Your biggest "blew it" and "knew it" player predictions

[Longshot]

You mean Boyes and McCauley? Was Sullivan even on the team when we acquired Nolan?

The Leafs released Steve Sullivan to make room on the roster for Dimitri Kristich. He had nothing to do with the Owen Nolan trade.

 

[Tak7]

Great thread idea.

Blew it - Justin Pogge. Was so hyped about this guy after his performances for Canada at the WJHC. Was SO wrong.

I also thought Raycroft would bounce back here, but I think that was more of me hoping rather than believing.

 

[Longshot]

Knew it: Ron Wilson was a terrible hire as coach. The team stunk, it wasn't going anywhere and Wilson was used to oodles of talent from his time in San Jose. That hiring had "this isn't going to go well" written all over it.

Blew it: I was horrified that Wilson's replacement was Carlyle. I thought it was a huge step backwards for the team. Time will tell on this one (with the Lock Out, it's still actually quite early in Carlyle's career here) but Carlyle really changed the culture of this organization this past season.

Knew it: Acquiring Raycroft and Toskala in back-to-back summers was absolutely idiotic for the organization.

Blew it: I actually thought Komi and Beau would help stabilize and improve the defense (although I thought the length of Komi's contract was pure stupidity).

 

[Count Von Grabo*]

Former players

Blew it: Schenn

Knew it: Steen

Current players

Blew it: Lupul, didn't think he'd be this good

Knew it: Kessel

 

[Ace88*]

Blew it: i honestly thought wellwood was the second coming of christ, i thought Lindros and Allison were seriously great signings that would put us over the top (yeah yeah i know but i was like 15 at the time)

Knew it: the Kessel trade would pan out wonderfully for us, Reimer would be a starter, and Kadri would be a productive nhl player

 

[Patty Lee]

Knew from day 1 Gunnar had what it takes to handle top pairing minutes.

jury is out on that one

 

[WilliamNylander]

Thought Luke Schenn was the next Chris Pronger/our future captain

 

[Patty Lee]

Knew it - Wendel Clark

Blew it - Brandon Convery

are you saying you haven't been right since 85?

 

[Liferleafer]

Blew it: Never saw Kadri as a good NHL'er.

Knew it: Said at the time of the deal, Lupul would be MUCH more than a capdump.

Next prediction (hopefully know/knew it): Bernier is going to be a stud.

 

[Liferleafer]

Blew It: Kadri and Reimer. Was ready to trade Kadri for Luongo last off-season. I feel stupid.

Knew it: Tim Brent. When we went into camp I said he would impress people and make the team. He did, and I was sorta upset when he left.

Ditto for me. I said at the the time (when Van fans were telling me that Kadri, Bozak and a 2nd was an insult) that i'd prefer going after Bernier....was told LA would want MUCH more, sometimes it's good to be wrong.

Sorry Naz

 

[Bad News Bears]

I thought Lupul would be a scrub, and was only happy about the deal because Beauch was so bad for us. Now, I'd be happy if he was given the 'C' (nothing against Dion).

By biggest, "knew it!" was that I was calling Chris Davis' breakout season all winter. I called 50 HR's on a few sites. Let's Go O's.

 

[TMLegend]

Blew it: Thought Vesa Toskala would be the goaltender to solidify us between the pipes for the next 7-8 years.

Knew it: Mikhail Grabovski would develop to be a impactful player for us when we acquired him from Montreal.

 

[BonMorrison]

Blew it: I thought Christian Hanson would be a 4th line staple for a while.

 

[Leaftors]

knew it - kessel was going to be more then a one dimensional sharpshooter, always believed him to be an all rounded elite winger (which he is)

blew it - actualy believed we were going to beat the bruins that series, especially after we were up 4-1, this obviously went south pretty fast

 

[blue82]

blew it: didnt see kadri breaking out this quickly, i knew he had potential but wasnt fully convinced

knew it: randy carlisle

 

[The Missing Piece]

Blew it- I had given up on Kadri when I heard he was a healthy scratch with the Marlies.

Knew it- I had picked Kadri to make the team after watching 1 try out at training camp.

 

[indigobuffalo]

Luke Schenn had a very good season this year....as a shut down dman.

Seems strange he appears to be stuck on non-playoff teams? The Leafs made the playoffs, got Luke, no playoffs, traded to Flyers (a playoff team...) then no playoffs...

 

[indigobuffalo]

Blew it: Kept telling everyone that because Boston lost Kessel and didn't replace him with a FA/no one in system, and then they finished that following season with 40 goal for fewer than the year they had Kessel, that the Bruins were on a massive downslide and that in 2010 they'd likely be a lottery team.

Knew it: Knew Colton Orr would be back on the team this year and play meaningful minutes (met his dad in the off-season).

 

[4evaBlue]

Quite a list for me.

Blew it:

• Gustavsson was going to make a positive impact in Detroit, and we'd regret letting him go.
• Komisarek: I actually had more faith in the guy than most, and still think he could have done a lot better had it not been for Wilson. Regardless, his contributions to the team was negligible considering his contract.
• Armstrong: ugh. Not much more to say.

Knew it:

• Reimer: He wasn't going to get the job handed to him by default anymore. He really isn't as good as a lot of people thought/hoped he would be
• Schenn: Not a future All-Star top pairing shutdown guy.
• Grabovski would have no place on the team before too long.
• Kadri: We would have sorely regretted trading him away a season or two ago.
• Carlyle's defensive system would pay huge dividends, and make our goalies appear better than they actually are.

 

[613Leafer]

Blew it:
- Reimer. This is still somewhat up in the air, but last season he really surprised me. I thought goaltending was a gigantic hole, we'll see which Reimer shows up next season though
- Versteeg. I thought his stint here would be better than it was. I figured he'd get more opportunity here, and that given his great rookie season, he could potentially become an impact guy. He was run out of town very quickly.
- Stefanovich. Thought he'd do better than he did.


Knew it:
- Tlusty. I didn't think he was ever put in much of a position to succeed. Kinda like Kadri in previous years, Tlusty dominated the AHL, and then would be put into 3rd line roles on the Leafs, where he ultimately wasn't very effective. He's looking like he's starting to blossom in Carolina. Thoguh like Reimer, this one is still up in the air.
- Grabovski. Never liked this guy as a 2nd line C option. Look at the top teams around the league, the teams that have won the SC. Their 2nd line centres are usually much better offensively, or somewhat similar (or slighlty better) offensively but boatloads better defensively and more versatile.
- Schenn. Didn't think he would be the "saviour" of the franchise that he was hyped as. He simply didn't have the skillset. He's slow and has hands of stone, dominated Junior due to his size. Ultimately he'll probably be a good #2-3 Dman, but given that he's a defence-first physical dman, I think that's not the type of guy you target with a 5th overall pick, let alone trade two other picks to get. I primarily wanted Hodgson, also had interest in Wilson, or trade down for Myers as he was a big "riser" going into the draft.
- Didn't like the Toskala trade. Wasn't sold on him, he had so-so numbers on a great team and was pretty small. We gave up some very valuable picks in the process.
- Stajan/Wellwood. Both got overhyped for a while. There were actually debates as to whether or not Stajan was a "legitimate #1 C"... lol.

 

[ACC1224]

Management:

Knew it : Burke would be fired "Playoffs or Bust\Burke" was the belief for the 2011-12 season his 4th as GM.

Blew it : Thought it would happen sooner, after Tannebaum was forced to issue public apology letters for GM & Team failure. Believed it would happen at the end of season pre-lockout, not beginning of next post lockout, but I suppose new ownership delayed the inevitable outcome.

Players:

Knew it: Toooo many to name them all.. I've claimed for years that Reimer was the better goalie prospect than Pogge, while Justin was considered the Blue-chip prospect not James. I hand pick and discovered Nikolai Kulemin pre-draft for my Leafs and they made it happen in the exact draft spot I pre-draft predicted.. Kyle Wellwood who was a small, soft forward and late pick and I always believed he would be an NHLer.

Blew it: Thought Kessel would struggle against the Bruins in the playoffs like he did in the regular season, but he proved his doubters myself included wrong with his performance. He was however assisted greatly by Carlyle who did his best to get him away from Chara and Bergeron at every opportunity.

No doubt you have always had a "Razor Sharp" eye when it comes to player evaluation.

Myself, I thought Komisarek would have turned out better.

 

[Mess]

No doubt you have always had a "Razor Sharp" eye when it comes to player evaluation.

Myself, I thought Komisarek would have turned out better.

I also have strong sarcasm meter, because you know me "play the kids" not "trade the kids". So it should have been pick up on, without the smilie.

I actually predicted JFJ would trade away Rask for instant help and unfortunately for Leaf Nation I was right. Wish I would have "blew it" on that one.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Blew it: Gustavsson, told all my friends to go to hell and that he was going to be our #1 for years.
Grabovski- would be our #2C for years
Lupul- Was going to be a dud

Knew it- Kadri was going to light it up
Schenn wasn't going to be a star in Toronto
Trading Steen was a garbage deal

 

[ACC1224]

I also have strong sarcasm meter, because you know me "play the kids" not "trade the kids". So it should have been pick up on.

I actually predicted JFJ would trade away Rask for instant help and unfortunately for Leaf Nation I was right. Wish I would have "blew it" on that one.

Don't we all.

 

[Mess]

Well "I knew" on that Toskala and Blake additions believed by many was about making the team better, would actually lead to the team becoming unglued and lead to JFJ firing.

Actually "I knew it" with the Quinn, JFJ and Burke firings.

Predicting "In Nonis we trust" and his new contract extension for his success makes that fall on the side of "I knew it" as well.