Where do the Leafs go if they blow it yet again?

[sampollock]

Classic fig fans so worried about signing a McDavid you can't even worry about what you have on the ice right now quit dreaming

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

wow.... somethings gotta change... but it needs to be a change. Can't be Marner walks, and the Leafs bring in nobody. That be disaster.

As opposed to this?

 

[sampollock]

I see sign them all back get the core5 together for the next 5 years it's good for Canada to have this

SportsCenter will be happy

 

[Iwishihadaspacebar]

After that game 7 performance it should be:

Shanahan gone.
Reilly and Matthews available and traded.
Marner walks
Tavares comes back at $5m ish and can always be moved to 3C or wing at that price.
Kampf and Reaves out the door for cap purposes, you can't have nearly $4m being spent on scratches.
Knies re-signed.

They'd have plenty of cap space to play with after that (depending on who they acquire).

They can't just burn it all down and fully rebuild as their 2026 1st they gave up in the Carlo trade is only top 5 protected and they'd be good enough to be better than bottom 5 in the league.

Try to get Ehlers and Gavrikov or Provorov in free agency to make up some of the scoring and for the LD. They'll need a C back for Matthews.

 

[AvroArrow]

After that game 7 performance it should be:

Shanahan gone.
Reilly and Matthews available and traded.
Marner walks
Tavares comes back at $5m ish and can always be moved to 3C or wing at that price.
Kampf and Reaves out the door for cap purposes, you can't have nearly $4m being spent on scratches.
Knies re-signed.

They'd have plenty of cap space to play with after that (depending on who they acquire).

They can't just burn it all down and fully rebuild as their 2026 1st they gave up in the Carlo trade is only top 5 protected and they'd be good enough to be better than bottom 5 in the league.

Try to get Ehlers and Gavrikov or Provorov in free agency to make up some of the scoring and for the LD. They'll need a C back for Matthews.

Matthews stays

Even though he didn't produce enough offensively, he played great defensively against Barkov/Reinhart all series long and he has legitimately been hurt all year

His drop off in offensive production wasn't just limited to the playoffs, it's been this way all season. We'll probably find out what the injury was in the next couple days.

He's a big body elite 2 way C, at worst he's a top 10 C in the league. Those guys are extremely difficult to find.

Rielly needs to be traded or bought out

Marner should not be re-signed under any circumstance, he doesn't deserve the privilege of putting on a Leafs jersey

If Tavares wants to come back for 4-5M sure, otherwise move on and bring in some legitimate players

 

[WetcoastOrca]

What are the odds of drafting three star players who don’t have the compete or extra gear in critical games? They are all amazing players in the regular season but disappear in critical games. You can win with one of these guys as the others will get the puck to him but you can’t win with three. You can probably throw Tavares and Rielly into that group as well. So that’s 5 guys.

It’s going to be tough to fix but the best option is to get rid of a couple this offseason (Marner and Tavares?) and try to bring in more competitive and physical players to help bring out the best in Matthews and Nylander. Not sure what they do about the aging D though.

The tough part will be doing it without any high picks or top prospects and getting no return for Marner and JT as free agents. It would have been a lot easier to move one of the Core 4 a few years ago when they could have gotten a good return.

 

[Beezeral]

repeating this again for the people in the back. Leafs didn't blow the series. They were defeated by a better opponent. It shouldn't have gone 7.

 

[Breakers]

One thing to consider

Ownership LOVES the current setup. So they would run it back and not think twice
Constant playoffs is the dream for numerous owners

 

[Fatass]

Wow! Friedman really giving it to the Leafs, especially Matthews, for the lack of compete and post game comments on the radio.

 

[NikolaTesla]

After that game 7 performance it should be:

Shanahan gone.
Reilly and Matthews available and traded.
Marner walks
Tavares comes back at $5m ish and can always be moved to 3C or wing at that price.
Kampf and Reaves out the door for cap purposes, you can't have nearly $4m being spent on scratches.
Knies re-signed.

They'd have plenty of cap space to play with after that (depending on who they acquire).

They can't just burn it all down and fully rebuild as their 2026 1st they gave up in the Carlo trade is only top 5 protected and they'd be good enough to be better than bottom 5 in the league.

Try to get Ehlers and Gavrikov or Provorov in free agency to make up some of the scoring and for the LD. They'll need a C back for Matthews.

Plenty of cap space after that... Problem is this summer every teams have plenty of cap space so expect a HUUUUUUUGE inflation of salaries resulting in MASSSSSSSSSSSIVE overpays.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I find it very sad that Leafs' fans are convinced that JT will re-sign for 4M cause he just loves TOR and would never explore FA.

 

[FiveFourteenSixOne]

here's whats gonna happen. they will play the best game of their life in Florida. win. only to bring it home for game 7 and get shit on at home. calling it.

Nice to meet you, Nostradamus!

Powerball #'s please?

 

[EpochLink]

I find it very sad that Leafs' fans are convinced that JT will re-sign for 4M cause he just loves TOR and would never explore FA.

Tavares needs to leave and go to a contender, he’s brought nothing to the Leafs come playoff time.

Be an option on a contending team instead of a core piece.

 

[BeranekAndNeck]

Do any of the following teams do these trades?

Matthews to Utah for Schmaltz, Maccelli, Kesselring, UTA 1st. Flip the 1st for a forward who can contribute now.

Matthews to NYI for Horvat, Pulock, 2025 2nd and 2026 1st.

Matthews to St. Louis for Schenn, Buchnevich and Bolduc.

Any of those moves give the Leafs actual depth and either players who play the “right” way or will in the near future.

 

[ITM]

Do any of the following teams do these trades?

Matthews to Utah for Schmaltz, Maccelli, Kesselring, UTA 1st. Flip the 1st for a forward who can contribute now.

Matthews to NYI for Horvat, Pulock, 2025 2nd and 2026 1st.

Matthews to St. Louis for Schenn, Buchnevich and Bolduc.

Any of those moves give the Leafs actual depth and either players who play the “right” way or will in the near future.

All of them. The only one Toronto entertains is New York's.

 

[Summer Rose]

Do any of the following teams do these trades?

Matthews to Utah for Schmaltz, Maccelli, Kesselring, UTA 1st. Flip the 1st for a forward who can contribute now.

Matthews to NYI for Horvat, Pulock, 2025 2nd and 2026 1st.

Matthews to St. Louis for Schenn, Buchnevich and Bolduc.

Any of those moves give the Leafs actual depth and either players who play the “right” way or will in the near future.

Speaking from Utah's perspective I would do that one, but I'd say it's bad for Toronto.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Matthews has a NMC. Forget about trading him, it's a pipe dream. If he's traded, he's hand-picking his destination and Leafs are getting pennies on the dollar. The teams with the sort of "rising assets" the Leafs would be seeking are all ones that Matthews would likely veto because they aren't good enough right now.

 

[Kennerback]

The Leafs are a pretty good team when all is said and done. The Core 4 make them better. They're just not built as a playoff team like Dallas, Florida and Edmonton that were in the Conference Finals last season and are back.

 

[BeranekAndNeck]

Speaking from Utah's perspective I would do that one, but I'd say it's bad for Toronto.

They are not going to get full value for the guy, both because of his NMC and the fact no playoff team can afford to give up what the Leafs would actually want without gutting their depth and thus Cup aspirations.

Toronto will need to “settle” for either a couple of established top six forwards and a pick/prospect or a younger, larger package like the Utah one that has more question marks. They gain a culture reset and cap space along with a decent set of assets though, which would make it worthwhile in the end. Regardless, Matthews can’t be in that room next year full stop.

 

[Cloned]

Nice to meet you, Nostradamus!

Powerball #'s please?

There were a lot of Nostradamus’es.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Matthews isn't captain material, I don't even think he should wear an A. What captain throws his team mates under the bus like that? Dude only cares about himself.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Just keep rolling it. They planned a damn parade!

 

[banks]

Where do the Leafs go from here?

They can go screw themselves, that's where.

Sigbed,
A burnt out Leafs fan

 

[ManWithNoName]

Matthews stays

Even though he didn't produce enough offensively, he played great defensively against Barkov/Reinhart all series long and he has legitimately been hurt all year

His drop off in offensive production wasn't just limited to the playoffs, it's been this way all season. We'll probably find out what the injury was in the next couple days.

He's a big body elite 2 way C, at worst he's a top 10 C in the league. Those guys are extremely difficult to find.

Rielly needs to be traded or bought out

Marner should not be re-signed under any circumstance, he doesn't deserve the privilege of putting on a Leafs jersey

If Tavares wants to come back for 4-5M sure, otherwise move on and bring in some legitimate players

Matthews killed whatever respect he had amongst his teammates when blaming anyone but himself with his comments.

Stay or leave, he’s done.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

I can’t imagine they keep Woll do they?

Almost certain he signed a 4 or 5 year extension about 3 months sgo.