Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose

[TheShape]

Ottawa wouldn’t trade Brady, but do you think Calgary could be tempted to part with Matthew?

Nylander for Tkachuk. No idea what other pieces would need to be involved to make a deal work, but M.K is EXACTLY the type of player the Leafs need, imo.

Sutter retires back to the farm the second he gets word they’ve replaced Tkachuk with Nylander.

 

[hamzarocks]

Honestly man, it's not worth getting into the discussion of whether or not it was a great night for him.

It's the fact you fill almost every GDT with Tavares hate. But you do you I guess

Maybe because Tavares is the most underperforming player of the big 4?

The only reason he isn't treated like Marner and Nylander is because he has a NMC

We don't want to keep him for his ongoing decline. We have no choice but to keep him and see the team be held back because of his NMC

He should be driving the 2nd line but does not do so enough nights

 

[killer1980]

Nashville followed the " How to beat The Leafs" template. St Louis figured out how to beat this team. That was 15 games ago. Since then the Leafs are 7-8. The teams that have followed that template win just like Nashville did. Several of those losses were to bottom feeders. Of course, Keefe isn't anywhere good enough to make the kind of adjustments this team needs.

 

[Scott r]

Rangers are better then toronto and tavares no show. 1st round playoff exit for sure ...Shanahan will be gone then.

 

[Hockey 4 Life]

I can't believe people want dubas to add to this team at the deadline. We most likely play Tampa, and unless we added Lindholm and varlamov
Wed have no shot at beating them in a 7 game series. All the Giordano and Luke schenns in the world won't make a difference. Dubas should have been fired last offseason.

 

[ZEBROA]

Nylander is frustrating to watch at times, but he was our best forward in the playoffs last year. I'm not ready to give up on him yet.

Wont be better then this with Tavares.

 

[therealkoho]

Tavares could have shot it. Or he could have looked around and assessed the situation and made a pass. I’m sure an $11 million elite centerman can figure it out.

And sometimes, just sometimes surprise wins the day

 

[rdogg]

I hope the Leafs don't trade a lot of assets for another 1st round exit.

Let's take the L this year and look toward the future (hopefully without Dubas)

 

[therealkoho]

Keefe has to split up Tavares and Nylander they are incompatible. Nylander looks unhappy, Tavares is Dr Gloom and Kerfoot is like the rodent in the the spinning wheel. Wake up Keefe it ain't working!

If you have a player who sulks because he has to play with a PPG player, you don't reward him with what he's pouting about, that's like rewarding your whiny kid with ice cream when he won't eat what was put in front of him.

What you give that kid is a nice desert vacation, not a dessert!

 

[therealkoho]

As long as i am GM you wont be traded. For dubas to make that statement he should be fired. If yiur team isnt winning in the playoffs then you trade anybody to make the team better

I have no intention of trading you as long as I'm GM.

I have No Intention!

Is a lot different than

While I'm GM I will never trade you

 

[therealkoho]

I think they’ve been reading the data backwards.
I’ve seen Holl declared an elite top 4 and Lybushkin the 8th best defenseman on the team.

I should be on here more often because I've never seen that. I would have a field day with that genius

 

[therealkoho]

That line's play style doesn't mesh.

Tavares worked well with Marner in those two games because the pacing was a little more comfortable, and Marner's stop up, delay movement allowed Tavares to catch up and set up better.

Nylander and Kerfoot want to race up the ice and track meet style. But they're also separated from each other on opposite wings with a slow center unable to support.

Yeah for sure but if those guys are doing that, you'd think they would retrieve a heckuva lot more pucks, but they really don't.

 

[Torontonian]

Kali played well tonight, didn't like the 3rd goal that went in, clapper from boards that beat him over the shoulder.

2nd line looks broken, doesn't look like they don't have any mojo together anymore. Its hard to break up Matthews and Marner, but Marner enables JT to be a better player on that line, Matthews and Nylander could work together, but they need to get that second line going.

Adding a solid d-man to play beside Muzzin is a must at the deadline, even with Muzz not playing up to his standards this season, Toronto is missing his presence and ability to hit, block shots and break up the cycle.

 

[leafsfan5]

 

[Scion]

Does anyone else feel dejected when they see Bunting standing up for teammates by himself?

 

[2 Slick]

The first line was sensational, second line was trash, that’s been the theme and story for all of 2022 thus far.

It’s going to be even worse when Petr Mrazek is most likely getting the start next game, automatically count that one as a loss of less Toronto scores at least six goals.

I really hope they stand pat at the deadline, they just need way too much help for what they’re actually going to get, this team just doesn’t have it, too many other better teams that will wipe the floor with them in the first round. It’s just not even close.

 

[Sniper99]

As long as i am GM you wont be traded. For dubas to make that statement he should be fired. If yiur team isnt winning in the playoffs then you trade anybody to make the team better

Dubas should grow a set and just trade him anyway, At this point, f*** reputation, its hockey, its life, you didnt get an actual NTC which means your ass can go at anytime. Im sure its not the first time in sports this shit has happened and it wont be last. I think this is something that needs to happen to light a fire under this teams ass. You cant move Marner and you cant move Tavares contract. This is probably the best one out of the 4-5 top paid contracts you can move at the moment. What you can get for him remains to be seen

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

I hate that I'm saying this, but time to move on from Nylander

Hate to say it as well but I think you're right. Moving on from a painful slow JT would be my first choice, but we know that isn't possible. Looks like the experiment of having almost half your cap go towards "4" "high octane" forwards doesn't work. Love Nylander and he's my favourite player on the Leafs but I can't have a double standard. I can't knock John for putting up points while looking terrible and give Nylander a pass for looking invisible while getting the odd point here and there. Nylander for D will probably be the play this offseason unless we hear about some lingering unknown injury.

 

[TorMapleJays]

Leafs need a Kadri for like 4.5 mil, but too much grit and emotion for Kyle. Image is everything. Thirst is nothing. Dubas.

 

[griffon1]

Slow start, not uncommon unfortunately.

Kallgren wasn't a miracle worker last night. A few breaks though, and we weren't far off in this one.

The couple of games Robertson was on 2nd, they looked better even though he overshot. JT, WN, and a random player just doesn't work.

Clifford was no asset.

That elbow to the head looked far worse than AMs shoulder ride up high stick. 4 games? I'm betting 0.

 

[Racer88]

Not a lot of good things to say about tonight. If Carolina is the blueprint for playoff success, the Nashville game is a flash forward for an elimination game.

I think you have to put Marner with Tavares to get a functional second line going. Matty can fend for himself with Nylander. Feels like Nylander is playing himself out of the Leafs long term plans.

Don't invest in this group. Do not try to fix everything at the deadline. The big structural fixes may need to be looked at in the offseason.

Unfortunately we have been thinking the big structural changes need to be fixed in the off season for a few years now and as long as Shanny and Dubas is running the team team all that will happen is a bunch of league minimum guys will get shuffled.
again unfortunately the Tavares mistake is unfixable until his contract runs out

 

[Racer88]

No shame in that loss.

Went into a tough barn, against a heavier, better constructed squad, with an excellent goaltender, and got pushed around... Battled until the end, but the better team won. That "playoff" style of hockey has gotten the best of the Leafs for years now. We shouldn't expect a different result in those situations at this point.

On to the next one!

Unfortunately the shame is in the fact that the Nashville is a better constructed team then the Leafs. We have all the resources in the world and supposedly this awesome skilled core yet they are such a mess.
the Leafs are built for soft high flying games. Once again that will not cut it in the playoffs

 

[Racer88]

Wow.
Why do the Bruins get these sweet deals.

They have the flexibility because they don’t have 50% of their cap, tied up in 4 forwards it’s as simple as that .……cap management

 

[Niagara Bill]

I would like to suggest that Tavaras and Nylander are not the issue. They need a player with them. Kerfoot is a nothing, soft, non combative waterbug . The idea was Richie, but that failed. We gave away Marchment. All other wingers are way to soft. This isn't about skating it is about presence. Even Engval would be better than Kerfoot, at least he runs into people by accident sometimes.

 

[Racer88]

It’s crazy to think we are only 1 point behind Tampa Bay

I believe they have 2 games in hand