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Turn out the lights Habs. When are they gonna learn? They need to chip and chase, but instead they try to beat Carolina by trying to skate it into the zone. You have to shoot it in and try to retrieve the puck, turning the defense around. Montreal is toast.
Alexis Lafreniere was not as highly touted. Many believed that it was a poor draft year. Something like Rielly’s year. This draft seems to have 6 really good players at the top. 3 defensemen, 2 wingers and a center. The Leafs have an important couple of decisions to make. Keep the pick and hope for the best, or trade the pick and draft a defenseman and get another 1st rounder or equivalent in return. Vancouver, Chicago and Calgary seem to be the teams that want to play, so go see what each is willing to give up.
It doesn’t matter anymore. He’s gone. He acted like a mercenary during contract talks. His father disparaged the franchise, during said talks. He was treated like a God and was the toast of the town, with Willy and Austin. I don’t forgive him for not waiving his no trade when the Leafs wanted to trade him to Carolina for Mikko Rantanen. He just decide to screw the team over and did so. Marner is no leader. He always had someone shielding him for his on ice play. He always played with the top talent, with the Leafs, or in International play. He also made the comment about his dark days in Toronto. Can I have a serving of this? I’ll take $11M plus to put up with Steve Simmonds, etc. I wish him luck in winning a Stanley Cup. I think the Leafs needed to go in a different direction and the Draft Lottery provides this opportunity. Now, they just need to give the memo to Rielly and a few other freeloaders who’ve gotten too comfortable in Toronto.
You have to remember, McKenna was a superior talent in junior. He decided to go to the NCAA because he wanted to play against players older than him, that were more polished. He started slow, but turned it on in the second half. He still averaged more than 2 points a game, in a league that’s known for low scoring games. He had an 8 point game in the NCAA, a record that will be hard to break. There’s a reason that many in the know, across the NHL, pick him to be the first overall pick. This is one of these times that you take a player like him and he explodes into a top 10 NHL player going forward. He could also be a 75 point player, which is fine, but not a first overall. A big issue is, do you want to be the GM that passed on this guy and he goes on to set records in points production and wins an Art Ross and the Hart Trophy or the Conn Smythe? It’s a conundrum, but it sure is a good one to have. The alternative was Boston picking at #6. If you watched the final balls dropping at the draft, there was a ball that would have put Winnipeg into the #1 spot but just missed, before #12 ended up in the hopper. If that had happened, Boston would be drafting at #6. It was pure luck and maybe it’s Karma that’s telling them to make that pick. Of course, getting a deal from Vancouver that nets you #3 plus a top end defensive prospect, or another 1st isn’t bad either.
You know all of the bluster and profanity doesn’t change a thing. With all due respect, Marner did not play well in games 5 through 7 his whole Leafs career. Also, no matter how much you want them to tear it down, it’s not feasible without your first rounders for 2 years. All you do is strengthen your opponents in the same conference. Teams that you may have to battle for a playoff spot down the road. Yes, the Leafs have a number of holes to fill, but they also have some good players too. Their goaltending is good, when not injured. They have two up and comers in the minors. Their defense is average. A couple of their top 6 need to be moved out and upgraded. Add a couple of decent puck movers and the defense could get you into a playoff spot. The Leafs also need to work on their bottom 6 and come up with a younger, second line center. They have two top end players and the first overall pick. The farm system needs to be revamped and more talent poured in to grow into NHL prospects. It’s also important that they get the best coach outside the NHL and not a retread. Either David Carle or the Marlies coach would be a good start. Too much pessimism. Just know, they aren’t going to rebuild. They will definitely retool. Again, no first rounders of their own for 2 years. Do you want to see them do a rebuild for 15 years like the Sabres did? The Leafs have the financial means to retool and will do so, whether you want them to or not. I’m sorry that you can’t handle the truth, but the economics of the richest team in the NHL demands that they become competitive as soon as possible. Too many shareholders, cable and radio rights that require them to make a profit. Rogers doesn’t just own the Leafs, it owns the Cable and Radio rights to the Maple Leafs for more than another decade. They won’t wait for any rebuild.
Marner played in Toronto for 10 years. The team never advanced past the second round. He disappeared in big games, or elimination games. Is it all his fault? No, there’s lots of blame to go around. Toronto is a real inhospitable place to play, if you’re not successful. Marner often played scared. Not just from the opposition, but the press core. It was time for the Leafs to move on from him. It should have happened the year they could still trade him, before his no movement clause kicked in. It’s obvious that he had resentment for the press and many in the fanbase. It was a no win situation for him, with all of the pressure of the massive fanbase and accompanying media. Toronto isn’t a place to play for the faint of heart. You can be lionized as a conquering hero when you’re winning. If you aren’t able to win because of a mental block, see Larry Murphy, etc, you can fall from grace quickly. Marner gave the impression that he couldn’t take the pressure. In Vegas, he can walk down the street and no one would recognize him. In Toronto, they hijack your car. It’s part of the curse, to play in Toronto. Some players thrived in that environment. Marner could not, long term. He had to go, and thanks to his previous contract wrangling the fans never forgave him. Good luck to him in Vegas.
I can see moving Nylander, if the package includes a top prospect and at least another 1st rounder. As a winger, he’s easily replaceable with a free agent. Defensemen and centers are another matter. Willy is 29 and he’s at his peak. A contender would gladly move a young asset, if it meant making their team a Cup contender. Leafs should look at Anaheim and see if they could shake Mason McTavish from them, in a Nylander trade. They may get a pick with that trade. That kind of deal makes perfect sense, as McTavish would slot in at 2C with Tavares moving to the wing.
The Leafs won’t be contenders overnight. They can’t possibly get better with a tear down without their own 1st rounders. Are you OK with giving Boston and Philadelphia a top tier first rounder over the next 2 years? If you tear it down, that’s exactly what will happen. In that same time period, as the Leafs rebuild, those two franchises will also be better thanks to the Leafs tear down. It’s better to try and retool and acquire first round picks and prospects with other teams draft capital. I’m all for moving Nylander for picks. I’m also good with scraping half of the defense and back filling them with our own prospects and a UFA that would be better than what we had. On the goaltending front, one year ago, the Leafs made it to the second round of the playoffs. It wasn’t the offense that got them there. It had to do with solid goaltending. The Leafs goaltending isn’t as bleak as you make them out to be. Last year was an injury prone year with their goaltenders being hurt, off and on, plus many of their key players also sidelined for long stretches of the season. Nylander and Matthews missed time, as did McCabe plus Tanev barely played. This team does need to move half of it’s roster but I’m guessing that about 7 or 8 will actually move. A couple of free agent signings and some addition through subtraction is in order. Nylander and Rielly need to be moved this off season.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. As long as they have star caliber players, they’ll always retool and not tear it down. With no first rounders of their own, for two years, why bother tearing it down. It should be acquire assets and build the farm system. They didn’t bring Chyka in to not win. He’s there for a more modern look on how the NHL works. The Leafs have been running back retreads and not looking forward. If the Leafs do get David Carle, as Coach, there will be a changing of the guard. A deep retool with other teams prospects works too. They still need to field a competitive team so UFA’s would allow them to move players like Rielly and Nylander and still be relatively competitive. We can’t allow our next two first rounders to rebuild our opponents. We can’t have Boston with another top 5 from us and Philly should be kept out of the top 10 as well.
The free agent market is marginal. There is Darren Radyysh, a right shooting UFA defenseman and Alex Tuch at right wing, also a UFA. Costly, but doable. Moving Nylander for picks and or prospects would alleviate the Cap issue, if you wanted to add one of the two top UFA’s. The Leafs have to look at it like this: Rogers will not tolerate a full tear down. Give it a year and if Matthews wants out, accommodate him. It could happen by the trade deadline. There’ll be opportunities, when free agency opens, if a team is afraid of losing a highly sought RFA via offer sheet, they may need to find some cap space to accommodate the player, see Leo Karlsson in Anaheim. Use your cap space to grab a Mason McTavish in exchange for a lesser asset, since Cap is going to mean a lot to those type of teams. Asset management is the key to the Leafs returning to respectability.
