Toronto Maple Leafs

[4horsemen]

The Leafs recent string of success has really propelled them up the standings!!!


http://www.mceichel.com/tank-tracker/

[JagrBomb]

6th last, great work boys.

i think we have a good chance at finishing 5th as long as they dont go on one of their hot streaks to ruin their pick.

5th is a low enough pick that they can "win" the lottery and make it not seem rigged.

we should be able to get marner/strome, slight chance for hanifin.

[4horsemen]

re: Nonis and an important trade deadline

So, the more I think about this train wreck, the more I wonder to myself, why is Shanahan letting Nonis stick around for the trade deadline?
Sure, Shanny and the kid, plus Hunter will have veto on all potential moves, but why clutter the water? Why even let Nonis have the potential to cloud their judgement? There's no way Nonis is still with the team beyond this season, so why not do it now?

This is an important deadline.
I don't want the guy who signed Clarkson, Phaneuf and Bozak long-term... punted away Grabo for nothing... traded Colborne for nothing (in order to make room for Orr, no less)... traded Liles for a buyout in Gleason in order to keep Gleason on the books an extra year... and let's not understate the spillover effects of his bad cap management... under a competent manager, Kadri and Franson (at least one of them) would likely be locked up long term.
As is, they can't afford either one of them, and their starting goalie needs a contract too.
The only reason Franny is even talking to them is he's a delusional Leafs fan like the rest of us and wants to stay with his childhood team. Poor schmuck.

Sure, he had a few good moves (Bernier trade, Holland trade, Santorelli signing, Raymond signing) but the bad far outweigh the good.
Ax him before the deadline. Fans deserve it.

I can't help but think he's just the guy working the phones and not the guy making the decisions at this point.....more a receptionist than a GM

[4horsemen]

Am I the only person who just doesn't get why anyone at the ACC cheers a Leafs win at this point?

I find the entire process of watching a Leafs game (of which I mostly just record and listen to the commentary between periods) perplexing, in that people still talk about what this team has to do to win as if that should be their goal. There is NOTHING worse this team can do for it's future success than win, the ENTIRE narrative should be about how low they can go and who they could expect to draft in that position while focusing on how the roster can be rebuilt. Wishing for a Leafs win or cheering Leafs goals is the most counterintuitive reaction I can possibly think of.

I do have to admit that I'm having a hard time explaining to my four year old why I'm not cheering for Leafs goals anymore so maybe I've just answered my own question

[Fatman]

The Leafs are terrible, if they had any common sense they would have recognized that long ago and played to the bottom of the pack the way the Oilers or Penguins did before them, get some good draft picks and improve your team

[Joe13]

http://www.mceichel.com/tank-tracker/

8.5 PERCENT! GETTING CLOSER!

[gainerama]

Boston was pretty open when they said that Subban was unmovable, short of a gross overpayment offer.

[JagrBomb]

This is a longshot, but it almost seems like kizmet...

I think Shanny and Dubas should be kicking the tires hard on Malcolm Subban.
If you believe Reimer is definitely not starter material (and many feel this way, although I don't include myself among them) that leaves you with an unproven Bernier and pretty much nothing else. Sparks, Gibson and Bibeau are future backups at best. Bernier's durability is also a question mark.

Boston is set with Rask who is still young. Subban has too much upside and his development will eventually hit a wall if they don't move him.
I think the hockey gods owe us this trade. Getting Malcolm could help fade the Raycroft scars in our souls...
I know it's a dream, but they seriously need to look at improving their goaltending depth if they do proceed with the scorched earth rebuild. As good as Bernier is sometimes, he hasn't yet proven he's the long term #1 for them.

i dont think goaltending has been the issue in toronto. our team is just awful, puck possesion is terrible, constantly outshot...i'm surprised we don't let in more goals than we do.

and i highly doubt bruins trade subban within the division. and personally i think he is a bit overhyped, besides there are almost always teams looking to trade goalies.

leafs need to focus on fixing their D. they have a bunch of 2nd pairing guys, but no top pairing D. reilly might be one but he isn't there yet. we desperately need a ryan suter type guy, but obviously every team is looking for one of those.


OEL
Domi
(+ any salary if necessary. gagner, michalek etc)


for

Kessel
Kadri


gets us a stud dman, and domi who management would love for ticket/jersey sales.

gives phoenix some desperately needed elite scoring talent, and a young C in a position they will be very weak in.

[JagrBomb]

I agree D is a top priority.
And fans would absolutely adore Domi. Twitter would implode if the Leafs landed him somehow. Speaking of that, can you imagine Twitter if the Leafs win the McDavid lotto? That will be hilarious.

i'm already waiting to burn my phaneuf jersey. leafs will never get mcdavid, he will go to the market that needs him most.

arizona will get him, he's their chance to actually make money and bring people to the stadium.

i'm fine with one of marner/strome. if hanifin is their target i hope they trade down to get the additional asset(s) and then draft werenski.


would really love to see domi here though. and then trade for christian thomas, and we can relive the glory days. kinda.

[rtstr]

i'm already waiting to burn my phaneuf jersey. leafs will never get mcdavid, he will go to the market that needs him most.

arizona will get him, he's their chance to actually make money and bring people to the stadium.

i'm fine with one of marner/strome. if hanifin is their target i hope they trade down to get the additional asset(s) and then draft werenski.


would really love to see domi here though. and then trade for christian thomas, and we can relive the glory days. kinda.

People in Arizona won't give a shit about McDavid, trust me lol


They just need to move that team already.

[gainerama]

Both ARZ and FLA needs to move. I'm hoping that Las Vegas would be more of a relocation instead of an expansion, but knowing Bettman, I really doubt it.

[pmorrow]

Both ARZ and FLA needs to move. I'm hoping that Las Vegas would be more of a relocation instead of an expansion, but knowing Bettman, I really doubt it.

Too much money to be had in expansion fees unfortunately. The owners get money in their pocket immediately. The irony is if the league got rid of rotten, money-waster franchises like Arizona then there'd be less money wasted on redistribution. On the other hand, teams like AZ and FLA ensure that the league stays as a cap league (which a fair number of big market leagues like).

[havanablast21]

Man... I do hope McDavid lands on the Leafs. Maybe a little justification for all the "premium game" ticket prices for every road game the leafs play. Right now...it's embarrassing that this pathetic group garners "premium game" prices.

And I'm a self Loathing fan.

[2014olympicgold]

Anyone wish that the Leafs keep holzer? I’m really liking this kid. He is a UFA, but they can at least toss some money at him now. He’s 27, but has played 24NHL games, and I think he’s finally grown into his size and knows how to use his body.

There was a play last night that really impressed me. Giroux got the puck behind the net and he looked down because the puck went into his feet. In a split micro-second, Holzer closed on him and took him out of the play. Before he was hesitant to do things like that. I’d move Polak and make Holzer the new Polak next yr.

Big issue is tho, in 3-4yrs when Leafs SHOULD be relevant again, Holzer will be low 30s and harder to trade.

[Nights]

All the Leafs moves in the past few days have looked good. They didn't trade a big name, but I'd rather they do so at the draft when teams are more desperate (EDIT : desperate for change after a shorter-than-anticipated playoff run) and you aren't under the pressure of making a 3 PM deadline - especially after the Clarkson move opened up a lot of cap space - an thus possibilities as to how to allocate the money. Before that move they were in tough in how to fit all the young pieces and their deals - and upcoming Kadri and Bernier extensions (this summer) and then Rielly next summer (for example). While the Lupul and Bozak's of this team can still be moved for cap benefit, it's less of a pressure/dire situation - you don't have a cap crunch to worry about this summer, but in the long run, so you can bide your time and take the best deal as it comes by - whether that is at the draft or close to the start of next year, for example. I'm pretty happy with that one.

Whether or not the Clarkson trade was initiated by Nonis (probably not), the fact that it happened is still vital.

One comment on Tyler Bozak is that post-Carlyle, his advanced stats on the defensive side of things have changed dramatically - or at least, shot attempt wise. Remembering that the Leafs have hardly won any games under Horachek, he's gone from a ~38% CF%/SAT% to 53% (and on that note, JvR had a similar increase, and Kessel a 10+% one as well, as per here. Offensively he's probably carried by Kessel a bit, but I'm sure playing with a top 5 scorer over the last half-decade will pad your numbers no matter who you are.

And I'm glad that for once we have a guy on our team that is drafted by us and looks to be shooting to great heights right under our eyes in Rielly, if he can keep this up. He's been a star in this black hole of a slump.