Why Don't Leaf Fans view the Leafs as a Contender?

[LeafFever]

I read so much on here, "This Is Not Our Year" (We are on pace for the franchise's best season ever BTW).
And I am quite shocked, even today reading the Leafs should not be giving up picks in moves, they should be selling the UFAs for picks instead and keep rebuilding and forget about this year.
I don't get it. We are absolutely a contender. Who can match our speed and depth? And Freddy has been a top goalie this year.
Can someone explain why the Bruins can be viewed as a cup favourite and the Leafs are not?

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[Byron Bitz]

Tampa is a level up from us, but we are right there with Pittsburg and Boston

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

Been saying it since the beginning we're the best team in the East and by a good margin
Tampa Bay is overrated but probably the 2nd best team in the East
Pittsburgh and Boston don't scare me one bit

 

[LeafFever]

Been saying it since the beginning we're the best team in the East and by a good margin
Tampa Bay is overrated but probably the 2nd best team in the East
Pittsburgh and Boston don't scare me one bit

Yup.
Teams are going to have so much issues in the playoffs with our speed and 4 lines.
Boston is slow and has 1 line accounting for 40% of their goals. And the Bruins are now 4-4 in their last 8. They peaked too early it seems.

 

[Suntouchable13]

I read so much on here, "This Is Not Our Year" (We are on pace for the franchise's best season ever BTW).
And I am quite shocked, even today reading the Leafs should not be giving up picks in moves, they should be selling the UFAs for picks instead and keep rebuilding and forget about this year.
I don't get it. We are absolutely a contender. Who can match our speed and depth? And Freddy has been a top goalie this year.
Can someone explain why the Bruins can be viewed as a cup favourite and the Leafs are not?

Part of the reason is that we are relying on sophmores as our key players while Boston has some seasoned vets that are part of the core that have won it all before.

 

[LeafFever]

Part of the reason is that we are relying on sophmores as our key players while Boston has some seasoned vets that are part of the core that have won it all before.

That's fine but Boston has their own concerns which the Leafs do not.(Peaking way too early, now struggling, 1 line scoring too much. Not enough depth, slow, horrific schedule the last month of the season...)

 

[Havoc]

Decade of hurt left people insecure.

 

[Marshy]

Running around in our own zone for long stretches is a bit concerning. Playoff hockey is about grinding it out and winning 50/50 battles.

Some might think we are a bit inexperienced and playoff tested yet to be considered true contenders.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

Yup.
Teams are going to have so much issues in the playoffs with our speed and 4 lines.
Boston is slow and has 1 line accounting for 40% of their goals. And the Bruins are now 4-4 in their last 8. They peaked too early it seems.

Same with Tampa. They peaked way too early
Our speed and skill is going to wear teams down especially those with an older core

 

[rent free]

because of their bad defense. me because of their bad defense and the fact that they are the worst of boston/tampa/toronto and they'd have to face one of them in the 1st round

 

[frog]

Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2004.... Thats 5 playoff wins in 14 years... 2 playoff wins last season to 16 this season... if they win a few series this season i will be a believer next year.

 

[Polaris1010]

Why Don't Leaf Fans view the Leafs as a Contender?

Philadelphia won the Superbowl because their backup QB out played the best QB of all time, when Foles looked simply awful in his two regular season starts.

Foles had no business beating Brady none whatsoever, yet it happened.

For some Leafs fans, denial is a way of life!

 

[LeafFever]

because of their bad defense. me because of their bad defense and the fact that they are the worst of boston/tampa/toronto and they'd have to face one of them in the 1st round

You really think they are worse than Boston? Why? They have beaten Boston 13 of the last 15 games.
Don't look now Boston is struggling and are a 1 line team. There is actually a bigger difference between Boston/Toronto in talent upfront than there is in D.

 

[Buds17]

We're still a fairly young team. To go with that, we obviously haven't had the recent playoff experience some teams have had (though the Bruins and Lightning have had recent misses). What we've done - and what we figure to do - over the past two (almost) full regular seasons is very good, in my view. We took the President's Trophy winners to six games as a wildcard last playoffs. Want to see what we're capable of this time around against opponent TBD.

Depends on what one puts stock into as well. We won the season series vs Boston, does that matter and how much? If we finish ahead of them in the standings or vice versa, does that matter? Does one matter more than the other in the event we finish behind Boston?

 

[Orfieus]

Pittsburgh > Boston ≥ Tampa > Toronto

Pittsburgh has the most depth of any team. Experienced and has the best player in the world.

Boston has the best top line in the NHL and the other three lines are fast and can grind. Playing Boston at home will be beyond a nightmare

Tampa is fast, skilled and have Hedman (at least)

 

[rent free]

You really think they are worse than Boston? Why? They have beaten Boston 13 of the last 15 games.
Don't look now Boston is struggling and are a 1 line team.

i think we're a little worse than boston. its because we give up a lot of shots and are often hemmed in our own zone for long periods of time. also, we're 9 and 6 in the last 15 games against the bruins. we've won 13 of our last 15 games overall. hughson said it implying that, but thats not the case. finally, boston isn't a 1 line team. they're deep. they have an excellent 1st line and have great depth. they're also not really struggling. they're 4-4 in their last 8 which isn't bad or good

 

[LeafFever]

we're 9 and 6 in the last 15 games against the bruins. we've won 13 of our last 15 games overall. hughson said it implying that, but thats not the case

How are we 9 and 6 when they've beaten us once in the past 2 years? Your numbers are off.

 

[Beaumaris]

Once the front office makes the moves (think they may just have)
That they are ready to go for it,I'm sure we will jump on board.

 

[JadedLeaf]

i think we're a little worse than boston. its because we give up a lot of shots and are often hemmed in our own zone for long periods of time. also, we're 9 and 6 in the last 15 games against the bruins. we've won 13 of our last 15 games overall. hughson said it implying that, but thats not the case. finally, boston isn't a 1 line team. they're deep. they have an excellent 1st line and have great depth.

Your numbers are a little off.

 

[kk87]

Tampa and Pittsburgh definitely have an edge on us, but we're capable of beating them. No other teams in the East really scare me.

 

[rent free]

How are we 9 and 6 when they've beaten us once in the past 2 years? Your numbers are off.

my numbers are not off, you're not understanding what i wrote. we are 7-1 in the last 2 years against the bruins. prior to that we went 2-5 in the last 7 meetings with them. we only play them 4 times a season so you can't expect us to be 13-2 against them in our last 15.

 

[rent free]

Your numbers are a little off.

no they are not off, you are just misinterpreting what hughson said

 

[Warden of the North]

All I hear is "Tampa is better then us"

Well so what?

What if Philly or Jersey luck out a victory over Tampa in the 1st round? Rarely (if ever?) do the top seeds meet in the finals.

And as for this sudden paralyzing fear of Boston, I dont get it. We're 3-1 vs them this year, and currently have more points then them. Where is this idea coming from that they are so far and above us as to be unbeatable?

We can beat anyone in this league on a per game basis. The next step is series victories. And we dont know how we fair until we actually go toe to toe with them. Giving up because you stat watch and see morning highlights before you've even played these other teams is silly.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Philadelphia won the Superbowl because their backup QB out played the best QB of all time, when Foles looked simply awful in his two regular season starts.

Foles had no business beating Brady none whatsoever, yet it happened.

For some Leafs fans, denial is a way of life!

I forgot football is 1V1. Not like Brady had one of the best Superbowl showings of all time or anything.... This is a terrible comparison and you should feel bad about it.

As for the OP Leafs are contenders but that doesn't = selling the farm for a slight sugar high this season like some fans here are begging for.

 

[Warden of the North]

my numbers are not off, you're not understanding what i wrote. we are 7-1 in the last 2 years against the bruins. prior to that we went 2-5 in the last 7 meetings with them. we only play them 4 times a season so you can't expect us to be 13-2 against them in our last 15.

Lordy, do you not see a drastic change in our roster prior to last season? Do I need t explain to you the differences?