Sorry I dont agree....
All playing by the same rules in playoffs is a poor excuse.
You build your team on ONE set of rules the NHL have put out. Every professional sport does this.
We didnt see Tom Brady get pile driven in playoffs as the rules didnt change. You dont see LeBron get elbowed constantly in playoffs because the rules didnt change.
But in the NHL it is accepted by alot of fans that all of a sudden.....playoff hockey is all about showing aggressiveness....and deem it "Heart" which in fact it isnt heart....its that they can get away with cheap shots and late hits...that is all. They got penalized in regular season and in playoffs refs turn a blind eye.
All because the rules change....and if you dont want to admit it or not....the rules benefit the goons. Look at Chariot....got a big contract and trade value because he was some sort of stud in playoffs with the Habs and he really is just a bum player and only excels in playoffs because when your slow and cant skate....you can interfere...crosscheck...and try to bully players without any consequences.
Not all players have to look like Tucker or Gillmour or as you mentioned Gudas to have heart. Did you see Gretzky or Lemieux, Kane...Bossy...etc ....fight? or play dirty? They were all pretty stoic in their play like many others.....But I never hear fans complain they had no heart....
You say our players dont compete enough....and it was said that Mathews had a very high level of it.....same with Marner. But when the camera go on them in scrums.....Fans complain because they dont get involved in glove washes to the face and all that other crap that happens after the whistle.
I bet you thought Sundin didnt have a compete level too.
We have no idea how much fire some have in their belly. You can claim Clark and Glilly and all those other leafs had it....because they supposedly showed it on their sleeve but that means very little in judging someones character.
I’m sorry but I dont get into all that show....played alot ....seen them come and go. Seen players be the silent assassins and also seen alot of players act like fools after the whistle...couldnt skate worth a crap or pass the puck but they sure could do a great glove wash and if you got the better of them in trash talking....then they wanted to fight to show you who the man was.......hahaha..
But yeah.....I do agree changes have to be made......but I also feel very lucky to see one of the best leaf teams I have seen in over 50 yrs of watching the leafs. Even with all their flaws and no stability in nets....they put up record numbers.
All for not to some.....I mean....we keep on hearing how ROR was a great add, a playoff warrior and please resign him again.....but he showed less pushback then all our stars.....damn...even Holl had a fight. ......but not a peep from anyone that he didnt compete enough ....
Funny how perception works....
I dont see how complaining about how the game is called in the playoffs and saying its unfair does any good like at all. Complaining and wishing it was different does what exactly? Bringing up other sports means nothing to me. Go watch them then if thats what you prefer. Hockey is fast and things happen quickly. Its war baby.
I work with people who complain about how things are run all the time...they know better than the owners how to run their business and complain constantly about how it should be done. Drives me nuts....do the job or leave or start your own business and make whatever rules you want.
I didnt say Gudas has heart though he does....you called him and the panthers goons and I was responding to that and said I would love a guy like Gudas on the leafs D punishing the opposition. The rules benefit the goons?....how many goons were on Vegas again? Vegas didnt seem to have a problem handling the Panthers goonery.
Calling the panthers goons who took out 3 top teams including us is saying our little boys cant handle it and its not fair. Tough shit....time to put on the big boy pants or face the same result next time.
So the leafs arent soft as butter? re Gretzky messier, rosehill, kypryeos and a bunch of others think differently... you know guys who actually played in the nhl and understand what it takes. Gretztky got over 200 pts in a season and is the all time best player in the world.....dont think lack of jam is a concern with him however even Gretzky and Messier called out Nylander last year when he did one of his famous pull backs, both stating you cant do that in the playoffs you just cant. And gretz this year calling the stars MIA. So yea Ill listen to what they have to say which goes right along my thoughts as well over an internet guy on hf boards who is trying to force the opinion that M$M are amongst the most competitive players in the league.
Players dont need to fight to have jam or be tough...wish people would stop with that...mention toughness and some around here immediately go to mouthbreathers and knuckledraggers....always taking it to the extreme.
Liked Sundin a lot til he signed with the Canucks.
So while I hear what your saying, I just dont agree. You can keep teliing me how great of a team we are over and over but I have my own opinion and it isnt that. I did feel lucky at first with this bunch but as each year goes by the warts keep revealing themselves and it seems like the ones in charge want to bury their heads in the sand and act like we are on the cusp of greatness and as a result just keep repeating what failed the year before.
