Leafs @ Sabres - Nov. 15th, 7:00pm - SN, SN 590

[Bonsixx]

The amount of people suggesting Nonis "should have" fired the coach that just helped break the team's near decade-long playoff drought is hilarious.

 

[TML fan]

The amount of people suggesting Nonis "should have" fired the coach that just helped break the team's near decade-long playoff drought is hilarious.

Everybody say it with me: GOALIES!!!!!

Carlyle has been nothing but a hinderance to this team's progress.

Edit: that's not fair. He has helped develop players like Kadri by not throwing them under the bus. I will give him credit for that.

 

[princedpw]

The amount of people suggesting Nonis "should have" fired the coach that just helped break the team's near decade-long playoff drought is hilarious.

Everybody say it with me: GOALIES!!!!!

+1

 

[azzurri63]

From what I see from Kessel is a streaky player which frustrates the hell out of me.

Kessel is no more or less streaky than any other scorer that scores about a point per game.

Nonis basically has his hands tied. No cap room and no one to fill the void down the middle.

The phrasing here is wrong.  Nonis tied his own hands.  He could have resigned MacCarthur (3g, 9a, +12) for much cheaper than Clarkson.  He could have kept an extra center like Colborne instead of hoarding wingers.  He could have kept Grabbo (6g, 11a) and bought out Liles.

He could have fired Carlyle a while ago as he has failed to implement an effective system 5-on-5 for the last year+.

If u read my prior posts I'm blaming Nonis. Clarkson was an overpayment and they should have kept the team basically the same with some minor tweaks. All they needed was to learn to play better defensively. It was a problem all last year and this year. Can't understand how that hasn't improved.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Ashton, McLaren, and Orr all under 6 minutes. About half of their ice-time came in the 1st period. The team is struggling to score and we're playing 3 guys with a combined 1 point and 19 shots in 38 games.

Send down Ashton and Bodie. Neither will play when the team is healthy anyway so who cares. Call-up Abbott and Leivo. Abbott is leading the AHL in assists and Leivo has one of the higher goals/game rates in the league among rookies. Even if they are only getting 6 or 7 minutes a game they'll be playing against 4th liners and will get some scoring opportunities.

 

[mr grieves]

From what I see from Kessel is a streaky player which frustrates the hell out of me.

Kessel is no more or less streaky than any other scorer that scores about a point per game.

Nonis basically has his hands tied. No cap room and no one to fill the void down the middle.

The phrasing here is wrong.  Nonis tied his own hands.  He could have resigned MacCarthur (3g, 9a, +12) for much cheaper than Clarkson.  He could have kept an extra center like Colborne instead of hoarding wingers.  He could have kept Grabbo (6g, 11a) and bought out Liles.

He could have fired Carlyle a while ago as he has failed to implement an effective system 5-on-5 for the last year+.

Hey man, just let it go. Let's live in the (horrible, small) world management's got us living in. Smith or Smithson on the third line line -- what say you?

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I watched Buffalo play the Sharks recently, they seemed far better than their record suggested, this could be a long night.

I hate being right on this occasion.

 

[TML fan]

From what I see from Kessel is a streaky player which frustrates the hell out of me.

Kessel is no more or less streaky than any other scorer that scores about a point per game.

Nonis basically has his hands tied. No cap room and no one to fill the void down the middle.

The phrasing here is wrong.  Nonis tied his own hands.  He could have resigned MacCarthur (3g, 9a, +12) for much cheaper than Clarkson.  He could have kept an extra center like Colborne instead of hoarding wingers.  He could have kept Grabbo (6g, 11a) and bought out Liles.

He could have fired Carlyle a while ago as he has failed to implement an effective system 5-on-5 for the last year+.

Hey man, just let it go. Let's live in the (horrible, small) world management's got us living in. Smith or Smithson on the third line line -- what say you?

Yeah, we should all just whine incessantly. That's a much better option.

 

[mr grieves]

From what I see from Kessel is a streaky player which frustrates the hell out of me.

Kessel is no more or less streaky than any other scorer that scores about a point per game.

Nonis basically has his hands tied. No cap room and no one to fill the void down the middle.

The phrasing here is wrong.  Nonis tied his own hands.  He could have resigned MacCarthur (3g, 9a, +12) for much cheaper than Clarkson.  He could have kept an extra center like Colborne instead of hoarding wingers.  He could have kept Grabbo (6g, 11a) and bought out Liles.

He could have fired Carlyle a while ago as he has failed to implement an effective system 5-on-5 for the last year+.

Hey man, just let it go. Let's live in the (horrible, small) world management's got us living in. Smith or Smithson on the third line line -- what say you?

Yeah, we should all just whine incessantly. That's a much better option.

we lost in there house, but pay backs are a coming when we host them. the bottom line is that they should always be pumped and yet they come in flat, or during the game they go flat. This is a big fault of Carlyle that needs to be addressed asap. But with the goaltending we have we can afford to make that extra pass to have a better chance to score. while other teams need to shoot shoot shoot. this shot on net thing is just being played to hard by the press. I think for our injury plagued season we have had so far, we are doing great. It will be a good time to evaluate our centers we have in the system.

Better?

 

[TML fan]

From what I see from Kessel is a streaky player which frustrates the hell out of me.

Kessel is no more or less streaky than any other scorer that scores about a point per game.

Nonis basically has his hands tied. No cap room and no one to fill the void down the middle.

The phrasing here is wrong.  Nonis tied his own hands.  He could have resigned MacCarthur (3g, 9a, +12) for much cheaper than Clarkson.  He could have kept an extra center like Colborne instead of hoarding wingers.  He could have kept Grabbo (6g, 11a) and bought out Liles.

He could have fired Carlyle a while ago as he has failed to implement an effective system 5-on-5 for the last year+.

Hey man, just let it go. Let's live in the (horrible, small) world management's got us living in. Smith or Smithson on the third line line -- what say you?

Yeah, we should all just whine incessantly. That's a much better option.

we lost in there house, but pay backs are a coming when we host them. the bottom line is that they should always be pumped and yet they come in flat, or during the game they go flat. This is a big fault of Carlyle that needs to be addressed asap. But with the goaltending we have we can afford to make that extra pass to have a better chance to score. while other teams need to shoot shoot shoot. this shot on net thing is just being played to hard by the press. I think for our injury plagued season we have had so far, we are doing great. It will be a good time to evaluate our centers we have in the system.

Better?

Much.

 

[Strangelove]

From what I see from Kessel is a streaky player which frustrates the hell out of me.

Kessel is no more or less streaky than any other scorer that scores about a point per game.

Nonis basically has his hands tied. No cap room and no one to fill the void down the middle.

The phrasing here is wrong.  Nonis tied his own hands. He could have resigned MacCarthur (3g, 9a, +12) for much cheaper than Clarkson.  He could have kept an extra center like Colborne instead of hoarding wingers.  He could have kept Grabbo (6g, 11a) and bought out Liles.

He could have fired Carlyle a while ago as he has failed to implement an effective system 5-on-5 for the last year+.

This is pretty much right.  Mac was a great two way forward with a scoring touch in limited minutes.  Even if Clarkson shows that he can be better than an AHLer (he hasn't thus far), he's never going to live up to that contract and that should have been obvious to Nonis from the beginning.

Regarding Nonis, there are a lot of systemic problems on the team that go way deeper than injuries, many of which have been masked by great goaltending. I wouldn't be unhappy to see him gone, though I think they'll have to go on a decent losing street for it to happen.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Carlyle:
'It seems like we?re trying to pick the top corners or trying to pick spots,? he said. ?We should be just concentrating on a quicker release, getting pucks directed at the net, having that second and third opportunity.''

?I think we?d be rewarded."

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/top-players-need-to-step-up-for-depleted-leafs/

... and...

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/carlyle-leafs-need-to-simplify/

 

[lamajama]

How do we assess the failure of these players to adhere to anything that remotely looks like proper D zone coverage and breakouts not to mention a horrible offensive zone attack? We are disgusting in our own end. If not for our goaltending we'd be bottom third and out of the playoffs. Media driven or not, we can't even generate a decent amount of scoring chances.

I give Carlyle credit for having mellowed from the hard-a** he was but he's a joke right now. Every bad performance and you can just replay his post game comments.

As for Nonis, he's f'd up the Cap to the point we have no ability to help this situation. I don't even know what to say about having no frigging centres available. He should be embarrassed.

The Leafs have been incredibly lucky this season in having won so many games. Even the Nation knows that in a lot of our wins, they have played very poorly.

 

[lamajama]

I forgot to mention the futility of playing BOTH Orr and McClaren at the same time. If we have to have a thug, then only one at a time.

This team isn't even as tough as it was last season

 

[Bullfrog]

As for Nonis, he's f'd up the Cap to the point we have no ability to help this situation. I don't even know what to say about having no frigging centres available. He should be embarrassed.

I'm totally fine with any criticism of the team, the cap management, and the coaching. But seriously, name any team that could lose it's top three centres and not be affected. How is that the GM's fault?

 

[losveratos]

As for Nonis, he's f'd up the Cap to the point we have no ability to help this situation. I don't even know what to say about having no frigging centres available. He should be embarrassed.

I'm totally fine with any criticism of the team, the cap management, and the coaching. But seriously, name any team that could lose it's top three centres and not be affected. How is that the GM's fault?

But... but... but.... hindsight!  :'(

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

As for Nonis, he's f'd up the Cap to the point we have no ability to help this situation. I don't even know what to say about having no frigging centres available. He should be embarrassed.

I'm totally fine with any criticism of the team, the cap management, and the coaching. But seriously, name any team that could lose it's top three centres and not be affected. How is that the GM's fault?

All teams would be affected, but the better question is probably to what degree.  I would think a lot of teams have contingency C depth, or maybe even the cap space to go an acquire a C for the short term to keep the team going.  I'm not sure that the Leafs have any C depth that can play in the NHL at all right now.

 

[Kin]

As for Nonis, he's f'd up the Cap to the point we have no ability to help this situation. I don't even know what to say about having no frigging centres available. He should be embarrassed.

I'm totally fine with any criticism of the team, the cap management, and the coaching. But seriously, name any team that could lose it's top three centres and not be affected. How is that the GM's fault?

I think it's a fair criticism of a GM, provided that GM is Brian Burke. We're five years removed from his first draft and the supply of NHL ready, or near ready, forwards is a pretty poor reflection on his drafts.

 

[princedpw]

Carlyle:
'It seems like we?re trying to pick the top corners or trying to pick spots,? he said. ?We should be just concentrating on a quicker release, getting pucks directed at the net, having that second and third opportunity.''

?I think we?d be rewarded."

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/top-players-need-to-step-up-for-depleted-leafs/

... and...

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/carlyle-leafs-need-to-simplify/

So this seems to be the direct opposite of what he had been claiming about the Leafs for the last year: The leafs are team that you can't judge by their shot totals because they hang on to pucks and choose just the right time to take their shots to maximize their opportunities.

This comment doesn't come directly from that quote but:  When people get on Nonis and Carlyle vis-a-vis advanced stats, it's because they demonstrate ignorance of the topic and make stuff up that just isn't true.  There's no evidence (the opposite really), that Nonis has *thoughtfully* considered the merts of advanced stats and rejected them on merit.  He and everyone on the coaching staff just appear totally ignorant.  And that's bad because it's his full-time job to know everything there is to know about player and team evaluation in every dimension.

 

[Kin]

So this seems to be the direct opposite of what he had been claiming about the Leafs for the last year: The leafs are team that you can't judge by their shot totals because they hang on to pucks and choose just the right time to take their shots to maximize their opportunities.

It more reads to me like someone who's trying to address the changing circumstances his team is facing. Regardless of whether or not you believe it's by design or effective, and I know you don't so there's no need to dwell, it's pretty fair to say that just from a logical standpoint a team that had been able to win relying on the offensive skill of it's players to strike at opportune moments is going to need to change things up when they're missing their top 3 centers.