Why the Leafs Stink...
- Thread starter LingerieLVR
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They couldn't pass up one last chance to disappoint!!!
Ya, they really gave us Sens fans a scare! I guess the Laffs couldn't pass up one last opportunity to get their fans hopes up for some satisfaction...only to utterly disappoint.stang said:
IF the Sens go far in the playoffs they can point to the leafs as the springboard out of their scoring slump .
Maybe, but they might actually still be playing hockey after the regular season, unlike the Laughs...again...Poonhound said:
and a downgrade in coach with a slight upgrade in player skill and talent- leads to an even worse finish...guyroch said:
so i guess, coaching matters.
Ah, the hit on Alfie, tough call really (dirty vs. clean) etc.
The troubling thing is Bell used him impending jail sentence and last meaningful game in the NHL to inflict injuries on star NHL players (Redden being the exception).
"If I am going out, minus well do as much damage as I can ..."
-Mark Bell, April 3/2008
That's the unfortunate think about the Sens doddling to lock up a playoff spot, none of this would of happened if they buckled down in the second half.
It would be interesting too see how Leafs fans would be today if that was Sundin lying on the ice via a Mike Fisher or Volchenkov delivered blow to the head.
The troubling thing is Bell used him impending jail sentence and last meaningful game in the NHL to inflict injuries on star NHL players (Redden being the exception).
"If I am going out, minus well do as much damage as I can ..."
-Mark Bell, April 3/2008
That's the unfortunate think about the Sens doddling to lock up a playoff spot, none of this would of happened if they buckled down in the second half.
It would be interesting too see how Leafs fans would be today if that was Sundin lying on the ice via a Mike Fisher or Volchenkov delivered blow to the head.
Mark Bell was on a mission last night, and that was too injure as many people on Ottawa as possible, I don't think *anyone* will disagree with that. Mike Fisher confirmed that his knee injury was the result of a knee-on-knee hit received from ... drumroll ... Mark Bell. I don't think it was a coincidence.
The question for the Sens is, do they rise up and take on the challenge and play well tonight, and into the playoffs? The media today puts so much emphasis on everything that sometimes it's hard not to start believing some of it (i.e. players believing they are defeated, when in reality they control how they play).
I know these lads are millionaires, and are better than that. But these guys are also hockey players that have relatively simple minds (70% don't even have full high school education).
If Murray is just *positioning* these injuries, I am not quite sure yet. But if the Sens are w/o these guys for an extended period, it will be tough to go on a rampage in the playoffs (like last year). Each game will have to be won by gritting it out, playing exceptional defence, and having the Antoine Vermette's etc. score key goals. Basically we lost the key cog in our primary offence wheel, and the supposedly key cog in our secondary offence wheel.
Let's face it, Fisher's game will be sorely missed in the playoffs, and Alfie was the one who carried the team last year.
I have been a Sens fan since inception, but these are challenging times. However, it is just a game, summer will come, and next September we can start the battle again. I think Bryan Murray knows what he has to accomplish in the off season (goaltending, at the expense of a Heatley/Spezza, and continuing to add the little pieces to the puzzle that are the difference in the Stanley Cup Tournament).
Either way, the year has been a disappointment, but life goes on ...
The question for the Sens is, do they rise up and take on the challenge and play well tonight, and into the playoffs? The media today puts so much emphasis on everything that sometimes it's hard not to start believing some of it (i.e. players believing they are defeated, when in reality they control how they play).
I know these lads are millionaires, and are better than that. But these guys are also hockey players that have relatively simple minds (70% don't even have full high school education).
If Murray is just *positioning* these injuries, I am not quite sure yet. But if the Sens are w/o these guys for an extended period, it will be tough to go on a rampage in the playoffs (like last year). Each game will have to be won by gritting it out, playing exceptional defence, and having the Antoine Vermette's etc. score key goals. Basically we lost the key cog in our primary offence wheel, and the supposedly key cog in our secondary offence wheel.
Let's face it, Fisher's game will be sorely missed in the playoffs, and Alfie was the one who carried the team last year.
I have been a Sens fan since inception, but these are challenging times. However, it is just a game, summer will come, and next September we can start the battle again. I think Bryan Murray knows what he has to accomplish in the off season (goaltending, at the expense of a Heatley/Spezza, and continuing to add the little pieces to the puzzle that are the difference in the Stanley Cup Tournament).
Either way, the year has been a disappointment, but life goes on ...
Poonhound said:
Yeah one lousy trip to the finals in 13 years ... how do they manage to hang on to a Fan base ..?! (sic)
So you are saying that roughly 14-15 players per team have not finished high school? Where did you get that figure from? I don't have a number but I feel pretty safe to say you are way off. The CHL takes education very seriously and teams employ educational consultants for the kids. Teams even offer educational packages for kids who wish to pursue post secondary education. More and more players are choosing the US College route as opposed to the CHL and you can't get there if you don't go to high school. Jack Johnson of the LA Kings is going back to finish his degree this summer. 21Pro put out a thread recently on Kyle Turris who made his NHL debut after a year in the NCAA.Figure8 said:
This isn't the 1950's or 1960's anymore, kids are getting their education. They may not be rocket scientists but education is definitely emphasized in the CHL as well as the lower levels such as Tier 2 Junior A, etc.
Ooops!!
I definitely did not put too much thought into it, just generalized. I was also thinking of alot of the core players who are 26/27+ in the league. High school would be a given for a lot the younger crop I guess (now that I think about it). But not many have much after that, but obviously that trend is going to be reversed in the future. The percentage of players with a full college/uni. education in the league would be really small.
When you look at the recruiting systems for the other majors sports, the platform is mostly kids out of college which is pretty interesting ...
Thanks for calling me out on that
Hey blueline, no harm intended on that.blueline said:
I definitely did not put too much thought into it, just generalized. I was also thinking of alot of the core players who are 26/27+ in the league. High school would be a given for a lot the younger crop I guess (now that I think about it). But not many have much after that, but obviously that trend is going to be reversed in the future. The percentage of players with a full college/uni. education in the league would be really small.
When you look at the recruiting systems for the other majors sports, the platform is mostly kids out of college which is pretty interesting ...
Thanks for calling me out on that
Oh that's okay, I also meant nothing negative towards you. I just used to know a fellow who used to be the Ed. Consultant for the Kitchener Rangers (passed on a few years ago) and he told me a lot about how the league is concerned with education.Figure8 said:
Just be glad you didn't call the old Boston Bruins a bunch of goons, Shack saw first hand how I can fly off the handle .......lol
Will you grow up.guyroch said:
It was a clean check. The opportunity was there and he took it.
Are you telling me Neil, McGratten, Fisher, Lapointe, Commodore all wouldn't have jumped on a hit like that? And BTW, I like Alfie (unlike most Leaf fans).
He's talented, gritty, and dishes it out also, but he has to keep his head up.
As for the leafs being a crap team, they split the season's series with the Sens, and the Sens are down to the last game of the season trying to clinch a playoff spot.
People in glass houses...
