https://twitter.com/markjburns88/status/1620596541739372544

Is this good?

I would not be surprised if part of this is due to the new ESPN service for streaming out of market games in the US.

I am a Toronto maple leafs fan living in the US and all I want to see are Toronto maple leafs games. Last year there was NHL center ice this year there is ESPN+.  It seems like there are so many more games that are blacked out for me and/or not served by ESPN+.

I would easily be willing to pay double or triple the fee in order to get all of the games in one place. But I can't.  So, instead, when I can't get the games through the ESPN feed, I have no choice but to resort to watching a feed I can find on the internet.  I don't want to.  There must be a better way to serve the consumer ants to make money. I want to give them money!

Hear, hear!  I am in the same boat.  Why in the world don't they offer team subscriptions?  Instead I watch *cough* feeds from Iran for God's sake.

That and there are about 12 teams too many, so the product is diluted.

Yeah, I also don't agree with this so much. I think the growth of the US and European talent base probably means that there's roughly the same % of good and great players available as there always was. Sure if you eliminated teams there'd be stronger teams but so long as the cap is in place the teams still won't have separation from each other.

Hockey's an odd team sport in that it has distinct tiers of players who aren't all on the "field" at the same time.  So fans wear out their butts sliding to the front of the seats when Lines 1 and 2 are on, and slumping back when 3 and 4 are on.  Fewer teams would increase the number of relatively higher-talent players on 3 and 4, so fans could stay in the middle of their seats for them.  Less butt travel time equals a better product and higher US TV ratings.

True.

Nonetheless, even a fresh corporate guy would be an improvement. 

I 100% do not think that is true. I thought that was true in Baseball with Bud Selig and we got Rob Manfred. I thought that with the NFL with Tagliabue and we got Roger Goodell. The modern brand of dead-souled capitalist lackeys are so much worse than the old school.

I don't follow other sports any more but I am all but certain most anyone would be an improvement over Bettman as he is today.  He is superficial, self-satisfied, and staler than a 6-month-old saltine.

[MotM/Win]

G50: OTT v TOR: sens 6-2.  MotM: Anderson 2/1. HM: Kerfoot 1/1.  Others: Marner 0/2, Liljegren 0/1.
G51: WSH v TOR:  Leafs 5-1.  MotM: Tavares 4/1.  HM: Bunting 2/1.  Others: Brodie 0/1, Rielly 0/1, Samsonov 0/1, Engvall 0/1.
G52: BOS v TOR: Bruins 5-2.  MotM: Giordano 3/1.  HM: Marner 0/2.  Others: Jarnkrok 0/1, Holl 1/0, Nylander 1/0, Samsonov 0/1.
G53: TOR v CBJ:
G54: CBJ v TOR
G55: CHI v TOR:
G56: MTL v TOR:
G57: TOR v CHI:
G58: TOR v BUF:
G59: MIN v TOR:

   

	MotM/Win	MotM/Loss	HonMen	Accolades	Times Voted	Points
Forwards
28 Joey Anderson	0	1	0	1	1	3
12 Zach Aston-Reese	0	1	1	2	5	8
96 Nicolas Aubé-Kubel	0	0	0	0	1	1
58 Michael Bunting	1	1	4	6	10	19
43 Kyle Clifford	0	0	0	0	0	0
85 Semyon Der-Arguchintsev	0	0	0	0	0	0
47 Pierre Engvall	1	1	1	3	9	15
29 Pontus Holmberg	0	0	0	0	2	2
20 Dryden Hunt	0	0	0	0	1	1
19 Calle Järnkrok	1	0	0	1	6	9
64 David Kämpf	0	0	2	2	5	7
15 Alexander Kerfoot	1	1	3	5	9	17
62 Denis Malgin	0	1	3	4	5	10
16 Mitch Marner	2	4	6	12	21	41
34 Auston Matthews	1	2	7	10	16	30
74 Bobby McMann	0	0	0	0	0	0
88 William Nylander	4	0	5	9	19	36
89 Nicholas Robertson	1	0	0	1	2	5
24 Wayne Simmonds	0	0	0	0	1	1
91 John Tavares	4	1	5	10	14	33
Defensemen
18 Jordie Benn	0	0	1	1	2	4
78 T.J. Brodie	0	0	0	0	3	3
55 Mark Giordano	0	1	2	3	12	19
3 Justin Holl	1	0	1	2	8	14
81 Mac Hollowell	0	0	0	0	1	1
82 Filip Kral	0	0	0	0	0	0
37 Timothy Liljegren	0	0	2	0	8	12
98 Victor Mete	0	0	0	0	1	1
8 Jake Muzzin	0	0	0	0	1	1
44 Morgan Rielly	0	1	1	2	3	8
38 Rasmus Sandin	0	1	1	2	8	13
25 Conor Timmins	0	1	3	4	4	13
Goalkeepers
50 Erik Källgren	1	0	0	1	4	7.0
30 Matt Murray	8	1	0	9	12	38.0
80 Keith Petruzzelli	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
35 Ilya Samsonov	5	3	3	11	17	41.0
60 Joseph Woll	0	0	0	0	0	0.0

I hope Dubas gets the message that was sent tonight — this team won't compete with Boston without some significant changes.

He doesn't need a message. He's not stupid, he knows what they need.

I wonder if he really does, though.  I worry that he's unwilling to move out some people because, you know, the team is 3rd best in the league or whatever the standings say.

Almost every team going for it rarely trades a player off their roster. They add players. I would love for him to grab a guy like Crouse.
Who's he going to move out?

Well, since Zee told me Rielly has an NMC and I guess we know Dubas would never have the cajones to ask him to waive it, that leaves:

Engvall
Kerfoot
ZAR

Not much of value.

I also said move JT to wing, which counts as a significant change.  I wish they had at least tried this alreadyy.  Yeah I know, we are weak up the middle.  But he could still take draws and I think it could be an improvement.

I hope Dubas gets the message that was sent tonight — this team won't compete with Boston without some significant changes.

He doesn't need a message. He's not stupid, he knows what they need.

I wonder if he really does, though.  I worry that he's unwilling to move out some people because, you know, the team is 3rd best in the league or whatever the standings say.

No D. What I see is one team who plays a well structured game and supports eachother and the other team who still can't do this with any kind of consistency. We saw it a little bit in the month of November but they've been shit now for far too long.

Let Dufas use the break to swing a deal for some player with a spine.

They get exposed in games like this too often.  I think you are overstating things a little, but my rant about trading Rielly a few posts back essentially agrees with you.  I don't like the character of our defense corps.

Agreed. Too much of the same type in our back end group. I think more than Muzzin, they miss a Bogosian, Lyubushkin, Polak type. Something similar is missing up front also.

I think you are pretty much right. 

I hope Dubas gets the message that was sent tonight — this team won't compete with Boston without some significant changes.

Pierre Engvall - the best Leaf at shooting into opposition goalies crests.... The best since Jonas Hoglund.

I have a lot of patience with Pierre but his game will not get it done in the playoffs.  He's another guy I'd move if the return is good.

Sandin and Samsonov had good first periods.  Then they fell apart, along with a bunch of others.

Giordano, Jarnkrok.  For what it's worth.

Simmonds is a good fighter, and a good person, and he never should see the ice again.

No D. What I see is one team who plays a well structured game and supports eachother and the other team who still can't do this with any kind of consistency. We saw it a little bit in the month of November but they've been shit now for far too long.

Let Dufas use the break to swing a deal for some player with a spine.

They get exposed in games like this too often.  I think you are overstating things a little, but my rant about trading Rielly a few posts back essentially agrees with you.  I don't like the character of our defense corps.

I really hate Craig Simpson.  His analysis is terrible.

It's not analysis.  It's a stream of platitudes.

Bruins just looking better tonight.

This. I'm surprised at all the Samsonov bashing. He's been incredible value, and if the expectation is that he was going to be prime Hasek every game, then I think that disappointment was inevitable.

I have seen too many big games where the Leafs goalie is the one who just withers and dies. It's not acceptable, period. He deserves every bit of criticism he's getting tonight.