News Article: The Leafs are the best, just unlucky

[WTFMAN99]

I’m probably not the only one saying this, but so much would be forgotten right now if this team just continued to draft well instead of mortgaging the future. Cap becomes less relevant, less reliance on “core” etc. It’s a real shame the team doesn’t really recognize that drafting is what put them in the position they are in, so why not continue to place a lot of emphasis on it.

Not sure, in some cases, I get the sacrifice of a pick, for Muzzin....they re-signed him so they got value for it.

My only issue with the Hunter stuff is that people seem to just conveniently forget Dubas was part of the decision making process as well even as assistant GM

Like he wasn't just sitting in the corner spanking the monkey during the evaluation process and if he was then he should have been more active in making his point

Seems like every bad pick during that era is just "hunters fault"

Idk if 2018 is too early to tell tbh

The Habs have three kids that they took from 17-19 playing massive mins in the cup finals and one more who played pretty large mins in the regular season.

From everything I understand, Dubas had a big part in the Marner draft, trading back etc and some say on picks.

After that though, Lou came in and Hunter was the guy in charge of the draft, Lou didn't let Dubas have a say.

That is why I say Dubas had the helm in 18 onwards.

Habs from 2017 in on the team...zero

2018 - Kotkoniemi...he's had a very up and down career but was a top 5 pick. Romanov is on the fringes...playing a similar role to Sandin, he hasn't been a regular for the Habs
19 - Caufield - Yep - We have Robertson and he's not quite ready yet but we took him basically a full round later.

Robertson/Sandin/Liljegren are going to be battling for spots next season with Sandin probably more likely to crack the roster. Brooks seems like a safe bet for spare forward, maybe 4th line with an awesome training camp.

We need to churn out more. Expectation for me though was we'd have more to show for those Hunter drafts, we basically got Marner, Matthews, Dermott, Brooks to show at this time.

 

[Lightsol]

You realize caulfield scored more goals in one playoff Series then Matthews has his entire career right?

Caufield took TWO SERIES to score a playoff goal. But please, keep pumping his tires...

 

[rocketman588]

Caufield took TWO SERIES to score a playoff goal. But please, keep pumping his tires...

He's 10 games into his NHL career...

What's more of a desperation move? Playing young talent or jumbo Joe at 75 years old? Then giving Simmonds a two year deal for producing nothing

 

[rumman]

Damn Dekes was right Leafs are not lucky and every team that beats us or wins a round are. Such a shame. Maybe it is time for Dubie to buy some rabbit feet.

Seriously when will everybody stop with the excuses for this team ??

You know the old Arnold Palmer quote: “the harder I work the luckier I get.” It applies to this thread………

 

[rocketman588]

Not sure, in some cases, I get the sacrifice of a pick, for Muzzin....they re-signed him so they got value for it.



From everything I understand, Dubas had a big part in the Marner draft, trading back etc and some say on picks.

After that though, Lou came in and Hunter was the guy in charge of the draft, Lou didn't let Dubas have a say.

That is why I say Dubas had the helm in 18 onwards.

Habs from 2017 in on the team...zero

2018 - Kotkoniemi...he's had a very up and down career but was a top 5 pick. Romanov is on the fringes...playing a similar role to Sandin, he hasn't been a regular for the Habs
19 - Caufield - Yep - We have Robertson and he's not quite ready yet but we took him basically a full round later.

Robertson/Sandin/Liljegren are going to be battling for spots next season with Sandin probably more likely to crack the roster. Brooks seems like a safe bet for spare forward, maybe 4th line with an awesome training camp.

We need to churn out more. Expectation for me though was we'd have more to show for those Hunter drafts, we basically got Marner, Matthews, Dermott, Brooks to show at this time.

I do agree with most of this. I do think that we need to do better then what we've done producing wise.

I don't like the amount of high picks we've given away for cap dumps. We could have some young promise to go along with Spezza on the same contracts that we have guys past their prime.

My biggest issue is that analytics are supposed to be for finding value. We're at best tbd at getting draft value and despite a few exceptions ( BOGO, Campbell, Brodiebeing the biggest) we're not finding NHL value and most often over valuing players.

Why is our analytics department not finding a player that is a bit worse on paper then folignio that we can get for a 4th instead of paying a first.

Anyone can throw money at our rfas and tavares I have yet to see the real value pick ups bar a few exceptions. This is the real perplexing thing for me when you see us being a "analytics team" we've mostly just used it as an excuse for sucking at this point

 

[Gabriel426]

Tavares is an excellent player, he plays hard and goes heavy to the net (like Gallagher). I’m sure he could have been a difference maker in one of the last three games.
Game five was on Keefe for subbing out Dermott for no reason.
Game 6 and 7 was poor goaltending and choke-fest.
Matthews and Marner definitely didn’t show up. However, probably wouldn’t have been an issue without the shit coaching and key injuries.

Well Drouin didn't play for the Habs, pretty sure he could made some sort of difference between Game 2-4 for the Habs.
Point is, Leafs won 3 games without JT, don't see why winning another would be different. Pretty sure if the Leafs is in the Cup Finals and JT is still sidelined. It won't be can't wait for JT to come back but more with Do the Leafs really need JT and his 11mil contract.
Not saying JT won't be the difference between winning and losing but the Leafs did won three games without him and were pretty dominated for that matters.
Keefe made mistakes too, no doubt about it.
Campbell was pretty much the only Leafs who showed up in Game 6 until the Habs scored and then the rest of the Leafs realized they need to start playing.
You last point is where I hate. How can AM and Marner didn't show up not be an issue even if the Leafs won. If the Leafs is in the Finals now and both AM and Marner still didn't produce, I would be more piss than anything. They are supposed to be the leaders of this team, they need to dominate shift in and shift out.

 

[Ports]

The management team shouldn’t care what the fans think.

I’d be worried if they did.

Tampa didn’t blow it up after a humiliating loss and they won the cup the next year. I know it’s a different team but blowing it up isn’t always the answer.

Is trading one of their core four or Reilly blowing it up though ?

 

[rumman]

All legitimate criticism is lost when people post nonsense like this.

Go watch a wrestling match or something.

Boy do I miss the Love Brother, and Sweet Daddy Sikkie.

 

[rumman]

The excuses never end for this soft gutless team

 

[rumman]

Hockey is a violent game. Always has been. Always will be. You probably were doing cartwheels when Matthews got rag dolled and was laughing. He was “showing discipline” in your world.

In that moment Conn Smyth was rolling over in his grave.

 

[Racer88]

There are things that are true, that Leafs Nation doesn’t want to hear: 1) the team lost only because it got unlucky 2) they have one of the best rosters in the NHL 3) they have one of the best farm systems in the NHL 4) they were correct to set their salary cap structure up the way they did 5) they don’t have a single bad contract on the team 6) they have the second best player in the world and, at worst, the 5th or 6th best player in the world on their roster. 7) They are set up to be competitive for years.


source The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Right to Not Care What We Think

When your article is this bad, its an editor in leaf article.

What a stupid article. It had to be co- authored by Shanny and Dubas or by someone who didn’t watch the games.
1 goal in 3 years of playoffs is not bad luck when said player is paid 11 million dollars per year

 

[rumman]

Crossed my mind more than once that a certain poster and the writer of article have just a little too much in common in both opinion and attitude.

Cybil lurks in these boards gentlemen………

 

[bentharbs]

Lol expected HF meltdown ITT

 

[rumman]

Caufield took TWO SERIES to score a playoff goal. But please, keep pumping his tires...

Better late than never……

 

[rumman]

What a stupid article. It had to be co- authored by Shanny and Dubas or by someone who didn’t watch the games.
1 goal in 3 years of playoffs is not bad luck when said player is paid 11 million dollars per year

Pathetic.

 

[ToneDog]

In that moment Conn Smyth was rolling over in his grave.

Stick Boy trying to prove Conn, who said "if you can't beat them in the alley, you can't beat them on the ice", wrong. This team would have had the Philadelphia flu if they had to go into Philly to face the Broad Street Bullies. I can hear Ballard bitching that 3/4 of this team could go into a corner with a dozen eggs and come out with not one egg broken.

 

[Antropovsky]

Here is what Sergechev from Tampa Bay (oh yea the team we are so much like in skill around here) did to Gallagher.

View attachment 450523

And it’s more luck we need?
Lol.

It was more of a cheap shot in a crease pile up that caused the injury wasn't it?

 

[Arthur Morgan]

The way they floated around in elimination games..... FARRRRR from bad luck.
Leafs got what they wanted.... an early summer.
It's as simple as that
They just don't care enough about winning in the playoffs.

I mean why cut your summer short to play hockey for free?
That's a winter thing not a summer thing

 

[PromisedLand]

LMAO really? wow just wow

next time goalie should step aside and the d-men should just let leafs walk in to score and then when leafs are playing defense they should just give the puck to the leafs because....

It's bad luck for 2 series in a row when they got basically shutout offensively (CBJ and MTL)

of course it is



What a freakin MORON

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Damn Dekes was right Leafs are not lucky and every team that beats us or wins a round are. Such a shame. Maybe it is time for Dubie to buy some rabbit feet.

Seriously when will everybody stop with the excuses for this team ??

Never, the waiting list is over 20 years long for season tickets. one sheep out another in. endless waves of kids growing up as Leafs fans that have no clue what they are getting them selves into. atleast when I was a kid the Leafs went out and played their hearts out. left it all on the ice. something our new core should seriously consider trying to learn

 

[Trapper]

It was more of a cheap shot in a crease pile up that caused the injury wasn't it?

The point is, which the other poster missed as well, is that these are the types of things that can and will happen in 4 rounds of playoffs. Can you take it? You will get hurt, you will play hurt.

You can claim “oh stuff posted like this doesn’t make it legitimate” so keep denying it’s real. That kind of protest doesn’t change what can happen.

Teams aren’t going to roll over. Does anyone watch the playoffs or just the Leafs get eliminated?

Teams will cheat, hit, trip, punch and whatever they think to get the upper hand. They aren’t going to let you dangle a blue line just so you can make a pretty saucer pass. They are going to make you earn your goals.

Sooner this is realized, the better.
We have a president that should realize that? How did the Wings take on Colorado? McCarty,Shanahan and Vernon took on the team. Now Detroit was still a skilled team that didn’t have to be built dirty but they could play it. As well as possession, forecheck, grind, whatever.

This is the playoffs and always have been.

 

[Antropovsky]

The point is, which the other poster missed as well, is that these are the types of things that can and will happen in 4 rounds of playoffs. Can you take it? You will get hurt, you will play hurt.

You can claim “oh stuff posted like this doesn’t make it legitimate” so keep denying it’s real. That kind of protest doesn’t change what can happen.

Teams aren’t going to roll over. Does anyone watch the playoffs or just the Leafs get eliminated?

Teams will cheat, hit, trip, punch and whatever they think to get the upper hand. They aren’t going to let you dangle a blue line just so you can make a pretty saucer pass. They are going to make you earn your goals.

Sooner this is realized, the better.
We have a president that should realize that? How did the Wings take on Colorado? McCarty,Shanahan and Vernon took on the team. Now Detroit was still a skilled team that didn’t have to be built dirty but they could play it. As well as possession, forecheck, grind, whatever.

This is the playoffs and always have been.

Still misleading information. Talking about Sergachev when really it should be talking about the price Gallagher is paying and has paid throughout the playoffs.

I like physical hockey, but I don't think these crease cheap shot antics are fair to the NHL players. Go to the tough area and get your head split open for a 2 min advantage in a 4-1 game? Not worth it to me.... even if your a tough player.

 

[Cams]

I can't think of any professional sports team that loses in more epic fashion with the level of regularity that the Leafs show. The only team that comes remotely close in my mind would be the Cleveland Browns. I am a genuine optimist, and I always believe the Leafs will figure it out eventually, but it really feels like this team is f***ing cursed at this point lol. I mean MTL is in the cup finals this year, with a team that is not even half as talented as ours...how can we not be cursed.

I want to believe it's bad luck, but you make you're own luck most of the time. If the process is consistently right, the outcomes will eventually follow suit. The process has been flawed from this core group in the playoffs for a while now. Hard to believe the outcome will be any different at this point.

but I'll still be here next year cheering like the f***ing moron I am..

Detroit Lions say hello.

 

[nuck]

The management team shouldn’t care what the fans think.

I’d be worried if they did.

Tampa didn’t blow it up after a humiliating loss and they won the cup the next year. I know it’s a different team but blowing it up isn’t always the answer.

But there is blowing things up and then there is even making one significant change. The club seems committed to doing neither. This is like in the "give up on the core" thread where its sort of suggested that either everyone is traded or the club should do nothing at all. A few but not a lot want everyone shot into the sun but mostly they are gradually cooling off. Most just don't think running with the same lineup is going to have different results, unless you believe Keefe is done his on the job training and will be pitching instead of catching next playoff. Tampa went from out of the playoffs to the Cup finals two years later under Cooper so the Leafs can't really use the Boltsa as a comp. Most great regular season teams do not eventually win the Cup, they just get older and fade away so saying annual failures are a learning experience doesn't make you win a championship, even it it were true.

Now I actually think with even average goaltending this year from Freddy the Leafs are comfortably in first overall but the playoffs don't make it seem like this is a team than can enforce its game on a club that is mostly interested in just shutting them down. The rules were thrown out for all playoff clubs not just Leafs v Habs. Can this coach or this lineup succeed under these different rules?

Somebody should care what the fans think unless they plan to run the organization solely off of media revenues, and even those are eventually driven by the fans.

 

[The Iceman]

Pretending this series was a one off is delusional. It's five series losses, losing to a Zamboni driver, Tavares' return to long Island, blowing a 5-1 lead to the Senators etc. Embarrassment after embarrassment and we're supposed to just assume that the president, GM, coach and players that have won f*** all at this level will just figure it out by not changing the game plan. Absolute lunacy.

WHY are you rehashing all the old negatives. my wife brings up everything negative I have done since HS in arguments. Blowing a 5-1 lead to Ottawa...who cares they won the division.
Any comebacks you want to share? I am sure there were some.

a little respect for the North regular season champs is due.
1st team all star-Marner
2nd team all star-Matthews, Rocket Richard winner in a landslide
awesome goalie
defense drastically improved

Team did take a step forward this year. Slow down with all the constant negatives.