What would ya'll give grade for us at the deadline now?

[All Mod Cons]

I'd quite like to convince everyone that we all said A, so when we get knocked out in the 1st round, it'll be their fault and not the GMs.

 

[therealkoho]

You grade the GM on trade deadline day, then the draft and free agency. You grade the players throughout the season and in the playoffs. Chose a grade for the GM and stick with it, it shouldn't change after the end of season results.

While I do understand your concern, free agency, trades and drafts imo can't be graded in a vacuum. Only because the impact might not be apparent immediately, and an impact that evolves as players find their place within the teams structure. I stated initially and hopefully I was clear, that the initial mark is a B+.

All players acquired seem to be the types of players this Leafs team didn't have, and the type that change the overall swagger of the team and the kind that hopefully initiates and doesn't retaliate, the kind of team that can win playoff hockey. Which if they do its obviously a much higher mark.

 

[Menzinger]

Exactly, he didn't have to trade Sandin.

So no reason to make that trade unless he felt this was the best offer he was ever going to get for him. I doubt that would be the case, he could have traded him in the summer for better probably. We literally got Boston's first which is guaranteed to be 28+, basically a second round pick.

Highly doubt that is his peak value, we also acquired a rental that we wouldn't need should we have not traded him.

That's the one trade that makes no sense to me. Had Dubas known he can flip Gus or the first and acquire more useful assets right now, then the trade made sense, but to sit on that trade and do nothing makes it a bad trade in my opinion.

Though if Sandin didn't play much in the playoffs I'm not sure if that would be the case.

 

[nuck]

He literally can't do anything about the teams performance anymore. It's up to the coach and players. He brought in enough skill to go deep into the playoffs imo, it's now out of his hands tho.

What if its the goaltending that is the issue this playoff? How many thought Matt Murray and Washington's backup were the solution when those deals happened? The goalies and coach are in his hands even if we ignore the $40M on four forwards because it was a thousand years ago. I like his TDL moves a lot but he shouldn't get a pass on the lineup he started the year with just because he made some good moves in the last couple of weeks. A bunch of GMs made similar smart moves, it really is time for some results. I like this lineup and their chances but if they don't at least get past Tampa there should be some consequences.

 

[Smif]

What if its the goaltending that is the issue this playoff? How many thought Matt Murray and Washington's backup were the solution when those deals happened? The goalies and coach are in his hands even if we ignore the $40M on four forwards because it was a thousand years ago. I like his TDL moves a lot but he shouldn't get a pass on the lineup he started the year with just because he made some good moves in the last couple of weeks. A bunch of GMs made similar smart moves, it really is time for some results. I like this lineup and their chances but if they don't at least get past Tampa there should be some consequences.

There wasn't a goalie better than Samsonov or Murray moved at the deadline so which one do you think would've been our saviour?

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

I can't see how this trade deadline can be seen in much positive light.

The goal is to win this year.

THIS year.

There is no future for Dubas and Shanahan if this team fails expectations again. So they may as well have gone all-in. Their jobs and reputation depends on it.

But they didn't have the cajones to trade Marner.

These guys remind me of Dorothy's companions from the Wizard of Oz: no heart, no courage, no brain.

By sticking with the same losing formula that has resulted in so many early exits, Dubas and Shanahan have set themselves up for failure yet again.

It's the same team. With the same problems. Heading straight for the same results.

No amount of tinkering in the bottom six will fix that. Whether they have eight NHL quality defensemen for depth or eight hundred of them. It doesn't matter. So long as the same losing formula keeps getting trotted out year after year after year after year after year after year after year, the results will always stay the same.

That only changes when the jelly drop nucleus that forms the squishy core of this team is finally broken up and the roster rebalanced. Trading one of the four man-gods on skates. Every gambler knows that if you want to win it all you need to big or go home.

Dubas didn't go big.

I expect he will be going home as a result.

 

[Maple Leaf]

I can't see how this trade deadline can be seen in much positive light.

The goal is to win this year.

THIS year.

There is no future for Dubas and Shanahan if this team fails expectations again. So they may as well have gone all-in. Their jobs and reputation depends on it.

But they didn't have the cajones to trade Marner.

These guys remind me of Dorothy's companions from the Wizard of Oz: no heart, no courage, no brain.

By sticking with the same losing formula that has resulted in so many early exits, Dubas and Shanahan have set themselves up for failure yet again.

It's the same team. With the same problems. Heading straight for the same results.

No amount of tinkering in the bottom six will fix that. Whether they have eight NHL quality defensemen for depth or eight hundred of them. It doesn't matter. So long as the same losing formula keeps getting trotted out year after year after year after year after year after year after year, the results will always stay the same.

That only changes when the jelly drop nucleus that forms the squishy core of this team is finally broken up and the roster rebalanced. Trading one of the four man-gods on skates. Every gambler knows that if you want to win it all you need to big or go home.

Dubas didn't go big.

I expect he will be going home as a result.

Trade Tavares and Rielly

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

If I'm being honest, I'm not thinking past the 2nd round. Boston is 17 points ahead of us with a game in hand and a goal differential of +104. They also made substantial adds at the TDL and frankly speaking, they scare the crap out of me.

Here’s hoping a relative lack of adversity on the season bites them. One of those “everyone has a plan until they get punched” things.

 

[Racer88]

The idea is to vote and then look back after the playoffs and reevaluate.


The Leafs don't really have room to make overly impactful offensive additions. Adding ROR is massive. Adding Lafferty and Acciari changes the way our bottom 6 plays. McCabe and Schenn reshape our D completely in terms of style and physicality.

This was a major shakeup and completely changed the way the team plays.

F if the last three games are what we now are

I wonder how many want to change their vote after the last three games

 

[nuck]

There wasn't a goalie better than Samsonov or Murray moved at the deadline so which one do you think would've been our saviour?

The goalie choice was made last summer. IMO this wasnt something to correct at the TDL. It was a die cast, and it might still work out, although I guess if Murray had been wrecked then we would have seen who was actually available. Its a gamble that we dont know the results of yet. Murray or even Sami could still make it a win, or that choice could be a fail.

 

[Shooter2x]

We should have our own developed players like Lafferty and McCabe to throw in by now we shouldn't be trading 1sts to bring in this tier. This deadline revealed how much our Gm stinks. Jake McCabe is a no.5 on a contender. We already had one of the best no.5s in Sandin.

You guys can dislike me all you want but you can't lie to yourselves. If Sandin and a 1st go out, a top 6, Jeannot, top 4 etc should have came in. This is facts.

Are we ever going to have a stream of prospects under Dubas so we dont have to keep doing dumb trades for what we should already have? We're literally riding one guy (Knies) whose impact is still unknown. Sandin is declared a bust already by the guy who drafted him. Robertson is The Alex Nylander of the brothers. Dubas is striking out it doesn't give me much hope Knies is ready for the top 6 any time soon.

I feel like I walked into a twilight zone here with how over rated this deadline is.

 

[smitty10]

F if the last three games are what we now are

I wonder how many want to change their vote after the last three games

The Calgary game was one of the best defensive games I've seen.

They're trying to incorporate 6 new guys into the lineup. No need to be reactionary. Things take time. Tampa just benched Kuch, Stamkos and Point. They should just blow it up too eh!

 

[Racer88]

The Calgary game was one of the best defensive games I've seen.

They're trying to incorporate 6 new guys into the lineup. No need to be reactionary. Things take time. Tampa just benched Kuch, Stamkos and Point. They should just blow it up too eh!

We have been seeing this type of game far to often all year

 

[Gary Nylund]

Here’s hoping a relative lack of adversity on the season bites them. One of those “everyone has a plan until they get punched” things.

We can hope, but that team seems like the type that can take a punch.

 

[Trapper]

On paper the moves look good but you can’t give a grade today.
I will grade it on 2 things:

1. Short term. If we lose in the first round it’s a fail.

2. Long term. What happens to all the players we just got? Do they stay or go? Did we give a bunch of assets for short term that didn’t pan out? Or do we keep some players and have success the next year? That’s a long term win.

 

[Stephen]

Solid A- for me.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

B-
They addressed the D by bringing in McCabe, Schenn & Gus, however punting Sandin may come back to haunt us.
ROR & Lafferty haven't wowed me yet, hoping they do more in the playoffs.
Acciari came as advertised and has been a great addition

At the end of the day however, we're still having trouble scoring goals and you have Kerfoot and Jarnkrok as your 1/2 LWs. That's less than ideal for any team let alone a SC contender. If they were going all in however, a LW with skill would have been the perfect addition.

 

[Confucius]

F if the last three games are what we now are

I wonder how many want to change their vote after the last three games

Since he didn't do enough to win, he was better off to sit tight and do nothing.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Would have liked to have seen another forward added
Risky to not have obtained goalie insurance
He did pretty well, especially with ROR but I don't think it's enough to win a round or more - hope I'm wrong

 

[The Management]

I'm going to say A- but there's a number of ways to look at things. Do you look at each trade individually, or do you look at where the new pieces fit as a whole?

Toronto's biggest problem, in my view, has been a lack of secondary scoring, toughness, and the ability to close out tough games when the physical and mental pressure ratchet up. They brought in a Selke and Conn Smythe winner who would appear to address some of those issues. O'Reilly can play in your top six or bottom six, has some sandpaper to his game, and knows how to win in the postseason. They also brought in Acciari, Lafferty, and McCabe, all of whom play chippy defensive hockey. Those guys bring an element to the team we weren't getting from Pierre Engvall or Aston-Reese. And more importantly, they aren't over the hill or "tough for toughness sake" type of players like Simmonds and Clifford. They can play at a pace.

In terms of the pieces coming in, that's all very good. I personally wouldn't have minded seeing extra insurance in goal (Korpisalo), but I understand the logic it might crowd the net.

In terms of the pieces going out, it was mostly draft capital. We managed to retain our top prospects and didn't trade heavily off the roster. We even managed to recoup a first round pick this year. That's a tidy bit of business given the amount of turnover in the lineup.

I will say I didn't care for the Sandin trade, but this is why I say you can look at a trade individually, or at where the pieces fit as a whole. Sandin has shown he really needs to play LD. If the coach doesn't see him getting minutes in that particular position, then it might make sense to move him now to recover some of the capital spent on the deadline. I will say my concern is how the blueline will look going forward, specifically whether guys like Schenn or Gustaffson become regulars, or whether they are rotated in and out of the lineup as necessary.

The other issues with this club cannot be addressed by the trade deadline, unless you advocate for a much larger restructuring of the team.

 

[PromisedLand]

Interesting tidbit. Not sure how, based on rumour but interesting nonetheless

NHL trade rumors: Leafs inquired about Karlsson, Ekholm; Oilers made pitch for Meier

It sounds like the Leafs and Oilers were thinking about making even bigger splashes at the trade deadline.

ca.sports.yahoo.com

 

[keonsbitterness]

Interesting tidbit. Not sure how, based on rumour but interesting nonetheless

NHL trade rumors: Leafs inquired about Karlsson, Ekholm; Oilers made pitch for Meier

It sounds like the Leafs and Oilers were thinking about making even bigger splashes at the trade deadline.

ca.sports.yahoo.com

A Karlsson trade would have required the Sharks and probably a third team to retain salary. Pretty close to impossible with him having five years left on his deal.

 

[Racer88]

Since he didn't do enough to win, he was better off to sit tight and do nothing.

I didn’t want him to sit tight……I wanted him to make the team better but as of yet we haven’t seen that.
the game where ROR, Marner and Tavares was together they were great. What does Keefe do, splits them up and puts Marner with Matthews who has been a mess. WTH

 

[sxvnert]

B-
Love all the moves except Dubas stopped short yet again. The insanity of going out of his way to give up an extra pick for double retention just to keep Kerfoot in the lineup is laughable. That 3.5m could have been moved towards D or a legit top nine who isn't a useless POS.

 

[Confucius]

I didn’t want him to sit tight……I wanted him to make the team better but as of yet we haven’t seen that.
the game where ROR, Marner and Tavares was together they were great. What does Keefe do, splits them up and puts Marner with Matthews who has been a mess. WTH

Well I’d have 2 more 1sts than you and we aren’t winning anyway. Lol