dekedastardly
Member
I'm sick of Matthews emotionless after loss interviews. The guy is no captain. Ask him and Melander to leave. Replenish the cupboard.
Sabres @ Leafs - Jan. 27th, 7:00pm - TSN4
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
I honestly don't get why people care what players say so much? It also has no bearing on his captaincy what he says to the press. What happens in the room is all that matters. People used to say the same crap about Sundin and guys like Roberts, Nieuwendyk raved about him. They can replenish the cupboard by moving other players.
Practically, I doubt it.
Matthews decline seems to have started. Nylander, who turns 30 in May, still has some time before decline because he's stayed bruise free but that window probably isn't that long. He's starting to miss games. Wheels are often one of the first things to go.
Replenish the cupboard involves getting young players and then developing them. Sabres Dahlin took 4 years. Owen Power isn't 'there' yet.
Replenish takes time Matthews & Nylander don't effectively have as their best before date has either already arrived or isn't that far off. It is not like they're a player or two away. Their D is mostly 30+ already. Most of the roster is 28 or older.
Matthews will make that decision for the Leafs before July '27. If he ever wants his name on the Cup, it is much more likely happening elsewhere.
Stick a fork in it and get what you can.
Treliving established the DNA for a rebuild. Hopefully, Treliving can look back fondly on a career where he never won anything as a player or manager and they can find someone competent to oversee it.
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bustaheims
Well-known member
I think it has to happen the other way. Berube first, see what the team is like under a more puck possession focused style and if (when?) that fails, dump Treliving. Easier to replace a coach during the season than a GM.
Andy007
Well-known member
Yea, I don't understand what people are hoping to hear. If he comes out yelling and screaming, that makes him a good leader? What is he supposed to say? The team is in a funk and he can't walk 2 steps without a question about Marner or some other garbage. Actions speak louder than words and, quite frankly, he's been pretty damn good recently and certainly wasn't the problem last night.
herman
Well-known member
Busy with afterhours work these couple of weeks so I don’t get to see directly, but it looks like some tweaks in the D zone are leading to more/worse screening. Last year the goalies faced a lot of shots but they had basically clear sightlines for most of them. Woll is good at a lot of things, but highly susceptible to long shots through screens.
Joe S.
Moderator
I get the idea but how can Treliving fire 2 coaches in less than 3 years?
If anything is rather Treliving be shit canned and let Berube ride out the rest of this list season and let the new guy decide what's next
I like the idea of letting them both go when the break starts. National media is away, ever so slightly lessening the circus that will cause. Lalonde can easily take over as interim head coach pushing that conversation into the offseason. Team would have 3 weeks to put a new GM in place, or they can again go the interim route with Brandon Pridham who's only immediate job would be to oversee the selling before the deadline. In the offseason maybe Pridham earns the full-time gig, maybe someone with more experience comes in over him as President, or maybe they just go in a completely other direction.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
Which is most like other goalies. Vasi comes to mind as another who struggles. It seems a lot of goalies for the most part just get in their position and don't try to look around the screen. I also think the view we have on tv and the replays is a lot different then the actual view they have on the ice. Some of the D decisions have a choice to put it mildly.
herman
Well-known member
Agreed. They trigger and chase when they should hold, and hold when they should pressure. Losing Tanev doesn't help as everyone on the weaker right-side is slotting higher than they should. No D partner can fix the brilliant combination of Rielly and Domi (and occasionally Myers) on the ice at the same time.
I generally believe in the premise the GM and coach are trying to instill, but their execution is falling well short of what this roster is capable of, even with the injuries.
- spread forward depth
- long, rangy, puck moving Defense (hard to get players, granted)
- heavy forecheck for turnovers, generate rebounds, make messes
The Disconnect
- Why is Matthews being used like Phillip Danault, while paired with Domi? Defensively it worked when that was Marner, but it neutered both of their offense (esp in Playoffs). Why not use Roy more like Ryan O'Reilly and let Matthews lean on bottom-6 matchups and force opponents to adjust?
- Why not play the kids more if you have cap room and an effort system?
- pleading for forechecking but tactically making it impossible (D-punts) to execute other than through brute-force effort every shift is unsustainable
We've seen this team able to operate effectively so I'm not chalking it up strictly to personnel.
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herman
Well-known member
Maybe these were edicts from higher up, but what has Pridham really done to warrant promoting him? The contracts Dubas and Treliving have doled out haven't exactly been advantageous to the Leafs, save for Tavares' unique situation.
I actually don't really disagree with the idea that Pridham's "future GM" potential is probably overstated, but I do think his experience in the league (and the connections he's with that) make him the best/only candidate to fill in on an interim basis at least.
Kind of my follow up question... who's available in season anyway?
Yeah I was thinking about that yesterday. I think the fan dream is offering up a boatload of money to Jim Nill, who's contract expires at the end of this season. That would obviously have to be an offseason move though. Trying to poach a non-GM from another team would also likely have to be an offseason move, so that leaves the currently unemployed retreads mostly. I'd be curious about maybe Rob Blake, who I felt did a pretty solid job with LA just was never able to get past McDavid+Draisaitl in the playoffs.
bustaheims
Well-known member
GMs usually get a pass on the first coach firing - especially if it happens early in their time with the new team - because they didn't hire the guy. And, I'm not advocating for Treliving to stay. I'd can him as soon as the season ended (though, I have my doubts whether a team would can both GM and coach in the same season - I'm sure it's not unheard of, but it's certainly not common). I just think, in season and so close to the deadline, having someone new take the reins - even someone internal - is a tough spot to be put in. I don't want to end up with another Cliff Fletcher situation, where the interim guy seems fine and it delays bringing in a real GM, leading to a number of questionable to outright absurd moves.
I'd be doing something like that.
There's no lipstick for this pig in terms of flipping it into a Cup winner with a trade or two or a coaching change.
In a sell off, you're taking bids from teams around the league. Sell to the highest bidder. Half of the returns are picks so you do not need to be a rocket scientist to evaluate the value of those. Scouts fill in a bunch of the blanks on the prospects/talent return. They could bring in an advisor to help. They would collect a bunch of young assets for the future Leafs GM (maybe Pridham is a candidate). The sooner they get underway, the sooner their rebuild will occur. some of what they could move has asset value now but won't when their contract expires or less value if more time tolls off their contract.