an analytics guy and Samsonov putting up sparkling numbers the previous season was a recipe for disaster. If Sammy got a multi year deal and had his sieve performances it would have been an epic fail.

What exact history with goalies does Dubas have that makes you sure he would have handled it correctly? And does it even matter. I'm just relieved he got his 1 year arbitration deal and we can cut ties. Dubas is ancient history.

Remember that one of the first things Dubas did when he arrived in Pittsburgh was to re-sign Tristan Jarry to that ridiculous 5 years @ $5.375 mil AAV.

Samsonov put up far better stats than Jarry did in his contract year,

Can you imagine if that clueless Dubas would have given Samsonov the Tristan Jarry contract, and we would have him on the books for $5.375 mil for the next 5 years, when even put on waivers with a 1 year at $3.35 mil no other team would touch him with a 10 foot pole?

 

[Darcy Tucker]

We spent more cap on our tandem last year than Soupy signed for, so that doesn't feel like a logical reason or accurate

It's completely accurate Cambell is a dumpster fire and his contract is now an albatross in the AHL.

 

[Fogelhund]

It's not hatred brother, we have 8 years of this team since Matthews was drafted, regular season accolades up the wazoo and absolutely nothing but one round win to show for it. This team is the laughing stock of the NHL of teams that don't actually suck in the regular season. It's called being realistic. The team's cap structure is flawed, the D core is shallow beyond Rielly (and I guess Benoit currently) and the depth pieces rarely overperform expectations while the stars besides Nylander are usually no shows in the playoffs. It's okay to have optimism but the odds of this team winning anything significant based on a very lengthy track record are very low.

I'll say this... the amount that probably needs change, is less than we think. Other organizations moved a core piece, sometimes two, found the right pieces, and then had success.

Suffice to say, the current management group doesn't seem ready to do this, and I believe Keefe has exceeded his shelf life.

 

[keonsbitterness]

I think Keith Pelley will replace him.

Shanahan doesn't report to Pelley.

 

[Gallagbi]

It's completely accurate Cambell is a dumpster fire and his contract is now an albatross in the AHL.

He is and he's paid $5M to do it. Our tandem last year was $6M, so why do you think cap prevented the signing?

 

[ACC1224]

He is and he's paid $5M to do it. Our tandem last year was $6M, so why do you think cap prevented the signing?

5 plus the other goalie.
I'm sure length of contract had something to do with it as well.

 

[Darcy Tucker]

It's not hatred brother, we have 8 years of this team since Matthews was drafted, regular season accolades up the wazoo and absolutely nothing but one round win to show for it. This team is the laughing stock of the NHL of teams that don't actually suck in the regular season. It's called being realistic. The team's cap structure is flawed, the D core is shallow beyond Rielly (and I guess Benoit currently) and the depth pieces rarely overperform expectations while the stars besides Nylander are usually no shows in the playoffs. It's okay to have optimism but the odds of this team winning anything significant based on a very lengthy track record are very low.

Yeah I see your side to feeling this way but our core is still in their mid 20s and things are looking up. You can't carry all those previous losses with you. The way I see it we knocked out the 3 time in a row Eastern champs and Cup winners Tampa last year and now we have a new GM and are building on that. How else are we going to compete without the current iteration of star talent? Blowing it up means risking being a Carlyle Leafs team again for half a decade. Hell no to that.

 

[Racer88]

Make the playoffs. That's all I care about and they're on track to do this. The team has too many flaws to be a favorite for the cup going in or president's trophy contender. Just get in and take your chances at that point.

They have been getting in for 8 years now and have 1 single round win.
Have you seen anything about them this year that says they will have anymore success?

 

[Darcy Tucker]

They have been getting in for 8 years now and have 1 single round win.
Have you seen anything about them this year that says they will have anymore success?

Florida squeaked into the playoffs on a Pittsburgh loss to Chicago and went on a run after being terrible for years. We have the makeup to do the same and experience winning a round against a contender under our belt. It's not much but it's something. Also something tells me Woll or Jones are capable of stealing games for us so there's that too.

 

[Maple Leaf]

They need a T R A D E

 

[Gallagbi]

5 plus the other goalie.
I'm sure length of contract had something to do with it as well.

We had cap opening in the future, so that wouldn't really be cap driven. Our 1B in Sammy made $1.8M last year, so what are you looking at for a backup, 1-1.2? That's assuming you have to match EDM offer for Campbell to stay, which may not be accurate. Woll was around for less than a 800k last year too.

None of this feels cap forced, and more like the number got to a point we (rightfully) weren't comfortable at

 

[GoonieFace]

Florida squeaked into the playoffs on a Pittsburgh loss to Chicago and went on a run after being terrible for years. We have the makeup to do the same and experience winning a round against a contender under our belt. It's not much but it's something. Also something tells me Woll or Jones are capable of stealing games for us so there's that too.

Florida made the playoffs 4 straight seasons and won the Presidents trophy, so they haven’t been terrible for years.

 

[Darcy Tucker]

Florida made the playoffs 4 straight seasons and won the Presidents trophy, so they haven’t been terrible for years.

They got swept the President trophy year. They were a fringe team until last year.

 

[GoonieFace]

They got swept the President trophy year. They were a fringe team until last year.

Regardless, they were not a terrible team. They won 1 round in the previous 3 years and than lost in the finals last year. I mean anything is possible come playoff time, especially this season, but it’s the Leafs

 

[Darcy Tucker]

Regardless, they were not a terrible team. They won 1 round in the previous 3 years and than lost in the finals last year. I mean anything is possible come playoff time, especially this season, but it’s the Leafs

So if 4 years of making the playoffs and 1 round makes them not terrible why are the Leafs terrible? We have as good of a shot as any year IMO. Boston and Tampa have fallen off. So has some of the Metro. The East is wide open.

 

[Confucius]

Regardless, they were not a terrible team. They won 1 round in the previous 3 years and than lost in the finals last year. I mean anything is possible come playoff time, especially this season, but it’s the Leafs

Amen brother

And getting swept by a team that only had 5 more losses over 82 games is not like you got swept by a nobody team.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Remember that one of the first things Dubas did when he arrived in Pittsburgh was to re-sign Tristan Jarry to that ridiculous 5 years @ $5.375 mil AAV.
Samsonov put up far better stats than Jarry did in his contract year,

Except contracts are based on a lot more than just contract year performance, and Jarry had the better performances in prior years, and was much more established as a #1 goalie. They are not comparable goaltenders or situations. There is no evidence or indication that Samsonov would have been signed to a long-term deal by Dubas, and that suggestion that he would contradicts how he approached goaltending his entire time here. It would be nice to stick to discussing what actually happens instead of unsupported and divisive hypotheticals.

 

[GoonieFace]

So if 4 years of making the playoffs and 1 round makes them not terrible why are the Leafs terrible? We have as good of a shot as any year IMO. Boston and Tampa have fallen off. So has some of the Metro. The East is wide open.

I never said the Leafs are terrible. They won 4 rounds in 4 years, Leafs have won 1 round in 7 years with this core. Either way, I said this year anything is possible, the East is wide open, but I’m still not confident in this group

 

[Racer88]

So if 4 years of making the playoffs and 1 round makes them not terrible why are the Leafs terrible? We have as good of a shot as any year IMO. Boston and Tampa have fallen off. So has some of the Metro. The East is wide open.

Because we have these supposed awesome players that are eating all of our cap and not getting the job done. When you have those players on the team we should have higher expectations even though it’s not happening

 

[Jojalu]

What's he making up? Dubas was prone to giving out sucker deals and we would be screwed if he threw a Cambell type deal at Samsonov.

Outside of the core, who did he give a sucker deal to?

Because we have these supposed awesome players that are eating all of our cap and not getting the job done. When you have those players on the team we should have higher expectations even though it’s not happening

How can anyone have expectations?

The consensus I seem to see is the Core is soft and lazy, the goaltenfing sucks, zero depth, d is full of holes, the coach is an idiot, the previous GM was horrible, the organization doesn't care about winning.

It's a miracle we have ever won a game