Is it panic time yet?

[L K]

Another easy change that could spark some results:

https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/1087153903781769218

I hope him and Lindholm are both gone next season. Both misses there.

Yeah especially when we have better internal options.  I would rather Marincin play regular minutes and Moore would be an upgrade in the 4th line

 

[Bates]

Apparently Babcock thinks it is, Marner with Matthews in practise today!!!

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1087397092769837057

So not the pairings I suggested but still some tinkering there.

 

[Zee]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1087397092769837057

So not the pairings I suggested but still some tinkering there.

Marleau with Matthews has never worked.  I like Marner with Matthews though, maybe Marleau can just be along for the ride.

 

[Guilt Trip]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1087397092769837057

So not the pairings I suggested but still some tinkering there.

Marleau with Matthews has never worked.  I like Marner with Matthews though, maybe Marleau can just be along for the ride.

Agree about Marleau. It's about time Marleau got to play with his sons tho!!!

 

[cabber24]

MMM... tasty line.

 

[cabber24]

https://twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/1087397092769837057

So not the pairings I suggested but still some tinkering there.

Marleau with Matthews has never worked.  I like Marner with Matthews though, maybe Marleau can just be along for the ride.

Agree about Marleau. It's about time Marleau got to play with his sons tho!!!

Seriously though these three seem to have a serious bromance off the ice. Having a bit of fun won't hurt.

I have been advocating the Tavares/Marner split just because I think both these guys have the ability to make those around them better.

 

[ZBBM]

Doesn't the team's decline pretty much coincide with the PP totally going into the tank?  It was fading starting in Nov but when completely south afterwards.

 

[lamajama]

My opinion but I think some of the players are tired of Babcock.
Nylander with his handling last year as well as Matthews supposed rift last year.
I agree with Mike that if you're playing like crap you deserve to sit or move down the lineup but that has to be with all players.
Problem with Babcock is he won't do that with the veterans.

His handling of players, ice time, accountability list goes on is utter BS.

I very much agree with this. I understand trying to establish the "compatibility/familiarity" process he may be trying to achieve but
he needs to mix a lot up and since he's loath to hold anyone other than 3rd and 4th line players accountable...he needs to move out
Zaitsev (he's SO stubborn on his play) and Ozo and just try Holl and Rosen etc. It doesn't mean he's panicking but maybe he thinks his
rep will suffer... : if he does this. After all he's smarter than anyone else.

 

[L K]

My opinion but I think some of the players are tired of Babcock.
Nylander with his handling last year as well as Matthews supposed rift last year.
I agree with Mike that if you're playing like crap you deserve to sit or move down the lineup but that has to be with all players.
Problem with Babcock is he won't do that with the veterans.

His handling of players, ice time, accountability list goes on is utter BS.

I very much agree with this. I understand trying to establish the "compatibility/familiarity" process he may be trying to achieve but
he needs to mix a lot up and since he's loath to hold anyone other than 3rd and 4th line players accountable...he needs to move out
Zaitsev (he's SO stubborn on his play) and Ozo and just try Holl and Rosen etc. It doesn't mean he's panicking but maybe he thinks his
rep will suffer... : if he does this. After all he's smarter than anyone else.

Nylander holding out had absolutely nothing to do with Babcock and everything to do with his contract.  If you criticize anyone in the Leafs organization it would be Dubas for staying at a lower cap hit until December.

 

[cabber24]

Been thinking about Bab's and what he's brought to Toronto.

Pros:
Reilly development (which seemed incredibly unorthodox but cannot dispute the results).
Kadri development and role identity (I would argue a current victim of bad luck, look at his s%).
Marner (from a stint on the 4th to what he is today)
Kapanen
Matthews initial development, his rookie season he deployed him in every situation and let him develop rapidly and on the fly. (why has he pulled back on the reins?)

Cons:
Line combinations.
Lack of ice time to best players.
Blind loyalty.
Only punishes "core players" for bad play.
Powerplay.
Refusal to use skill over experience.
Expresses publically what he thinks needs to be added to the team.
Squandering Defense bubble prospects by not cycling them through the lineup.
Line matching.
Inability to establish chemistry.
Consistently out coached, should never happen, see coaching pay grid.
Goalie deployment.
His constant referencing of sports science... seems like an excuse to me.

 

[Bender]

Been thinking about Bab's and what he's brought to Toronto.

Pros:
Reilly development (which seemed incredibly unorthodox but cannot dispute the results).
Kadri development and role identity (I would argue a current victim of bad luck, look at his s%).
Marner (from a stint on the 4th to what he is today)
Kapanen
Matthews initial development, his rookie season he deployed him in every situation and let him develop rapidly and on the fly. (why has he pulled back on the reins?)

Cons:
Line combinations.
Lack of ice time to best players.
Blind loyalty.
Only punishes "core players" for bad play.
Powerplay.
Refusal to use skill over experience.
Expresses publically what he thinks needs to be added to the team.
Squandering Defense bubble prospects by not cycling them through the lineup.
Line matching.
Inability to establish chemistry.
Consistently out coached, should never happen, see coaching pay grid.
Goalie deployment.
His constant referencing of sports science... seems like an excuse to me.

The not trying something new is really irritating. He's smart enough to continue evolving. If you ever listen to him talk he sounds like such a sponge for information and moving forward and yet he's not trying anyone else on the back end, the lines stay the same until there's an injury, players are coached to play the same way on the PP which has tanked for after the first run of being lights out. It just doesn't make much sense to me.

As much as he was loved in Detroit it keeps coming up that there were complaints on how he held skilled players accountable but trusted the blue collar guys even if they didn't play well due to their lack of skill.

I don't think the players are lazy or worse than they are last year. I think he, along with the other members of staff are being out-coached.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Powerplay.

I'm not going to go through every one of your negatives. Some are right. Some are less right. But the Leafs have the 5th best PP over the past 3.5 seasons since Babcock/Hiller came on board. And that includes their first season here when our most used forwards on the PP were Parenteau, Kadri, and Holland.

The PP hasn't been great for a month or two, but to say it generally hasn't been amazing under Babcock is nuts.

 

[Highlander]

Just found out that my man Johnsson is concussed (again),  any word on what happened, I watched the game and thought both Gardiner and him were being held out of the game for a possible trade announcement. Didn't notice Johnsson in the first.

 

[herman]

Just found out that my man Johnsson is concussed (again),  any word on what happened, I watched the game and thought both Gardiner and him were being held out of the game for a possible trade announcement. Didn't notice Johnsson in the first.

Gardiner has been battling intermittent back spasms since early January.

Johnsson crashed awkwardly into the boards when Hjalmarsson bodied him off a puck as Johnsson lost his balance.

 

[jdh1]

I like this slide ,More money to save on the cap for next year.  Probably shaved off at least 2 mil.

 

[Bates]

I like this slide ,More money to save on the cap for next year.  Probably shaved off at least 2 mil.

From whom?

 

[IJustLurkHere]

Doesn't the team's decline pretty much coincide with the PP totally going into the tank?  It was fading starting in Nov but when completely south afterwards.

This.

I think the whole Babcock narrative, the "they're too soft" narrative etc are overcomplicating a pretty simple situation: The Leafs are built to score a lot, and they're not.

Since Christmas:

Rielly has 3 points in 11 games (and is still PPG as a DMan for the season)
Matthews has 9 in 11... but 5 of those were in 2 games (Col and Van) and is a -12 (!)
Kapanen has 5 pts and 1 goal
Kadri has 4 points,
Nylander has 2 points and is a -7.

The Power Play is 2 for 20 in that time. (side note, I do find myself wondering if part of the reason they're struggling to get in sync is that they spend so little time on the ice. 20PP in 11 games...)

This is a collection of players who are proven to be better than those numbers, and the PP should be where they feast. Once they start scoring, a lot of the rest of the noise is going to disappear.

 

[Highlander]

Just found out that my man Johnsson is concussed (again),  any word on what happened, I watched the game and thought both Gardiner and him were being held out of the game for a possible trade announcement. Didn't notice Johnsson in the first.

Gardiner has been battling intermittent back spasms since early January.

Johnsson crashed awkwardly into the boards when Hjalmarsson bodied him off a puck as Johnsson lost his balance.

Thank you Herman, as always a Gentleman.

 

[L K]

There are too many games where the Leafs play passive but they are certainly not getting favourable calls and I'm really struggling as to why.  They aren't a particularly whiny team.  They don't really do a lot of jawing with the refs. 

They are averaging 2.52 PP opportunities/game.

The worst PP opportunity/game pace for any team since 2000-2001 was the Edmonton Oilers last year at 2.57 PP opportunities per game.