Who do you blame for the series loss to the Habs?

[redgrant]

Marner + Keefe + Malhotra. Thornton and Simmonds too.

All of them embarrassed themselves in the playoffs.

You can add Matthews in there but I think his linemates and coach (failing to change the lines) neutered him completely. The guy was absolutely dominant early in the series. He's clearly not a generational player so you can't just put him with anyone and hope he dominates.

LOL what did the assistant coach do?

 

[Eternal Leaf]

LOL what did the assistant coach do?

He was running the PP.

It's been a joke for the past 2-3 months and of course, was garbage in the playoffs.

 

[Aus34Matt]

100% Marner and Campbell. One cant score or make a play to save his life. The other lets in the SOFTEST of goals.

I vote Marner and Keefe. The series did NOT need to go to game 7. If only Marner did what he was paid to do instead of flipping pucks over the glass. Campbell did everything he could to win this series.

 

[wingman75]

Ich couldn't vote neither milord.

There's so many thangs wrong here. Matthews and marner should played better and scissord more. Not each other, but score in general.

Tavares injury was something, but not deciding of course. Muzzin out for the final game, not a reason neither. Joe was playing on the first pp unit for a long time... Even sharks didn't play him there during his last 1.5 years. Wonder why? There's a reason to that, of course there is. Keefe and malhotra, the fools and wrongs they are, just didn't realize it. They fools for life. FIRED. I'm surprised it hasn't already happened. Maybe tonight. Keefe and malhotra and hakstol should all be fired. Maybe dubass too. What a dumb noob. Putting 40 mil on 4 playaaz and playettez. f***in dork. LEAVE TORONTO. FOR LIFE

Lou Lamoriello knows ice hockey. Still winning, still in the playoffs. WITH HIS LEO AND MARTIN. WITH THEM. FOR LIFE: LEARN BOUT THAT THERE SONNY. CHIBA.
LOU HAS THE RINGS; CUPS. DUBASS HAS THAT FIRED STAMP. TERENCE.

I get what you are dishing my homie...

But, other than Jumbo on PP1, Keefe played the players who SHOULD have gotten the team a win. In hindsight, not having Tavares I think was more of a factor than we admit; not for his scoring necessairly, but more for his mental toughness. I know he was around the team, but we needed him on the ice. Yes, the guys there should have been able to finish the job but they clearly have no idea what it takes to win, where as I feel JT does... his effort alone, I like to think, would have inspired those soulless fcks to lay everything on the line, which they think they did. I mean the number of battles that the Leafs passed on was comical. They weren't interested in engaging all over the ice at all... again, they think they were laying it on the line, but they weren't even close... and after 4 years of this they clearly have not learned anything.

I don't feel anyone is getting fired, though I would be fine with whatever changes anyone suggests. I want a trade (Marner), but I don't think that is happening this season either. I think they change the supporting cast and go at it again. And with the divisions / conferences going back to normal, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they ended up missing the playoffs... but oh, don't you worry Matthews will get his 40 goals and Marner will get his 90 points. Hope he enjoys his Rocket Richard trophy.

 

[17 Clark]

Dubas and his two pretender superstars.

There was a guy here yesterday saying they’d still take Matthews or Marner for game 7 over 1993 era Doug Gilmour. Lol.

Seriously, regardless of the result, for those that remember clearly, could you ever imagine Doug Gilmour putting in an effort like these two fakers did last night?

Spineless cowards.​

OK so it’s what happens when you smoke too much weed who the hell is her right mind would take these two over Doug Gilmore Sundin was called a p***y he had more heart than these two and of course my favourite Clark Maybe they should hire him to scare some life into these kids the only way I ever see this Corps of players winning as if they take hitting out of the league No contact flag hockey they have a good chance I think

 

[Blanche Blanche]

Completely dominated again in a game that matters .. sure Price was good but so was Holtby, Rask and Korpisalo it is a repeating pattern where we get outgoalied .. injuries hurt sure but that is what occurs in playoff hockey no different than last year.. coaching was inflexible yes that is another repeating pattern .. Mitch is trying his best but lacks required 10% extra speed and strength required of playoff hockey yes but also a known issue .. Matty gets coverage against/doubled all night yes again a known issue .. and we lose to inferior teams because our best players play down to competition yes again repeating issue .. that we play perimeter possession hockey yes we do and again it is a known systematic issue for turnovers which are exemplified in playoffs which requires a much more simple game which we don't have .. that Rielly is fast but lacks brains/hands to make precise plays that a top offensive dman should make yes again a repeating pattern .. bringing in an over da hill HOF playoff underachiever like Jumbo (see Paddy) never works .. so many issues folks here but all repeating patterns over 5 years of 1st round exits

Again if nothing changes at top and with core it is very obvious da same sh*t will occur next year too .. but not sure we will even make playoffs next year folks .. Florida, Tampa and Boston are significantly better teams .. Montreal and Ottawa are improving squads . . it will be a huge battle to get a wildcard i think

If we remove Shanny/Dubie which I suspect is likely in coming days then it will take a couple years to REJIG this team by trading Mitch and Rielly to start to create CAP room and build a regular NHL squad which can compete in playoffs

Tough choices ahead for Larry but he knows da above facts .. such a bad state for our Leafs to be in really .. like I stated never send a boy to do a man's job .. and never rely on anything you hear from legal beagle Bettman as he only views us here in TO as his piggy bank

Well said… The shanaplan was ruined by shanny himself.

Dubas undermined Babcocks desire for bigger stronger players.

shanny backed Dubas into midget speed hockey. Babcock managed a way to get us playoffs 3X with a GM undermining him.

Keefe has had everything he wanted and our team stank even more.

This reeks from the top.

 

[ottomaddox]

LOL what did the assistant coach do?

This was his power play.

 

[Jeypic]

Bad luck. Tavares injury. If he didn’t get injured game 1, we likely win that game and the next 3 for a sweep. Or he likely adds a point in one of the overtime games.

Good chance Matthews and Marner figured it out in rd 2 as well. If not though, that’s as far as we’d go. But they’re too good to stay cold for long.

It’s a shame such a good team could be torn apart by a freak injury.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Well said… The shanaplan was ruined by shanny himself.

Dubas undermined Babcocks desire for bigger stronger players.

shanny backed Dubas into midget speed hockey. Babcock managed a way to get us playoffs 3X with a GM undermining him.

Keefe has had everything he wanted and our team stank even more.

This reeks from the top.

It is unfortunate because it will get ugly in Leafland as changes occur .. but da head needs replacing .. my gut says it may be best to take some time off next year away from club and let them fix issues .. hopefully just a 2 year reconfiguration not a total rebuild

 

[koyvoo]

Ok, for the people voting goaltending, I understand Campbell let in a softie or two in the series, but in terms of losing us the series, are you blaming him for not scoring goals?

Prime Hasek would not have pulled out these victories in elimination games the past few seasons with the production our superstar fakers have provided in these do or die games. Unless Hasek scores the goals have myself.

We don’t have the best goaltending. But goaltending is not the reason we’ve been exposed as pretenders.

 

[ottomaddox]

Completely dominated again in a game that matters .. sure Price was good but so was Holtby, Rask and Korpisalo it is a repeating pattern where we get outgoalied .. injuries hurt sure but that is what occurs in playoff hockey no different than last year.. coaching was inflexible yes that is another repeating pattern .. Mitch is trying his best but lacks required 10% extra speed and strength required of playoff hockey yes but also a known issue .. Matty gets coverage against/doubled all night yes again a known issue .. and we lose to inferior teams because our best players play down to competition yes again repeating issue .. that we play perimeter possession hockey yes we do and again it is a known systematic issue for turnovers which are exemplified in playoffs which requires a much more simple game which we don't have .. that Rielly is fast but lacks brains/hands to make precise plays that a top offensive dman should make yes again a repeating pattern .. bringing in an over da hill HOF playoff underachiever like Jumbo (see Paddy) never works .. so many issues folks here but all repeating patterns over 5 years of 1st round exits

Again if nothing changes at top and with core it is very obvious da same sh*t will occur next year too .. but not sure we will even make playoffs next year folks .. Florida, Tampa and Boston are significantly better teams .. Montreal and Ottawa are improving squads . . it will be a huge battle to get a wildcard i think

If we remove Shanny/Dubie which I suspect is likely in coming days then it will take a couple years to REJIG this team by trading Mitch and Rielly to start to create CAP room and build a regular NHL squad which can compete in playoffs

Tough choices ahead for Larry but he knows da above facts .. such a bad state for our Leafs to be in really .. like I stated never send a boy to do a man's job .. and never rely on anything you hear from legal beagle Bettman as he only views us here in TO as his piggy bank

Agreed. It all comes from the top. There are so many better/more experienced people that can manage the team. All 3 (Shanny/Dubas/Keefe) have been learning on the fly and failing. Let someone else decide the fate of Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Tavares. The shitshow has to stop. The expansion draft and draft are looming.

 

[Beyonder91]

Keefe easily for me

1) Didn't make good line adjustments
2) Powerplay - Thornton REALLY? (Worst coaching decision of the playoffs easily)
3) Kept guys like Thornton/Simmonds in the line up when they were literally pylons out there

 

[rumman]

Ownership
Shahahan
Dubas
Keefe
Players
Leaf Nation
In that order.........

 

[Beyonder91]

This was his power play.

Keefe is ultimately responsible

 

[ottomaddox]

Keefe is ultimately responsible

Agreed. Listen no one is safe after this free fall.

 

[ottomaddox]

Keefe easily for me

1) Didn't make good line adjustments
2) Powerplay - Thornton REALLY? (Worst coaching decision of the playoffs easily)
3) Kept guys like Thornton/Simmonds in the line up when they were literally pylons out there

Who would have thought that Bergevin's coach's challenge would be matched by something worse. Then came Keefe with his.

 

[Lemontree]

The front office, the coaching staff and the players (except Tavares).

Some players deserve more blame than others but together as a group, they deserve blame for once again not getting it done.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Other, I blame the entire team

 

[Twine Tickler]

Marner/Matthews are to blame in my opinion. I feel like Keefe had a poor coaching series for sure. The challenge in game 6 was terrible and cost us the game, his inablility to get Matthews away from Danault on home ice was terrible. We lost 3/4 at home, not nearly good enough with last change. But at the end of the day the Leafs were the better team in 5 of 7 games. So the questionable coaching decisions should really have been a non factor. If either one of Mitch or Auston shows up in any of the games that the Leafs lost, the series is ours. GM's have come and gone, coaches have come and gone, the only constant is the core. And the head of that snake is Mitch and Auston. They should not be surprised for being the focal point of criticism. They deserve every bit of it. Their pay grade does not allow for this many average nights, let alone off nights. It is just not acceptable. No more babying the big boys. They wanted the big boy money, now time to deal with the big boy heat. Plain and simple. Would be totally ok with seeing one of them out.

I've seen enough of the same uninspired product when the hockey gets harder.

Just hard for me to look at that roster and cast blame on management. And thats not even considering the prospects we have in the pipeline. This roster should have been fit to compete for the cup. The players failed. no ifs, ands, or buts.

should be a busy and interesting offseason

 

[Mitch Matthews]

Well, truth be told, they lost because of defense, so i voted Marner

 

[Leafsfan74]

The horrible freak injury that cost their captain and messed up with lines right away. They might not even lose game one if Tavares played and the series takes on an entirely different tone immediately.

That said, you have to work through it. Big earners are paid to perform. They didn't. Clearly Habs felt they could just shut down Matthews line and succeed, especially with Tavares out.

Some bad guesses by Keefe. It's always 20/20 hindsight so who knows if it makes a difference, but I didn't like him altering the lineup from game 4 (their most convincing win) and game 5 (where Sandin unfortunately cost them two goals. He may have also cost the PK goal against in game one, that's debatable). I don't even know why he make that decision. I didn't like him breaking up the Galchenyuk, Kerfoot, Nylander line for I believe game 6, I forget now. Sometimes small, incorrect gut feelings are the difference.

Ultimately, it's always a combination of issues. Bottom line, Leafs once again didn't want it enough. I've qualified for national level meets in High School level sports and there were crowds and pressure (and even TV cameras). I knew one thing, you have no character if you allow the opponent to want it more. For me, that a base level attribute that all athletes must have. As a pro, I can't even imagine this should ever be an issue.

 

[hotpaws]

Dubas for being generally incompetent and for blowing the cap which resulted in way too many forwards from the bargain bin .

Keefe coaches like a minor hockey parent who is in way over his head .

Shanny for choosing Dubas because it's fits the PC culture of this organization .

 

[Section 325]

This is mostly on Dubas.

I'm not a Leafs fan, but I just think it's insane that Tavares, Marner, and Matthews were signed for the money they make without needing to prove themselves more than they did.

MacKinnon makes $6.5 million a year, Scheifele makes $6.125 million a year, Marchand makes $6.125 million a year, and Mikko Rantonen and Mark Stone make $9.5 million a year. Those players are all hovering around the same production as Matthews and Marner this season and they were all better than Tavares. Each of those players also have significantly more playoff experience.

Honestly I think Dubas may have put the cart before the horse on these guys out of fear of losing them because the Toronto media circus was piling on the pressure. In the end, I think he made highly emotional decisions.

Marner, Matthews, and Tavares are being paid based off of how they are expected to play and not based off of their real-life track record. None of them have ever proven themselves in the playoffs when each of them signed (including Tavares in NYI) and they definitely haven't since.

Is it realistic to expect these players to be better than they've shown themselves to be just because you decided to pay them a lot? I'm not so sure.

That's on Dubas.

 

[Buds17]

Multiple facets (injuries, performance, deployment).

 

[81Leafs50]

The dumbest take of them all. Anyone blaming Campbell needs to get their head out of their ass. We scored ONE goal at the very last minute. Campbell is the only reason game 5, wasn't 5-0 in the first 10 minutes.

if you are too blind to see multiple weak goals almost every single game then you are out to lunch. This guy sucks.