Red Wings @ Maple Leafs - Jan. 14th, 7:00pm - SN, Fan 590

[ZBBM]

I don't think you can blame Samsonov for this one.  They can't take care of the damn puck.  And Nylander looked like he was in no particular hurry at any time on the 6 on 5.

They had better pick it up pronto or this could be a brutal road trip.

 

[L K]

Honestly this was a pretty pathetic effort given Sammy did decent. Lots of near miss odd man rushes in the first and scoring two goals on Reiner who has been awful lately is just not good enough.  This team has serious problems with consistency and that is going to kill them in the playoffs

 

[dekedastardly]

The hell is Tavares problem?

 

[ZBBM]

What a waste of a Sunday evening.

Really.  They have looked disjointed and listless the last 3 games.

 

[cw]

I won't blame Sammy for this one.
Leafs gave up a lot of glorious scoring opportunities

 

[Peter D.]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

 

[Chris]

I don't think you can blame Samsonov for this one.  They can't take care of the damn puck.  And Nylander looked like he was in no particular hurry at any time on the 6 on 5.

They had better pick it up pronto or this could be a brutal road trip.

Not on Samsonov. Same old Leaf issues taking care of the puck all over the ice, especially in their own zone. Forward lines being shuffled probably didn't help as they didn't seem synced very often. I liked the idea of shaking things up, getting the players attention...but not sure anything really works with this group.

 

[4EVRLEAFAN]

I'm ready for Treliving to make a trade

I believe we're heading for another long term plan. Wait for Tavares' contract to end and the salary cap to go up,  then make the changes, we'll see.

 

[Chris]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

I would be shocked. Now, go 0-fer on the road trip....that's another matter

 

[cw]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

Wouldn't be surprised if they start to review a list of candidates ...

I do not see him finishing the season like this.

I'm not against a coach trying line changes. That's their job and often a good thing over time.
But tonight, with no great practice after the game last night, to change that much was over the top and it showed in the first period. They were very disjointed.
They're halfway through the season. He ought to have a better handle on who works well with who by now.
I get that he wanted to send a message but that start may have cost them the game tonight - as an opportunity cost.
It's a bit like "I'm so frustrated that I don't know what else to do to get you guys to play better"
When a coach does crap like that, they can start to lose their players.

 

[Peter D.]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

I would be shocked. Now, go 0-fer on the road trip....that's another matter

Probably not. Like I suggested, it's an off-the-cuff thought. Something's gotta give.

This team can't hold a lead to save its life. And they are losing to inferior teams more than they should.

Halfway point of the season, and only 13 regulation wins. I'm not too heavily dependent on that because a win is a win.  But this team is way better than having to constantly scrape a point and hope for the other in a loosey goosey 3-on-3 crapshoot.

 

[azzurri63]

I'm ready for Treliving to make a trade

I believe we're heading for another long term plan. Wait for Tavares' contract to end and the salary cap to go up,  then make the changes, we'll see.

I said that a while back. This team is no  different than years past. Rinse and repeat. Don?t mortgage any more future at the trade deadline I?d be more of a seller. If you?re going to keep Marner then suffer the consequences until JT is gone and get a more rounded lineup. If I was running things ship Marner off and use his and JTs millions to structure this team differently starting from the net out.

 

[cw]

[youtube]kupfZbfKBfE[/youtube]

0:00 Mitch Marner
2:44 Ilya Samsonov
4:58 T.J. Brodie
5:56 Pontus Holmberg
7:55 Sheldon Keefe

Samsonov was very touched by the fan support.

Didn't know McMann was hurt. Not serious. Day to day.

Obviously not content with the result, Keefe took this loss a little more in stride
He liked Domi-Marner

 

[Bender]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

Wouldn't be surprised if they start to review a list of candidates ...

I do not see him finishing the season like this.

I'm not against a coach trying line changes. That's their job and often a good thing over time.
But tonight, with no great practice after the game last night, to change that much was over the top and it showed in the first period. They were very disjointed.
They're halfway through the season. He ought to have a better handle on who works well with who by now.
I get that he wanted to send a message but that start may have cost them the game tonight - as an opportunity cost.
It's a bit like "I'm so frustrated that I don't know what else to do to get you guys to play better"
When a coach does crap like that, they can start to lose their players.

Ultimately though the players are the ones who get things done and they aren't. This team isn't good as is assembled.

 

[Andy07]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

Wouldn't be surprised if they start to review a list of candidates ...

I do not see him finishing the season like this.

I'm not against a coach trying line changes. That's their job and often a good thing over time.
But tonight, with no great practice after the game last night, to change that much was over the top and it showed in the first period. They were very disjointed.
They're halfway through the season. He ought to have a better handle on who works well with who by now.
I get that he wanted to send a message but that start may have cost them the game tonight - as an opportunity cost.
It's a bit like "I'm so frustrated that I don't know what else to do to get you guys to play better"
When a coach does crap like that, they can start to lose their players.

Ultimately though the players are the ones who get things done and they aren't. This team isn't good as is assembled.

Well alot of the same talk was being said about the Oilers and their horrific start...then they can the coach and seemingly cannot lose anymore. Not to say that the players shouldn't shoulder some (or most) of the blame, but a coaching change really can make a difference and, recently, teams that have played better with more playoff success than Toronto have already been down this path. It's definitely time for Toronto to follow suit and see what effect a different voice (or at least someone who actually can respond creatively to opposing tactics and strategies) has

 

[cw]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

Wouldn't be surprised if they start to review a list of candidates ...

I do not see him finishing the season like this.

I'm not against a coach trying line changes. That's their job and often a good thing over time.
But tonight, with no great practice after the game last night, to change that much was over the top and it showed in the first period. They were very disjointed.
They're halfway through the season. He ought to have a better handle on who works well with who by now.
I get that he wanted to send a message but that start may have cost them the game tonight - as an opportunity cost.
It's a bit like "I'm so frustrated that I don't know what else to do to get you guys to play better"
When a coach does crap like that, they can start to lose their players.

Ultimately though the players are the ones who get things done and they aren't. This team isn't good as is assembled.

We knew they were very likely not as good as last season last July when they could not replace all the talent they lost via free agency or due to cap issues. They knew Klingberg was a risky UFA booby prize.

Then Samsonov slumps & Woll gets hurt and they have a defensive mess on their hands left over from the summer with no quick fix. By the All Star break, without a team gestalt, they'll probably be in a fight for the wildcard and one serious key injury away from missing the playoffs.

I'm sure they'll try some sort of a trade before the deadline to try to help. But their 27th ranked prospects and the lowest number of 1-2 picks over the next three years in the league and upcoming cap constraints limits how much help they can afford to buy with their young assets. The performance of this current roster doesn't inspire one to really go for it. The five teams currently out of the wildcard race don't seem to have a lot available to help them.

Keefe's getting desperate. It is certainly not all his fault. But he can't seem to solve it consistently against opponents playing better than .300ish hockey. Even some of the bottom feeders have beat him.

So you can't fire a bunch of the players ...

 

[herman]

Sammy battled. He wasn?t good enough, but he was much better than two weeks ago and should keep building. Certain save selections to tweak to set himself up for a return to success.

https://x.com/rinkratreport/status/1746917317387100670

 

[Chris]

You can't fire a bunch of players - especially those you've given mega contracts with NMCs to. Leaf management has played its hand in that regard, essentially saying "we're sticking with the core". So what does that leave if things aren't working, you have limited prospects and draft picks, not enough cap room to build a proper team. That leaves a coaching change as the only real shot. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Maybe this is the best this group of players can accomplish, maybe they just don't have that extra gear in them - but you need to find that out before you sign Marner to that 12 million dollar deal.

This road trip will be very interesting. I suspect they'll dig down a little deeper and play just well enough to maintain the status quo but it could easily go off the rails - which might actually be better for the team in the long run. We'll see soon enough.

 

[cabber24]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

Wouldn't be surprised if they start to review a list of candidates ...

I do not see him finishing the season like this.

I'm not against a coach trying line changes. That's their job and often a good thing over time.
But tonight, with no great practice after the game last night, to change that much was over the top and it showed in the first period. They were very disjointed.
They're halfway through the season. He ought to have a better handle on who works well with who by now.
I get that he wanted to send a message but that start may have cost them the game tonight - as an opportunity cost.
It's a bit like "I'm so frustrated that I don't know what else to do to get you guys to play better"
When a coach does crap like that, they can start to lose their players.

Ultimately though the players are the ones who get things done and they aren't. This team isn't good as is assembled.

We knew they were very likely not as good as last season last July when they could not replace all the talent they lost via free agency or due to cap issues. They knew Klingberg was a risky UFA booby prize.

Then Samsonov slumps & Woll gets hurt and they have a defensive mess on their hands left over from the summer with no quick fix. By the All Star break, without a team gestalt, they'll probably be in a fight for the wildcard and one serious key injury away from missing the playoffs.

I'm sure they'll try some sort of a trade before the deadline to try to help. But their 27th ranked prospects and the lowest number of 1-2 picks over the next three years in the league and upcoming cap constraints limits how much help they can afford to buy with their young assets. The performance of this current roster doesn't inspire one to really go for it. The five teams currently out of the wildcard race don't seem to have a lot available to help them.

Keefe's getting desperate. It is certainly not all his fault. But he can't seem to solve it consistently against opponents playing better than .300ish hockey. Even some of the bottom feeders have beat him.

So you can't fire a bunch of the players ...

2025-2026 is our year... I actually believe that will be the earliest opportunity to be a legit contender. Higher cap and post Tavares @ $11M, a couple of summers of UFA D signings. We don't have assets to trade right now unless your selling.

 

[azzurri63]

Personal hunch, but it would not surprise me if Keefe is fired tomorrow.

Wouldn't be surprised if they start to review a list of candidates ...

I do not see him finishing the season like this.

I'm not against a coach trying line changes. That's their job and often a good thing over time.
But tonight, with no great practice after the game last night, to change that much was over the top and it showed in the first period. They were very disjointed.
They're halfway through the season. He ought to have a better handle on who works well with who by now.
I get that he wanted to send a message but that start may have cost them the game tonight - as an opportunity cost.
It's a bit like "I'm so frustrated that I don't know what else to do to get you guys to play better"
When a coach does crap like that, they can start to lose their players.

Ultimately though the players are the ones who get things done and they aren't. This team isn't good as is assembled.

Well alot of the same talk was being said about the Oilers and their horrific start...then they can the coach and seemingly cannot lose anymore. Not to say that the players shouldn't shoulder some (or most) of the blame, but a coaching change really can make a difference and, recently, teams that have played better with more playoff success than Toronto have already been down this path. It's definitely time for Toronto to follow suit and see what effect a different voice (or at least someone who actually can respond creatively to opposing tactics and strategies) has

I talked about the Oilers a  few weeks back when they were written off. Goaltending let them down for the most part. No different than the Leafs but difference was Oilers were badly outplaying their opponents pretty consistently just not scoring and Campbell and Skinner were not playing well at all. Yes we?ve had some games like that but for most part this team still seems to play down to their opponents. I said it then oilers would pass us after their horrific start. Well they are right on our heels. You all know my stance on Keefe as well as Shanahan. Dubas screwed this team but the other 2 should have been shown the door along with Kyle.