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Hey Im a leafs fan from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and like many of you I’m still disappointed as hell and probably a little bitter. My honest opinion on this team is this team is going into probably it’s most important season in recent memory. I’m not sure what Kyle dubas, Sheldon keefe, and Brendan shannahan are going to do or if they are the ones that should be holding those positions but this off-season is what will ultimately shape this teams future for the coming years. There’s rumblings out there that mlse is upset with the amount of money they’ve put into this team with out any success. I really think that mlse before the press conferences with keefe, dubas, and shannahan had a meeting with them and going into it they were not sure if they would be continuing for me with that group, ultimately they by the looks of it decided that they will be but I would say the tone of the meeting was if you do not get 4 playoff wins next season when the final buzzer goes of that deciding game pack up you stuff and don’t wait for the call to know weather your coming back or not. I am going to say this I’ve never really been a dubas fan I wanted them to keep Lou, and as far as keefe I really thought that he was the right guy to come in last year at the time he did but he should never have been given the head coaching position right away he should have been the interm head coach and had been reevaluated at the end of the season. In that case I think dubas hired with his heart and not with what was best for the team in mind because last offseason there were some good head coaches available and maybe with keefe getting some experience as an nhl assistant under one of them then take over the team with some more experience. This team is at a major cross roads right now, Matthew’s is only locked up till 2024 you’ve gotta think he’s not coming back if things don’t change. Teams are going to want him bad and let’s face it Toronto can be a pretty poopy place to play when your loosing. This is just my take like it or lump it it’s how I feel, I’d love to hear how you guys feel about the future, what you think will happen and who do you think will be suiting up for the leafs next season. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The problem with the big contracts isn't just about what you have to fill around them but also in judging what you do with the space if you don't sign a big contract.Leafs 2018 - Sign John Tavares to 7/77 contractIslanders 2018 - Sign Komarov 4/12, Hickey 4/10, Filppula 1/2.5, Acquire Matt Martin 2/5, Jan Kovar 1/2Komarov + Hickey + Filppula + Martin + Jan Kovar= 12.5M - 75 pointsJohn Tavares - 88 pointsObviously its not all about points but Lou didn't get a bunch of contract steals. Uncle Leo has 2G/8P in 39 games in the postseason. He starts 2/3 of his shifts in the offensive zone and has negative possession and goal differentials.If you think that you are getting Nylander coming off back to back 60 point seasons for 4.9M you are crazy.
After bungling Zaitsev and completely screwing up with Marleau I think Lou's tenure is unforgivable. Both those contracts were albatrosses that we had to spend assets just to get out of. As well, it's just been a questionable track record ever since they drafted Matthews. Nik has said repeatedly they should never have short circuited the rebuild and instead of hitting it out of the park with draft picks and turning the roster over theg let guys walk for nothing repeatedly and have not a lot to show for it. I'm so tired of walking guys to free agency. To me Lou having success for the Islanders is less to do with Lou and a lot more to do with Trotz being an amazing coach. Washington has been pretty trash since he won them a Cup. It's no surprise that the Isles are playing well with high level coaching even without the most elite talent.
The Keefe criticism seems odd to me. He's put the Leafs at 113 point pace in his two partial seasons. He's 5-7 in the postseason with four games going to OT. Obviously results are the deciding factor on what you do but he still hasn't had a full 82-game season with the team.
Quote from: L K on June 17, 2021, 03:34:38 PMThe Keefe criticism seems odd to me. He's put the Leafs at 113 point pace in his two partial seasons. He's 5-7 in the postseason with four games going to OT. Obviously results are the deciding factor on what you do but he still hasn't had a full 82-game season with the team.Fair or not, Keefe is tied to Dubas. If they flop again, Shanahan and Dubas will likely get the boot, and thus so will Keefe.
I just feel like a lot of the criticisms of Dubas are really based in a lot of unfair hindsight. Like, I was just about the only person here during the Foligno trade saying "Eh, I don't like this. Too high a price. I'd rather have spent less on Hall*" and virtually everyone else was "No, the team needs more grit and leadership. It's why they got beat by Columbus". Likewise, they "needed" a more physical defense. In comes Brodie. They "needed" more grit and veteran leadership. Here comes Thornton/Simmonds. Everything people said the Leafs should do, they did. It's why they were so favoured over Montreal. Nobody was saying "Man, the Leafs are at a real disadvantage because of all the money they gave to their top 4 forwards against the Habs" until they lost. The Leafs were a good team. They had depth. They had balance. They got good goaltending. Odds are, absent injuries to Foligno and Tavares, they win the series. I'm all for a post-mortem but there's a difference between finding a cause of death and saying that it was forseeable. There is no way of building a team where an injury to one of your best players and your key deadline acquisition doesn't hurt. There is no way of building a team that renders you immune from running into a hot goalie. Until someone actually presents a positive way forward, advocating for changes just because "Things didn't work" might feel cathartic but I don't think we can confuse it for actual strategy.