stuart5035
Registered User
- Apr 9, 2017
- 328
- 338
I write this as a catharsis-as a blueprint and release to survive this very different season. I need some distance, some perspective from the utter frustration and emptiness of watching last nights fiasco against Edmonton, last weeks loss to Ottawa, the mediocre 3-2 start to the season against mediocre opposition............etc.
*Stop with the vitriol against the players. They are trying, they care, no one is coasting, you don’t get to this elite level without pride, determination. Criticize poor play but not their hearts. And heart only lasts so long if you don’t have the tools. We are being smothered by inferior opposition, known as the “trap”- falling back and forming a 5 man wall in front of the goalie the minute the Leafs cross the red line. I can’t recall such ferocious checking in their own end as I watched Edmonton defend last night. I would hazard a guess that this is the accepted wisdom on how to play against our talented team, something we will see a lot of from the generally inferior members of our new north division. Sadly, I have to prepare for more of moments like last night-where it’s the half way point of the game and our vaunted offence hasn’t even scored!!! I have to get used to opponent goalies often superlative performances especially against my Leafs-because of their fear of our talent (these stellar performances are like a broken record).
*And that’s the challenge for Keefe and company-how to handle this? One common antidote against the trap is to chip in from the blue line and chase, but that’s not how we are built. I’m not an expert, all I can think of is a changed mindset that the entire team buys into- that they realize they are going to have to battle for every inch of ice, every game, that intensity is the key from the moment the puck drops. The players must be like me (until now), confident that their talent and skill will easily carry the day. Perhaps, study a team like Tampa Bay, what do they do, surely they face this a lot.
*And yet, paradoxically, I feel more confident in the prospects of this years edition; there is a defensive soundness now, Brodie is wonderful, Justin Holl is at a higher level, Lehtonen looks promising, even Begosian on the penalty kill. And even up front-Hyman seems to have a turbo attached now, Mikheyev is on steroids, Kerfoot is a jet out there! All of this without even mention of the big 5 (Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares, Rielly). This blueprint looks very solid, the wild card being Anderson of course.
*I have to stop buying into the hype (like Vegas oddsmakers who have the Leafs in 5th position for odds to win the cup) and adjust to what I will see- seven teams who will battle each other 9-10 times every inch of the way, all in a short time frame. And all in an intimate fashion, knowing each other’s every move-its a fishbowl with a playing field where strategy and the ability to adjust and play every minute like it’s your last will be the keys.
*Stop with the vitriol against the players. They are trying, they care, no one is coasting, you don’t get to this elite level without pride, determination. Criticize poor play but not their hearts. And heart only lasts so long if you don’t have the tools. We are being smothered by inferior opposition, known as the “trap”- falling back and forming a 5 man wall in front of the goalie the minute the Leafs cross the red line. I can’t recall such ferocious checking in their own end as I watched Edmonton defend last night. I would hazard a guess that this is the accepted wisdom on how to play against our talented team, something we will see a lot of from the generally inferior members of our new north division. Sadly, I have to prepare for more of moments like last night-where it’s the half way point of the game and our vaunted offence hasn’t even scored!!! I have to get used to opponent goalies often superlative performances especially against my Leafs-because of their fear of our talent (these stellar performances are like a broken record).
*And that’s the challenge for Keefe and company-how to handle this? One common antidote against the trap is to chip in from the blue line and chase, but that’s not how we are built. I’m not an expert, all I can think of is a changed mindset that the entire team buys into- that they realize they are going to have to battle for every inch of ice, every game, that intensity is the key from the moment the puck drops. The players must be like me (until now), confident that their talent and skill will easily carry the day. Perhaps, study a team like Tampa Bay, what do they do, surely they face this a lot.
*And yet, paradoxically, I feel more confident in the prospects of this years edition; there is a defensive soundness now, Brodie is wonderful, Justin Holl is at a higher level, Lehtonen looks promising, even Begosian on the penalty kill. And even up front-Hyman seems to have a turbo attached now, Mikheyev is on steroids, Kerfoot is a jet out there! All of this without even mention of the big 5 (Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares, Rielly). This blueprint looks very solid, the wild card being Anderson of course.
*I have to stop buying into the hype (like Vegas oddsmakers who have the Leafs in 5th position for odds to win the cup) and adjust to what I will see- seven teams who will battle each other 9-10 times every inch of the way, all in a short time frame. And all in an intimate fashion, knowing each other’s every move-its a fishbowl with a playing field where strategy and the ability to adjust and play every minute like it’s your last will be the keys.
