I think if it's up to Dubas he would let go of Bab and replacing him with Sheldon Keefe. Shannahan could be in the way for something like that to happen. It makes sense to me that Buffalo will get Bab this time around. Not sure if Buf hired their own coach yet. Keefe is a gamble because you don't know anything about his coaching style. But, with Bab at least he keeps bringing you to the playoffs every year.
Maple Leafs 2018 - 19
- Thread starter Insidious Von
- Start date
Leafs did not lose because Boston turned up the physical element. They took Backus out of game 7 for a reason. Maybe even game 6 also. They wanted more skill and speed for their bottom lines. That was the difference. That and Andersen and Gardiner were shaky again like last year.
The top 2 lines more or less played to a draw.
If you watch boston & columbus sure lots of hits but also failed attempts putting players out of position and getting beat
The top 2 lines more or less played to a draw.
If you watch boston & columbus sure lots of hits but also failed attempts putting players out of position and getting beat
Erik Karlsson & Jeff Skinner combined salaries moving forward, oh, let's say $18-20Mm/AAV, for arguments sake we'll go low side, $18Mm.
Willy Nylander & Jake Gardiner combined salaries moving forward, let's say....$13-14Mm/AAV.
Tell me again how the Maple Leafs are going to shoehorn in those 2 deals (EK & JS) under the cap, and add Wayne Simmonds (a player whose numbers are in the process of falling off a cliff or Maroon, who brings very little to the party.
Remember, Toronto has (at this point) just over $10Mm to spend to reach the 2019-20 cap with 3 ikey pieces to be signed, Marner, Kapanen, Johnsson and 2 or 3 others as well.
Ya there’s no room. They aren’t going to spend their way out without getting rid of a massive contract.
Kathleen, you make it sound like Leafs had no chance against Boston. Not everyone sees hockey the way you do. Hockey is an interesting sport. In that a team on paper doesn't necessarily mean it's a given. It's very much a team game. In the first round there's always upsets. Boston vs Toronto is not as wide a gap as you think it is. Before the series started I picked it to go 7 games and that Leafs could win if they don't choke. Well, that's exactly what happened. They choked. Rather the same 2 players choked.
Back in the day with no salary cap even the riches of teams could not buy a cup. Now with a salary cap the margins between teams is so much smaller. There's a reason why teams load up for the playoffs. It's not the regular season. Sacrifice some of the future for a better shot at it now.
You and many others focus too much on regular season. Playoffs is a totally different animal. For several reasons.
Kathleen would make a great GM in the pre salary cap era. Just get everybody.
Back in the day with no salary cap even the riches of teams could not buy a cup. Now with a salary cap the margins between teams is so much smaller. There's a reason why teams load up for the playoffs. It's not the regular season. Sacrifice some of the future for a better shot at it now.
You and many others focus too much on regular season. Playoffs is a totally different animal. For several reasons.
Kathleen would make a great GM in the pre salary cap era. Just get everybody.
It's not choking if you lose to a better team. Boston had two off-nights. Over 7 games the better team won; that's not choking.
There's a reason to focus on the regular season too when your team barely managed to crawl backwards into a playoff spot. A G.M. would ignore that fact at his own peril.
Kathleen was advocating for not keeping Marner and the flexibility that would provide. It's a fair discussion point.
But Marner's a master playmaker who's like Jonathon Toews in that he makes everyone he plays with look better - Marner was directly responsible for most of Tavares' success.
My take for this Summer:
Forwards:
1. Dubas will only focus on Marner. He's a tough call. I loved him; kids loved him, but his trade/offer sheet value is insane. I think he'll sign for $10M cap hit (thank God, Auston had a better playoff). Assuming he's signed...
2. Kapanen will be kept over Johnsson. If they can't work a deal, Kapanen will sit like Nylander. Kapanen will break much earlier than Nylander*
3. Johnsson and Brown will be traded. Moore was better and Dubas wants to dick-swing with Babcock by trading Brown. Johnsson may sit too; he'll only be signed for what's left of cap room,
4. Kadri will be kept in the hopes he has a good early next season. He'll be packaged only for a too-expensive D-Man or traded for prospects to Vancouver or Anaheim (I'm calling it).
5. Marleau is here for good. He's 'done' 1.5 years into his 3 years. Too bad.
6. Ennis will sign elsewhere as he doesn't want to be a 4th Liner.
Defence:
1. Hainsey will be gone (only if he doesn't want to take a lot less money). His replacement will be random,
2. Gardiner is already gone,
3. I think Liljegren actually will be in next year.
4. Zaitsev stays as he was actually 'alright' with Muzzin.
5. They Leafs will continue to hope for another D-Man to show up.
Goalie:
1. Andersen remains The Man,
2. Sparks will rebound for a better year at back-up.
Coach:
1. Babcock stays until Leafs go to shit in November 2019. Keefe will be in then.
(Can Babcock be 'traded' to Seattle? ;p)
Thoughts:
1. The Leafs lost to Boston due to coaching and an invisible 3rd Line,
2. I'm glad the Leafs got rid of Komarov and Martin. They were useless for the type of team Toronto was trying to be.
* This would be a pure "Boss" move by Dubas.
Forwards:
1. Dubas will only focus on Marner. He's a tough call. I loved him; kids loved him, but his trade/offer sheet value is insane. I think he'll sign for $10M cap hit (thank God, Auston had a better playoff). Assuming he's signed...
2. Kapanen will be kept over Johnsson. If they can't work a deal, Kapanen will sit like Nylander. Kapanen will break much earlier than Nylander*
3. Johnsson and Brown will be traded. Moore was better and Dubas wants to dick-swing with Babcock by trading Brown. Johnsson may sit too; he'll only be signed for what's left of cap room,
4. Kadri will be kept in the hopes he has a good early next season. He'll be packaged only for a too-expensive D-Man or traded for prospects to Vancouver or Anaheim (I'm calling it).
5. Marleau is here for good. He's 'done' 1.5 years into his 3 years. Too bad.
6. Ennis will sign elsewhere as he doesn't want to be a 4th Liner.
Defence:
1. Hainsey will be gone (only if he doesn't want to take a lot less money). His replacement will be random,
2. Gardiner is already gone,
3. I think Liljegren actually will be in next year.
4. Zaitsev stays as he was actually 'alright' with Muzzin.
5. They Leafs will continue to hope for another D-Man to show up.
Goalie:
1. Andersen remains The Man,
2. Sparks will rebound for a better year at back-up.
Coach:
1. Babcock stays until Leafs go to shit in November 2019. Keefe will be in then.
(Can Babcock be 'traded' to Seattle? ;p)
Thoughts:
1. The Leafs lost to Boston due to coaching and an invisible 3rd Line,
2. I'm glad the Leafs got rid of Komarov and Martin. They were useless for the type of team Toronto was trying to be.
* This would be a pure "Boss" move by Dubas.
Well Gardiner is easy he's a free agent, Leafs just let him walk. Kadri at $4.5mil is an easy to trade contract. Nylander at $6.9mil will be harder to trade.
Brian Burke said the NHL is considering expanding the width of the rink by an extra 10 feet to allow players like Nylander more "perimeter" room.
I would say impossible (not just harder) to trade. Which team would want him? Low productivity, bad attitude and overpaid.
Why is Boston a better team? Because you say so? Better teams don't always win. Ever heard of the Miracle US Olympic team? They certainly were not the better team but they won.
Andersen was shakey again in game 7. He choked. Pressure got to him. Babcock eluded to it in his statement they shot the puck and it went in.
Once the playoffs start regular season means nothing. It is now team on team. You must be dense.
Have to say that is a very good and reasonable assessment overall. No other team I don't think has 3 players over 10 mill. The 4th line has to be all under a mill. No more Brown there so yes trade him. He is not effective PK guy. Not effective really on any line. The bottom pair defense will prob need to be under a mill each as well
Definitely not impossible. Probably easier than you think. Likely you won't be happy with the return though. Although considering you think it will be impossible to trade him you should be thrilled with whatever comes back
The Leafs lost the series because Boston was simply the better team over the 7 games, not by much but still better. I also noticed the Bruins kept the Leafs on the perimeter most of game 7. It just seemed to me the Bruins kept the Leafs against the boards and in the corners a lot and didn’t really allow them to control the puck in the slot and around the Boston net.
In the series the Leafs had 3 power play goals while the Bruins had 7 and that's the stat that impacted the final outcome the most. Was it because of individual player performance (goaltending) or coaching strategies or both ?
I'm also wondering why Shanahan still hasn't addressed the media. Could it be that he's weighing on some serious decisions on top management personnel (Babcock and Dubas). What if there's a serious rift between the two ? While he has full autonomy, he has to answer to the Board and I would not be surprised if questions have been or will be raised by board members.
I'm also wondering why Shanahan still hasn't addressed the media. Could it be that he's weighing on some serious decisions on top management personnel (Babcock and Dubas). What if there's a serious rift between the two ? While he has full autonomy, he has to answer to the Board and I would not be surprised if questions have been or will be raised by board members.
Shanahan certainly seems to pick his spots.
Last July to November he had no trouble addressing the media when he was proclaiming "the rebuild is over and we'll be Stanley Cup contenders for the next five years".
He seemed to go silent after Nylander was signed; after his "we expect players to take a discount on their salaries for the privilege of playing for this winning franchise" speech.
We've heard virtually nothing from him since then.
And the Board: Shanahan would have had to do a selling job to get them to approve Babcock's $50 million contract. Presumably they would want results for that kind of money so some of them may have questions. Loyalty doesn't go far in this business.
That makes sense. Dubas was saying that Shanny would do a review on him before he would review everyone else under him and that got me thinking that Shanny might make some kind of announcements.
