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It’s not overstated. It’s actually understated because people are waking up to how fucked this team is but the Leafs themselves are still stuck in this bullshit PR story about a retool.
I get it. The problem is, they won’t listen. They couldn’t care less about what the fans really think. Oh, sure, they’ll pay lip service as they always have. It’s about money, and nothing but. They need the TV revenue for Rogers Sportsnet. They probably took a whack, when the Leafs were spiraling towards the bottom. Their bottom line screamed, “fix this, we need the money!” Letting Berube go meant losing the equivalent of 2 playoff gates, for his paid out salary. The may get that back, if Berube ends up in Edmonton. In their minds, they make that up if the Leafs go to the playoffs and get swept. They lose huge if the Leafs suck again and miss the playoffs. Of course, a shiny new star player buys them some time and more eyes watching the team. It’s in their interest to just retool, use free agency and make some trades to stay in contention. Championships be damned, just keep the fanbase watching, no matter what. If you believe that they’re going to rebuild, you’d be sadly mistaken. Matts was brought in to be the face of the team, so Rogers and Pelly could hide behind the curtain, while pulling the strings.
That’s up to Chayka and Matthews. If Chayka decides, it’s full rebuild time, what is Pelley going to do? Fire him after just hiring him? And if he does fire him or block his ability to rebuild, the average fan revolts after the rumors leak that Pelley is holding the team back from something a lot of the fans actually want to happen.
Nothing increases franchise value (the thing they actually want, not year to year revenue) more than winning a Cup. The path to that Cup does not run through a bullshit re-tool.
SJ can take one of the D, but i dont see that player making a difference for a few years. looking at the top 10,you can go back to 2020 and maybe 1 Dman has turned into a top pairing D. (Sanderson)
They might be better off trying to trade the pick for a more established D to step in nowI don’t see a team, with a good young defenseman with a for sale sign around his neck. You either gamble, or go into free agency. Of course, a hockey trade could happen, but it’ll take more than the #1 pick to get a top end defenseman. You have to draft them. My thinking is move Matthews, bring back a Misa or a McTavish and a couple of other pieces. The #1 is a lottery ticket. You can move down and gain 2 or 3 good pieces, if you play your cards right. Number 3 gets you a) Stenberg, b)The Top defensive prospect. The rest of the deal gives you a high end prospect for moving down. UG makes some sense on that one. Either way, you still end up with a Grade A prospect and possibly more.
It’s not overstated. It’s actually understated because people are waking up to how fucked this team is but the Leafs themselves are still stuck in this bullshit PR story about a retool.
I get it. The problem is, they won’t listen. They couldn’t care less about what the fans really think. Oh, sure, they’ll pay lip service as they always have. It’s about money, and nothing but. They need the TV revenue for Rogers Sportsnet. They probably took a whack, when the Leafs were spiraling towards the bottom. Their bottom line screamed, “fix this, we need the money!” Letting Berube go meant losing the equivalent of 2 playoff gates, for his paid out salary. The may get that back, if Berube ends up in Edmonton. In their minds, they make that up if the Leafs go to the playoffs and get swept. They lose huge if the Leafs suck again and miss the playoffs. Of course, a shiny new star player buys them some time and more eyes watching the team. It’s in their interest to just retool, use free agency and make some trades to stay in contention. Championships be damned, just keep the fanbase watching, no matter what. If you believe that they’re going to rebuild, you’d be sadly mistaken. Matts was brought in to be the face of the team, so Rogers and Pelly could hide behind the curtain, while pulling the strings.
The “don’t over think it” idea is exactly what they said about some of these other guys at #1 and we can clearly see which teams got the best players or the “winners”.
It all depends on the offers for McKenna at #1. If the offers are underwhelming, then you just make the pick. If Vancouver wants to get creative, then make a deal that brings you #3, a top prospect, or an extra #1 pick, this year or next. I could see San Jose dangling their 2nd overall, because they want a star defenseman. They too can see the need to grab the best defenseman in the draft. The Leafs really can’t lose if they trade the #1 for #3 plus a top prospect or another 1st. You either get Stenberg or your choice of the 3 defensemen coming behind San Jose, or getting Stenberg. It just needs to make sense. It’s time the Leafs went full blown mercenary and defrock a desperate team trying to look relevant. Vancouver and Chicago are ripe for the picking. Vancouver, because they need someone to sell to their fanbase as a number 1 overall pick and Chicago who needs to start moving up the standings with Connor Bedard wasting his younger years on a team not in contention.
SJ can take one of the D, but i dont see that player making a difference for a few years. looking at the top 10,you can go back to 2020 and maybe 1 Dman has turned into a top pairing D. (Sanderson)
They might be better off trying to trade the pick for a more established D to step in nowThe “don’t over think it” idea is exactly what they said about some of these other guys at #1 and we can clearly see which teams got the best players or the “winners”.
It all depends on the offers for McKenna at #1. If the offers are underwhelming, then you just make the pick. If Vancouver wants to get creative, then make a deal that brings you #3, a top prospect, or an extra #1 pick, this year or next. I could see San Jose dangling their 2nd overall, because they want a star defenseman. They too can see the need to grab the best defenseman in the draft. The Leafs really can’t lose if they trade the #1 for #3 plus a top prospect or another 1st. You either get Stenberg or your choice of the 3 defensemen coming behind San Jose, or getting Stenberg. It just needs to make sense. It’s time the Leafs went full blown mercenary and defrock a desperate team trying to look relevant. Vancouver and Chicago are ripe for the picking. Vancouver, because they need someone to sell to their fanbase as a number 1 overall pick and Chicago who needs to start moving up the standings with Connor Bedard wasting his younger years on a team not in contention.
I think landing the #1 pick makes the decision for them, at least in the short term 2 years (AM contract)
I also think how dire the leafs situation is, is being overstated, its the trendy thing to do right now.the Matthews wants to leave narrative is also softening already, I never bought into it, to me it was just like Mcdavid last year.. they wanted change and to see that the team wants to win.
They can trade Matthews, but will never have a player like him again, and will never get anywhere close to fair value.Berube fired I think for AM was a big part, he stunk and so did AM with him as coach.
It’s not overstated. It’s actually understated because people are waking up to how fucked this team is but the Leafs themselves are still stuck in this bullshit PR story about a retool.
It’s not trendy. It’s damn accurate. The Leafs have no farm system, they have no draft capital, they have an aging team with a trash blueline that can’t be fixed. They also have a star player who seems unhappy and rapidly approaching free agency. The last time the Leafs played with that fire, they got 3rd degree burns as we can see Marner leading the playoffs in scoring while the Leafs sit as the 5th worst team in the NHL. Their goalies are generally unhealthy and their depth is non-existent. That’s not trendy thoughts. That’s reality.
Matthews should want to leave. It’s in his best interest to get the fuck out of Toronto ASAP. It’s better for his career, better for his UFA status and probably better for his odds of winning a Cup if he joins a REAL contender. McDavid is not comparable. He went to the Cup Final twice in a row. He has faith in his core guys still. Matthews has nothing in Toronto to fight for anymore. They already ran his best playmaker out of town and clearly the team sucks without him.
Berube was a problem but the Leafs have been through a lot of coaches with no real difference. They all lost when it counted because this group of guys doesn’t work.
I can see getting a large haul for Matthews, if you look at the California teams. Each one has a good reason to bid large on Matthews. San Jose is about to go the way the Habs did. Draft well for 5 years and stockpile young talent. When it comes together, you’re an instant contender. Matthews would put San Jose into a playoff spot, trending up. They have the #2 pick and add Michael Misa, a good young center, plus another 1st to get it done. This year, Anaheim made a push, and with one more great piece, they could easily see themselves in a Conference final. They too have a number of good, young players on their roster, with Mason McTavish being a player of interest the Leafs should target. A young Center with the grit and determination to put beside a McKenna or Stenberg. Add two first rounders and make the deal. The Kings need to replace their longtime Captain, Anze Kopitar, who retired. To stay competitive with their West Coast rivals, they need to make this deal. Quinton Byfield would be a must, as well as 2 first rounders to make it work. Best deal wins.
There are a lot of examples in recent years where the #1 pick was not the best player in the draft. Given the Leafs situation, they need to explore trading down and acquiring more assets because the cupboard is so bare and the rebuild is right around the corner.
2010: Hall vs Seguin. Seguin won.
2011: Nugent-Hopkins vs. Landeskog. Landeskog won.
2012: Yakupov vs Everybody else. Yakupov sucked.
2013: MacKinnon vs Barkov. MacKinnon has scored more points and goals but Barkov has more Cups (way better two-way player too).
2014: Ekblad vs. Reinhart. They won Cups together eventually. #3 Draisaitl way more goals and points than both. Florida with the #1, #2 and #4 (Bennett) pick. Leafs should do the same.
2015: McDavid vs. Eichel. Best player in the world is McDavid, no doubt, but Eichel has the Cup and chasing a 2nd this year.
2016: Matthews vs. Laine. Matthews has the best regular season stats but Tkachuk went 6th and he’s got a Cup.
2017: Hischier vs Patrick. Makar went 4th. Clearly the best player from the draft. Heiskanen went 3rd.
2018: Dahlin vs Svechnikov. Quinn Hughes went 7th.The “don’t over think it” idea is exactly what they said about some of these other guys at #1 and we can clearly see which teams got the best players or the “winners”.
You know, as a late 50’s Western Canadian and an outsider looking in, it’s somewhat fascinating to watch the Leaf organization over the past 40 years. In recent years, the Shanaplan years, they played some good hockey for y’all but they never accomplished anything of note. Just so many poor decisions and a flawed roster resulted. Now you seem to be between a rock and a hard place, do you start over again or do you continue to chase with a flawed roster.
I think landing the #1 pick makes the decision for them, at least in the short term 2 years (AM contract)
I also think how dire the leafs situation is, is being overstated, its the trendy thing to do right now.the Matthews wants to leave narrative is also softening already, I never bought into it, to me it was just like Mcdavid last year.. they wanted change and to see that the team wants to win.
They can trade Matthews, but will never have a player like him again, and will never get anywhere close to fair value.Berube fired I think for AM was a big part, he stunk and so did AM with him as coach.
here are some stats for Mckenna, it looks like his start in NCAA really brought him back to the pack. But he took off in the 2nd half.
if he stayed in the WHL, I dont think it would even be a discussion who should go #1.All the draft stuff iv consumed (a lot) just says, dont over think this, draft Mckenna
https://x.com/NewLeafs2016/status/2057556723943272907?s=20
