TSN: Marner on tsn: "We are grown men".

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Hard to not get frustrated when we are losing games to the teams who finished dead last and 2nd last. Obviously I'm not worried about our regular season; but we're not winning the division if we can't beat bottom 10 teams and we're going to get a hard first round match again.

 

[Nineteen67]

HR called him in and informed him any type of verbal abuse regardless of how mild it is will not be tolerated and forced him to make a public apology .

I bet Dubas actually felt it was inappropriate and probably made an apology to AZ, as well

 

[JT AM da real deal]

It's a different world then most of us grew up in. A coach like Toe Blake, Punch Imlach or Scotty Bowman wouldn't survive 5 minutes in the league today. Not too long ago, I told a person working under me that they were doing a lousy job, that was it. That day I was pulled into HR, rebuked, told I couldn't say that and was written up. (Never really understood what being written up means anyway). But I digress. it is now a situation where the employee has much more power than the employer. Clearly, that is one of the reasons the economy is going in the crapper. I got the strap in school, paddled at camp and spanked at home. Guess that's the reason I'm so f***ed up. But I digress. Bottom line is the players rule the roost. It is them and them alone that will decide the future of those above them. Make no mistake the players here are playing for themselves and not anybody else. Today there is nothing anybody can do to change that. If and when they decide to play like "grown men" is totally up to them.

Keefe's days are numbered!

We used to play in a world where da stick ruled .. there was no cell cameras and/or social media .. hockey culture ruled and coaches were in total control .. players did exactly what we were told because we wanted to stay in lineup .. better that then working gas pump as most guys did not even finish high school .. today it is da world of da carrot .. you have to inspire players to go for their dreams .. it bottom line it is $$$ in most cases driving da bus .. and no more getting drunk and banging da puck bunnies as your bonus .. you have to be politically correct as someone bound to get you on camera .. so da legal beagles got da edge now

 

[ACC1224]

It is true though. I mean we could have Colorado's stellar 0.893.

Who wouldn't take that with a Cup hangover?

 

[JL17]

Mitch forgot to add a word in his statement … we are mature grown men.

 

[Puckstuff]

I have a bigger issue with Keefe's lines then I do the big 4 players. One of them is coming off MVP and the other 3 are PPG and ramping up. This looks like Keefe trying to find a scapegoat.

 

[rocketman588]

Stop living in the past, everyone here is losing it over the regular season right now after saying we shouldn't care about the franchise high last year.

The below is not directed at you.

The number of people saying "regular season doesn't matter" cause we did well last year but bad in the playoffs, and now losing it over the regular season is hilarious.

Talk about Keefe walking things back... you spent all summer saying only playoffs matter, stick to it and shut up.

They have more points then we do. Gotta shit on the avs to justify keeping Dubas.

You know that he's about to go because people are digging deeper and deeper to figure out how to defend him

Mitch forgot to add a word in his statement … we are mature grown men.

Was too busy preparing for his Fortnite stream

 

[stickty111]

Thank you. Can we move on now please?

 

[rocketman588]

Thank you. Can we move on now please?

It wasn't a story until Keefe/ Marner made it one seems like a good scapegoat for them being incompetent top down as an organization

 

[andora]

Thank you. Can we move on now please?

can they just shut up - this doesn't even make sense..

just shut up

 

[Throw More Waffles]

It sounds like you're talking about one of the worst teams in the league, not a team that last season finished 4th overall, almost beat the two time defending champs in the playoffs and is currently a top contender to win the cup.

Skill alone carries a team over a long 82 game season. The leafs core is very skilled.

Things like “attitude”, “work ethic”, “killer instinct”, “mental strength”, etc. play a much bigger factor in a gruelling 7 game playoff series.

0 and 9 on series clinching games? It’s a number that is literally stranger than fiction. Try flipping a coin and getting tails 9 times in a row. We’re WELL passed “bad luck”. The proof is in the pudding.

 

[Clark4Ever]

The current dynamic with management, the coaching staff, and the players is not conducive to success.

We have a lame duck GM and a lame duck coach that are concerned with their job stability, and for good reason. The core players know that they will still be here if Dubas and Keefe don't get contract extensions in the off season.

A coach simply cannot be walking on eggshells if he hopes to get the most out of his players, especially in this market.

Something has got to give.

 

[Notsince67]

How many bullets does Sheldon Keefe have left in the chamber?

First the Leafs so-call coach calls out his star players after an embarrassing loss to an inferior opponent by punching down on the opposition.

“Our best people have not found a rhythm,” Keefe said. “The difference between us and Arizona is that we have elite players. And our elite players didn’t play like elite players.”

This coming after the Maple Leafs coughed up Wednesday’s opener in Montreal, where the so-called head coach deemed it an “unacceptable” showing against last year’s 32nd-place team.

Now Mitch and his gang informed the Leafs so-called coach that their "grown men" and don't appreciate being called out for their play, and when they want the coaches opinion they'll ask him.

So Keefe in his Press Conference thereafter clarified ... “I used some of the wrong words to try describe what I was trying to describe that the difference in the game was, we weren’t able to produce,” Keefe explained. “By no means was I meaning anything beyond that. They didn’t know what I was talking about, which is a good thing. At the same time important that they know where I was coming from.”

Keefe's backtracking cleanup comment almost worse then his original one.,

However now we all know where the coach stands in the pecking hierarchy, and who is calling the shots "the players" and who is expected to just stand behind the bench and pretend to be coaching this team.

The pecking order are the players first as they should be. Keefe is easily replaceable. If he loses the room, he needs to go. On this, he f'ed up. The players aren't going around making public statements of how coaching failed on any given night even though it is likely deserved. The way I saw it, Tavares, Marner and Nylander had pretty good nights. Matthews had a bit of an off night and Rielly was so so. Wtf was Keefe looking to accomplish? We had nets being missed by lesser players and too much puck management among better players who held the puck too long before shooting.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Skill alone carries a team over a long 82 game season. The leafs core is very skilled.

Things like “attitude”, “work ethic”, “killer instinct”, “mental strength”, etc. play a much bigger factor in a gruelling 7 game playoff series.

0 and 9 on series clinching games? It’s a number that is literally stranger than fiction. Try flipping a coin and getting tails 9 times in a row. We’re WELL passed “bad luck”. The proof is in the pudding.

Play the way they did against TB and they'll beat almost all teams most of the time.

 

[therealkoho]

It's a different world then most of us grew up in. A coach like Toe Blake, Punch Imlach or Scotty Bowman wouldn't survive 5 minutes in the league today. Not too long ago, I told a person working under me that they were doing a lousy job, that was it. That day I was pulled into HR, rebuked, told I couldn't say that and was written up. (Never really understood what being written up means anyway). But I digress. it is now a situation where the employee has much more power than the employer. Clearly, that is one of the reasons the economy is going in the crapper. I got the strap in school, paddled at camp and spanked at home. Guess that's the reason I'm so f***ed up. But I digress. Bottom line is the players rule the roost. It is them and them alone that will decide the future of those above them. Make no mistake the players here are playing for themselves and not anybody else. Today there is nothing anybody can do to change that. If and when they decide to play like "grown men" is totally up to them.

Keefe's days are numbered!

"Written up" is evidence against you for any further disciplinary actions as in doing that same thing again which would mean a demotion and the cut in pay that goes with it, but accumulate enough of those and you get fired and they have the proof of why just in case you try to sue over unlawful dismissal.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Who wouldn't take that with a Cup hangover?

I suppose the same folks that put stock into Colorado's 4 wins in 10 games to start last season or Montreal's 1 regulation loss in 10 before. There's a reason sample size plays out every single year. Yet here we are......

 

[ACC1224]

I suppose the same folks that put stock into Colorado's 4 wins in 10 games to start last season or Montreal's 1 regulation loss in 10 before. There's a reason sample size plays out every single year. Yet here we are......

If you believe what goes on here is a small sample size that's certainly your prerogative.
Seems like ground hog day to the rest of us, we've seen it all before.

 

[mapleleaf979]

"We are grown men" translatiion.....

" I make 15 million US coach , have the hottest women chasing me, sit the bleep down and shut up"

Marner makes more in 2 weeks, 1 cheque, than Keefe does all season. In the business world, the highest paid is the boss, the most power etc....Marner probably laughs this off. Marner is far more powerful than his coach, most elite players have the coach kissing their assss.

 

[HolyCrap]

You mean HFLeafs? This place is always a full blown dumpster fire.

I’m a Leafs fan who can’t stand to be in this board more than 5 minutes at a time. The relentless negativity is embarrassing to even associate with.

Well at least the negativity is understandable. The team hasn’t been successful. Not that it can’t change but there’s not a lot of reason for positivity. Unless you prioritize regular season over post season.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

If you believe what goes on here is a small sample size that's certainly your prerogative.
Seems like ground hog day to the rest of us, we've seen it all before.

I should hope you have seen save percentages after 4 games show wild variation versus the long haul.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Play the way they did against TB and they'll beat almost all teams most of the time.

True statement with 1 caveat .. some players will do enough but never quite enough to win irrespective of opponent .. it is a cultural personnel issue deeply rooted in da core players .. no one likes to bring up da 1,000 pound gorilla issue but 6 years of very very tight close series all LOST .. to me it all will come down to a tender who throws these core guys on his back and says boys ride my back I will take you there .. it will never be a coach

 

[Ports]

Welcome to the Kyle Dubas participation trophy team. Nice guy but you know where nice guys usually finish.

 

[killer1980]

"Written up" is evidence against you for any further disciplinary actions as in doing that same thing again which would mean a demotion and the cut in pay that goes with it, but accumulate enough of those and you get fired and they have the proof of why just in case you try to sue over unlawful dismissal.

Thanks for clarifying. Last place I worked I gotten written up over a half a dozen times and when I went to the boss he just laughed and told me not to worry about it. "The HR person had nothing to do with reality."

 

[TorMapleJays]

When was it blown out of proportion? I thought the consensus was most people agreed with Keefe and that they weren't good enough

Keefe was 100% correct in his initial statement. They get paid the big bucks, they should be able to deal with criticism that comes from it. The fact that he had to come out and say "that's not what I meant" is sad and shows the lack of accountability in this organization

And the fact that people still think this is just 4 games is crazy. People aren't upset because of a single loss to Arizona. They're upset because we haven't won a series in 6 straight attempts and are displaying the same exact issues that have plagued us in the past.

Run it back!

 

[Whacky5]

I get why some people are sick of the so called "whiners" in here but there is a reason. We have seen this team play like this before over and over and over again. It's already starting with a few games already, beatable games.

For me personally, we have had the best team we have had in years for the past 7 years. We are spoiled. Great players, great skill, every year we say they are going to do something. Every year, we are contenders. Nothing to show for it.

We have already wasted 7 years with this core. Austin could be just as fed up as us and just walk out at this point. Nobody knows.

For me, time is already passing us by with this team and it scares the shit out of me not knowing what if.

What if, we had paid more attention to our defense unit and goalie than our forward group?

To me, we are running out of time with this group. And the only thing they've shown us, is that they are a great regular season team. That's it.