Me: No Panic from this Leaf Fan

[Wami]

Have you ever been in a fantasy league and dumped a player because he had like 3-4 bad games, only to have him get picked up by someone else and start producing like crazy?

You gotta be-leaf. Us fans feed the media machine in Toronto, and these players play under a microscope, you can't pretend that isn't a factor for teams. It's no coincidence that the players in interviews keep repeating things like "forgetting about last game" or "not getting discouraged". It's hard to not get discouraged when the fourth largest city in North America is collectively calling for you to get the **** out.

So... Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to Holzer - he made a pretty sweet heads-up pass to kessel off the boards for that second goal, he's a big body kid who I think has a high ceiling.

Now, when it comes to Kostka, I share the pain with everybody else when I watch him make all these bush league mistakes, BUT you have too look at it from Nonis's point of view. It's all about leverage I think. When the team was buzzing, I bet Nonis was pretty close to pulling the trigger on a deal, but as we start to falter a bit here Nonis loses leverage in any negotiations - and with everyone buzzing about how crappy our rookie D are, Liles and Komisarek become harder to get good return for - other teams know we need them more than we did a couple weeks ago.

So, sure you have every right to be upset as a Leafs fan, but can't we avoid being hyperbolic? All these cries to trade Holzer and Kostka do absolutely nothing but fuel the negative media machine. I definitely agree that leafs fans constant negativity in these situations makes it very hard on the players. You might say that it's their job to ignore the bad press, but with so much youth on our Roster, you can't expect them to deal with it like a veteran might. If anything, I would be as supportive as possible to these guys.

 

[Stephen]

I don't see any reason to be taking it easy. The Leafs have been looking shaky for weeks now. It's just at this point they stopped getting the bounces that let them win despite not playing well.

And really if anyone needs a bag skate it's Carlyle. His bad decisions are starting to come and cost us. Overplaying guys above what they are capable of and stubbornly refusing to make use of the guys he has available to him.

I'll sacrifice the cool standing of saying "no panic here" and say the team better step the hell up and prove there isn't anything to panic about.

Well said.

 

[pucky]

Every year, the majority of fans are enthusiastic and have high expectations but then at the last portion of the season, these same fans are getting antsy and frustrated. Yet, there's always a few who say 'don't worry.'

What does it take, man?!?

The ONLY reason to be positive is if you think the drafting/cupboard (i.e. prospects) is looking good. That remains to be seen.

 

[KPower]

This team has won many games where they played bad and now they're losing those games.

There is reason to panic, this team is in trouble.

 

[LeafsJaysRaptors]

Panic? Come on guys.. nobody should be panicking. If we fall apart and collapse, at least we'll get a solid draft pick! Isn't that what everybody wanted? If that's the worst case scenerio, then so be it. "There's always next year"

 

[ungentrified]

Panic? Come on guys.. nobody should be panicking. If we fall apart and collapse, at least we'll get a solid draft pick! Isn't that what everybody wanted? If that's the worst case scenerio, then so be it. "There's always next year"

At this rate though, if the Leafs do worse in this stretch they still are not bad enough to fall into the top five in the draft. It is quite possible that even if we do the worst we possibly can we will end up in the dreaded 9th-14th position of mediocrity.

What irks me more though is just as there are perpetual optimists in the fanbase who keep on telling us not to worry, there are the perpetual "realists" who never fail to remind us that they "totally knew" that the Leafs are a terrible team and will never make the playoffs, and come across as wanting to be right about that rather than actually enjoying cheering for the team. Sure, given the results of recent years being continually negative and gloomy is easy, but when you are at the point where every single post you make is like that you should really question why you are even a Leafs fan.

 

[blue82]

Have you ever been in a fantasy league and dumped a player because he had like 3-4 bad games, only to have him get picked up by someone else and start producing like crazy?

You gotta be-leaf. Us fans feed the media machine in Toronto, and these players play under a microscope, you can't pretend that isn't a factor for teams. It's no coincidence that the players in interviews keep repeating things like "forgetting about last game" or "not getting discouraged". It's hard to not get discouraged when the fourth largest city in North America is collectively calling for you to get the **** out.

So... Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to Holzer - he made a pretty sweet heads-up pass to kessel off the boards for that second goal, he's a big body kid who I think has a high ceiling.

Now, when it comes to Kostka, I share the pain with everybody else when I watch him make all these bush league mistakes, BUT you have too look at it from Nonis's point of view. It's all about leverage I think. When the team was buzzing, I bet Nonis was pretty close to pulling the trigger on a deal, but as we start to falter a bit here Nonis loses leverage in any negotiations - and with everyone buzzing about how crappy our rookie D are, Liles and Komisarek become harder to get good return for - other teams know we need them more than we did a couple weeks ago.

So, sure you have every right to be upset as a Leafs fan, but can't we avoid being hyperbolic? All these cries to trade Holzer and Kostka do absolutely nothing but fuel the negative media machine. I definitely agree that leafs fans constant negativity in these situations makes it very hard on the players. You might say that it's their job to ignore the bad press, but with so much youth on our Roster, you can't expect them to deal with it like a veteran might. If anything, I would be as supportive as possible to these guys.

well said

 

[The Blue Devil]

After that, can you run a drill that will turn Colton Orr into a 20 goal man?

Why aim for the sky when you can go for the moon? Let's turn him into a 50 goal man!

 

[misha1976]

i heard Joe Bowens comment about the leafs needing to tighten the lugs before the wheels start to fall off, i love Joe but that really wasnt necessary..we need to stay positive to get through this little hiccup because laugh if you will but the players need all the support they can get, its a wonder how some of the other teams make the playoffs year in and year out? i remember most of us were expecting ottawa to crash and burn last year..then they went through a stretch were they lost a few games in a row.. but then they dug deep and fought through it..a part of me believes that had that been the toronto fan & media base then they would not have been able to overcome the negativity...i know alot of you reading this are probably just as positive as me but i need others to keep this in mind, i have no doubt in my mind that the leafs will play one of their best games of the year on thursday (im not predicting a win just a great played game) and same for saturdays rematch against winnipeg..we are not the same team as in the past, we have a very thick skin, all the naysayers will soon realize this..but it all starts right here GO LEAFS GO!! sorry for the run on paragraph

Sens fan and I come in peace. I like when the Leafs and the Sens do well because what's a rivalry without two competitive teams? I do think that the pressure to get the moon is far higher in Toronto than other markets. When a team is doing well, but has serious deficiencies, the response from the Toronto media and a section of the fan base is blow the ****er up, this performance is unacceptable! We need to win and we need to win now. I'm from Toronto originally so I can see how much less pressure there is in my adopted and lovely, yet sleepy town.

It seems you guys have a good core and have fixed some of the problems from last year. Hope you can stay the course in spite of the pressure cooker atmosphere in TO.