A Tale of Two Management Groups Last Night..

[LeafFever]

The Leafs, realizing they need a goalie spend months scouting Freddy Andersen. Even sneaking to watch him practice 5 months before they trade for him when he is practicing for the Ducks at the ACC. They went out and got the right guy. There were several options. And they used some of the trade package from the Kessel trade to acquire him.

Winnipeg has needed a goalie for a looong time. They for some reason sign Steve Mason. I believe Calgary as well keeps making this same error with Elliott last year and now the aging Smith.

Believe in our management guys. They know what they are doing.

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[Tall Morty]

Will do!

 

[BlueBaron]

The Leafs, realizing they need a goalie spend months scouting Freddy Andersen. Even sneaking to watch him practice 5 months before they trade for him when he is practicing for the Ducks at the ACC. They went out and got the right guy. There were several options. And they used some of the trade package from the Kessel trade to acquire him.

Winnipeg has needed a goalie for a looong time. They for some reason sign Steve Mason. I believe Calgary as well keeps making this same error with Elliott last year and now the aging Smith.

Believe in our management guys. They know what they are doing.

To be fair Winnipeg did not have the picks to spare. Trading their own first would have been a disaster.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Agree with your post. Winnipeg, sorry to say, is probably one of the least attractive cities to attract UFAs. So they either get the dregs or have to overpay. Somehow the Leafs in the past two years have been able to sign three UFAs very cheaply Borgman, Rosen and Zaitsev who may be the in their top 6 Dman but seasons end.

 

[LeafFever]

To be fair Winnipeg did not have the picks to spare. Trading their own first would have been a disaster.

They could have found a better goalie though. I am not saying it should have been Andersen, Edmonton went out and got a #1 goalie for cheap. They are a badly run and badly coached team.

And yes, no one wants to live in Winnipeg.

 

[Battle Lin]

andersen had 3 very good years before joining us, like legit starter numbers...cant believe all it cost to solve our goalie troubles was a 30th pick and a 2nd, more teams shoulda jumped on this for sure

 

[LeafFever]

andersen had 3 very good years before joining us, like legit starter numbers...cant believe all it cost to solve our goalie troubles was a 30th pick and a 2nd, more teams shoulda jumped on this for sure

And all I heard was how they overpaid and how 5 million was ridiculous.

 

[BlueBaron]

They could have found a better goalie though. I am not saying it should have been Andersen, Edmonton went out and got a #1 goalie for cheap. They are a badly run and badly coached team.

And yes, no one wants to live in Winnipeg.

Oh I agree. I do not understand teams that screw around with their goaltending with gambles. I would wager Philly would have a couple of cups if they did not always go cheap or take a reclamation project. They finally got it right with Bob so naturally they traded him.

 

[Buds17]

Last offseason - and into the season - was incredible (getting that elusive 1C in the draft, signing Zaitsev, the promotion of many Marlies and rookies, etc.) and trading for that also elusive #1 in net is right there with all of that. Perhaps there's more of a risk to what we did this offseason with the two 35+ term contracts, but there's also a reward that I think should come when they're fully integrated with what else we have on the team. No cap on management and we can use that to our benefit. Definitely believe we have great people in place.

 

[mallory67]

Management so close. Just imagine if we removed say Carrick and plugged in a #1D.
Are we contenders this year?

 

[Trapper]

Last offseason - and into the season - was incredible (getting that elusive 1C in the draft, signing Zaitsev, the promotion of many Marlies and rookies, etc.) and trading for that also elusive #1 in net is right there with all of that. Perhaps there's more of a risk to what we did this offseason with the two 35+ term contracts, but there's also a reward that I think should come when they're fully integrated with what else we have on the team. No cap on management and we can use that to our benefit. Definitely believe we have great people in place.

Not to mention we have Dermott and Lily learning in the AHL.
If both these players evolve and excel in a top 4 D role that will be a huge addition. This draft I hope we snag a solid C to address our depth even further.

 

[The CyNick]

Didn't we go a decade with terrible goaltending?

Chillax on the throwing stones.

 

[LeafFever]

Didn't we go a decade with terrible goaltending?

Chillax on the throwing stones.

Yeah but not with this management group. That was the entire point. Ours with their goalie addition vs the Jets management group with their goalie choice. What does it matter what Burke and Nonis did years ago when the Jets were the Atlanta Thrashers? Brian Burke could not find a good starting goalie if his life depended on it.

 

[cupcrazyman]

Didn't we go a decade with terrible goaltending?

Chillax on the throwing stones.

Guess we were spoiled with Fuhr,Potvin & Cujo in previous seasons.

 

[Eb]

I literally was just taking about this with my friend today.

I was skeptical of the Andersen trade at first. Thought goalies were a crapshoot for the most part and the contract worried me.

But goodness, without Andersen, we would be what the Jets are now. Thank goodness for our management.

 

[Stephen]

Looking back on the Andersen deal, it looks like Lou Lamoriello really targeted a specific type of goalie that he likes to build around and work with. Andersen looks a lot like a Cory Schneider/Martin Brodeur type: thick body goalie with workhorse stamina, economy of style meets athleticism and great puckhandling ability.

Contrast that to the other Leaf GMs who seemed a little all over the place when it came to types.

 

[Drytoast]

Instead of comparing us to Winnipeg...why not compare us to Toronto back in 2004 after the lock out and salary cap era was set into motion?

Back (and for the next 10 years) the Leafs had bad scouting, bad coaching, bad management. They couldn't draft talent to save their lives. They were used to just simply "buying" aging stars to stay competitive. They couldn't hang onto picks even! We had the JFJjr era witch featured the likes of Jeff Finger and his 5 mil a year salary.

JEFF FINGER!

We went through the Truculence era of Brian Burke

We said no to SCOTTY FREAKIN BOWMAN!

We were an absolute mess.





...and then along came this sexy sob!

I thought "Wow woop a dee doo!" "It's just another 'name' like Ken Dryden" "Someone to get us excited for the future while not knowing the first thing about running an organization as complicated and messy as the Leafs..."

Well was I f***ing wrong!

What did this sexy sob do?

- Assumed complete control! No more board meetings dictating our future. He had a plan! The "Shannaplan"!
- he promised pain.
- fired almost all of our scouts. (they sucked anyways)
- fired allot of our trainers and upper managment.
- used the deep bank account that comes with this franchise and gave the best coach in hockey whatever he wanted by bringing in Babcock.
- Babcock helped coax some of Detroits (we havn't missed the playoffs in 25 years) scouting staff to switch over by offering them fat pay checks
- Brought in Lou (takes no shit) Lamoriello.
- tossed out all the toxic talent we did have for picks and to free up our cap.
- held onto what talent we did have in the AHL and instead of rushing them into the line up like we used to do...told them to stay there and develop!
- put our club in position to aquire the #1 draft pick.

Now we have a f***ing amazing scouting staff. A top rung GM who somehow makes the impossible, possible. A coach who knows how to guide and teach young talent. A well that's not just deep in talent but overflowing...in every single position.

I dunno if this era get's us the cup...the cup is an amazingly difficult thing to aquire. I mean it's only been 56 years since we last won it. But one thing I do know is that this is the most proud I've felt for being a Toronto Maple Leaf fan in a long, LONG time.

That's the two clubs I'd rather compare. Winnipeg will work their shit out eventually...or they will miss the playoffs and draft high again.

But comparing the Toronto of yesterday versus the Toronto of today? My god. What a turn around these past three years!

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Winnipeg seems to be too afraid to risk anything to jump from average to being good. that's why they resigned Maurice, and that's why they signed a below average goalie from free agency. Not brave enough to risk the chance of taking 1 small step back to take one big step forward, so they go with a status quo that isn't going to get them anything

 

[hockeyes]

Winnipeg seems to be too afraid to risk anything to jump from average to being good. that's why they resigned Maurice, and that's why they signed a below average goalie from free agency. Not brave enough to risk the chance of taking 1 small step back to take one big step forward, so they go with a status quo that isn't going to get them anything

Pretty sure they have the lowest number of trades of all teams as well over the last few years

 

[WTFMAN99]

Our management group knows we need a defenseman too and tried to get one via trade in Hamonic but couldn't get him, I expect we'll make another crack at it later on in-season.

 

[LeafFever]

Instead of comparing us to Winnipeg...why not compare us to Toronto back in 2004 after the lock out and salary cap era was set into motion?

Back (and for the next 10 years) the Leafs had bad scouting, bad coaching, bad management. They couldn't draft talent to save their lives. They were used to just simply "buying" aging stars to stay competitive. They couldn't hang onto picks even! We had the JFJjr era witch featured the likes of Jeff Finger and his 5 mil a year salary.

JEFF FINGER!

We went through the Truculence era of Pat Quinn

We said no to SCOTTY FREAKIN BOWMAN!

We were an absolute mess.





...and then along came this sexy sob!

I thought "Wow woop a dee doo!" "It's just another 'name' like Ken Dryden" "Someone to get us excited for the future while not knowing the first thing about running an organization as complicated and messy as the Leafs..."

Well was I ****ing wrong!

What did this sexy sob do?

- Assumed complete control! No more board meetings dictating our future. He had a plan! The "Shannaplan"!
- he promised pain.
- fired almost all of our scouts. (they sucked anyways)
- fired allot of our trainers and upper managment.
- used the deep bank account that comes with this franchise and gave the best coach in hockey whatever he wanted by bringing in Babcock.
- Babcock helped coax some of Detroits (we havn't missed the playoffs in 25 years) scouting staff to switch over by offering them fat pay checks
- Brought in Lou (takes no ****) Lamoriello.
- tossed out all the toxic talent we did have for picks and to free up our cap.
- held onto what talent we did have in the AHL and instead of rushing them into the line up like we used to do...told them to stay there and develop!
- put our club in position to aquire the # draft pick.

Now we have a ****ing amazing scouting staff. A top rung GM who somehow makes the impossible, possible. A coach who knows how to guide and teach young talent. A well that's not just deep in talent but overflowing...in every single position.

I dunno if this era get's us the cup...the cup is an amazingly difficult thing to aquire. I mean it's only been 56 years since we last won it. But one thing I do know is that this is the most proud I've felt for being a Toronto Maple Leaf fan in a long, LONG time.

That's the two clubs I'd rather compare. Winnipeg will work their **** out eventually...or they will miss the playoffs and draft high again.

But comparing the Toronto of yesterday versus the Toronto of today? My god. What a turn around these past three years!

Scotty Bowman is terrible in management roles. No thanks.

 

[LeafFever]

Our management group knows we need a defenseman too and tried to get one via trade in Hamonic but couldn't get him, I expect we'll make another crack at it later on in-season.

We do have great assets to add a D. They'll be a time to give up that 1st rounder and a prospect or 2.

 

[Drytoast]

Scotty Bowman is terrible in management roles. No thanks.

Dunno if you recall, but in 2004 Chicago sucked along side the Leafs...They got Bowman, we got Burke. They won 3 stanley cups...what did we do?

Scotty Bowman brings with him an entourage of people that know hockey. And he has just as many stanley cup rings as the Leafs do since they've been named the Toronto Maple Leafs...

So forgive me for disagreeing with you.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Instead of comparing us to Winnipeg...why not compare us to Toronto back in 2004 after the lock out and salary cap era was set into motion?

Back (and for the next 10 years) the Leafs had bad scouting, bad coaching, bad management. They couldn't draft talent to save their lives. They were used to just simply "buying" aging stars to stay competitive. They couldn't hang onto picks even! We had the JFJjr era witch featured the likes of Jeff Finger and his 5 mil a year salary.

JEFF FINGER!

We went through the Truculence era of Pat Quinn

We said no to SCOTTY FREAKIN BOWMAN!

We were an absolute mess.





...and then along came this sexy sob!

I thought "Wow woop a dee doo!" "It's just another 'name' like Ken Dryden" "Someone to get us excited for the future while not knowing the first thing about running an organization as complicated and messy as the Leafs..."

Well was I ****ing wrong!

What did this sexy sob do?

- Assumed complete control! No more board meetings dictating our future. He had a plan! The "Shannaplan"!
- he promised pain.
- fired almost all of our scouts. (they sucked anyways)
- fired allot of our trainers and upper managment.
- used the deep bank account that comes with this franchise and gave the best coach in hockey whatever he wanted by bringing in Babcock.
- Babcock helped coax some of Detroits (we havn't missed the playoffs in 25 years) scouting staff to switch over by offering them fat pay checks
- Brought in Lou (takes no ****) Lamoriello.
- tossed out all the toxic talent we did have for picks and to free up our cap.
- held onto what talent we did have in the AHL and instead of rushing them into the line up like we used to do...told them to stay there and develop!
- put our club in position to aquire the # draft pick.

Now we have a ****ing amazing scouting staff. A top rung GM who somehow makes the impossible, possible. A coach who knows how to guide and teach young talent. A well that's not just deep in talent but overflowing...in every single position.

I dunno if this era get's us the cup...the cup is an amazingly difficult thing to aquire. I mean it's only been 56 years since we last won it. But one thing I do know is that this is the most proud I've felt for being a Toronto Maple Leaf fan in a long, LONG time.

That's the two clubs I'd rather compare. Winnipeg will work their **** out eventually...or they will miss the playoffs and draft high again.

But comparing the Toronto of yesterday versus the Toronto of today? My god. What a turn around these past three years!

Amazing post

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Guess we were spoiled with Fuhr,Potvin & Cujo in previous seasons.

And don't forget Belfour.