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I’m guessing that Boston will draft someone at #6 that makes the All-Star team and stays with the team for at least 15 years. My distain for the Bruins and Leafs management has no boundaries. So disillusioned with Rogers and their toadies. I remember Anne Murray wanting to buy the Leafs many years ago. Too bad that she didn’t succeed. Toronto deserves a new franchise to compete with this corporate monolith. Probably Brookfield would be granted the next Toronto Franchise, and we can name them the Toronto Chicken Wings. The maggots that gave us this government could also run that franchise into the ground, as well.
We might as well say that Pelly is calling the shots. He’s the real GM and President of Hockey Operations. Sundin is the face, to make it look legit. Chayka is the yes man that will do as he’s told and take it in the ass, when the failures begin to happen. It’s all about revenue. Why isn’t Berube gone? Because they want to save that $4M chump change. I bet that Domi hangs around because daddy is buddies with big Matts. More Rielly, more of the same losers on lines 3 and 4. Maccelli will do a cameo, showing up in garbage time to pad his stats. I don’t see them doing much because again, it’s about revenue and not competition. Do you remember the slogan? The Passion That Unites Us All? Just slogans, not action. I long for the days of an owner like Steve Stavros who actually was passionate about the team. Now it’s corporate bullshit….wall to Woll. Fuck them all!
p.s. I’m guessing that the Bruins will be happy campers after tonight. The tradition continues…the Leafs rebuild the Bruins….going on 40 years. Rask, Hamilton, Minten, Seguin and the 6th pick in the draft this year.
If he called Rielly a great defenseman, then yeah, he’s unqualified. Just keeping Willy and Auston around is just going to prolong the downward spiral. Good luck getting McDavid to sign.
Garbage time coming in hot and heavy. This looks like a mushroom cloud within the next 12 months. You think it’s bad without first rounders for 2 years, just wait and hold my Wendy’s Frosty. It’ll look like the Phoenix Coyotes of 4 years ago. Might as well start looking for a backup team to follow for the next decade. Septic tank city come on down.
If the Leafs pursue this path, the Dark Ages will occur. Back to Ballard style management. It’s time that someone at Rogers gives Pelly a pink slip and do an actual rebuild. If the Leafs get to keep their draft pick this year, and it’s only 5th overall, they should make a deal with Boston to give them their 5th overall pick, but it’ll cost Boston their 1st this year to allow it to slide. Next year, Philly gets the Leafs pick. If the Leafs can rebuild their defense and a couple of free agent forwards signing, they can give up a middle 1st rounder next year. They already have Colorado’s 1st in that draft. Clear the decks of their owed 1st rounders and then go into rebuild. If they’re thinking of getting McDavid, I think that it’s a waste. The Leafs need to get younger and quicker. They don’t possess the youth in the system, or any 1st rounders of their own for 2 years. Their real strength is in goal and that’s where deals can be made to get draft capital. It’s a dumpster fire and needs to be extinguished. This Sundin/Chayka arrangements is just putrid.
I’ve pretty much resigned myself that I will not see them win another Stanley Cup in my life. I saw them win when I was 9 years old. For all of the years watching them, maybe they need to punt the know it alls, and get someone, like myself, that’s lived through the minefield that’s being a Leafs fan for 60 years. I could do a better job, using their resources to build a team that could win. I’ve known for decades that they haven’t had a leader, that can drag them into the fight and be the spiritual leader to get them to the next level. You can look at the last 10 years. Before that, the Phaneuf/Kessel years. No blood and guts. The last incarnation of this was the Pat Burns era. Tucker, Domi, Corson, Roberts…..all players that would put their team on their backs and will them to win. We’ve seen none of that for 25 years. Sometimes, You need to move elite talent to get those assets and build around them. Not the other way around. Analytics may be a useful tool, but it doesn’t read the intangibles that are required to win. The Leafs had 3 elite talented scorers and what did they get out of it? Playoff dystopia. You win with a combination of talent and brawn. You need fighters, checkers and straight out leaders. Leafs have not had that in 25 years. I’m tired of the rich man’s game. Tear this garbage team down and start at the top and work downwards.
Hockeybuzz used to be great. All of their best writers came here. Too much nonsense happened over there. Yes, UG could be more civil, but he does have some valid points. To earn respect, you have to give respect. Hockeybuzz had a lot of malcontents over there and also were to heavy handed with bans. I’ve not gone over there for months.
Everything Rogers touches, turns to sh1t! Of course, any team in Toronto is sh!t because of Rogers. Even the Sportsnet broadcasts are subpar to TSN. But there they are, with another 12 year contract. What do you expect from a city that elects Socialists and a piece of….you guessed it..sh!t Mayor Olivia Chow. It’s a City run by clowns and elects clowns at every level of Government. I miss the days of the Yonge Street strip, the music stores, Leafs hockey that wasn’t owned by Rogers and a city that was clean and not full of trash who came to Canada illegally.
OK. it’s time to put the silver stake into the heart of the 2025-26 Leafs. All of the excuses, all of the reasons, time to let it go. The Stanley Cup playoffs start today, without the Leafs. I’ll give my final synopsis on the reasons of why this team failed miserably.
The Leafs were in disarray from the start. Marner had left, the chemistry fell apart. The schedule of more home games than road games was detrimental. The top 2 lines were really 4 gifted forwards and two third liners. Matthews, Knies, Nylander and Tavares were the only top line forwards the Leafs possessed. Maccelli was a fringe forward and padded his stats in garbage time, when the team was out of playoff contention. Bobby McMann was a fringe top 6 player but also had times of inconsistencies, making him a third liner. Robertson and Roy were in the same category. Domi, was….well Domi. An enigma. The rest were 4th line fringe players that were interchangeable. Easton Cowan showed promise. The offense didn’t know if they were a rush team, or a defense first team. The Coaching was erratic and didn’t have a handle on the special teams, right from the start. The Leafs haven’t had a spiritual leader, see Tucker, Corson and Roberts, since the Pat Quinn days.
The defense was decent, for most of the year. The loss of Tanev to injury set the stage for its collapse. Rielly was again, below par and had lost a step. OEL and McCabe were very good, but not elite. Carlo was steady but had injury issues for most of the season. His offense was almost non-existent, but as a 2nd pairing defenseman, he was adequate. The rest were basically fringe NHL’ers. Stecher and Benoit are easily replaceable. With a few tweaks and some better health, the Leafs defense is playoff caliber.
The bright spot was in goal. Woll showed that he’s an above average goaltender. Stolarz was good, but again, injury prone. The two Marlies goaltenders, Hildeby and Akhtyamov showed that they were almost NHL ready. In theory, the Leafs could trade one of Stolarz or Woll and there would be little slippage in quality.
What killed the Leafs season? The GM and the coaching, plus injuries. Where are they going? They could rebound into a playoff spot, with proper management and some addition by subtraction, see Morgan Rielly. If they can get a top 5 pick in the draft, it could be a stepping stone to respectability. It’s up to the Leafs hierarchy to find a suitable President of Operations for the Maple Leafs, hire a new GM and Coach with a different philosophy. It can be done, but will Keith Pelly allow it to happen, or are the Leafs heading into another Ballard style era? Time will tell.
