Mitch the creative passer edition

[Darcy Tucker]

Nylander is trying, you can see that, but he is being dragged down by Johnnie Zombie and Hillybilly Jim

I had to take a second to figure out who Hillbilly Jim is but then Bert's wild appearance flashed in my mind and I lost it lol.

Johnny Zombie couldn't be a more accurate description of our supposed Captain and elite player who I've never seen once properly stick up for his line mates and team he leads despite them carrying his ass to respectability. How the hell are we supposed to win in the playoffs with a pacifist captain who thinks leadership means winning faceoffs and saying mature things in the media.

Matthews got dummied again and nothing happened. No one even took a stick infraction on Manson nor did they get back at that scum bag Benn who chopped Matthews in the ribs last season and hampered his health during a heater.




The overdrive guys hit the bullseye with real talk about this team in that clip. It was refreshing to hear major media members call out the problems bluntly. There are too many passengers and not enough real hockey players on this team. The skill is there. The psychology and grit is not.

 

[pcruz]

Is he is the only guy that does this from time to time?

I can just as easily point out several plays where Marner, instead of stopping and reaching out with his stick, actually tried to separate the player from a puck, than a breakout could have been prevented.

I’m not saying Nylander doesn’t get lazy, but dragging two sloths around the ice isn’t easy

No.

He isn't the only one.
Every player can have a few of these clips made year to year.

Nylander does it much more often than he doesn't.


When he is skating and giving an effort, he is an unreal player.

It's what made him receive $11.5m *8 years.

But when he isn't skating hard, he isn't worth anything at all.

 

[therealkoho]

Is this better guys? Bruh looks like we won a series post game , yet nada here. The selective bs here is a joke.

View attachment 805040

this really stuck in my craw! I mean wtaf you just lost the 4th game in a row while blowing at least a two goal lead in each one

Sure I get the gold fish thing and all that, but still this was immediately after he should've been steaming pure fire, but I guess when you have multi-millions and multi more on the way which are guaranteed, I mean really, who GAF? Right?

 

[francis246]

People love this team, some like myself have been living and dying with them for over 50 years. When they're having as crappy season as they are now, and that comes on the heels of all these years of playoff failures and Marner says "we know we're doing the right things", that demonstrates a complete disconnect from reality so it's completely understandable that some people might want to grab his scrawny little neck through the TV screen and yell at him "no, you f***ing idiot, you're not doing the right things, if you were you wouldn't be losing all the time".

Tied for 16th overall in regulation hockey more than halfway through the season, and this genius, who some of his fanboys like to think is the smartest player in hockey history says "we know we're doing the right things". Yeah, he's a real genius. SMH.

Marner is never going to give you guys the quote you want. Again I think something that’s a result of how he was treated after the extension. And probably what he’s learned through sports psychology sessions to help him cope with that anxiety. I understand I want him to give us a better answer too. But people need to understand what he went through after the extension was probably f***ed. Death threats and everything, add on the car jacking, add on his dad being a o lunatic, it’s very obvious he has been taught recently that you need to have a positive mindset to cope and stay on top of your game. Sorry if that doesn’t work for everyone but it’s what he needs to keep him at whatever level he feels he needs to be. That’s HIS reality. He isn’t responsible for making you feel satisfied through an interview. He is responsible for producing on the ice though.

 

[therealkoho]

Holy smokes, that's perfect!

Now I know why some people think Marner's our "Trump card", it all makes sense now!


Your clan has repeatedly been challenged to find even one post that says "only" Marner is to blame. You got nothing, man up and accept the fact that your golden boy deserves some criticism.

Just because Marner thinks they're "doing all the right things" doesn't mean that his fanboys have to be equally disconnected from reality. Or does it?

The similarities to the brainwashed Trump fanboys are eerie.

cmon really I've never heard you say one negative thing about Matthews ever it's like he's the golden calf or something, and he friggin deserves it sometimes just as much as Mitch and others do!

 

[Gary Nylund]

Marner is never going to give you guys the quote you want. Again I think something that’s a result of how he was treated after the extension. And probably what he’s learned through sports psychology sessions to help him cope with that anxiety. I understand I want him to give us a better answer too. But people need to understand what he went through after the extension was probably f***ed. Death threats and everything, add on the car jacking, add on his dad being a o lunatic, it’s very obvious he has been taught recently that you need to have a positive mindset to cope and stay on top of your game. Sorry if that doesn’t work for everyone but it’s what he needs to keep him at whatever level he feels he needs to be. That’s HIS reality. He isn’t responsible for making you feel satisfied through an interview. He is responsible for producing on the ice though.

I don't care about the quotes themselves, what's concerning is what the quotes indicate about his mindset. He seems to think that they're playing great hockey, that there's no problem, nothing to fix and IMHO, that's very much cause for concern.

And that brings us to the bolded - he may be at the level where he feels he needs to be and he's therefore content but it's simply not good enough, and it's not enough to justify his cap hit. He just doesn't get that many of our players need to be better, and he's most definitely one of them.

cmon really I've never heard you say one negative thing about Matthews ever it's like he's the golden calf or something, and he friggin deserves it sometimes just as much as Mitch and others do!

Maybe you missed what said just the other day so I'll say it again - he's number 2 on my list of our players who deserve blame. Good enough?

 

[francis246]

Why not just say, "we've lost 4 in a row, yeah I feel frustrated"? Instead, he opens his mouth and sticks both feet in.

Maybe he doesn’t actually feel frustrated? It’s only 4 games, still in a playoff spot. Top line is the only line scoring goals. So I think their perspective of what’s going on is completely different than what the fan perspective. (Some could argue that’s a problem in itself). But I don’t think athletes look at loosing streaks as make or break as we do. You cannot have that kind of mindset in an 82 game schedule

 

[ToneDog]

Maybe he doesn’t actually feel frustrated? It’s only 4 games, still in a playoff spot. Top line is the only line scoring goals. So I think their perspective of what’s going on is completely different than what the fan perspective. (Some could argue that’s a problem in itself). But I don’t think athletes look at loosing streaks as make or break as we do. You cannot have that kind of mindset in an 82 game schedule

Sure but why make it "us" against "them". He won't win that battle. All the morning sports talking heads are talking about it and nobody is taking his side.

 

[francis246]

I don't care about the quotes themselves, what's concerning is what the quotes indicate about his mindset. He seems to think that they're playing great hockey, that there's no problem, nothing to fix and IMHO, that's very much cause for concern.

And that brings us to the bolded - he may be at the level where he feels he needs to be and he's therefore content but it's simply not good enough, and it's not enough to justify his cap hit. He just doesn't get that many of our players need to be better, and he's most definitely one of them.


Maybe you missed what said just the other day so I'll say it again - he's number 2 on my list of our players who deserve blame. Good enough?

They obviously care and do you think professional athletes are not talking in the room?

The leafs don’t have the personality of burying guys in the media. We don’t have a Nate Mac or Devon Toews A type personality on our team. Marner and Matthews aren’t going to go out there and say Brodie can’t play defense for his life and we can’t get a save. Some teams are comfortable going public with those things. Others prefer to keep it in the room. The leafs are the latter whether we like it or not.

 

[therealkoho]

Maybe you missed what said just the other day so I'll say it again - he's number 2 on my list of our players who deserve blame. Good enough?

yes I did miss it, but you have to admit you guys who obsess on Marner it's all GDT long, it's all PGT long and for every Matthews critique there's 30 for Marner, you know the guy who leads the team in scoring most years since year 1.

Maybe he doesn’t actually feel frustrated? It’s only 4 games, still in a playoff spot. Top line is the only line scoring goals. So I think their perspective of what’s going on is completely different than what the fan perspective. (Some could argue that’s a problem in itself). But I don’t think athletes look at loosing streaks as make or break as we do. You cannot have that kind of mindset in an 82 game schedule

Yes for sure it's different, but these guys would fight their own mothers to win it all. I didn't make it and I'll tell you I hated friggin losing just as much as the guys I knew who did make it. They don't take it lightly, the insatiable desire to never fail, to always win burns bright in them.

 

[capfit9]

Sure but why make it "us" against "them". He won't win that battle. All the morning sports talking heads are talking about it and nobody is taking his side.

its us against them until it comes to his Marner Assist Fund

 

[therealkoho]

They obviously care and do you think professional athletes are not talking in the room?

The leafs don’t have the personality of burying guys in the media. We don’t have a Nate Mac or Devon Toews A type personality on our team. Marner and Matthews aren’t going to go out there and say Brodie can’t play defense for his life and we can’t get a save. Some teams are comfortable going public with those things. Others prefer to keep it in the room. The leafs are the latter whether we like it or not.

doh why in dogs name did you have to mention Brodie, FACK

 

[francis246]

Sure but why make it "us" against "them". He won't win that battle. All the morning sports talking heads are talking about it and nobody is taking his side.

I don’t think he cares if they aren’t on his side. He already feels that divide. A lot of it he brought on himself. But I do think at times he is the easy target for everyone.

 

[Gary Nylund]

They obviously care and do you think professional athletes are not talking in the room?

The leafs don’t have the personality of burying guys in the media. We don’t have a Nate Mac or Devon Toews A type personality on our team. Marner and Matthews aren’t going to go out there and say Brodie can’t play defense for his life and we can’t get a save. Some teams are comfortable going public with those things. Others prefer to keep it in the room. The leafs are the latter whether we like it or not.

I don't care what goes on in the room, I care when they play badly as they almost always tend to do in the biggest games and now that malaise seems to have spread to the regular season.

It's this core that keeps failing in the playoffs, scoring 0/1 goals in game 7's too many times is abject failure and that's why M&M are at the top of my list of people to blame, not Brodie. JMHO.

yes I did miss it, but you have to admit you guys who obsess on Marner it's all GDT long, it's all PGT long and for every Matthews critique there's 30 for Marner, you know the guy who leads the team in scoring most years since year 1.

Yes for sure it's different, but these guys would fight their own mothers to win it all. I didn't make it and I'll tell you I hated friggin losing just as much as the guys I knew who did make it. They don't take it lightly, the insatiable desire to never fail, to always win burns bright in them.

And there's also a number of people who seem to get upset whenever Marner gets criticized, and they pretend that nobody else is taking any heat which is a complete joke. Maybe this crybaby complex is part of the reason so many people are piling on Marner - if his lovers would stop pretending that he's the only one being criticized, people might ease up bit.

OK you missed what I said, I would only add that I have MANY times said that IMO the lions share of the blame goes to M&M, which of course means Matthews and Marner so yes, I have pointed the finger at Matthews MANY times.

I believe you hated to lose, it doesn't seem like our players as a whole care that much though. JMHO.

 

[Dragao6]

Another gem.
Yes Mitch it's the media forcing the frustrating on you guys. He's literally the only person on this team who taunts the media like this.

This kind of stuff that make me believe these guys are happy, playing together and don’t want to do it anywhere else. They don’t care abou Leafsnation


Yet our idiot GMs can’t find a way to get fair or slightly discounted deals for them in an attempt to put together a winning roster

 

[notDatsyuk]

Watch a replay of the EN goal yesterday.

44 and 88 are manning the points.

44 busts his ass to get to the puck before it goes in, 88 doesn't even leave the offensive zone.

On Sunday, there was a play when 16 made it back to a defensive position before 88 did.

16 was behind the offensive net, and 88 was between the blue line and the circle.

That's not the definition of trying.

It is the single biggest gripe I have with 88, and it seemingly will never change.

Yeah - he passed it to Marner who flubbed it right to the Oiler. I don't suppose you noticed he was the first one back in the previous play, which was also a result of Marner making a bad pass?

 

[rumman]

Is he is the only guy that does this from time to time?

I can just as easily point out several plays where Marner, instead of stopping and reaching out with his stick, actually tried to separate the player from a puck, than a breakout could have been prevented.

I’m not saying Nylander doesn’t get lazy, but dragging two sloths around the ice isn’t easy

So the excuse for 88’s game falling off is his line mates? Okay, but one would think a player worth his new deal could drive his own line, but I guess that’s asking too much……..

 

[rumman]

cmon really I've never heard you say one negative thing about Matthews ever it's like he's the golden calf or something, and he friggin deserves it sometimes just as much as Mitch and others do!

34, 16, 88, all have the same weakness, no killer instinct, obtuse about winning if it takes more than a game of shinny, I sometimes wonder what the Leaf alumni must think of these divas, all the talent in the world and couldn’t care less………

 

[frizzer1]

I’m a big marner fan but he needs to use the pr team to tell him what say.
Those comments were ridiculous.
Having said that, although he’s been having an off year, he played really well last night.
He should just shut uo.

 

[rumman]

doh why in dogs name did you have to mention Brodie, FACK

Brodie’s useless, screw up highlight machine…….

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Brodie’s useless, screw up highlight machine…….

It is not Brodie's, or even Keefer's fault, he is playing many many levels over his head .. it has been completely obvious to most of us ex players hanging out at hot Stove all season long .. folks it is Shanny/Tre's issue and those 2 dummies have done nothing about it all season long .. what do you expect Keefer to do? .. he has 1 top 4 D on his team Rielly .. last night he gassed him out badly and look what happened .. he was so gassed he could clear a puck late in game and we lost .. folks no pro team can play D with a #1 and 6 other guys who are all at best #6 guys .. it is next to impossible to coach through that problem

 

[Lemontree]

Shouldn't the title say "passenger" instead of "passer"?

To be fair to Marner, outside of MoRi......the term would apply to most of the core of this team on a nightly basis.

 

[Ports]

Willie's full NMC kicks in July 1st. A team trading for him now gets him for a playoff run and 8 more years. You can now sell high and get market value if you can find a taker unless Tre promised not to trade him while he is GM.

By NHL rules, His full NMC kicked in the moment he signed his new contract. Can’t be traded without his approval now.

 

[Ports]

He seems to like to scold the fans a lot. After the Red Wings game he blamed Leaf fans for being too hard on Holl when he was a Leaf. Isn’t Holl your opponent now ? So you decide to defend your opponent against your own fan base who pay your overpaid salary. That shows a lack of maturity and is a totally tone deaf thing to say. He is basically saying he disrespects Leaf fans. He’s way too thin skinned for this market. He should ask to be traded to help himself and also this team.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Johnny Zombie couldn't be a more accurate description of our supposed Captain and elite player who I've never seen once properly stick up for his line mates and team he leads despite them carrying his ass to respectability. How the hell are we supposed to win in the playoffs with a pacifist captain who thinks leadership means winning faceoffs and saying mature things in the media.

I've said it many times on here, JT was a great player but a horrendous pick for a Captain. No jam, no balls, no pushback, no juice.