What a Difference Two Years Makes

[Stephen]

I stumbled upon this randomly, but I thought it was interesting to see where we are with the rebuild.

As of January 5, 2014, the Leafs sit at

43 GP 21 W 17 L 5 OTL and 47 PTS, 119 GF 127 GA
Good for the 2nd wildcard slot and the 8th and final playoff spot, 2 points ahead of 9th place.

As of January 13, 2012, the Leafs sat at

43 GP 22 W 16 L 5 OTL and 49 PTS, 137 GF 134 GA
Good for 7th in the conference, 1 point up on 9th place

http://dropyourgloves.com/Games/AnyDateStandings.aspx?Date=2012-1-13&League=1

So with a similar core and the improved coaching of Randy Carlyle, we are 2 points worse than we were with Wilson, 1 place lower in the standings and a whole lot less entertaining than we used to be. The same tendencies for defensive lapses, inconsistency and meltdowns are still there, and after a hot start in October the team is headed nowhere fast. Let's see if the 18 wheeler happens and we end up with another top 5 pick.

Click to read more...

 

[rdawg1234]

our rebuild has definitely plateaued a bit that's for sure.

regardless we are still a low-end playoff team.

Badly need a top 4 D though for example as one of the wholes to fill here.

 

[ECanuck]

I think we have just locked the same trend up for another decade easily.

The only long shot hope would be Rielly, Kadri, Gardiner improve to a reasonable or great level to support the rest of the bunch.

Other wise bubble team with little bite in the playoffs.

She does not look good right now. I'm an optimistic guy. Something good will happen.

 

[King85Kong]

I stumbled upon this randomly, but I thought it was interesting to see where we are with the rebuild.

As of January 5, 2014, the Leafs sit at

43 GP 21 W 17 L 5 OTL and 47 PTS, 119 GF 127 GA
Good for the 2nd wildcard slot and the 8th and final playoff spot, 2 points ahead of 9th place.

As of January 13, 2012, the Leafs sat at

43 GP 22 W 16 L 5 OTL and 49 PTS, 137 GF 134 GA
Good for 7th in the conference, 1 point up on 9th place

http://dropyourgloves.com/Games/AnyDateStandings.aspx?Date=2012-1-13&League=1

So with a similar core and the improved coaching of Randy Carlyle, we are 2 points worse than we were with Wilson, 1 place lower in the standings and a whole lot less entertaining than we used to be. The same tendencies for defensive lapses, inconsistency and meltdowns are still there, and after a hot start in October the team is headed nowhere fast. Let's see if the 18 wheeler happens and we end up with another top 5 pick.

Really sad when you think about it. Thankfully our goalies played unreal early in the season, or we would be way down in the standings.

 

[Kessley Snipes*]

the improved coaching of Randy Carlyle

Wilson and Carlyle are equals. There is nothing improved about Randy Carlyle. I said this when we hired him.

We have all the right pieces. We just need a coach who knows how to use them.

 

[ULF_55]

Leafs are 16th. in the league, but 2 teams 1 point behind each have a game in hand.

They could easily be the 18th. best team in the league.

This is Burke's rebuild with a few Nonis tweaks.

Remember, it doesn't take 5 years for a Burke rebuild!!!

 

[rdawg1234]

I think we have just locked the same trend up for another decade easily.

The only long shot hope would be Rielly, Kadri, Gardiner improve to a reasonable or great level to support the rest of the bunch.

Other wise bubble team with little bite in the playoffs.

She does not look good right now. I'm an optimistic guy. Something good will happen.

Luckily, unlike say the NBA(i hate how that league works, you basically get a big name by being a big city or tank for stars) we can definitely improve through smart trades, drafting and UFA.

Rielly, Kadri and Gardiner will almost definitely improve in play, like many other high-end prospects, we can already see how good Rielly is in certain instances(defence takes time to improve).

We need a better two-way winger than Raymond for example, as well as a shutdown Top 4 d in place of Franson. Those are two minor moves that would instantly improve us. a more reliable 3rd pairing would go a long way too.

Like other bubble teams, we have some holes to fill, and many teams competing today had those holes a few years ago. (Milan Lucic on boston for example didnt start playing to a high level until their cup year)

 

[William Nylander*]

People keep acting as if Gardiner is some bright new prospect... He'll be 24 this year

 

[King85Kong]

Leafs are 16th. in the league, but 2 teams 1 point behind each have a game in hand.

They could easily be the 18th. best team in the league.

This is Burke's rebuild with a few Nonis tweaks.

Remember, it doesn't take 5 years for a Burke rebuild!!!

Burke had the perfect opportunity to do a full rebuild when he came in and didn't. The whole city was behind it and knew it had to be done. To late now, we're stuck in no mans land. Hopefully some of our young guys step up, and we get lucky.

 

[SeenSchenn2]

Wilson and Carlyle are equals. There is nothing improved about Randy Carlyle. I said this when we hired him.

We have all the right pieces. We just need a coach who knows how to use them.

I disagree. I'm not sure there's a coach that could teach this team how to play defense as a unit.

 

[ULF_55]

People keep acting as if Gardiner is some bright new prospect... He'll be 24 this year

And Kadri is 23 now.

The "young team" excuse is almost past the best before date.

Core of the team is not young, they are prime age players.

 

[SeenSchenn2]

People keep acting as if Gardiner is some bright new prospect... He'll be 24 this year

Duncan Keith didn't break into the league till he was 23. Need I go on?

 

[rdawg1234]

And Kadri is 23 now.

The "young team" excuse is almost past the best before date.

Core of the team is not young, they are prime age players.

Prime is mid-late 20's(usually 25-29), not 23, I don't know any player in any league that's in his prime at 23.

Many players, especially d-men, dont reach their prime as early as forwards.

Plus some forwards just take more time to develop, I.e Kessel became a much better playmaker at 23-24 and has gotten better since.

 

[ULF_55]

I disagree. I'm not sure there's a coach that could teach this team how to play defense as a unit.

Raymond and Kadri on the same line and we're concerned about defense?

The Leafs are always good for a laugh.

Kessel is dreadful defensively, and he's the key forward for the next 8 years?
Kadri isn't much better and he's the future #1 center?

Who was the architect of this mess?

“We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence,†Burke began his introductory press conference at the Air Canada Centre. “That’s how our teams play.

What a joke.

Seriously, what a fricken joke.

 

[ULF_55]

Prime is mid-late 20's(usually 25-29), not 23, I don't know any player in any league that's in his prime at 23.

Many players, especially d-men, dont reach their prime as early as forwards.

Plus some forwards just take more time to develop, I.e Kessel became a much better playmaker at 23-24 and has gotten better since.

Yes, how many core players are younger than Kessel?

 

[Stephen]

The kids have not improved by leaps and bounds and the core players like Phaneuf and Kessel have plateaued. Phaneuf has maintained a similar level of play as a Bryan McCabe type player and Kessel is Kessel. He'll get you around 30ish goals, maybe 75-80 points, mostly compiled when the going is good, with lots of long cold streaks in between. Minor upgrades at non essential positions aren't likely to yield very much of a boost.

The team wasn't good enough then and it won't be good enough now or in the future. It's a bubble team with a good probability of bottoming out yet again.

I hate the way this team is put together.

 

[Stephen]

Plus some forwards just take more time to develop, I.e Kessel became a much better playmaker at 23-24 and has gotten better since.

Kessel had a great year in 48 games last year and showed some signs of growth, but he's been back to the same Phil Kessel we had in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Streaky, nonchalant, not a lot of sides to his game other than the rush and a big shot, not competitive and definitely values self preservation over the puck. The guy's game is predicated on the easy game changing shot than doing the dirty work necessary to win.

At this point, I highly doubt he pulls a 180 like a Steve Yzerman and suddenly becomes Mr Everything.

He's a career sidekick but we need a franchise player. If only he had Mats' coattails to ride on.

 

[William Nylander*]

Duncan Keith didn't break into the league till he was 23. Need I go on?

You just named one guy who is obviously a very special player. Yes please do go on

Gardiner's entering his prime as a PMD. All the star PMD players in the league have already established themselves at his age. Subban, Letang, Karlsson, Doughty, Shattenkirk, etc

He still makes the same mistakes he did in his rookie year which by now he should have corrected. His value has clearly dropped by a significant amount and he's starting to come to the point of settling as an average player. His lack of development in his own zone and hockey IQ is worrying to say the least, that's for sure.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Really sad when you think about it. Thankfully our goalies played unreal early in the season, or we would be way down in the standings.

Goaltending is part of hockey, I don't see LA or Boston apologizing for having good Goaltenders. Be thankful Nonis was smart enough to get Bernier by freeing up capspace via buyouts for unproductive players.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

And Kadri is 23 now.

The "young team" excuse is almost past the best before date.

Core of the team is not young, they are prime age players.

Kadri and Gardiner are now players, The young excuse will start to wear thin soon. Holland may be the #2C next game and Gardiner may be replaced by Gleason. Hopefully Gunnar will be good to go.

 

[The Thin White Duke]

Goaltending is part of hockey, I don't see LA or Boston apologizing for having good Goaltenders. Be thankful Nonis was smart enough to get Bernier by freeing up capspace via buyouts for unproductive players.

We took on 500k in that trade.. I really don't think the cap space would have been impossible to find. Also, get this, we could have just not signed Clarkson instead of having to waste valuable buyouts.

 

[21JVR*]

I disagree. I'm not sure there's a coach that could teach this team how to play defense as a unit.

I agree. But there are some coaches that can teach them how to be effective offensively. The forwards are giving up on Carlyle means his play style is not absorb-able for this team, not saying he is a bad coach either.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

We took on 500k in that trade.. I really don't think the cap space would have been impossible to find. Also, get this, we could have just not signed Clarkson instead of having to waste valuable buyouts.

Past the points, Clarkson and Kulemin have been our most reliable wingers. They are strong on the boards, are good defensively, and unlike some of our players bring it every game. If more players were as dedicated as they are, we would not throw stinkers like tonight.

Fundamentally, they are good players. The only thing people focus on are points. If they had a more productive Center than Jay Mcclement(not knocking his dedication or work ethic) who is simply not a #3C, then we possibly have our 2nd best line on the team.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Duncan Keith didn't break into the league till he was 23. Need I go on?

I thought Keith broke into the league at 22? Still it is a concern to look at the 2008 draft class of defencemen and see many of the names on the board already known assets, while Jake is still on his long leash of figuring it out. No excuse by now having players blow around him tonight like he was tied to a pole. To me this just speaks to Jake's lack of hockey IQ we see over and over again.

 

[diceman934]

Kessel had a great year in 48 games last year and showed some signs of growth, but he's been back to the same Phil Kessel we had in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Streaky, nonchalant, not a lot of sides to his game other than the rush and a big shot, not competitive and definitely values self preservation over the puck. The guy's game is predicated on the easy game changing shot than doing the dirty work necessary to win.

At this point, I highly doubt he pulls a 180 like a Steve Yzerman and suddenly becomes Mr Everything.

He's a career sidekick but we need a franchise player. If only he had Mats' coattails to ride on.

Stevie never pulled a 180.....he was always a very good player and was engaged in the game. He never pulled the chute while going into the corner like Kessel does. If Stevie made a 180 Kessel needs a 1020.

I thought tonight that Raymond was going to hit someone but he only fooled me by taking an extra stride towards someone.

We need leadership....we severely lack it and it makes me sick watching them play without it. Lets trade Dion before his new contact takes affect.