Sure, we may not be the only team that allows 2-on-1s and breakaways and all that fun stuff, but there are so many fundamental problems beyond that. The ability to make a simple breakout pass, the ability to gain and maintain possession, limiting shots against/scoring chances, being able to close out games (I know we have a good record when leading after 2, but we have the most blown 3rd period leads), and overall just being able to keep the foot on the gas from start to finish, or at least starting off well which we rarely do.
I don't think Randy is the coach for this team. He seems to rub a lot of guys the wrong way, not just here but back in Anaheim as well, and many players have been rather outspoken about him in negative ways. He's a little too old school and clearly whatever he's trying to preach isn't going in the heads of the team. I don't think he's a good motivator either, I Mean you saw on 24/7 how he was saying things like "WE SUCK, WE'RE HORRIBLE" when the team was down. He also says himself that he stays out of the locker room and lets the leadership work itself out? I don't know, a little questionable there. They need a new voice, and I think they need someone young who can effectively communicate at their level, not an old school guy who freezes out players.
I think the conditioning & strength team also needs to be replaced. I remember reading about how when Anthony Belza was hired, they started doing a lot of aerobic stuff and riding bikes for long sessions multiple times a week. It goes back to the whole anaerobic vs aerobic exercise, hockey as a sport is a lot more anaerobic, and while riding the bike might increase cardiovascular endurance, it slows players down overall in a sport where explosiveness is key; those kinds of workouts are more akin for bicyclists. Speaking of which, the workouts that I remember reading about the Leafs doing, led by Belza, consisted of regimes designed by Lance Armstrong's trainer. If that's the case, then I don't even know what to say. Why the **** are hockey players doing workouts designed for cyclists? That's ridiculous. Roberts even blasted the Leafs training program for this kind of stuff, and I see why. I mean look at Kadri, they were trying to turn him into a bodybuilder by having him take in as many calories and trying to force another 10-15 pounds on himself; you saw how much it affected his skating and even a few years later his skating is still not where it was when he was in junior. When Kadri went to train with Roberts the next off-season, he was a lot stronger and faster despite those idiotic comments by Dallas Eakins and the Leafs media about him being fat out of camp.
