Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose (again) 4-0 vs. Pittsburgh.

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

I went to a bar and the game was on tv and literally nobody showed any interest. Shows how garbage they are. No first line, one barely intact second line and three 3rd lines if your lucky. Top 3 pick here we come!

 

[Duffman955]

I'm starting to see performances that are eerily reminiscent to the end of last season under Horachek. It was noticeable in the 3rd period. I saw a forward who was probably the Leafs' best forward tonight do that stick wave thing on the cycle when all he had to do was put his body against the boards to maintain the forecheck pressure. These guys are starting give up on their coach already. The admirable work ethic we saw to start the season is dissolving away.

When a coach gives you 0 direction and just accepts a tank, thats what happens.

Babcok has done nothing to instill confidence in any players. The drop in play of both Jake and morgan from the start of the season is alarming.

 

[garce]

When a coach gives you 0 direction and just accepts a tank, thats what happens.

Babcok has done nothing to instill confidence in any players. The drop in play of both Jake and morgan from the start of the season is alarming.

Are you truly alarmed? Ten games in?

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

A coach can't coach/motivate/inspire crappy players with a lack of talent/skill/drive/disciple/motivation/heart/creativity. It has to come with the players within. 75%(if that) of these players shouldn't even be on the leafs let alone the NHL. Garbage team.

 

[LaPlante94]

When a coach gives you 0 direction and just accepts a tank, thats what happens.

Babcok has done nothing to instill confidence in any players. The drop in play of both Jake and morgan from the start of the season is alarming.

If you haven't noticed a different from this years team over last years team then I don't know what you have been watching. When you have goaltenders letting in weak goals and players who can't score then you can't really blame the coach for our record. Tonights game was the worst I've seen them play this season so far.

 

[JS19]

When a coach gives you 0 direction and just accepts a tank, thats what happens.

Babcok has done nothing to instill confidence in any players. The drop in play of both Jake and morgan from the start of the season is alarming.

You're talking about Mike Babcock. You're more likely to see 10 people get struck by lightning in a row than catch Babcock just accepting a tank. He's been saying that he wants to see people compete. It was always going to be an uphill battle for the team, after all, you're talking about getting rid of habits that are engrained to the team. That's not going to go away in just 10 games.

 

[dballislife2]

this team does not deserve 2 separate game threads, thats more effort then our boys show on the ice

 

[burpsalot]

Bozak is terrible. No ability to play in the Leafs end at all. Team is better with him out of the lineup.

Played well before he got injured, especially the Ottawa game. I think the closeness to Kessel re-infected him with the Kessel disease, hopefully it doesn't linger. Poor Crosby, he's got it good.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

These clowns were practicing off and on for almost a week prior to the Rangers/penguins games. What the hell were they doing? Absolutely useless

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Doesn't make sense to waste assets on another goalie at this point. Nobody's really available and at best he'd just worsen our draft pick. Even with better goaltending we're not even close to a playoff team.

 

[LaPlante94]

Doesn't make sense to waste assets on another goalie at this point. Nobody's really available and at best he'd just worsen our draft pick. Even with better goaltending we're not even close to a playoff team.

We got 2 good ones on the Marlies right now. No reason to give up picks or prospects for one because I think Sparks and Bibeau will fight for a spot on the Leafs next year and whoever doesn't make it will start 80% of the games on the Marlies.

 

[dballislife2]

2nd place baby, i was a good night after all

 

[keon]

The usual Toronto fan base crying the blues about another lack luster effort by the Leafs. A little reality check; this is a team built to lose and guarantee a Top 5 draft pick. Babcock's role this year is to build structure into the team. He is starting at Ground Zero. Toronto is starting a rebuild. They started it when they traded Franson and Santorelli to Nashville. A rebuild does not equate to instant success. It is a 5 year rebuild. Relax, have some Chai Tea, and check back-in in three years time to see if there is any progress. I have been waiting for 48 years and I am patient.

 

[JackJ]

When a coach gives you 0 direction and just accepts a tank, thats what happens.

Babcok has done nothing to instill confidence in any players. The drop in play of both Jake and morgan from the start of the season is alarming.

Both have never played better hockey.

 

[Kamal007]

People need to realize that this team is 30th out of 30 teams in terms of talent. Not just offensive talent but defensive talent as well. You can only teach so much defensive work. We might have 3 top 9 forwards in this roster, maybe 3 top 4 D men, and 0 number 1 goalies. This is what happens when you add all that up. Babcock cannot do ANYTHING with this roster, offensively or defensively, to keep them out of the bottom 3. They are that bad.

 

[hfman]

Leafs 1-9 now. Just when you thought we had already hit rock bottom. It's amazing how things can just keep getting worse. I thought there was no where to go except up. But... down we keep going. Where is the bottom - who knows.

 

[Kamal007]

Leafs 1-9 now. Just when you thought we had already hit rock bottom. It's amazing how things can just keep getting worse. I thought there was no where to go except up. But... down we keep going. Where is the bottom - who knows.

That's the whole point. This team lacks talent, to get top end we need to draft at the top of the draft, to get to the top of the draft we need to be at the bottom. It will be rough but eventually it will be worth it. As Shanny said, he has the stomach for it, as do I. Some around here are panicking 10 games in.

 

[diceman934]

We were awful tonight....

Lupul, Bozak one of that needs to be in the press box next game otherwise we are accepting garbage from them. Not that they were the only players who stank out the joint.....it is just that they are to be showing the way...they were showing the way I guess....to the dump!

 

[diceman934]

I do not care if we lose every game....but not like that.

 

[hfman]

That's the whole point. This team lacks talent, to get top end we need to draft at the top of the draft, to get to the top of the draft we need to be at the bottom. It will be rough but eventually it will be worth it. As Shanny said, he has the stomach for it, as do I. Some around here are panicking 10 games in.

problem is we're already at about 12 or 13 consecutive years of bottom-feeding. Add on another 3 or 4 to that and we're approaching 2 full decades. During these past 13 years we've been teased with promises that things will get better - but fast forward to 2015/2016 and we're learning that this is only the start of the tank? Man, I thought 2010 or 2011 was the start of it, or so we were told. Heck, even when Burke got here I thought that was the end of it. But this train of futility keeps chugging on

How are they gonna sell this to fans. How can they be generating new fans. The kids of today - 8, 9, 10 year olds - how are they capturing them? They're not. Those kids are Pens fans, Hawks fans, etc. It's going to be hard to unroot them when they get older. We're going to have a city full of a million teenagers that are "the Leafs suck" fans before we know it. I hope that's not the case, because we love our hockey team.

Have the Leafs lost a generation of potential fans?

 

[hockeywiz542]

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock addresses the media following Toronto's 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

 

[Ovate]

We were awful tonight....

Lupul, Bozak one of that needs to be in the press box next game otherwise we are accepting garbage from them. Not that they were the only players who stank out the joint.....it is just that they are to be showing the way...they were showing the way I guess....to the dump!

Lupul and Bozak were still better than Grabner, Clune, Froese, Holland, and probably Matthias.

To be scratched, you don't just have to be bad. You have to be so bad that you're the worst player on this team.

 

[fahad203]

Lupul and Bozak were still better than Grabner, Clune, Froese, Holland, and probably Matthias.

To be scratched, you don't just have to be bad. You have to be so bad that you're the worst player on this team.

Holland brings absolutely nothing to this team. I am ok him being waived.

I am really disappointed in Matthias, I thought he would have a descent scoring touch

I think most people are coming down to reality about Winnik. He's coming down to earth.

 

[hfman]

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock addresses the media following Toronto's 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

...man. I hope he can survive this. The Toronto media are relentless Vultures and have eaten up so many before him: Burke, Wilson, Carlyle, JFJ.. the list is long. A lot of these guys came in high-profile and went out in shambles.


I hope to the world this doesn't happen to Mike. He's going to have to be ten times stronger than anyone before him.

 

[Kamal007]

problem is we're already at about 12 or 13 consecutive years of bottom-feeding. Add on another 3 or 4 to that and we're approaching 2 full decades. During these past 13 years we've been teased with promises that things will get better - but fast forward to 2015/2016 and we're learning that this is only the start of the tank? Man, I thought 2010 or 2011 was the start of it, or so we were told. Heck, even when Burke got here I thought that was the end of it. But this train of futility keeps chugging on

How are they gonna sell this to fans. How can they be generating new fans. The kids of today - 8, 9, 10 year olds - how are they capturing them? They're not. Those kids are Pens fans, Hawks fans, etc. It's going to be hard to unroot them when they get older. We're going to have a city full of a million teenagers that are "the Leafs suck" fans before we know it. I hope that's not the case, because we love our hockey team.

Have the Leafs lost a generation of potential fans?

This is all fine and good, ya we have been sucking for a long time but there is NO OTHER SOLUTION. Unless we can get a time machine and go back 10-15 years when all this sucking started, we have to continue until the job is done. I'm not saying this is the start but this isn't close to the end, thats for sure. We have no first line centre, no number 1 D man, no number 1 goalie. This is the first time that there seems to be a logical plan in place, not "draft smahft" or "free agency is our draft day". Futility will continue until it is no longer needed, as is necessary in a system that rewards bottom feeding teams with top talent.

Fans will come when winning comes. If they lost a generation of fans, trading away futures to be semi competitive now won't bring them back. Competing for championships will.