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2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

Damien Rice version of One (U2) came on and I enjoyed reflecting on Leafs struggles over the years as it played.Slower and sadder than the original.  My favorite version.

https://youtu.be/a0CsAfqNvmw

Lyrics:

Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to blame

You say, one love, one life
When it's one need in the night
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you don't care for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Well it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other

One!

Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus?
To the lepers in your head

Did I ask too much? More than a lot
You gave me nothin' now it's all I got
We're one but we're not the same
Well we hurt each other then we do it again

You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holdin' on to what you got

When all you got is hurt
One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life, with each other

Sisters, brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One
 
Bill_Berg_is_less_sad said:
Arn said:
Bill_Berg_is_less_sad said:
Arn said:
So does Dubas get a new contract now?

He better.

Keep Dubas, move on from Keefe.....?

I think it's hard to know if coach is the problem from the outside, but I wouldn't be surprised if Keefe is gone. Especially since I think there are options out there like Boudreau.

I had a quick glance at his coaching record and the last 3 times he's coached a team to the playoffs they've gone out in the first round.

Perfect fit!

I do feel like Keefe has been out-coached in the playoffs the last few years. But maybe that's just cos we always lose and has no real basis in reality.
 
Keefe needs conference finals to stay imo.

Boudreau would be my replacement. He'd bring positivity. He'd let the horses run.

I'd say the Leafs know defence, just look at the defensive accomplishments of Matthews and Marner. Now let them run.
 
At times he's the Leafs best player, the guy you have the most confidence in. Other times he makes you want to pull your hair out. I keep him.
 
If Nylander stays and ROR isn't re-signed, they should give Willy a legitimate shot at centre instead of Tavares (but probably not on the same line). Maybe Tavares-Matthews and Nylander-Marner are the duos we've needed all this time.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
If Nylander stays and ROR isn't re-signed, they should give Willy a legitimate shot at centre instead of Tavares (but probably not on the same line). Maybe Tavares-Matthews and Nylander-Marner are the duos we've needed all this time.

Wouldn't he have been given the chance to play center by now if it was going to happen?
 
I was poking around in cap friendly, and if they can dump Murray, the Leafs will actually have a good amount of cap space next year.
 
Bill_Berg_is_less_sad said:
CarltonTheBear said:
If Nylander stays and ROR isn't re-signed, they should give Willy a legitimate shot at centre instead of Tavares (but probably not on the same line). Maybe Tavares-Matthews and Nylander-Marner are the duos we've needed all this time.

Wouldn't he have been given the chance to play center by now if it was going to happen?

Maybe a new coach could see things differently.

I could just be reaching with Willy at C but I just really, really feel like if they're going to bring back the exact same core something about the team at the top still needs to feel different. Simply rolling out x-Matthews-Marner / x-Tavares-Nylander for like the 5th or whatever time and expecting them to hard carry the team won't cut it.
 
What free agents are out there that we should be targetting (if any)?

I'd be keen on ROR and Schenn returning at the right price.

Dumba?
Bertuzzi?
Domi?
Troy Terry?
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Bill_Berg_is_less_sad said:
CarltonTheBear said:
If Nylander stays and ROR isn't re-signed, they should give Willy a legitimate shot at centre instead of Tavares (but probably not on the same line). Maybe Tavares-Matthews and Nylander-Marner are the duos we've needed all this time.

Wouldn't he have been given the chance to play center by now if it was going to happen?

Maybe a new coach could see things differently.

I could just be reaching with Willy at C but I just really, really feel like if they're going to bring back the exact same core something about the team at the top still needs to feel different. Simply rolling out x-Matthews-Marner / x-Tavares-Nylander for like the 5th or whatever time and expecting them to hard carry the team won't cut it.

If they bring back the 4, which they may because selling at 50 cents on the dollar is crap, then I think the big change could be a legit 2nd line center and move Tavares to the wing. Maybe that's O'Reilly, but we'd have seen it more in the playoffs then perhaps. Or they target another top-two center and use Kerfoot's and Murray's cap space to get him.

 
Arn said:
What free agents are out there that we should be targetting (if any)?

I'd be keen on ROR and Schenn returning at the right price.

Dumba?
Bertuzzi?
Domi?
Troy Terry?

Other than the ROR/Acciari/Schenn trio some guys I'd have interest in, mostly buy-low candidates:

Sean Monahan
Max Pacioretty
Connor Brown
Miles Wood
Scott Mayfield
John Klingberg
 
Willy at C:

pros: he's a great puck handler (best on the team), loves to work in open space, the more puck touches for Willy the better it goes for his line; really good at cleaning up loose pucks in every zone and turning it into offensive momentum
cons: defensive responsibility usually puts the C at F3 on offense, and low in the DZ on defense to support D. Willy is a) not good at this, and b) it nerfs his offense when focusing on bringing this up to adequate.

Willy at wing:
pros: just going to do his thing regardless of where he starts in formation: lance through the NZ, set up the puck in the OZ, or take it to the net for a chance. Willy is centre-agnostic and has generated offense with pretty much every centre he has played with.
cons: looks like covering the point is a low priority, only generates loose pucks in OZ/NZ when play is in transition
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Arn said:
What free agents are out there that we should be targetting (if any)?

I'd be keen on ROR and Schenn returning at the right price.

Dumba?
Bertuzzi?
Domi?
Troy Terry?

Other than the ROR/Acciari/Schenn trio some guys I'd have interest in, mostly buy-low candidates:

Sean Monahan
Max Pacioretty
Connor Brown
Miles Wood
Scott Mayfield
John Klingberg

If we're going to target bigger fish, I'd look at Zucker, Gostisbehere, Orlov, and Killorn.

Drouin could be intriguing as a short-term, buy-low candidate, if he's in a position to join a high pressure environment next season (which feels unlikely right now).

Outside of that, the bigger names are all likely to get contracts that exceed their potential contributions by too significant a degree to take real swings at them.
 
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