Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose in Game 7. Again.

[PromisedLand]

Leafs need to be the monster in the division. They can't be worried about what Boston, Tampa, Florida and soon Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa are doing.

It is quite possible that Leafs are a wildcard team next season given the goalie situation, the cap space remaining and players that need to be signed to fill the roster

 

[OilerTitanFan]

Yes, hopefully they stay as busts rather than just slow starters, else the Rags have all of the pieces on paper to pick up Tampa's mantle.

They already have the pieces in place, True #1 goaltender, a young top pairing QB on the PP, and a bunch of hot prospects ready to step in.

 

[PromisedLand]

You are correct, Tampa won because their grinders played well.

But our top players don't do the cutesy plays for swag - they do them because they are effective. This is how our top players play. We live and die by that sword.

In the playoffs there seems to be a lot more dying than living. Sample size has not increased to 6 playoffs

 

[keonsbitterness]

It is quite possible that Leafs are a wildcard team next season given the goalie situation, the cap space remaining and players that need to be signed to fill the roster

#8 seed might be better for this team next year. Couldn't hurt.

 

[Richardbro]

Look on the bright side guys we need it. It could have been Montreal, Boston or Ottawa beating us instead. That would have truly sucked. I am proud of the team for pushing the cup champs to 7 games and almost winning.

However, fire Dubas and retool.

 

[ktownhockey]

All I heard from this was

Excuses
Loser talk
Excuses

Seriously…Covid screwed DUBAS…did Covid only happen in Toronto?

Refs? We had 4 power plays…scored none

Better opponent? Habs bested the “better” opponent last year. Can we not do the same?

I will preface this by saying I do not care what you say. You seem jaded as expected. Sometimes things aren't excuses, they are just reality. Being given PP's doesn't mean anything, it's when you get them against you for 5 on 3's when you are about to take the series. So zip it on that one. You think the Holl penalty should have been called in a game 7? If so, please don't respond. We can agree to disagree.

I am not a DUBAS supporter or hater. He made his deals pre covid, thinking the cap would go up to what it was suppose to. That is fact, and you cannot come to terms with it. We are talking about the leafs not other teams.

HABS are you serious? They trapped, clogged the middle, blocked shots and had PRICE in net. They also beat the jets and a vegas team who was a cup fav. Not sure why you brought that up. They were also allowed to hook, hold interfere last playoffs.

You seem to think you know hockey, tell me the solution?

 

[Blanche Blanche]

I earned the rights to call out Keefe. I been calling him out since last year
I saw his fakeness.

Send Keefe packing… Him being happy by praise from Tampa says it all.

Guys an idiot. Bring TrotZ or fire Dubas

 

[Kurtz]

I will preface this by saying I do not care what you say. You seem jaded as expected. Sometimes things aren't excuses, they are just reality. Being given PP's doesn't mean anything, it's when you get them against you for 5 on 3's when you are about to take the series. So zip it on that one. You think the Holl penalty should have been called in a game 7? If so, please don't respond. We can agree to disagree.

I am not a DUBAS supporter or hater. He made his deals pre covid, thinking the cap would go up to what it was suppose to. That is fact, and you cannot come to terms with it. We are talking about the leafs not other teams.

HABS are you serious? They trapped, clogged the middle, blocked shots and had PRICE in net. They also beat the jets and a vegas team who was a cup fav. Not sure why you brought that up. They were also allowed to hook, hold interfere last playoffs.

You seem to think you know hockey, tell me the solution?

Yeah, it's preposterous to say that in a series as even as this, reffing (and even luck) had no impact.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Fire Dubas, Shanahan and Keefe. Get a real goalie and shake up this core with another major trade.

Never been less excited about hockey in general as I am now. Almost want to stop watching entirely as the losing has become the only thing this team is good for. I’m taking a break from HF and the Leafs for a long time and see if I can still enjoy this sport after.

 

[ktownhockey]

Yeah, it's preposterous to say that in a series as even as this, reffing (and even luck) had no impact.

Guess I'm the bad guy then. lol

 

[Gabriel426]

Say this was a Conf Finals and we lost to TB, would the narrative be different?
The goal is to win the Cup not win a round.
The boys showed up and got beat by a better team.
We didn’t lose to an inferior team like the Habs or BJs.
It is not killer instinct or being out goalied.
The refs really fxxx us in Game 6 and 7. While TB really got some lucky bounces.
If Mitch scored instead of hitting the post, if the refs actually called real penalties and give Leafs 5 on 3 PPs instead of picking on Holl, the game would have been so different.

 

[hfman]

there is only one solution to f

I have been preaching this for a while. NHL doesn't give a f***, they know they're getting their money from us regardless. People here will still watch hockey even after the Leafs are out, and the Leafs will continue to give financial support to garbage hockey markets that aren't self sustainable. Leafs ownership and Shanny need to speak up, they shouldn't be giving a penny to the NHL.

Leaf fans became impartial 10 years ago and all of a sudden the games weren't selling out any more. Fans had given up by nature, and were no longer paying attention to this loser franchise.

So of course, this hit MLSE in their pocket books. Impossible, right? The Leafs, not selling out? Well, this MLSE pushed the fans as far as they could by icing too many bullsh*t teams in the mid 2000s to mid 2010s to the point where no one cared anymore, and ticket sales dropped enough for them and the NHL to notice.

So then what happens???

Can't have our NHL cash cow all of a sudden start to weaken.

Hire Shanahan - Stanley Cup Winner
Hire Babcock (at the time it was the greatest hiring ever)
Matthews comes on board... you decide how that went down

...and of course ticket sales restored.

See? Soon as this loser franchise sees a dip in their revenue, they (and also the NHL) start to make some real moves. But not until.

The only way this sh*t gets fixed is when ticket sales drop again. No more sell-outs. Fans have to become impartial again and just not give a f-. It happened 10 years ago, and it for sure can happen again (now more than ever if you ask me. Why? Read on...)

I have a feeling they might be at a critical stage in this game; that right now more than ever this fanbase might start to dwindle. This losing culture is one reason, but the city's demographics is also evolving in a big way and if this team can't find a way to win and go a couple rounds in the playoffs then they aren't going to make any new fans no matter how hard they're trying. Anyone who is an 18-year old adult right now has never seen the Leafs win a series. How sad is that? And are the majority of them Leaf fans? Doubt it. They're cheering for winning teams. The Leafs have lost all those potential fans of the younger generation. I saw this "Maple Leafs Square" and to be honest it's a lot smaller than it used to be, and that's just a reality. Edmonton's square looks twice as big. They had better win a round during this Matthews era, because if they don't and he bolts for another team and this loser franchise goes back down and into another "rebuild", there's a chance they'll have a much harder time recovering than they would have 20 years ago.

Looks good on them. Hopefully less fans give a sh-t next year like they did a decade ago and revenues drop. It's the only way

 

[ktownhockey]

Say this was a Conf Finals and we lost to TB, would the narrative be different?
The goal is to win the Cup not win a round.
The boys showed up and got beat by a better team.
We didn’t lose to an inferior team like the Habs or BJs.
It is not killer instinct or being out goalied.
The refs really fxxx us in Game 6 and 7. While TB really got some lucky bounces.
If Mitch scored instead of hitting the post, if the refs actually called real penalties and give Leafs 5 on 3 PPs instead of picking on Holl, the game would have been so different.

BOOM, realistic! Refreshing.

 

[mikeyz]

Are you saying it's better if they didn't try?

No. I am pointing out how satisfied a portion of this base is with just simply making the playoffs.

 

[PromisedLand]

Here is another record

Leafs are now the only team in the entire league (exception: newbies Seattle this year) that has not made the 2nd round of the playoffs in the salary cap era.

How bad of a GM do you have to be that a team 6 years removed from a rebuild (not even rookies anymore) cannot advance to the 2nd round with max cap spent

What a colossal failure!

 

[capfit9]

 

[Gabriel426]

I don’t think fans are okay we lost….but more we got beaten by a better team and the guys showed up and fought.
The goal is to win the Cup, don’t think we are planning the parade if we beat TB.

 

[hfman]

Here is another record

Leafs are now the only team in the entire league (exception: newbies Seattle this year) that has not made the 2nd round of the playoffs in the salary cap era.

How bad of a GM do you have to be that a team 6 years removed from a rebuild (not even rookies anymore) cannot advance to the 2nd round with max cap spent

What a colossal failure!

this shanahan guy has been around for 8 or 9 years and has no playoff wins, but he still quietly keeps his job lol!!!!

what other NHL city has a president with that kind of record and still has a job!!??

this is Toronto though... this is what they've always done

Ken Dryden...then the guys goes into politics lol

JFJ... some rookie guy running the team.. one of the biggest management disasters in this team's history

Burke... another flop

Shanahan... rookie "President"... what exactly does the President do? Why don't other teams have "Presidents"
Dubas.... rookie GM
Keefe.... rookie coach



HMM, COULD THAT BE THE PROBLEM??


wow it's such a corporate joke here

 

[TGB]

I actually turned the game off in the first period. As soon as I saw they were playing the same way they did the last few years in this same situation-a whole lot of desperate, low quality shots from bad angles-I knew it was another loss.

 

[mikeyz]

Say this was a Conf Finals and we lost to TB, would the narrative be different?
The goal is to win the Cup not win a round.
The boys showed up and got beat by a better team.
We didn’t lose to an inferior team like the Habs or BJs.
It is not killer instinct or being out goalied.
The refs really fxxx us in Game 6 and 7. While TB really got some lucky bounces.
If Mitch scored instead of hitting the post, if the refs actually called real penalties and give Leafs 5 on 3 PPs instead of picking on Holl, the game would have been so different.

I am going to stop you right there. Because it wasn't. It was the 1st round.... Again....... For a 6th straight year.

But just to humor you. Yes. The narrative would be different, because at least the team would have shown progression.

 

[hfman]

you guys need a major change to your core. blues had similar issues, traded oshie as he was part of the problem. next season they made the conference finals which laid the framework for the 2019 cup run.

you cannot put 30+ million into 3 forwards and expect to compete in the cap era. checking in the playoffs is on a whole other level and you need depth and defense to make deep runs.

my take: trade matthews for a king's ransom and shake up the core. get a #1 D back in return as well.

no way. Matthews is 60 goals. He has to stay, but who knows if he will, especially after this.

They have to surround him with leadership. Let him do what he does, but he needs veteran experience to complement him.

If he leaves, this team is toast and I really think there's a chance they might not recover from it like they used to. This city has taken their fans for granted all these decades but all of a sudden these fans might start to thin out, due to several reasons that we won't go into here....and it's a very real possibility

 

[Gabriel426]

you guys need a major change to your core. blues had similar issues, traded oshie as he was part of the problem. next season they made the conference finals which laid the framework for the 2019 cup run.

you cannot put 30+ million into 3 forwards and expect to compete in the cap era. checking in the playoffs is on a whole other level and you need depth and defense to make deep runs.

my take: trade matthews for a king's ransom and shake up the core. get a #1 D back in return as well.

If Oilers lose the next round, can I get in the Oilers board and say the same about trading McDavid for a king’s ransom and shake up your core?

 

[ktownhockey]

I stopped complaining about refs a long time ago, makes my life a lot better.

I totally agree with you on that, I am just saying it was pretty clear and unfortunate for the leafs that those two calls went against us in big moments. I am not calling a conspiracy, I was just stating that I watch ALOT of hockey. That Holl penalty, which is a penalty by the book is not called often in REG season games. Hence my view on a game 7.

This does not mean we would have beat you, that was not my agenda. It's just a usual Leafs thing. Am I allowed to voice that?

Also, why are you posting in the Leafs board after you just won a great series. I know if roles were reversed the last thing Id be doing is that. Move on, congrats.

 

[PromisedLand]

I am so freakin' mad it is close to 3:30 am and I cannot go to bed. I've had it with this JOKE of a franchise. Until Dubas is fired I will be taking a break from the Leafs.

 

[saffronleaf]

maybe next year the opposing team will even bow down in the handshake line to show their utmost respect to the team they crushed in 7