TSN: Responsibility for playoff failures

[Stephen]

It's not jealousy at all.

I think it's pity. Let's not forget that most Panthers sought out that experience, and many resign there to continue with that experience; play for a fiercely competitive team, under a world class coach and fantastic hockey operations, and then walk to the beach and hang out with their families and enjoy fantastic weather without being recognized or bothered?

Don't forget - a number of players have re-upped in Florida because it's such a desirable place to play.

Matthew Tkachuk gets all this praise, but the reality is he sought out a zero-scrutiny market after spending some time in a Canadian market, and looks so much happier having done so.

It’s a double edged sword.

Yeah go win your cups in a quiet market. But I think deep down they know they won’t be truly celebrated and remembered like the big market championships in buzzy cities.

 

[NVious]

33% MLSE
33% Shanahan
33% Players

MLSE should've fired Shanahan after the Montreal series 100000%.

Shanahan should've made changes after the Montreal series 10000000000%.

The players had nearly 10 years and their final game 7 stats are:

22 games played 3 goals/9 assists.

You could even deal with it if they had ONE big game 7 where one of them completely took over like they're capable of, but it never happened.

The owners failed in realizing the president was an idiot, the idiotic president was seeing ghosts pretending Matthews was Yzerman, but he never got a Shanahan/Lidstrom that helped Yzerman get over the hump, the players sucked and were awful.

 

[alliuk12]

Easier question is who doesn’t, that’s a short list:
Tanev
Stoli
Benny
McCabe
OEL
Knies
Patches

all our so called superstars should never dawn a leafs jersey ever again and for the love of god get rid of matthews he's nothing more than a cancer on that team

 

[notbias]

Easier question is who doesn’t, that’s a short list:
Tanev
Stoli
Benny
McCabe
OEL
Knies
Patches

You just listed a bunch of players you like, half of those players didn't play well.

Stolarz, Benoit, McCabe, and OEL didn't play great.

Knies is getting praised for effort, but his production was not really great, a 44 point pace is not that great.

You basically just listed players who are supposed to defend well most (and Pacioretty and Knies), and the team had one of their worst GA in the playoffs in the Matthews' era, I know that wasn't all on the stars and two D.

 

[maskingagent]

Videos with Craig Button should have a warning.

I agree with Craig. Well said.

 

[dougieg93]

I exclusively blame Shanny and ownership. They had to commit to either Nylander or Marner but not both as we were too skewed to a particular playstyle. To let Marner walk for nothing when they had the chance is a major offence.

They sold us on the Leafs being a perennial contender by keeping their draft picks so that the pros can get pressure from underneath and they threw that plan away getting rid of all our firsts.

 

[nuck]

Regardless of where anyone stands on Kyle Dubas - he was the only one in that organization brave enough to actually trade away one of the core pieces, and when he tried to do it before the Marner NMC kicked in, Shanahan fired him and preferred to keep them together.

That's the sort of inept, embarrassing decision making that will condemn this franchise to ruin, and frankly, should be a fireable offense.

Today is their locker clean out day and chance to speak to the media - if I don't hear something about Shanahan being done here, I'm going to be livid.

But he didn't actually trade away anybody. If you are referring the the 2023 presser he said things like "perhaps the path has to be adjusted slightly" When pressed specifically about whether he would now be interested in moving one of his top players he said words to the effect that "after a very thorough evaluation I would consider anything with our group here that would allow us a better chance to win the Stanley Cup" He talked about the Tkachuk trade and later "I would take nothing off the table at all". Its important because I think that was the first time he even hinted he wasn't riding the core 4 right to the end though.

However this is the same presser where he said twice he wouldn't pop up with another team a week later so we need to take his words with more than a single grain of salt. That doesn't commit him to action any more than Tre who said Willie could talk to other teams. If you can't get sufficient value back that gives you an out to say you couldn't find a deal that would improve the team right?

Unless you are referring to something not connected to the exit presser in which case sorry It is likely of course that both GMs would need Shanny's sign off on what an acceptable return might be. Its definitely time he took his talents elsewhere. I like him in Buffalo.

 

[Tak7]

But he didn't actually trade away anybody. If you are referring the the 2023 presser he said things like "perhaps the path has to be adjusted slightly" When pressed specifically about whether he would now be interested in moving one of his top players he said words to the effect that "after a very thorough evaluation I would consider anything with our group here that would allow us a better chance to win the Stanley Cup" He talked about the Tkachuk trade and later "I would take nothing off the table at all". Its important because I think that was the first time he even hinted he wasn't riding the core 4 right to the end though.

However this is the same presser where he said twice he wouldn't pop up with another team a week later so we need to take his words with more than a single grain of salt. That doesn't commit him to action any more than Tre who said Willie could talk to other teams. If you can't get sufficient value back that gives you an out to say you couldn't find a deal that would improve the team right?

Unless you are referring to something not connected to the exit presser in which case sorry It is likely of course that both GMs would need Shanny's sign off on what an acceptable return might be. Its definitely time he took his talents elsewhere. I like him in Buffalo.

He wanted to trade off the core 4, and it was blocked by Shanahan.

Dubas then made a push for more autonomy, and got fired instead.

 

[Da Mash]

Blame?

Are we going back to 1968 now and finding out why the leafs can not win the cup?

So many failed.....so many great leafs like Sundin, Clark , Sittler, Salming...... etc

As Keith said recently

Sometimes you feel bad for [the Maple Leafs] because they have some unbelievable players and a great team. I was actually saying this last night to some of the guys, if their team was not in Toronto dealing with all the crazy circus stuff outside of it, they'd be an unbelievable team and such a hard team to play. They just have so much to deal with and I feel bad. We don't have to deal with that in Florida, I feel like that's what makes me and my team so lucky," Tkachuk said.

 

[Buds17]

Those who have been here the longest/for all of it arguably wear it differently. Contrast the team being a tougher out than they have been for some time with a one-sided drubbing to finalize that out as one wishes.

 

[Racer88]

Yup blaming the fans is a cop out by losers

 

[darrylsittler27]

Yup blaming the fans is a cop out by losers

When you have millions of hockey fans all in consensus , it's their fault! Shanahan ran it back , not the fans.

 

[hamzarocks]

He wanted to trade off the core 4, and it was blocked by Shanahan.

Dubas then made a push for more autonomy, and got fired instead.

Dubas wanted EK65

He was either adding EK65 for Rielly + or trading Nylander + for him

Either way we would have been f***ed

 

[Goose]

Easier question is who doesn’t, that’s a short list:
Tanev
Stoli
Benny
McCabe
OEL
Knies
Patches

Domi should be on that list.

 

[yubbers]

Regardless of where anyone stands on Kyle Dubas - he was the only one in that organization brave enough to actually trade away one of the core pieces, and when he tried to do it before the Marner NMC kicked in, Shanahan fired him and preferred to keep them together.

That's the sort of inept, embarrassing decision making that will condemn this franchise to ruin, and frankly, should be a fireable offense.

Today is their locker clean out day and chance to speak to the media - if I don't hear something about Shanahan being done here, I'm going to be livid.

He sounds have been fired for letting a rookie gm attempt to learn on the job. Dubas was a disaster

 

[likecheese]

It’s a double edged sword.

Yeah go win your cups in a quiet market. But I think deep down they know they won’t be truly celebrated and remembered like the big market championships in buzzy cities.

I've become convinced that many guys would "like" to win a Cup but are good with being off work in May, hitting the links, jetting to their secluded spots... it's just a job to some guys.
Did Brandon Montour sign in Seattle because he can't wait to chase another Cup?

 

[Menzinger]

It’s a double edged sword.

Yeah go win your cups in a quiet market. But I think deep down they know they won’t be truly celebrated and remembered like the big market championships in buzzy cities.

It's absolutely a big passive aggressive dig in their part.

It sounds cheap coming from Leafs fans at the moment, but them being forgotten about is true. It only takes a few years after their team starts to regress for folks to move on. A cup win in a more traditional market gets remembered for decades.

Look at how much reverence Leafs fans give the 90s teams 30 years on and they didn't even win a cup lol

 

[NVious]

Yup blaming the fans is a cop out by losers

We let the boys down.

Time to go make some offerings to our shrines to Lord God Marner and Lord God Matthews.

 

[NVious]

It's absolutely a big passive aggressive dig in their part.

It sounds cheap coming from Leafs fans at the moment, but them being forgotten about is true. It only takes a few years after their team starts to regress for folks to move on. A cup win in a more traditional market gets remembered for decades.

Look at how much reverence Leafs fans give the 90s teams 30 years on and they didn't even win a cup lol

If Florida was somehow bad next year, their "fans" would abandon them in an instance. Florida fans are the worst in all of sports.

 

[Stephen]

It's absolutely a big passive aggressive dig in their part.

It sounds cheap coming from Leafs fans at the moment, but them being forgotten about is true. It only takes a few years after their team starts to regress for folks to move on. A cup win in a more traditional market gets remembered for decades.

Look at how much reverence Leafs fans give the 90s teams 30 years on and they didn't even win a cup lol

Just think who cares about the 2020 and 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning vs the 1990s-2000s Detroit Red Wings.

But I'm coming around to the idea that Maurice, Tkachuk and Marchand mean to do Toronto harm as a destination. Scare the NHLPA about how rough it is in Toronto and sabotage a Canadian market as this big scary place. It's malicious and it's slanderous, and I wish them nothing but the worst.

 

[stealth1]

Just think who cares about the 2020 and 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning vs the 1990s-2000s Detroit Red Wings.

But I'm coming around to the idea that Maurice, Tkachuk and Marchand mean to do Toronto harm as a destination. Scare the NHLPA about how rough it is in Toronto and sabotage a Canadian market as this big scary place. It's malicious and it's slanderous, and I wish them nothing but the worst.

If your theory was true, you would have players taking pay cuts and all wanting to play in not only Toronto but all Canadian markets.

 

[SoVi3t]

This core didn't show up for Tavares first game back in Long Island, and we thought they were Cup contenders?

Too many primadonnas on the team, all trying to be on the cover of EA NHL games, and earn their next big contract, rather than actually win the cup and show up night after night.

 

[stealth1]

This core didn't show up for Tavares first game back in Long Island, and we thought they were Cup contenders?

Too many primadonnas on the team, all trying to be on the cover of EA NHL games, and earn their next big contract, rather than actually win the cup and show up night after night.

Yet many want these dummies to come back.

 

[hotpaws]

He sounds have been fired for letting a rookie gm attempt to learn on the job. Dubas was a disaster

Dubas is still a disaster after 7 yrs . lol

 

[Dough72]

The days of Howard Berger, Steve Simmons, and some random hack with CTV trying to carve a name for himself, are over.

Toronto Star reporters going beyond a player, and contacting their mothers, for a medical update? Ancient history.

This new wave of media covering the Leafs is so much friendlier. More soft. This idea that Toronto is somehow a difficult market, is such genuinely horseshit.

SIMON BENOIT HAD A FEATURE DONE ON HIM AS PART OF A PRE-GAME SHOW IN ROUND 1 OF THE BATTLE OF ONTARIO - tell me, what other market would put that sort of spotlight and positivity on a 6th Dman?!

really not seeing this "friendlier media". They've almost universally been trashing the Leafs core for half a decade straight. A whole lot of it personal too. Same as it ever was. Except now we have social media on top of that, so fans themselves are more involved in creating the atmosphere that Leafs players have to deal with. And I sure wouldn't call that atmosphere "friendly". Scary is a better word for it.