Leafs @ Islanders - Nov. 13th, 7:00pm - SN, Fan 590

[ZBBM]

Barrie shouldn?t be on the in last minute situations at this point.  What was he doing.

Colorado would tell you different and my guess was he was waiting for someone to get in front of the net.

Patience is not a virtue when there are 10 seconds left.

 

[rdowdall]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs. 

 

[Zee]

Nylander is a damn joke.  Right there at the end, need to get a shot on a goal and of course he HAS to try and snipe it.  Just won?t get it on net.  I am done with that guy. Him and Babcock can just go away.

Yeah, Nylander was the reason the Leafs lost  :

I blame Marner for this loss

 

[Chris]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs.

Might be the best thing for the organization overall. The way this team performs at mediocre levels for long periods of time makes me think they've read too many glowing press reports about how great they are.

 

[ZBBM]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs.

Really.  You can complain about the coaching, but Dubas holds more than half the blame.  The Ceci trade was a mistake (I'd rather have Zaitsev), Barrie for whatever reason has been a complete dud, he signed a 4C who doesn't even play), and too many of the fill-ins are don't add anything of value.  His "process" appears to have a few flaws in it.

 

[herman]

Oh I was laughing that Tavares scored there to make things interesting

 

[ZBBM]

Oh I was laughing that Tavares scored there to make things interesting

What's your assessment of Dubas and his whole game plan at this stage?

 

[Bates]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs.

Really.  You can complain about the coaching, but Dubas holds more than half the blame.  The Ceci trade was a mistake (I'd rather have Zaitsev), Barrie for whatever reason has been a complete dud, he signed a 4C who doesn't even play), and too many of the fill-ins are don't add anything of value.  His "process" appears to have a few flaws in it.

Hey at least we have our "Stars" signed long term to reasonable deals.

 

[rdowdall]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs.

Might be the best thing for the organization overall. The way this team performs at mediocre levels for long periods of time makes me think they've read too many glowing press reports about how great they are.

Yeah, I hope you are right.  Whenever the hype machine gets in full gear, it seems like something needs to set it straight.  They honestly look like they think they can flip a switch and it will just be easy.  I thought it was other stuff contributing to it, but they flat out look terrible at times and I think it runs deeper than just a couple of personal issues.

Worst case scenario, the Leafs finish just out the top 10, and we get to watch the Hurricanes draft a decent player. 

 

[Chris]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs.

Really.  You can complain about the coaching, but Dubas holds more than half the blame.  The Ceci trade was a mistake (I'd rather have Zaitsev), Barrie for whatever reason has been a complete dud, he signed a 4C who doesn't even play), and too many of the fill-ins are don't add anything of value.  His "process" appears to have a few flaws in it.

Hey at least we have our "Stars" signed long term to reasonable deals.

"We can and we will (overpay like nobody ever before)"

 

[Guilt Trip]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs. 

So what? News flash for all of you. They are still building this team. It takes time to build a cup contender  and they're not there yet. There were many people that predicted the Leafs would take a step back this year. Relax, enjoy the ride..... or don't.

 

[Chris]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs. 

So what? News flash for all of you. They are still building this team. It takes time to build a cup contender  and they're not there yet. There were many people that predicted the Leafs would take a step back this year. Relax, enjoy the ride..... or don't.

Ovechkin didn't win a Cup until his 13th year with Washington, so we may have a while to wait!

 

[ZBBM]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs. 

So what? News flash for all of you. They are still building this team. It takes time to build a cup contender  and they're not there yet. There were many people that predicted the Leafs would take a step back this year. Relax, enjoy the ride..... or don't.

What pieces are they missing?

 

[dekedastardly]

Trevor Moore has been largely ineffective, imo. How about another call up? I wouldn't mind seeing what big Korshkov could do.

 

[rdowdall]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs. 

So what? News flash for all of you. They are still building this team. It takes time to build a cup contender  and they're not there yet. There were many people that predicted the Leafs would take a step back this year. Relax, enjoy the ride..... or don't.

I'm pretty sure that I am on record as supporting this team and trying to offer positive reasons for why things turned out the way they did.  I was excited about Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander.  I had these visions of a team that would come out and just flat out dominate a team with skill and speed. 

I think fondly of the teams during the Sundin years.  There were stretches where they would get on the forecheck and the other team just couldn't get it out of their own end.  The Leafs were relentless.  There special teams were really good.  Did they ever get over the top?  No, but each year I sincerely thought that they might have a chance.

I don't feel that way about this team.  They don't dominate.  They have these flashes where they outskill the other team, but the light bulb hasn't gone on yet that it takes more than that.

I don't know how you fix it.  The team appears to be fundamentally flawed, which is all I am trying to point out.  They can't keep up with the heavy hitters in the league.  They can't trade for the pieces they need.  They can't sign the pieces they need.  They aren't bad enough to draft the pieces they need.  Like it or not, this is the Leafs team that we are going to be watching for the next 5 years.

 

[Chris]

I?m laughing

Yup. The reactions here are priceless

I mean people are frustrated.  This isn't a case of people having an over reaction to one bad game.  This team is not playing well at all.  They are completely lost in their own end.  They look disinterested in playing for large chunks of the game.  People have been told that the Leafs were going to rebuild.  That they were going to build a team that was going to compete for the cup year after year.  Right now that is not happening.  If they don't turn this around, they will miss the playoffs. 

So what? News flash for all of you. They are still building this team. It takes time to build a cup contender  and they're not there yet. There were many people that predicted the Leafs would take a step back this year. Relax, enjoy the ride..... or don't.

What pieces are they missing?

I think they're missing
(1) seasoning - the core is still young and probably doesn't think they have to work hard all the time, they've gotten by on talent up to this point
(2) defense - Ceci is not a long term option, Barrie doesn't look like one either.  I don't know if the answers are in the system (Sandin/Lily or others) or if we'll have to sacrifice some offensive talent like Kapanen or maybe even one of the big 3 at some point
(3) backup goaltending
(4) Possibly coaching...I suspect the "message" from Babcock might be getting old/stale and a coaching change may be required to get this team to the next level. Not ready to make that determination yet though.

 

[Chris]

(5) some size and a mean streak both at forward and defense.

 

[Bender]

I?m done.  This team is just not good

I think Leaf fans should face the fact that the rebuild has failed.  I hate to say it, but Eugene Melnyk was right.  The Leafs forgot about the defence.  You know what really sucks?  It was Lou's decision to go out and get Andersen that probably torpedoed the rebuild more than anything else.

I'm ready to do a few more things than to call year 4 of a rebuild with players who are mostly 25 and under a failure.

 

[Bender]

Barrie shouldn?t be on the in last minute situations at this point.  What was he doing.

Colorado would tell you different and my guess was he was waiting for someone to get in front of the net.

Colorado gave him up for a reason and retained salary. They knew what they had and were smart to get Naz.

 

[dekedastardly]

(5) some size and a mean streak both at forward and defense.

That should be #1 or 2 priority