2025 Offseason Thread: Spring Cleaning

[herman]

Go Leafs Go (to sink other teams): everyone born in the GTA, other than Lorentz and Tanev.

Can’t tank without that 1st rder for 2026, but we can redistribute allocations and keep our powder dry for McDavid maybe.

 

[bustaheims]

Keep Matthews, Nylander, Knies, McCabe, Tanev, and the goalies. Consider your options with everyone else.

 

[herman]

Lock down Knies before he starts to think too much (if that is possible). Overpay, even.

Get Cowan NHL minutes from the get go.

 

[Bill_Berg]

Gotta sign Knies.

I would resign Tavares too. The FA market isn't great and we have little to trade with. Gonna need someone.

Now sure where they'll get two new forwards that can score in the playoffs. We'll see I guess, but I have low hopes for a good off season really.

 

[L K]

Go Leafs Go (to sink other teams): everyone born in the GTA, other than Lorentz and Tanev.

Can’t tank without that 1st rder for 2026, but we can redistribute allocations and keep our powder dry for McDavid maybe.

2026 1sts is top 6 protected I think. Bust the core for McKenna!

 

[Chris]

Not going to do this until the series is actually over, other than to say - if they don't miraculously come back and take the series, everything and everyone should be on the table. Except maybe Knies.

 

[ZBBM]

It was a lot of fun watching this group in the regular season over the years. This year, not so much.

I won't throw in the towel until after they are officially bounced. Then we can slice and dice.

I'll tell you this, though, unless a miracle happens and they advance I will be cutting down on my watching. I am not going to continue to invest an absurd amount of time watching boring hockey that doesn't deliver the goods comes spring.

 

[Redleaf]

Keep Matthews, Nylander, Knies, McCabe, Tanev, and the goalies. Consider your options with everyone else.

Why keep Matthews? Does he continue to wear the ‘C’?

 

[dappleganger]

Lol on the thread start.

 

[bustaheims]

Why keep Matthews? Does he continue to wear the ‘C’?

Because, when he's healthy, he's the best goal scorer on the planet. He's clearly not healthy right now.

As for the C, whether he has it on or not is pretty immaterial. Leaders in the room are leaders in the room, regardless of whether or not they have a letter on their chest.

 

[Redleaf]

Because, when he's healthy, he's the best goal scorer on the planet. He's clearly not healthy right now.

As for the C, whether he has it on or not is pretty immaterial. Leaders in the room are leaders in the room, regardless of whether or not they have a letter on their chest.

Just not in the playoffs . Even when he’s healthy.

 

[Zee]

It was a lot of fun watching this group in the regular season over the years. This year, not so much.

I won't throw in the towel until after they are officially bounced. Then we can slice and dice.

I'll tell you this, though, unless a miracle happens and they advance I will be cutting down on my watching. I am not going to continue to invest an absurd amount of time watching boring hockey that doesn't deliver the goods comes spring.

I'm in the same boat, I can't see myself tuning into the majority of the regular season anymore.

 

[Bill_Berg]

It was a lot of fun watching this group in the regular season over the years. This year, not so much.

I won't throw in the towel until after they are officially bounced. Then we can slice and dice.

I'll tell you this, though, unless a miracle happens and they advance I will be cutting down on my watching. I am not going to continue to invest an absurd amount of time watching boring hockey that doesn't deliver the goods comes spring.

I try to avoid them till after the Superbowl in general. Doesn't always work, but every year it gets a little easier to not care about them.

 

[bustaheims]

Just not in the playoffs . Even when he’s healthy.

Except for the multiple series where he has put pucks in the net at a good pace. The consistent play hasn't been there, but when the team has no depth and his most consistent linemate disappears, it's much easier for teams to shut down even the best players. Teams can throw everything they have at Matthews in the playoffs, because, other than Nylander, no one else is a threat to do anything.

 

[Ozzie]

Because, when he's healthy, he's the best goal scorer on the planet. He's clearly not healthy right now.

As for the C, whether he has it on or not is pretty immaterial. Leaders in the room are leaders in the room, regardless of whether or not they have a letter on their chest.

"Best goal scorer on the planet" does not apply to Playoff Matthews. Hes scored 3 goals in the past 23 playoff games. 2 of those came when he is "unhealthy" against Ottawa. Matthews has actually improved!

Saying this is about his "health" is not addressing the underlying factor. Last night was the loserest loss in recent Leafs memory. Maybe only to be rivalled by the loserest loss to Montreal in 2021, which out-losered the Columbus loss.

Most guys on the ice by now are "unhealthy". McDavid lost in 7 games against the Panthers in the finals but he went out swinging and is a winner in my books, and he proved it by winning for Canada in February in 4 Nations against Matthews coverage.

I use to respect Matthews until I called into a Boston radio station the day after that loss and they called out Matthews and called him a "total loser". They said he "scored 69 goals the season before but couldn't score in OT when it mattered...and he had multiple chances. America got 'Leafed'" they said.

And they are right.... there is no word in the English language to describe a phenom that gets paid the most to score, and does it in October to March, and then milkcartons when it matters...... so a new word had to be invented.

That word is "Leafy".

 

[cabber24]

"Best goal scorer on the planet" does not apply to Playoff Matthews. Hes scored 3 goals in the past 23 playoff games. 2 of those came when he is "unhealthy" against Ottawa. Matthews has actually improved!

Saying this is about his "health" is not addressing the underlying factor. Last night was the loserest loss in recent Leafs memory. Maybe only to be rivalled by the loserest loss to Montreal in 2021, which out-losered the Columbus loss.

Most guys on the ice by now are "unhealthy". McDavid lost in 7 games against the Panthers in the finals but he went out swinging and is a winner in my books, and he proved it by winning for Canada in February in 4 Nations against Matthews coverage.

I use to respect Matthews until I called into a Boston radio station the day after that loss and they called out Matthews and called him a "total loser". They said he "scored 69 goals the season before but couldn't score in OT when it mattered...and he had multiple chances. America got 'Leafed'" they said.

And they are right.... there is no word in the English language to describe a phenom that gets paid the most to score, and does it in October to March, and then milkcartons when it matters...... so a new word had to be invented.

That word is "Leafy".

It feels like a curse. Is it actually the players or is it a Leaf thing? I am inclined to blame the players. The lack of give a fuck is papable.

 

[Redleaf]

Except for the multiple series where he has put pucks in the net at a good pace. The consistent play hasn't been there, but when the team has no depth and his most consistent linemate disappears, it's much easier for teams to shut down even the best players. Teams can throw everything they have at Matthews in the playoffs, because, other than Nylander, no one else is a threat to do anything.

I respect Matthew’s regular season goal scoring prowess. And maybe there’s a parallel universe where he leads teams to glory like a lot of the great captains have been able to do. But it’s not in this one… at least not now. I’d love to eat my words.

 

[Bender]

Really don't care about what happens to this team honestly. It's been mismanaged since the start of the Matthews era.

 

[Goaliedave31]

Because, when he's healthy, he's the best goal scorer on the planet. He's clearly not healthy right now.

As for the C, whether he has it on or not is pretty immaterial. Leaders in the room are leaders in the room, regardless of whether or not they have a letter on their chest.

Being the best goal scorer on the planet but being invisible in the playoffs is the reality. Eight seasons now.

 

[bustaheims]

Being the best goal scorer on the planet but being invisible in the playoffs is the reality. Eight seasons now.

Except that it's really only been true for the last couple years. Before the 2nd round series against Florida in 2023, he had 22 goals in 45 playoff games - a drop off from his normal production, sure, but hardly invisible by any stretch of the imagination.

Since then, he has 3 in 21 - and for the last 12 of those, he's clearly had some sort of injury plaguing his performance (the last game against Boston, where he came back from what was likely a concussion and this year, where he hasn't looked 100% all season).