WordsOfWisdom Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Two days after I post a thread about the Leafs being better than their record indicates, they lose two straight games and get blown out by San Jose 7-0 to finish off their west coast road trip. With the Leafs recently adjusted goal differential (they are now 104 GF, 112 GA), their 16-17-7 record fits them much more nicely. More to the point: I thought we were going to be beyond games like this by now. Toronto is every other NHL team's high water mark on the season. When was the last time the Sharks scored 7 goals in a game? (Probably the last time they played the Leafs.) It does get old after awhile. This franchise is still the biggest joke in the NHL, and this group of players need to be jettisoned because they're not good enough to get it done. There are maybe 5 players on this team that I'd keep right now, and even then I wouldn't lose any sleep in trading them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Yep, same old pattern....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 2 hours ago, BluPuk said: Yep, same old pattern....... To me, you can tell what a player is going to be like for the rest of their career after their first three years in the NHL. The problem the Leafs have is that all of their "core" players (which the exception of Rielly maybe) have plateaued. Bozak, Kadri, JVR, Lupul, Phaneuf, etc. have all peaked. They are what they are. If the team is going to improve, it has to come from elsewhere. The Leafs need to either draft a franchise player or acquire one through trade. What they have right now is a cast of supporting players but no star power. It comes back to that "TOP 6" (L, C, R, D, D, G) theory again. When the Leafs put their top 6 players on the ice, how do they measure up against the top 6 players on any NHL playoff team? I'm not sure that they can match up favourably against any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbulb Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 You can tell what a player is going to be like after only 3 years?... probably won't get much agreement here on that. There are just too many instances where guys didn't "get it" until they hit 25-27. I don't Kadri has peaked...offensively maybe, but his game continues to develop in other areas. JVR is only now peaking... he should have 3-4 more strong years before he really plateaus imo. But yes, the other names are definitely past their prime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 @fishbulb I'm wondering if those situations are common or just exceptions to the rule? There is some refinement that takes place over the years yes, but it's more "fine tuning" than it is drastic change or drastic improvement. At least from what I see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 On 2016-01-10 at 10:52 AM, WordsOfWisdom said: To me, you can tell what a player is going to be like for the rest of their career after their first three years in the NHL. The problem the Leafs have is that all of their "core" players (which the exception of Rielly maybe) have plateaued. Bozak, Kadri, JVR, Lupul, Phaneuf, etc. have all peaked. They are what they are. If the team is going to improve, it has to come from elsewhere. The Leafs need to either draft a franchise player or acquire one through trade. What they have right now is a cast of supporting players but no star power. It comes back to that "TOP 6" (L, C, R, D, D, G) theory again. When the Leafs put their top 6 players on the ice, how do they measure up against the top 6 players on any NHL playoff team? I'm not sure that they can match up favourably against any of them. They are allowing the good young players to mature in the AHL and juniors before rushing them up, and I don't see where this post is coming from. Yeah Bernier let in 7 goals the other night. Its Bernier. The team had an awful night. But that's the west for ya. Sharks smashed through our east coast road trip 6-0, but our record sucks and we are bottom of the pacific. The west is just tougher. With Marner and Nylander in the system and the slight possibility to bidding on Stamkos, don't get too wound up in what happens this year. We KNEW the leafs would suck this year and merely went after low priced seat warmers this summer while the kids develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I guess this could hurt his trade value...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 5 hours ago, J0e Th0rnton said: They are allowing the good young players to mature in the AHL and juniors before rushing them up, and I don't see where this post is coming from. Yeah Bernier let in 7 goals the other night. Its Bernier. The team had an awful night. But that's the west for ya. Sharks smashed through our east coast road trip 6-0, but our record sucks and we are bottom of the pacific. The west is just tougher. With Marner and Nylander in the system and the slight possibility to bidding on Stamkos, don't get too wound up in what happens this year. We KNEW the leafs would suck this year and merely went after low priced seat warmers this summer while the kids develop. I guess I'm just waiting to see who the guys are going to be that define the core of a winning Leafs team. ie: Of the players here right now, how many are still going to be here when the Leafs reach the playoffs again? (Assuming they ever trend upwards and reach the playoffs again of course.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 1 hour ago, WordsOfWisdom said: I guess I'm just waiting to see who the guys are going to be that define the core of a winning Leafs team. ie: Of the players here right now, how many are still going to be here when the Leafs reach the playoffs again? (Assuming they ever trend upwards and reach the playoffs again of course.) Keep an eye on Timashov. Might end up a 5th round steal. Marner and Nylander are the obvious future cogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 23 hours ago, J0e Th0rnton said: Keep an eye on Timashov. Might end up a 5th round steal. Marner and Nylander are the obvious future cogs. I just needed to rant about the Leafs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Well, I've been keeping an eye on those 3 and some others too. I'm not as optomistic as you guys are. Maybe I'm just cynical having been a Leafs fan since the early '60's, but I'm not seeing that leader - a Sittler, a Keon, a Crosby, a Doughty, a Price. The team leader. In other words, I'll believe it when I see it out of that group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 1 hour ago, BluPuk said: Well, I've been keeping an eye on those 3 and some others too. I'm not as optomistic as you guys are. Maybe I'm just cynical having been a Leafs fan since the early '60's, but I'm not seeing that leader - a Sittler, a Keon, a Crosby, a Doughty, a Price. The team leader. In other words, I'll believe it when I see it out of that group. It doesn't help that they got embarrassed at the world juniors tournament either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 With this recent "L5" the team is on, my Toronto Maple Leafs "keep" list is down to: JVR Komarov Rielly Everyone else on this team can "ninja vanish" their butts on outta here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 19 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said: With this recent "L5" the team is on, my Toronto Maple Leafs "keep" list is down to: JVR Komarov Rielly Everyone else on this team can "ninja vanish" their butts on outta here. I'm not so sure about JVR. He may be more valuable to us as trade bait.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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