HF Habs: Out of Town Thread: 2025 Playoff edition

[Tyson]

How do you blow up a team with so little in your prospect pool? No 1st round picks to offer. Win now at all costs is about to set this franchise back. Now you lose two players for nothing.
Marner will be remembered as the selfish player who nixed a trade at the deadline.

 

[JianYang]

How do you blow up a team with so little in your prospect pool? No 1st round picks to offer. Win now at all costs is about to set this franchise back. Now you lose two players for nothing.
Marner will be remembered as the selfish player who nixed a trade at the deadline.

You don't.

Your biggest asset becomes cap space, but in a year where everyone is getting an injection of cap space, it might be the as enticing of an asset that it used to be.

They won't blow it up, but it's going to be a tough situation for retooling too.

 

[CzarDemidov]

How do you blow up a team with so little in your prospect pool? No 1st round picks to offer. Win now at all costs is about to set this franchise back. Now you lose two players for nothing.
Marner will be remembered as the selfish player who nixed a trade at the deadline.

It’s within his right to nix trades, he has that ability and option.

The blame is on management/administration.

 

[windycity]

For a fleeting moment, as last night's game clock wound down, I felt a tiny crack in my cold black heart for the Leafs—like, actual sympathy for their long-suffering fans as they watch the Leafs choke yet again.

Then I got mad. Mad at the Leafs for making me feel bad for them. And just like that, my Leafs hatred was renewed, stronger than ever.

(Actually I do feel bad for Leafs' fans)

 

[OldCraig71]

It’s one thing to get yelled at by McDavid. He more than pulls his weight. Killing himself to win and leads by example. When he yells it commands attention because if he’s pulling his weight, I’d better pull mine.

Marner did absolutely nothing. He’s supposed to LEAD. Instead he’s screaming at guys on the bench.

Like, what’s the message here Mitch? Am I supposed to play like you? Am I supposed to avoid hits and give up on pucks? Am I supposed to keep to the outside of the slot and make perimeter plays?

It’s totally different to get yelled at by a guy who’s leading vs a guy who’s not.

I think it was a sarcastic parting shot because he knows he'll be somewhere else next year. The Leafs need to part ways with Matthews as well. He is the real problem, and I have always said this. That dude is petrified of playoff hockey and needs to be sent packing.

 

[Tyson]

It’s within his right to nix trades, he has that ability and option.

The blame is on management/administration.

% he had that right and management agreed to those terms of that contract.

 

[morhilane]

How do you blow up a team with so little in your prospect pool? No 1st round picks to offer. Win now at all costs is about to set this franchise back. Now you lose two players for nothing.
Marner will be remembered as the selfish player who nixed a trade at the deadline.

Summer 2021-2022 was their period to retool their core and they decided to double down on it instead and gave no movement clause to all the core (even Tanev has it). Now, Tavarse is getting old, Marner is very likely to ditch them on July 1st and they got nothing left in their pool/picks to make acquisitions.

 

[Soaker]

It's a cold and sunless but it's a beautiful day.lol

 

[Team_Spirit]

The 2 catchphrases of summer 2025

Rise and shine motherf***er
Ca va bien Montréaaaaaaal

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Brad Marchand is a hero , a gentleman and a scholar

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I think it was a sarcastic parting shot because he knows he'll be somewhere else next year. The Leafs need to part ways with Matthews as well. He is the real problem, and I have always said this. That dude is petrified of playoff hockey and needs to be sent packing.

At least Matthews has an injury excuse. I think under different circumstances he can be effective.

Marner is a complete ghost. He’s surly, entitled, defiant… he’s poison. I don’t want anything to do with him. I thought maybe he’d learned something at Four Nations but it was the same old with him.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Morgan..lol

In fact I was r not esponding to you directly in the sens that I always find strange that fans were always critical of Marner and not Matthews.



When you look to both players both deserve critics in my view and I am not sure that Matthews is better than
Marmer..that's all

Toronto won s...with both of them but you know what...I would sign Marner and trade Matthews if I was them cause it's unbelievable that they will loose Marner for nothing and also.... Matthews has a bigger value on the trade market even if Marner had a contract.

Now there is some good chance this Summer that they will loose Marner for nothing and they will still loose big games with Matthews

If you prefer Marner to Mathews that is your prerogative and who am I to tell you who you should prefer.

I think both of them are poor playoff performers who consistently disappear in big games. I prefer Mathews because he at least brings some level of physicality and does not whine and cry like Marner does. The only reason that I could justify keeping Marner over Mathews is Mathews health concerns as 2 out of the last 3 seasons he was severely limited by an upper body injury that derailed his entire season from training camp until elimination and there certainly appears to be a real possibility that he may have a chronic issue.

Mathews was unquestionably better than Marner over the last two elimination games despite clearly being injured. Marner had egregious turnovers in both games and was not involved in puck battles nearly to the same extent as Mathews. Combine this with Marner's childish antics on the bench as well as yelling at his teammates like a D and D player having a hissy fit.

I think we agree that both players have serious issues and personally, I don't want either one with the cap hit that they command.

 

[SpeedyPotato]

It’s within his right to nix trades, he has that ability and option.

The blame is on management/administration.

Yup, it is absolutely within his rights, but I’ll also understand the fans who’ll be pissed at him for nixing a trade before walking for free a few months later. It is however 100% on the management as you said.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

There's no one i would want that they'd trade. Just worthless losers like Matthews and Rielly.

Yeah guy who scored 69 goals is worthless, let's be honest any team that gets Matthews improves their chance to make the playoffs by a huge margin. I'm glad HuGo isn't drinking the haterade.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Unreal.

 

[OldCraig71]

At least Matthews has an injury excuse. I think under different circumstances he can be effective.

Marner is a complete ghost. He’s surly, entitled, defiant… he’s poison. I don’t want anything to do with him. I thought maybe he’d learned something at Four Nations but it was the same old with him.

The injury excuse seems to pop up for Matthews every spring when he underperforms. The media PR game is strong around him, which kind of reminds me of the job the French media did when protecting a useless Bergevin.

Matthews has been a disappointment every year and needs to go along with Marner, both are equally poisoning for that roster.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Stephen A....

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Yeah guy who scored 69 goals is worthless, let's be honest any team that gets Matthews improves their chance to make the playoffs by a huge margin. I'm glad HuGo isn't drinking the haterade.

What is the point of that if the exact same player reduces your chance of winning a cup?

These arguments of equating offensive stats to winning is incredibly weak and are entirely devoid of context. Barkov has never scored 40 goals and Sam Bennet has a career high of 28 goals yet both of them are far more valuable than Mathews.

I honestly would take Suzuki over Mathews for a playoff run as well.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The injury excuse seems to pop up for Matthews every spring when he underperforms. The media PR game is strong around him, which kind of reminds me of the job the French media did when protecting a useless Bergevin.

Matthews has been a disappointment every year and needs to go along with Marner, both are equally poisoning for that roster.

The reality is that he's been hurt the past three playoffs... it's just a fact.

Totally agree he had several chances before that but I've always felts he's played better than Marner. Marner doesn't just not produce, he makes plays that actively hurt the team. Every year a key goal gets scored against Toronto because Marner does something dumb. It's unbelievable.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Brad Marchand is a hero , a gentleman and a scholar

And suddenly I'm feeling nauseous.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

What is the point of that if the exact same player reduces your chance of winning a cup?

These arguments of equating offensive stats to winning is incredibly weak and are entirely devoid of context. Barkov has never scored 40 goals and Sam Bennet has a career high of 28 goals yet both of them are far more valuable than Mathews.

I honestly would take Suzuki over Mathews for a playoff run as well.

Because you take Matthews out of Toronto and you don't know what happens. Change of scenery is not just a cliche it has happened so many times. There are lots of teams that don't even get to dream of making the playoffs, you dangle a 69 goal scorer in front of them and they will be drooling.

 

[ahmedou]

PLAYOFFS SERIES WIN SINCE 04/05 SEASON LOCKOUT

BUFFALO (LAST PLAYOFFS SINCE SEASON 10/11) : 4

TORONTO: 2

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If you prefer Marner to Mathews that is your prerogative and who am I to tell you who you should prefer.

I think both of them are poor playoff performers who consistently disappear in big games. I prefer Mathews because he at least brings some level of physicality and does not whine and cry like Marner does. The only reason that I could justify keeping Marner over Mathews is Mathews health concerns as 2 out of the last 3 seasons he was severely limited by an upper body injury that derailed his entire season from training camp until elimination and there certainly appears to be a real possibility that he may have a chronic issue.

Mathews was unquestionably better than Marner over the last two elimination games despite clearly being injured. Marner had egregious turnovers in both games and was not involved in puck battles nearly to the same extent as Mathews. Combine this with Marner's childish antics on the bench as well as yelling at his teammates like a D and D player having a hissy fit.

I think we agree that both players have serious issues and personally, I don't want either one with the cap hit that they command.

Agree.

But... being better than Marner isn't saying a whole lot. Even if we give Matthews the benefit of the doubt over the past few years, he's never really produced. He's too talented to give up on but Marner is just a whole other level of bad.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Yeah guy who scored 69 goals is worthless, let's be honest any team that gets Matthews improves their chance to make the playoffs by a huge margin. I'm glad HuGo isn't drinking the haterade.

For free? I'd take him and his cap hit.

But you wouldn't get him for free. It'd be a premium and there's no way I'd pay it.

 

[ahmedou]

Ca va bien Montréaaaaaaal

ÇAAA VAAA BIIIEEEN TOOOROOONTOOO!!!