The 'I called it' and 'What was I thinking' thread | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League
Toggle sidebar

The 'I called it' and 'What was I thinking' thread

The Apologist

The Apologist

Apologizing for Leaf garbage since 1979
Oct 16, 2007
12,302
3,143
Leaf Nation Hell
Well, it's summer, the Leafs fell apart and we all hate each other again, so I thought I'd take a break from all the 'trade em all' 'fire everybody' 'Burke was the best/ Burke sucked' threads and try something different.

Since we're all hockey geniuses here, thought it would be fun to post our 'called it' moments and our 'what was I thinking' moments from last season and beyond if you like.

And try to be more creative than '18 wheeler' because I know that everybody called that ;)

Here's mine:
Called it:
Phil Kessel, more than just your average second line winger. I knew he would be something special. I know it's not earth shattering, but there was a time Leaf Nation was not so sure.

Tyler Bozak: I always said the kid was a keeper. Still think he's much more than a 3c LN seems to think he is. He's only gonna get better.

David Clarkson: I said if last summer, Clarkson as a Devil is NOT Clarkson as a Leaf.

And under WwIt?!?

Schenn for JVR: I thought this was going to be an unmitigated disaster. So glad to be wrong.

Raycroft: I really thought he was going to bounce back and be the guy here....
 
Kadri: knew he wasn't gona bust but wasn't expecting a near PPG performance 2 years ago albiet 48 games

JVR for schenn: liked the trade, didn't care 1 bit about Luke the pylon Schenn

Carlyle: thought he was going to be a great hard-nosed coach that would teach the leafs defense. Not even close.
 
I called it:
Bozak would do really well this season.


What was I thinking
I thought thought the Leafs would be in the Conference Finals :laugh:
 
I called it:

Carlyle is a dunce coach.


What was I thinking... this would be the season kessel would get 40 goals this year. didn't happen.
 
Called it: Kulemin was going to be an NHLer, we'd win the Kessel trade, Rielly would become a budding superstar.

What was I thinking???: Mostly everything else. ;)
 
I called it:
Burke set the franchise back single handedly 10 years with the Phil Kessel trade.

What was I thinking:
Phil Kessel would never be an impact player in the NHL
 
I called it: Nikita Kucherov would make an impact in the NHL. Really badly wanted to draft this kid.


What was I thinking: Complaining about taking Rielly over Grigorenko. Kind of still on the fence because they are still really young but I should of bought more into Rielly. The kid really is a fantastic draft selection.
 
I called it: Kessel trade was a bad move and we would give up two top 5 picks. (turned out to be a 2nd and a 9th overall). I questioned the sanity of our GM trading away 2 first round picks for a sniper who dropped from #1 to #5 a couple of years earlier in his draft year because he had questionable character (turned out ok anyway) and who just had a shoulder surgery when we had no top six centers, no top pairing defenders, no goalie and not even a captain. How he thought that team would push for the playoffs still boggles my mind.


What was I thinking: Thought Aulie was the best player (long term) in the Phaneuf trade. Was not a fan of Dion back then, still aint, but thought it was worth it adding Aulie. :laugh:
 
Called it: Connor Brown ripping it, Kadri staying, JvR becoming a top line player, Bernier becoming our starter.
 
I called it:

Luke Schenn being too slow to be a very good NHL defensemen. Keep in mind this was back when people were turning his rookie season into something it wasn't on these forums and he was being discussed as the future captain of the Leafs and a #1 defenseman in the making.

Kadri not being as good as his shortened season. Not exactly prophetic but remember at the time that the homers here were talking about how many times he would break 80-90 points in his career like it was a foregone conclusion. It was widely considered to be a reasonable opinion that he was ready to take over the #1 centre position for the Leafs.

What was I thinking:

I thought Carlyle would turn this team around dramatically.

I thought Reimer was going to be not just a starting goalie but a very good one.

Then again I thought the same thing about Gustaffson.
 
I have the same answer for both questions:

I called it: cheering for the Leafs.
What was I thinking: cheering for the Leafs.
 
Called: The Leafs would go ~7-0 to start the season, and lose to the Canes, who we always struggle against.

Thinking: The PK would lead us back to the Playoffs. The PK is one of my two items that
had to be addressed for the Leafs to have success.
 
The day Toskala got his contract, I said he'd be out of the NHL as soon as it expired, and did not water from that when most Leafs fans thought he was sensational after his first season.

But then I thought Lebda would thrive as a ppqb in Toronto.
 
leafstilldeath said:
I called it:
Buying out Grabo with Bozo as a 1C would result in leafs missing the playoffs
Proof: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?p=68782631&highlight=#post68782631 (post 282) cannot find the original post too lazy to look it up. This is the closest I guess.
Click to expand...
This is the reason we missed the playoffs? lol
DaveT83 said:
I called it:
Burke set the franchise back single handedly 10 years with the Phil Kessel trade.
Click to expand...
You're doing it wrong


Called it: Significance of the Bernier trade and signing
What Was I thinking: Clarkson would have a positive impact on the team
 
Last edited:
bunjay said:
I called it:

Luke Schenn being too slow to be a very good NHL defensemen. Keep in mind this was back when people were turning his rookie season into something it wasn't on these forums and he was being discussed as the future captain of the Leafs and a #1 defenseman in the making.

Kadri not being as good as his shortened season. Not exactly prophetic but remember at the time that the homers here were talking about how many times he would break 80-90 points in his career like it was a foregone conclusion. It was widely considered to be a reasonable opinion that he was ready to take over the #1 centre position for the Leafs.

What was I thinking:

I thought Carlyle would turn this team around dramatically.

I thought Reimer was going to be not just a starting goalie but a very good one.

Then again I thought the same thing about Gustaffson.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kind of called that to (perhaps). I was against him playing for the Leafs right after he was drafted. I wanted him to play out his junior career and work on his skating and also work on his slap shot (he have or at least had good potential in his slap shot). As I saw it, him being in juniors while being physically and defensively dominant would allow him to focus on perfecting other sides of his game seeing as would feel rather comfortable stopping other junior players. But once he started to play in the NHL all his focus in training went towards trying to translate the skills that got him drafted in the first place to the NHL level meaning there was not much room to perfect his skill set as an overall player.

Not saying he would have turned out to be the next Weber but now we might never know.

Weber drafted 2003
Kelowna Rockets
5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM (rookie year)
70 GP, 2 G, 16 A, 18 P, 167 PIM (drafted 49th overall)
60 GP, 12 G, 20 A, 32 P, 126 PIM
55 GP, 12 G, 29 A, 41 P, 95 PIM

Nashville
28 GP, 2 G, 8 A, 10 P, 42 PIM
Admirals
46 GP, 12 G, 15 A, 27 P, 49 PIM

Nashville (4 years after being drafted and break out year as a 22 year old)
79 GP, 17 G, 23 A, 40 P, 60 PIM



Schenn drafted 2008
Kelowns Rockets
60 GP, 3 G, 8 A, 11 P, 86 PIM (rookie season)
72 GP, 2 G, 27 A, 29 P, 139 PIM
57 GP, 7 G, 21 A, 28 P, 100 PIM (drafted 5th overall)

Toronto
70 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 P, 71 PIM
79 GP, 5 G, 12 A, 17 P, 50 PIM
82 GP, 5 G, 17 A, 22 P, 34 PIM (given an A)
79 GP, 2 G, 20 A, 22 P, 62 PIM (22 years and traded)


So Weber stayed in juniors for two more years after he was drafted and then spent most of his first pro season in the AHL. Schenn had played one more season prior to being drafted but went straight in to the line up on one of the worst defensive teams in the league who from day 1 started to talk about him as the next captain. Not saying we ruined Schenn from having a career similar to Weber but we did not put him in the best position to improve his game as an overall player imo.
 
I was correct about almost everything.

Team being slower, less talented, playing a terrible system, the coach mismanaging players, Dave Nonis terrible off season moves. Cap issues. Reimer should have been traded.

I was incorrect on Bozak, he did far better than expected but still that line sucks 5v5 and he was slipping defensively near the end of the season (who wasn't though)
 
I called it: John Scott scoring against us (I actually ****ing did too :biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh: I was laughing so ****ing hard when it happened I couldn't even breathe), Clarkson being totally useless and putrid, Franson being a pile of ass on defense, JVR busting out, Rielly making the team and taking big steps forward in his development.

What was I thinking?: Phaneuf is a good leader, Lupul for captain, Phaneuf's vocabulary consists of more than "ummm", "uhhh", and "WHEEL!", Reimer would be solid in net, Carlyle is a good coach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Latest posts

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom