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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 2:58 pm 
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Finally get the Habs Leafs playoff series and no fans. :doh:

Leafs just need to start well and avoid seeds of doubt.


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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 3:55 pm 
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Hounsy wrote:
Finally get the Habs Leafs playoff series and no fans. :doh:

Leafs just need to start well and avoid seeds of doubt.


Bring it on! :viking:

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PostPosted: Wed May 19, 2021 11:26 am 
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Sounds like the Leafs are going with this line up game one.

Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Foligno-Tavares-Nylander
Kerfoot-Nash-Mikheyev
Thornton-Spezza-Simmons

Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Holl
Edit - Sandin-Bogosian

Campbell
Andersen

Would think they would like Bogo back on bottom pair and Sandin could play his way pass Dermott in that regard.
Who is this Nash guy I see? lol
that is a different way to go about a fourth line.
So now sounds like Bogo in for Dermott. Tough on Dermott but Sandin has looked better down the stretch.


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PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 9:43 am 
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Starting to think half the battle of keeping yourself from being bullied in the playoffs is to have guys on your team that the Refs fear will escalate a physical game into a gong show. The Refs are not stretching the rules for the Habs aggressive game as much as I feel past Leaf competition was getting. See Leaf fans questioning why Thorton is still playing as he has not been very good but I think Refs look at him and Simmonds and think if I let that hard cross check go I'm going to have to deal with that guy making my night and this game a mess.


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PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 12:52 pm 
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Hounsy wrote:
Starting to think half the battle of keeping yourself from being bullied in the playoffs is to have guys on your team that the Refs fear will escalate a physical game into a gong show. The Refs are not stretching the rules for the Habs aggressive game as much as I feel past Leaf competition was getting. See Leaf fans questioning why Thorton is still playing as he has not been very good but I think Refs look at him and Simmonds and think if I let that hard cross check go I'm going to have to deal with that guy making my night and this game a mess.


Good observation. You might be right.


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PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 11:05 pm 
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Depth. Leafs up 3-1 now and Nylander, Kerfoot, Galchenyuk as a line plus Spezza and who ever he is on the ice with at that moment is leading the charge offensively.

Marner is not been great other than PK and is forcing it, Matthews looks great(other than today) just hitting the wrong side of the iron, and well Tavares situation.


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PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 11:50 pm 
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These Leafs can play defence.

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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 12:06 pm 
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Tavares is skating already. Holy shit, that was a quick recovery.

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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 12:32 pm 
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Chris18 wrote:
Tavares is skating already. Holy shit, that was a quick recovery.
I would be surprised if we see him play at least in the next two weeks should the Leafs advance. He was concussed yes?


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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 12:33 pm 
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Logical Progression wrote:
Chris18 wrote:
Tavares is skating already. Holy shit, that was a quick recovery.
I would be surprised if we see him play at least in the next two weeks should the Leafs advance. He was concussed yes?


Never forget this classic Onion headline: https://www.theonion.com/report-sidney- ... 1819572526

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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 12:52 pm 
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E.L. wrote:
Logical Progression wrote:
Chris18 wrote:
Tavares is skating already. Holy shit, that was a quick recovery.
I would be surprised if we see him play at least in the next two weeks should the Leafs advance. He was concussed yes?


Never forget this classic Onion headline: https://www.theonion.com/report-sidney- ... 1819572526

Classic. :laap:


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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 2:21 pm 
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Yeah light skating and some wrist shots is a long way from game ready. But ask me again in about ten days.


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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 7:09 am 
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Hounsy wrote:
Yeah light skating and some wrist shots is a long way from game ready. But ask me again in about ten days.


They originally said he had a knee injury and concussion, so I figured he was out for the year. Mild concussions (this is at least his second) can heal in a week or so. Knee injuries- not so much. So it's good/impressive to see him even lightly skating after a week.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2021 11:05 am 
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The pressure to break this core up will be huge this offseason. It was a bad break for the Leafs that JT and Muzzin got hurt, but that's also the game you play when you're top heavy and short on depth. Their deadline pickup Foligno was also not 100%. Spezza was great, but Jumbo ran out of gas.

I suspect they'll be players for Seth Jones, but they don't have much to trade unless it's Marner. Is that the big shakeup coming?

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2021 11:18 am 
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E.L. wrote:
The pressure to break this core up will be huge this offseason. It was a bad break for the Leafs that JT and Muzzin got hurt, but that's also the game you play when you're top heavy and short on depth. Their deadline pickup Foligno was also not 100%. Spezza was great, but Jumbo ran out of gas.

I suspect they'll be players for Seth Jones, but they don't have much to trade unless it's Marner. Is that the big shakeup coming?


Keefe said the players were devastated after the game so he chose to not speak to them. What the fucking fuck? How is that any sort of "leadership"? I'd fire his ass as soon as I heard that. That is just totally unprofessional. It's not an easy/fun talk, but you have to do it. They may be pros and grown men, but the players should hear something from the coach. To not go in just looks like he's hiding from blame. Fuck that guy. Firing him is the first step I'd take in blowing it up. Culture change. Bye Felicia.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:02 am 
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I’m not sure if there’s anything you can say there. I agree it might have been a mistake for Keefe not to do so but I kinda get it. You can’t cheer these guys up...and I’m not sure you should.

I don’t for a moment EVER endorse harassment of players but I’m not too sympathetic for Mitch Marner right now. He played hardball and demanded franchise center money even though he’s not a center, and he’s also not a generational talent like Alexander Ovechkin on the wing. Hell, he’s making about as much as Patrick Kane and I don’t think he’s on that level either. He’s being paid to be a gamebreaker and evidence is mounting that he simply...isn’t.

You gotta shake things up. This core isn’t working.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 8:40 am 
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I don't mean Keefe should go in to "cheer them up". If he went in and told a few jokes the players should have beaten him. But you point out the good things they did throughout the year, the promise they have for next year, etc. To not even go in just makes it seem like he knows he's going to be fired and seems to blame them, so he can't face them. I know it's NOWHERE NEAR the same level, but I've coached teams where we went into the state championships with a lot of promise and got absolutely smoked. I didn't want to do the post-game talk, but I knew I had to do it and figured out ways to spin things so kids left with at least less tears, some even smiling. One of the other coaches didn't bother going into the room one time. The players hated him and had no respect for him after that. They felt he was making it clear that he was blaming them and felt they weren't worth his time. Going into that sad/mad room is part of being a coach at any level. Are they the first team to be eliminated? First to blow a big series lead? Of course not. After the Red Sox came back from being down 3-0 to backdoor sweep the Yankees, Joe Torre didn't avoid the locker room. He went in and told them how the Red Sox were better for a few games, etc, but the Yankees would be back and better the next year. That's what you do. It isn't easy. Not going into the locker room is the easy way out, and should lead to him being out the door. How can players respect him after that? I haven't ever heard of a pro coach not going into the locker room after being ousted.

He could have given them the excuses that Tavares and Muzzin were important pieces and were out, or something. He gets paid quite well to be the coach of the team in the biggest hockey market there is. He had to know that wasn't going to be an easy job. But he took the easy way out, and if he comes back, his players will remember that. If he leaves the Leafs and goes elsewhere, the players will know he didn't go in... It will be very tough for him to get respect after that. And I don't mean after losing the series. Teams blow leads. It happens. It sucks, but it happens. I didn't watch closely enough to know if it was a systems failure, special teams, or whatever could possibly be blamed on Keefe. Or if he had a perfect game plan and the players just didn't execute it... But I know how players view coaches and he will garner very little, if any, respect from here on.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:46 pm 
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I'm guessing Manny Malhotra is done, Dave Hakstol probably is too. And that'll be the "This is your last chance" message to Keefe to either right the ship or be shipped out.

I don't mean to be rude but...Manny Malhotra is the guy you have running your power play? I'm guessing he has learned a lot as a coach and what not because, as a player, there's no way he even sniffed power play time. Dude was elite defensively but he never really produced much at even strength, let alone on the man-advantage.

I found it somewhat strange that Keefe never hired his own guys as assistants. Usually a head coach gets that chance, but Sheldon just held onto the holdovers from Babcock. Now, yes, I believe they were both less than a year into their respective tenures when Babs was fired, but it still strikes me as odd that Keefe never made any changes with the assistants. He almost assuredly will now.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 3:00 pm 
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They may have to trade Marner. Not that I want him gone but if my understanding is correct that after his upfront money is paid out to start next season his contract becomes very favourable to a non-capped team as the real money being paid out will be pretty good value. Though suspect they will move around the depth parts more than anything and go back at it. Maybe break up Marner and Matthews next season as two playoffs together have not been good. Matthews wasn't bad the puck just would not go in, but Marner was having problems with the lack of space and as a guy who's game thrives with space little worried he is going to always have a problem with playoff hockey when the close outs come just that little bit faster.

As far as the coach not going in for a speech I don't care either way as I don't think for this level it matters then and there and he is better severed to worry about the exit interviews to communicate.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 3:06 pm 
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I think it's a tad worrisome that the guy getting the best looks by far on that Matthews/Marner line was Zach Hyman, and if you're Price and the Habs, you take that all day. Hyman's a great defensive forward with speed and some finishing ability, and might be the hardest-working member of the team, but I'm not so sure I'd give a 29-year-old with his skill set a lucrative long-term deal.

I think both Marner and Rielly should be looked at as trade chips...problem is you're likely trading the best player in any scenario with those two, and that leaves giant holes in the lineup you then have to fill. A massive retool at this point carries significant risk, and if it doesn't work out that might just do it for this iteration of the Leafs.

Then again...you can't keep going back with the same core. Something is seriously wrong with the way this team is structured.


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