Playoff Race Thread

[LeafsNation75]

With tonight's win the Leafs are now up to 59 points and 2 behind the Panthers for 3rd in the Atlantic.

They are also 2 points behind Carolina for the 2nd Wild Card spot and 3 points behind Columbus for the 1st Wild Card spot.

 

[willmma]

We gained a point on Tampa

 

[robertmac43]

Maybe Shanahan told Lou try to sign Marleau if he could, that doesn't mean he wanted him to give him 3 years. Also if it was true that Babcock wanted Marleau signed what does that say about Lou's reputation since he was forced into it by the head coach who he technically could have fired and was giving an extra year to a player who never played for him before.

He wasn't going to sign if the third year was not on the table. If we wanted to Patty we had to bite the bullet on giving him a 3 year deal.

 

[LeafsNation75]

He wasn't going to sign if the third year was not on the table. If we wanted to Patty we had to bite the bullet on giving him a 3 year deal.

Than Lou should have told him thanks but no thanks if he wanted a 3 year contract.

 

[Warden of the North]

We play the Panthers on Monday. Absolutely crucial game and a must win in regulation.

 

[ACC1224]

Than Lou should have told him thanks but no thanks if he wanted a 3 year contract.

Hindsight the 3rd year was brutal, no question.
When signing it they didn't consider that they would need to cap space this year.
The thinking was they would have more than enough to cover it.

 

[weems]

This is a pretty cool tweet that outlines each teams remaining schedule and has it colour coded for days rest.

Most interesting thing is we have 6 games where we will be facing a team on their 2nd half of a back to back while we have at least 1+ days of rest heading in.

For comparisons sake Florida, the team we are chasing has ZERO.

 

[Bomber0104]

We gained a point on Tampa

Realistically our focus should be on getting ahead of Florida.

As long as Bob continues to play like garbage, I think we easily should.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Hindsight the 3rd year was brutal, no question.
When signing it they didn't consider that they would need to cap space this year.
The thinking was they would have more than enough to cover it.

Hard to believe Lou was that dumb. Then again, that contract was incredibly dumb so whatever his reasoning was, it was that dumb.

 

[willmma]

This is a pretty cool tweet that outlines each teams remaining schedule and has it colour coded for days rest.

Most interesting thing is we have 6 games where we will be facing a team on their 2nd half of a back to back while we have at least 1+ days of rest heading in.

For comparisons sake Florida, the team we are chasing has ZERO.

And they have 6 back to backs, we have 4.

But the most important games are the ones on Feb 3 and Feb 27.

 

[Vaive50]

And they have 6 back to backs, we have 4.

But the most important games are the ones on Feb 3 and Feb 27.

Those games are the crucial 4-pointers but beating the Stars tomorrow and Sens (on Saturday) is also very crucial as that could have us ahead of the Panthers when we play them on Monday but most likely not as I'm sure they will beat the Habs on Saturday but then at least we can be tie with them going into the game against the Panthers.

 

[ACC1224]

Hard to believe Lou was that dumb. Then again, that contract was incredibly dumb so whatever his reasoning was, it was that dumb.

Dumb in hindsight sure but at the time no one would have predicted that Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares would be given the contracts they were.

 

[Bluelines]

Inside the mind of a Leaf fan, is there ever a time where half our fan base is not in a state of complete anxiety?

It's January... breathe....

 

[Bluelines]

Hard to believe Lou was that dumb. Then again, that contract was incredibly dumb so whatever his reasoning was, it was that dumb.

Calling it incredibly dumb is myopic. As much as Marleau was brought here for scoring depth, Lou felt Marleau and his incredible worth ethic and leadership would rub off on the young core and help them develop into superstars.

Hockey is more than goals and assists, there are humans somewhere under those jerseys, with human emotions, bad habits and inexperience under those helmets. Perhaps Marleau is a big part of why Marner, Nylander and Matthews are so well adjusted in the pressure cooker we call Toronto.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Calling it incredibly dumb is myopic. As much as Marleau was brought here for scoring depth, Lou felt Marleau and his incredible worth ethic and leadership would rub off on the young core and help them develop into superstars.

Hockey is more than goals and assists, there are humans somewhere under those jerseys, with human emotions, bad habits and inexperience under those helmets. Perhaps Marleau is a big part of why Marner, Nylander and Matthews are so well adjusted in the pressure cooker we call Toronto.

Do you really believe that? Marleau is from Sask. He played in California where no one knows your name. I think it is a real stretch that he helped the kids understand anything related to pressure cookers? What he did do is help kids understand how to get overpaid. This guy took us for a ride. Used his HOF status and Babs love to make a nice haul off the ultra rich Leafs. Same with Babs by the way. Basically 1 good year for 2 front loaded massively overpaid years and a 1st in a deep draft year.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Dumb in hindsight sure but at the time no one would have predicted that Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares would be given the contracts they were.

No, it was dumb at the time and there were a ton of people here who knew it at the time and said so.

IIRC many people here figured we'd probably end up losing Gardiner because of that contract, the fact that the contracts for the big guys ended up being bigger then expected just meant that we lost not just Gardiner but also a 1st round pick because we didn't want to lose players like Kapanen and/or Johnsson.

The bottom line is that we expected to be in win mode by this time, it was clear that wasting cap space on Marleau would hurt the team and that's exactly what happened. The fact that at the time we couldn't tell the exact specific way it would hurt doesn't change that one bit.

 

[IPS]

Do you really believe that? Marleau is from Sask. He played in California where no one knows your name. I think it is a real stretch that he helped the kids understand anything related to pressure cookers? What he did do is help kids understand how to get overpaid. This guy took us for a ride. Used his HOF status and Babs love to make a nice haul off the ultra rich Leafs. Same with Babs by the way. Basically 1 good year for 2 front loaded massively overpaid years and a 1st in a deep draft year.

Agreed 100%.

It was pure stupidity and incompetence on Lou's end giving that 3rd year to Marleau. I could stomach the first year, but he was nothing more than a useless floater for the 2nd year who got loads of undeserved ice-time. Like you said, Marleau took us for a ride.

People can justify it with "leadership" all they like, but you never, EVER pay that kind of a premium for leadership.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Agreed 100%.

It was pure stupidity and incompetence on Lou's end giving that 3rd year to Marleau. I could stomach the first year, but he was nothing more than a useless floater for the 2nd year who got loads of undeserved ice-time. Like you said, Marleau took us for a ride.

People can justify it with "leadership" all they like, but you never, EVER pay that kind of a premium for leadership.

i could even stomach the second year but the third was inexcusable.

 

[ACC1224]

No, it was dumb at the time and there were a ton of people here who knew it at the time and said so.

IIRC many people here figured we'd probably end up losing Gardiner because of that contract, the fact that the contracts for the big guys ended up being bigger then expected just meant that we lost not just Gardiner but also a 1st round pick because we didn't want to lose players like Kapanen and/or Johnsson.

The bottom line is that we expected to be in win mode by this time, it was clear that wasting cap space on Marleau would hurt the team and that's exactly what happened. The fact that at the time we couldn't tell the exact specific way it would hurt doesn't change that one bit.

I don't recall that and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
I'd love to see these predictions of 40 mil tied up in 4 forwards at the time of his signing.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I don't recall that and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
I'd love to see these predictions of 40 mil tied up in 4 forwards at the time of his signing.

Maybe try reading my post again, I didn't say anyone predicted those specific dollar amounts and that's not the point.

Even better, go back and read the Marleau signing thread. There were many people saying that the third year of the contract was a disaster, those people made a whole lot of sense at the time and they've been proven right.

 

[ACC1224]

Maybe try reading my post again, I didn't say anyone predicted those specific dollar amounts and that's not the point.

Even better, go back and read the Marleau signing thread. There were many people saying that the third year of the contract was a disaster, those people made a whole lot of sense at the time and they've been proven right.

It's ok, I'll pass on the re-read and take your word for it.

I do know that for many here, everything is a disaster. Probably why I don't recall this instance, just lumped it in with the rest.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

i could even stomach the second year but the third was inexcusable.

Sorry I could not stomach the 2nd year. Everyone knew it at camp at MC before season started when Marleau flat out could only compete for the first rep or two in a 5-10 rep practice camp routine. He was flat out gassed. Father time caught him. We should have done something about it then before everyone else figured it out. Maybe SJ could have been fooled. Instead we sat on it and it festered. It was like the emperor's new clothes which were really no clothes at all. and Babs did not want to look bad on his call so he played him through it. The whole thing made me SICK.

 

[Bluelines]

Do you really believe that? Marleau is from Sask. He played in California where no one knows your name. I think it is a real stretch that he helped the kids understand anything related to pressure cookers? What he did do is help kids understand how to get overpaid. This guy took us for a ride. Used his HOF status and Babs love to make a nice haul off the ultra rich Leafs. Same with Babs by the way. Basically 1 good year for 2 front loaded massively overpaid years and a 1st in a deep draft year.

You don't have to be from Toronto to understand how to deal with the pressures of Toronto. You don't have to be from Toronto to know how to train properly. You don't have to be from Toronto to share coping skills and how to build coping skills. So many kids get involved with drugs and booze, you don't have to be from Toronto to teach kids how to have a healthy lifestyle. Do don't have to be from Toronto to be a father figure.

 

[GoonieFace]

You can blame the Marleau signing all you want. Truth is, the Tavares signing is the one that sent everything into a spiral. Dubas knew full well he had Nylander, Marner and Matthews to sign long term. Throwing $11mil (free agent or not) at Tavares was going to cause a ripple effect amongst the rest.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

You don't have to be from Toronto to understand how to deal with the pressures of Toronto. You don't have to be from Toronto to know how to train properly. You don't have to be from Toronto to share coping skills and how to build coping skills. So many kids get involved with drugs and booze, you don't have to be from Toronto to teach kids how to have a healthy lifestyle. Do don't have to be from Toronto to be a father figure.

He may be the greatest leader we have ever had off the ice. But he is one of last guys I would reference as a pressure player even in his prime. That was my point. To explain what it like to play in a pressure cooker you'd better have played in a pressure cooker. Quite frankly nowhere in States is hockey at pressure cooker status but California is the low point playing in States. Do you realize you can park across the street in SJ as a player and walk outside publicly and never get even noticed? In 2001 one of my brothers best friends was on the Sharks and he and I and this guy drove to rink much ahead of time to get a tour of rink/dressing room and watch game. and that was a top NHL team. You can't even do that in the OHL. So no one is going to tell me that playing in SJ is any kind of pressure cooker.