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Not really but hey! Thanks for the free rent in your head. Housing is expensive! -Aaron
I’m sure your Brookfield government housing is perfectly cheap.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ice-tilt-how-florida-has-taken-it-to-toronto-in-first-periods/
If Florida finishes the 1st or 2nd period with a lead, the Leafs are cooked. Have to start on time.
Some of his posts I can’t believe were posted by adult man. -alex.TML
Adult is an oxymoron for a socialist.
Florida is a superior team at nearly every position with their major flaw being they take too many penalties. If the Leafs are serious and actually want to win this game, they have to forecheck aggressively, draw penalties and score on the powerplays.
Take McMann out of the line-up, give Robertson a chance and maybe you can spark some depth scoring (Leafs bottom six is horrible offensively, basically 0 goals).
Remove one forward from the PP (sorry Knies, Tavares is better in front) and put OEL on at the point.
Feels like a 3-2 OT game. Who will be the hero? Better be Matthews.
Ummm the panthers traded away Huberdeau, who had 115pts, and were in the cup finals the next season and won a cup a season after that.
Its difficult to have depth players when you have so much cap tied up in 4 forwards.
JT’s cap will pretty much go to Knies($8 – $9m of it anyway), I’m ok with moving out Rielly if the leafs blow this series.
There needs to be some sort of big change.Anywho, Leafs are still in the series. Must win tonight, hopefully woll can keep it together and our $40m players score some goals. -Fake
The Panthers traded Huberdeau, he didn’t leave as a UFA. They also got Matthew Tkachuk. You think the Leafs will get Brady for Matthews? Won’t work.
I do want to say that I basically agree with you. If you lost Marner but replaced him with guys who show up or are miserable to play against in the playoffs – Bennett and Rielly Smith come to mind – it would change the dynamic of the team. They might be not as offensive, but they might be better equipped in the playoffs.
That said, Marner – and I’ve said before – may not really be the problem. Matthews is the alpha dog on that team. People get him the puck – they seek him out, and Marner is no exception. They have absurd levels of faith in one another – it’s how you build a good team – and it probably blinds them to some of the weaknesses of a player’s game. They want to see Matthews succeed, so they aren’t going to pass up the opportunity to get him the puck either (it reminds me of Sundin against Carolina in 2002).
The regular season is different, no doubt, but when together over the past two seasons – both Marner and Matthews average 1.2 pts/game. When apart, Marner averages 1.5 / game, and Matthews averages 1.6 / game.
But in counteraction to your point about Huberdeau – trading a 115 player, who is a great distributor, but not too difficult to play against and in return getting a 109 point player who is much more difficult to play against? I mean if that trade were available, you’re not really trading away your leading scorer and filling his role with notably lesser guys (and realistically Bennett is FAR from Marner) – you’re upgrading. But that just isn’t available now. -MonkeyPunk
The cost of signing Bennett and Smith as UFAs would be more than what Marner ends up making. It’s also unlikely they want to leave where they are to join the Leafs, especially Bennett. And they’re both on the wrong side of 30, especially Smith who is probably closer to being finished at this point of his career.
There aren’t any players the Leafs could replace Marner with at a lower cost that would give them a better team. They’d be idiots to let Marner walk as a UFA.
Trading Matthews would be the more logical outcome however still difficult considering he has a NMC and the Leafs would have to bring in at least one major piece to actually make the team better after losing one of the most prolific goal scorers of this period.
Edmonton. They traded Gretzky to the Kings and won a Stanley Cup without him.
Thanks for coming. You can pick up your consolation prize on your way out the back door. -PrinceLH
Incorrect.
We were looking for a team that lost it’s leading point producer as a UFA and then traded it’s leading goal scorer. I’m putting your logic and suggestions to the test and it doesn’t seem they pass it.
For your example to be correct they would have had to lose Gretzky as a UFA (no trade) and then traded Kurri too. And the Oilers didn’t win the Cup the year they traded Gretzky, they won it the year after. They didn’t even make it out of the first round the year they traded Gretzky.
It’s very interesting though that you have to reach back 35 years (not even remotely close to the salary cap era) and completely ignoring that team was already a dynasty and therefore not comparable to this current Leafs team which hasn’t had a single deep playoff run.
Try again.
I agree, go meekly into the night and the core 4 needs to be dismantled. Willy is the keeper. If Auston isn’t severely disabled, time to put him up for auction. Mitch, try to trade his rights to a team willing to pay him before July 1st. Giving him that 8th year could make a difference. I’m OK with the goaltending and most of the defense. Rielly could go, if there’s a suitable trade for him. OEL could slide into the 2nd pairing on the Left side and the Leafs could find another righty. All I know is that we’ve run it back for far too long. This team, as it’s constructed, should be in the hunt for the Cup right now. 2 rounds is not enough. They better win tomorrow night, or it’s game 6 and done. -PrinceLH
Sorry, but there is no way this team is getting better by letting it’s leading point producer go as a UFA. Same goes for trading one of the top goal scorers the past 5 years.
I would absolutely love to see you answer this simple question: Name the team that removed it’s leading point and goal scorer and won a Cup after. Good luck.
That’s not how you actually build a winner. This season has already been progress over last year and as the division gets weaker (Boston and Tampa Bay both seem to be going backwards) the worst possible thing to do is throw away your best players with insufficient replacements. Yes, Florida is still strong but you don’t beat them by getting worse players. You beat them by adding more complimentary pieces and strengthening the depth. Florida will eventually cap itself out to keep it’s aging pending UFAs like Bennett and Ekblad.
If the Leafs end up blowing the series to the Panthers, Rielly is the first one to get moved. He’s proven to be way too expensive for what he brings and the Leafs D is far stronger without him and better off with a PP replacement at half the cost.
The next one to go is Tavares unless he takes a ridiculous discount. Then, keep adding to the bottom-six with more aggressive, two-way players. The Leafs bottom-six right now are offensively contributing next to nothing.
McMann, Holmberg, Jarnkrok, Lorentz, Robertson, Kampf, Reaves, Laughton…these are the guys we have to play in the bottom-six and they all have ZERO playoff goals COMBIMED.
Edmonton has 12 forwards with at least 1 goal through 10 games. McDavid “only” has 3. Depth makes a difference.
Yes, Matthews needs to step-up and be a difference maker but our depth players are bringing nothing to the table offensively either and it’s a big problem.
We will know it soon, given Edmonton getting past Vegas. – alex.TML
Edmonton is winning 3-0 and is outshooting Vegas 30-15 in the 3rd period.
Would be nice to see the Leafs be able to do that in the playoffs against a great team.
Kris Knoblauch is excellent at getting the maximum out of this team.
I was sure they will not make it past Vegas with Skinner and Pickard.
I am not so sure with Dallas anymore. -alex.TMLDallas has a lot of barriers to slow down McDavid if Miro Heiskanen returns. I don’t think Edmonton has enough to stop Rantanen.
That was something else with 0.4 seconds left and Leon scoring in own net.
If Skinner or Pickard will get them decent goal tending, nothing specially required, Oil can win it all.
This is team is that good and it is not about Leon and Conor only, there are so many good pieces, which can hurt any team. -alex.TMLLeon wasn’t really at fault, he was just coming back in desperation. If Skinner just hugs the post like they taught him when he was probably 12, the game is in OT.
I don’t think they can make it past Dallas with Skinner or Pickard.
As crazy it sounds it can actually happen with their terrific offence.
They can probably win the Cup with 3rd or 4th goalie too. -alex.TMLThey can win a Cup with a goalie that doesn’t steal games.
But they aren’t winning shit with a goalie who throws away a game with 0.4 seconds left.
