WillyC
Registered User
- Sep 7, 2018
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Giving RFAs Matthews and Marner UFA contracts.
1). Letting Zach Hyman walk as UFA, suggesting $5 mil AAV was too rich for Leafs. Hyman coming off a 70 goal season (54 regular and Salary Cap record 16 playoff goals).
Good one too. We hear whispers of his influence that make you wonder.Signing an aging Marleau caused downstream issues and may have set a bad example to a young impressionable couple.
Tavares was UFA.I mean it's signing Taveres and blowing up the salary structure, Dubas isn't wrong about that at least. If you want to take that up a level and call it letting Lou go and hiring Dubas, then I won't argue it.
Sure they could have done without him and Dubas made the mistake worse no doubt but that can't qualify as the biggest mistake.Signing an aging Marleau caused downstream issues and may have set a bad example to a young impressionable couple.
No, it shouldn't have, but it did, I think. Mitchy and Matty and their camps came marching in saying we are younger and already better then Mr. Eleven Million over there, we should make more then him. Hard point to argue against at that time.Tavares was UFA.
His contract should not have been any part of RFA signings.
Getting out of that contract certainly was some level of divine intervention.Since we've discussed the Dubas era in some detail, let us pause to remember Our Lord and Saviour David Clarkson.
Maybe we don’t get Mcdavid, but we could’ve gotten eichel who is/was clearly a better player especially when he was on BuffaloThe team that tanked the hardest (Buffalo didn’t even get McDavid). At the end of the lottery, we were one ball from getting McDavid. And we ended up with the second best or third best player in the 2015 draft. It’s all luck. If that ball drops our way we end up with Mcdavid. Literally came down to the last ball in the lottery between us and Edmonton.
Kyle Dubas’ dirty dozen 12 worst moves during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs
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1). Letting Zach Hyman walk as UFA, suggesting $5 mil AAV was too rich for Leafs. Hyman coming off a 70 goal season (54 regular and Salary Cap record 16 playoff goals).
2). Signing Marner and Matthews to UFA $$ contract rates as RFA (under cost controllable situation), missing the 2nd contract team value deals and missing Leaf Cup compete window.
3). Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot and a 2020 3rd-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen and a 2020 6th-round pick.
4). Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Nick Foligno (CBJ) and Stefan Noesen (SJ) in a three-way trade in exchange for a 2021 1st-round pick, a 2021 4th-round pick and a 2022 4th-round pick
5). Toronto Maple Leafs protecting Justin Holl and Alex Kerfoot over 40 goal future scorer Jared McCann in the 2021 Seattle Kraken expansion draft
6.) Toronto Maple Leafs sign free agent John Tavares to a seven-year, $77M contract ($11M AAV) the highest UFA contract in a Salary Cap World blowing up Leafs internal Salary Cap.
7). Toronto Maple Leafs dumping Marleau with a 1st round who turned out to be Seth Jarvis, because of overspending on contracts preventing Leafs own RFA re-signings.
8) Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Matt Murray in trade coming with a long injury history and $15 mil owing on his 2 year contract for a 3rd and 7th round picks.
9). Toronto Maple Leafs sign free agent Petr Mrazek to a three-year, $11.4M contract ($3.8M AAV), then dealing away Leafs 1st round pick in 2022 to unload it.
10). Toronto Maple Leafs acquire 38 year old Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a 2022 2nd-round pick, a 2023 2nd-round pick, a 2024 3rd-round pick
11). Building a team in a Salary Cap World not from Goalie out, but rather 4 forwards eating up 1/2 a Salary Cap and it leading to NHL worst playoff results of all NHL teams.
12). Leafs GM scorced earth dealing away Leafs draft picks like candy years into the future to fuel his 1st round playoff loss imcompetence. No team has made less picks the past 3 years.
Honourable Mention:
- Allowing Frederik Andersen to walk in free agency to sign a two-year, $9M contract ($4.5M AAV) with the Carolina Hurricanes, leading to the endless poor goaltending decisons (Garret Sparks, Michael Hutchinson, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Jack Campbell, David Rittich, Petr Mrazek, Erik Kallgren, Matt Murray, Ilya Samsonov).
- Toronto Maple Leaf hiring Soo Greyhound Sheldon Keefe with Zero NHL coaching experience and getting outcoaced against everyone and leading to imbarassing losses to CBJ and Montreal and others.
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Denis Malgin from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mason Marchment.
- Toronto Maple Leafs sign UFA Nick Ritchie and then deal him away with Leafs 2025 2nd round pick to unload.
- etc, etc etc
Conclusion: Leaf BIGGEST Mistake
A Fortune 500 company hiring a Clueless inexperienced greenhorn GM, that had no clue what he was doing who destroyed the Leafs best opportunity and Cup competitive window during the prime years of AM, MM and WN.
Every team has missteps, some more than others.
What do you feel was the biggest mistake this team has made? (Limit your response to post lockout/salary cap introduction)
I can think of a bunch but not sure yet which I feel was the 'biggest'.
Maybe we don’t get Mcdavid, but we could’ve gotten eichel who is/was clearly a better player especially when he was on Buffalo
Kaprizov, Rantanen, Aho, Eichel are all Marner level players. He isn’t the second or third, he’s around 4-6th.
It would’ve helped a lot to improve our odds and who knows what would’ve happened then.
Nice to have yet another thinly disguised Marner contract thread.![]()
Good one too. We hear whispers of his influence that make you wonder.
26 of the last 31 cups have been won by GMs in their first NHL GM role.Actually probably #1 mistake actually was hiring a rookie GM
Tanking increases the odds, doesn’t make it perfect but gives you a better chance. Moreover we’d maybe have gotten a better return for kessel if dealt earlier, we should’ve sold some other pieces to get more draft capital and maybe not end up with marner + bracco + dermott. That team was unremarkable at best, there should’ve been 0 attempt at making the playoffs when we had just drafted 8th overall last yearDo you understand how a lottery works? You could tank and still end up with the 4th pick. Edmonton wasn’t even the worst team and got McDavid. So I’m not really understanding this tank harder because it wouldn’t haven’t guaranteed anything.
And Eichel was better than Marner on Buffalo? I rather have Marner than Eichel tbh. Kaprizov there’s an argument there. But id go McDavid, Rantanen, Marner, Kaprizov. I’d even take Aho ahead of Eichel.
We needed to keep Lou Lamoriello as GM.
Toronto was too big of a spotlight for dubas and he ruined the potential we had by trying to be bros with the players.
26 of the last 31 cups have been won by GMs in their first NHL GM role.
How long were the 26 in the league and in what roles prior to getting their first GM position?26 of the last 31 cups have been won by GMs in their first NHL GM role.
Could the JT signing have worked? Maybe if they had used either that great Kadri contract or Nylander to land that stud D via trade immediately. By holding on to the big 4 and Kadri as soon as summer 2019 they were in cap crunch mode which led to brutal trades like the Kadri for Barrie/Kerfoot, pay a 1st Jarvis to get out of Marleau, losing Hyman for nothing etc.