WordsOfWisdom Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 We talk about goaltending and poor "D" a lot in this forum, but the Leafs are starving for goals. The Leafs have 57 GF. They are ranked 27th in the NHL. This is one of the most impotent Leafs teams I have ever watched, and it's a carryover from last season. I think it's time to give some of our minor league prospects a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 I'm not sure how we do that, WOW. This cap era really sucks. You can't do what you want with your players. You only have very little room to negotiate your roster between the AHL and NHL. Ice time is your only weapon. Waivers can cost you players that you don't really want to get rid of, you just want to send a message to. What I have seen missing is character. These guys are playing better this season, but still just going through the motions, IMO. Babcock is beginning to look defeated. I really hope I'm wrong..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 I'm not sure how we do that, WOW. This cap era really sucks. You can't do what you want with your players. You only have very little room to negotiate your roster between the AHL and NHL. Ice time is your only weapon. Waivers can cost you players that you don't really want to get rid of, you just want to send a message to. What I have seen missing is character. These guys are playing better this season, but still just going through the motions, IMO. Babcock is beginning to look defeated. I really hope I'm wrong..... I think it's a talent issue. They're just not good enough. You can't teach scoring. I would have hoped that maybe Kadri would have taken a step forward, but he hasn't. Gardiner has regressed. I don't even think of him as an offensive defenceman anymore. That role belongs to Rielly and Phaneuf now. Who are the guys we got for Kessel again? Harrington: 1 point. (-3 TPM) Spaling: 2 points. (-1 TPM) It's hard to imagine that trade getting any worse, but Toronto lost bad on both ends of the Kessel deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 I sincerely hope that Leafs management is as aware of that as we are..... What really bothers me is what we have coming up. Nylander - small guy. Say what you like about him, but he is too small to be a center in the NHL IMHO. Talent yes, toughness no.Mitch Marner - same story. Don't get me wrong we need these guys for their talent, but neither of them is a Getzlaf, or a doughty. Gotta have size and toughness too. Where is that BIG center we desperately need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 I sincerely hope that Leafs management is as aware of that as we are..... What really bothers me is what we have coming up. Nylander - small guy. Say what you like about him, but he is too small to be a center in the NHL IMHO. Talent yes, toughness no.Mitch Marner - same story. Don't get me wrong we need these guys for their talent, but neither of them is a Getzlaf, or a doughty. Gotta have size and toughness too. Where is that BIG center we desperately need? It's fast approaching that time where the Leafs are going to need to package up two or three of their existing guys for a #1 (at any position). This is an entire team of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line players -- mostly 3rd liners. There are no genuine 1st line players here. The Leafs don't have an elite LW, C, RW, or D. Phaneuf and/or Rielly are close but not quite there. None of the forwards are really close imho. Reimer is playing like a #1 goalie but he's the only elite player the Leafs have. Nobody else measures up unfortunately. The NHL is now a "TOP-5" driven league. You win Cups (or don't) based on your top unit. Everyone else on the team is just filler. When other teams throw out a Toews, Malkin, Stamkos, etc... , the Leafs can't match it. They will never win until they draft, develop, or acquire a #1 line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Content and even ecstatic when Kessel is tradedThen complain about lack of scoring subsequent season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 Content and even ecstatic when Kessel is traded Indeed. Addition by subtraction. Then complain about lack of scoring subsequent season The team is actually performing similar to last year's team -- without Kessel. They're weaker offensively, but better defensively. If any of the players we got for trading Kessel actually contributed anything to the team, the Leafs would have improved. The Kessel trade was supposed to be: Kessel -> PittsburghTop Draft pick -> Toronto Instead, it was: Kessel -> PittsburghNothing -> Toronto So in the end, to close the book on the Kessel era in Toronto, the Leafs give up Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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