Commander Clueless

As a fan of a team that didn't make the playoffs for a very long time before last year, I can tell you I watch a lot of hockey in the 1st round, and then it fades. By round 3 I've degraded to vague interest, but it picks up a bit in the finals.

For me, the most fun is in the 1st round when it's action packed.

Let's just say that didn't change at all when my team got booted out in the 1st round.

Good points.

I'm always hesitant to count out the Senators, at least in the short term, due to the amount of times that they've burned teams, including my Habs, in situations that they've had no business being in. But I believe you posted something earlier about the Senators pissing away a few incredible rosters in such a short time which makes me nervous to declare them a contender for the years to come. 

As for the Flames, I feel like they've been in a rebuild since they went to the finals (which I forgot to mention in the original post lol). They've got a long way to go.

The Oilers are the most promising Canadian teams in the middle of a rebuild, but I'm afraid that if they don't make the playoffs next year, they might have to restart the rebuild.

The Jets have had such a bad time getting rid of the Thrashers' stink that they haven't been able to create their own identity. Paul Maurice helps for sure and their youth is impressive.

I don't want to talk about Vancouver.

Toronto is having a hard time differentiating between truculence and goonery.

Montreal has a good core of players, but there are players on the team that are not pulling their weight (Murray, Bourque etc). Not to mention that the coach doesn't want to use his players properly. Montreal isn't going anywhere until that coach is gone.

The Leafs have lost a lot of their "truculence/goonery" this year compared to last year. The ineffectiveness and consequent trade of Mark Fraser, combined with the loss of Leo Komarov and the relative ineffectiveness of Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren has made the team a fair amount "softer" than last year.

Carlyle has been running 11 forwards and 7 defense on a fairly regular basis instead of opting for even a single enforcer, which shows you the difference from the glory days of yesteryear running 3 of them. The enforcer only comes in with teams with enforcers (i.e. playing McLaren against Philly). Also, their penalty kill has gone from one of the best in the league to one of the worst (but that's another story).

  I always thought you Canadians were more passive. Confused about the difference between bacon and ham but mostly passive.

To me as a Wing fan I do not care if we have ten Swedes and only two players from the States, whoever is wearing a Red Wing jersey is a Detroiter pure and simple. The fact that I couldn't understand two of very ten words out of Holmstrom's mouth didn't make him any less a Detroiter in my mind. The fact that Datsyuk is Russian makes no never mind to me, he is a Detroit hero pure and simple. The old saying about rooting for the name on the front of the jersey not the back applies to me. But I know what you mean, as a Flyer fan you shouldn't care if anyone wins from Canada.

  If the Wings cannot win I always root for the team that knocked us out, I still enjoy every minute of playoff hockey but not as much. I root for original six clubs and teams that I like but after the Wings are out for the most part other than rooting for teams I hate to lose I don't get as much out of the playoffs. I am not like some though who turn it off the minute their team is out of it.

Passive, sure....but when it comes to hockey, we are "passionate" - which is really just another way of saying we aren't very nice.

As far as the Canadian team drought goes, you are right...it's not looking good this year. With Vancouver's apparent collapse, the Canadian teams with the best chances are the Leafs and Habs...which is a little sad. I mean they are pretty high in the East right now, but I don't think either team is ready on paper for cup contention. Could always be surprised, though.

Currently I'd be impressed if the Leafs make it into the playoffs with a bottom 5 goals against stat, but so far so good.

@WingNut722 I completely understand that, but I wouldn't underestimate the value of having him for the playoffs and of having time to negotiate a contract before he hits the open market.

In all likelihood, Detroit could also explore packages that don't include Tatar. I'm also not 100% they should even be buyers this deadline. They have a good amount of young talent that is up and coming. Waiting until the offseason, as you mentioned, may be the best course of action.

@jammer2

 

Agreed on Moulson.  He's a great forward and would certainly put up more than a few goals, but he's one-way only.  Vanek would find a nice spot on the second line with Weiss and Franzen, including power play time as well.  But there's no way Tatar should be given up for Vanek.  The Wings would lose as much as they'd gain.  I wouldn't make a high-priced trade at the deadline for either player.  Let the season end.  The price would be driven extremely high for these players, most likely by teams who want to make a last ditch effort to make a dent in the postseason - Ottawa, Vancouver, etc...

 

The Red Wings certainly have trade material with several NHL-ready young'uns.  But Tatar should not go anywhere.  Oullet, yes.  Emmerton, absolutely.  Patrick Eaves and Joaquim Andersson could go too, now that Sheahan has established himself.  Tatar stays...

 

After all, it's Tomas Vanek.  Now John Tavares on the other hand.............

I think you are underestimating Vanek here. He's a great player.

Tatar is an excellent young player, but if you have to give him up for a Vanek, in my mind, you do it. Now of course that would be assuming you could theoretically sign him and fit him under the cap, as well as what else you may or may not have to give up, etc.

Not necessarily.  In the 100 Metre Dash, the last 7 Silver Medalists have been from Jamaica, Trinidad, Portugal, Trinidad again, Namibia, Namibia again and Great Britain.  The last two Golds have been Usain Bolt and, before that, USA, USA, Canada and Great Britain.  Sure, the US and Jamaica are traditional powers in the sport but that's hardly the same domination we see in women's hockey every Winter Olympics.  With the exception of Bolt, no one is blowing away the competition the way the US and Canada regularly score 9-0 wins over the Switzerlands of the world.

 

With the exception of 2006, it's been USA/Canada winning Gold/Silver every year.

Well true, but I don't think that has really any bearing on my point. The sprinting is just an example of domination, albeit a weak one when compared to women's hockey. I'm trying to say that one or two countries dominating a sport doesn't make it any less of a legit Olympic sport. If, hypothetically, Jamaica and the US held all the medals in sprinting going back a decade, would there be talk of removing that sport? No. If a sport is considered an Olympic sport than it should be part of the Olympics, regardless of who wins.

Taking away women's hockey just because it's dominated by two countries is a silly notion. If men have Olympic hockey, then women have the right to compete too. You can't take away one without taking away the other and not be accused of descrimination.

It's not Canada or the States' fault that other countries don't have the interest or the program to compete at the Olympic level.

@B21

 

 We were talking about it last night after ballhockey over a beer. How much longer do they give gold and silver to Canada and the US every single year before they get rid of womens hockey?

Let's be honest, they can't get rid of women's Olympic hockey. It would be considered descrimination, and rightfully so.

If men's hockey is a legitimate Olympic sport, then so is women's. It has nothing to do with one or two countries dominating a sport or not that make it a legitimate sport. Jamaica and the States tend to dominate sprinting events, but that doesn't make it any less of an Olympic sport. 

The better question is when do they get rid of the penalty for bodychecking? 

Or, conversely, get rid of bodychecking in men's Olympic hockey? Make the rules the same.

Damn. when did you guys sneak all those wins in.   :blink:

I don't really remember, but I think there was some voodoo and rumours of some questionable things regarding a goat...

Whatever happened, though, it seems to be working lately. I'm kind of sad to see the Olympic break.

Well, its official. Leafs are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games....thus, in future losing streaks, I will be creating threads to counter them.

David who?

So clearly all that was needed for a 5 game win streak was some good ol' bellyaching!

Man, I can't believe it took me so long to think of that! Why doesn't everyone try it?

I think Scrivens will have flashbacks of his Leaf days when he saw obscene amounts of shots and odd man rushes come his way....come to think of it, Leafs goalies are STILL seeing that nowadays....

 

Hey, that's what they get for saying they like facing lots of shots! It's their own fault really.

Leafs are amazing at the "pinch-oops-crap" dance.

I think Dubnyk has had the short end of the stick for a while in Edmonton. Not quite sure what his top end will be, but I would not be surprised to see him make a comeback.

On the flip side, I feel a bit bad for Scrivens if he gets hung out the same way. Eakins loves him though, so he may shine. Best of luck to Big Ben Scribbles.

It really depends on the return for Kadri of course, but I would think that dealing him now would be a bad choice. He's really the only center on the team that may have that high end potential in him (well, Holland might have an outside shot). But hey, we'll see!

Word on the street is that they would trade Kadri, but only if another center was coming back.  I'm not sure what type of return I, as a fan, would expect for Kadri, but I bet the market right now would be a buy low scenario. Apparently, though, the Leafs had received an offer involving a good winger, which is really not what they need right now. By my count, they need centers and right-handed defensemen that can play actual defense.

 For the 15 games or so we've seen Bolland, he's been great in a Leaf sweater, but that injury pronededness is frightening. Yes, I just used the word "pronededness".

I like Stastny despite his struggles in recent years, but cap space may be an issue for our beloved perpetual underdogs. Especially if they want to bolster the D.

Fortunately, next year some dead cap will clear up, but contracts like Gleason (replacing Liles' contract) and Clarkson may still hurt a bit. In their defense, Gleason has been pretty decent thus far and I am happy to have Clarkson, but the money....it's just too much. I'm really hoping they don't let McClement get away - without him, the Leafs PK is scary. I'll also be sad if they let Kulemin walk.

@yave1964

Kadri actually has looked much better at center than he has on the wing. Unfortunately, his "sophomore" (sort of) season isn't doing him any favours right now. Also, his best buddy Lupul has dried up a good amount too, effectively nullifying the Leafs second offensive line that was a big reason for their success last (sort of) year.

But yes, the center position is still rather weak. I'm not sure keeping Grabovski would make much difference to the situation as, on paper at least, it still looks roughly the same. He may be an improvement over Bozak offensively (although this year Bozie has 22 points in 24 games compared to Grabovski's 33 points in 44 games - so he's been pretty decent), but even with Grabo in there we're still lacking the exact same thing - a top flight center. There is still hope Kadri can develop into that, but, we'll see. 

Although the Grabovski buyout is still a little mind boggling, it really does boil down to getting the third line duty thanks to chemistry between Kadri-Lupul and Bozak-Kessel, and then Carlyle's perception of him not being a good 3rd line center (which I don't think is necessarily true). But that's water under the bridge.

Anydangway, the Leafs beat Boston last night - so clearly all we needed was a good ol' complaining session.

It's mind boggling that the richest team in hockey hasn't made the finals since colour TV.

 

It's hard to believe that, at least as it appears, not a single player on the Leafs listens to what their coach asks them to do. It's like they all go out and play shinny. Maybe the Leafs should have hired Laviolette...then at least the team would be on the same page as the coach.

 

Domi's head? I think it's made from an old safe?

 

Nice post Commander, I got a laugh out of it.

Laviolette would certainly fit this team's current style of play better, although personally I'd rather see them conform to the coach's style, rather than conform the coach to their style. Maybe Carlyle doesn't have the personnel to play his ideal style, but if they could play like they did when they saw some decent success last year and early this year, then I don't see the problem. It's almost like they collectively said "screw it! It's too hard!". That, or Carlyle tried to adjust the system and fell flat on his face.

That's certainly one theory about Domi's head. The other popular one is an adamantium skull I think.

The Leafs need more truculence in my opinion.

 

To think that I traded Voracek, a prospect and picks to get Jonathan Bernier who I figured would be the clear No. 1. Now I get to sob along with Leafs fans whenever he plays. Ah, at least the 60 shots a game they give up is generally good for his save percentage. But for how long? The guy must wake in the middle of the night seeing pucks coming at him. If this keeps up he'll develop vertigo or something.

Alas, Bernier. He had looked so good to start. In all fairness, he has been doing quite well...but can't seem to get support. Reimer has been decent as well but again, the team around him insists on playing pond hockey.

Even though I was only six at the time, it has to be the '93 Leafs-Kings series. Because **** me.

Totally kidding.

It's like the pinnacle of modern Leaf hockey, ending in tragedy, that so many Leaf fans still bellyache about. How sad is that?

In (not so) recent history, I'd have to say the 2002 Leafs vs. Islanders series with all the violence. I can't believe how much they let slide in that series, but it was intense hockey.

it's like giving the Selke to Briere or Ovechkin.

I see your point, but even with the Selke, very rarely do you see it go to the pure defensive specialists. Selke winners seem to need to have some sort of decent offensive game as well.

When we discuss Norris I don't bother thinking who the best pure defenseman is because it's never awarded as such. I just look at offense first, THEN plus/minus and similar stats. Lets face it, if it were truly best defensive minded defenseman we'd have to rewrite the record books going back decades!

It's clearly awarded to the best overall defenseman in the league that year, including both offensive and defensive abilities. They have been doing a great job balancing both sides of what makes a defenseman valuable to their team.

I mean, just look at the selection of Erik Karls....pfffhahahahahaha.

Wait, are there any Sens fans on this board? Am I about to get Sens-smacked?

No but really they should just give it Lidstrom.

Retired? What does that have to do with anything?

This year, Mr. Keith is looking like he'll win by a fair margin, and honestly it would be well deserved.

It's that time of year again!

The wonderful time of year where Leafs fans question their own existence. Where we can all tightly hug our Mats Sundin bobbleheads, sobbing softly, and then make ourselves feel better by putting a tiny Vancouver jersey on it and setting it on fire. The time of year where we ask the important questions, like was it our fault that Curtis Joseph left us? What is Tie Domi's head really made of? And whatever happened to Aki Berg?

In what I'm sure is a total shock to the hockey world, the Leafs are struggling at the just past halfway point of the season. They are comfortably sitting just outside the playoffs currently with a ROW tie breaker stat that, when looked at, closely resembles Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball: scary, to say the least. Also, it invokes a sudden desire to eat a sandwich.

But my own personal insanity aside, the Leafs are not having fun times right now. They get pinned on their own zone and are forced to ice it on a regular basis, seemingly leaving the whole exit strategy to their slicker skating defenseman without any support, while their forwards wait for the long bomb pass. They are hitting, but they are not effectively taking bodies out and letting other teams run rampant around them. Their defense corps needs help, or some further development from some high potential youngsters. Secondary scoring has dried up significantly.  In fact, the only true bright spots right now are the JVR-Bozak-Kessel line on the offensive side of the puck, the usually solid goaltending, and their decent ability to win shootouts after blowing leads.

Now I think the mobs of fans calling for Randy Carlyle's head are being ridiculous. I'm not Randy's biggest fan by any means, but the team is not playing the typical "Carlyle hockey" right now. They lack intensity and are playing a system that resembles the system I typically use in EA Sports NHL games. Just a rough patch, or has he lost the room already? You decide!

What could the issue be?

Honestly, it's a tough call right now to say where they will end up with quite a bit of hockey left to be played. From the looks of things at this point, they are shooting for the "didn't make the playoffs, but also got a mediocre pick" area once again.

Thoughts? Questions? Scathing remarks? I'd love to hear what you crazy people here think of everyone's favourite, second favourite, or closet favourite team!

...except you, Franklin. Nobody cares what you think.

I'm not surprised by the firing.

I like Maurice. Funny guy. Not sure I like him as the coach though.

Those First Person Feeder games are never going to be popular...

I'm personally stoked for God of Peace and DICE's new Charityfield franchise.

I think they may have just let Crosby pick the team, so Giroux was probably somewhere between Jay Rosehill and Colton Orr on the pecking order.

I blame Crosby.

He probably refused to show up if Giroux was there.

Sigh....old hatreds.

Can't we all just....get along?

...on second thought, that would be so boring. Can you imagine how bad video games would be if there was World Peace? I shudder to think of it.

@jammer2

 

I hope Canada wins gold...but I've seen enough catering toward Sidney Crosby to last a lifetime.

Haven't we all?

Sidney Crosby is the best player on the planet, sure, but annoyingly so.

Anyway, looks like a good team. Goaltending situation should be interesting - battle between Price and Luongo I guess, with Price probably ending up on top. I'm not sold on Smith but Canada isn't as deep on goaltending as other positions anymore.

 Agree with this 100%, people gotta realize JVR is playing on the top pp in Toronto with Kessel, he would not have been afforded the same luxury in Philly.

Calling the Leafs powerplay a luxury is just silly.

No, but you are right. JVR really got an opportunity here and, to his credit, ran with it. There was a lot stiffer competition for him in Philly it seems. The biggest thing I've been surprised with is how deceptively fast he is. Most of the time, he's also the only Leaf that seems to want to be in front of the net.

The one thing that drives me nuts is he ALWAYS double cluthes when trying to shoot.   It also looks like he is ready to fall when taking a slapper.

Hey, at least he's trying it in Philly! In Toronto, I have a hard time ever recalling an attempt at a slapshot from him...although that could be memory problems too.

If it makes you feel better, the only defenseman on the Leafs now that is even capable of taking a slapshot is Phagoof, and he misses the net 75% of the time.