Your biggest surprise and biggest disappointment this season?

[ITM]

Pleasantly surprised by Dermott's rise, by Sparks' AHL season - fantastic - and by our club; one season after breaking numerous records (and a Calder to boot) we're again breaking club records and may have another player nominated for a major award. Oh, and Justin Holl! Where'd he come from!? And why isn't he still up? Honorable mention to Andreas Borgman.

Excluding the usual tyranny of fan pessimism that's carried over from one era and management to this in spite of evidence to the contrary, my disappointment lies primarily with some of our prospects. I'd like to see Bracco succeed. I was hoping Nielsen was a diamond in the rough, but it seems like he's experiencing difficulties (Chalk it up to a sophomore slump for now). And Freddie Gauthier...chalk it up to a different time in player evaluation management.

 

[egd27]

The goal isn't to ice the best lineup every night, that would be short term thinking. The goal is to win the cup, that requires long term thinking and that sometimes means playing (or not playing) different players in different positions for a variety of reasons. It's hard to look at the big picture IMO and not see a smashing success, not only in terms of where we are in the standings but also from the standpoint of player development.

Babcock is at the moment possibly the most under appreciated part of this team!

It's too bad that with the amount of time some folks spent here, that they still believe coaching is no more than ranking the offensive skill of the roster and writing out a line up card each night accordingly.

 

[TheRexman]

So true. The amount of complaining here just boggles the mind sometimes. I've been following this team for close to 50 years now and the only time I've been more excited than I am now was when Gilmour was doing his thing and winning the cup started to actually seem like it could happen. Of course even then nobody was thinking that was possible until we upset Detroit in round 1 so yeah, I've never been this excited pre-playoffs.

Boy is that ever a sad statement re. our history. I've never liked our chances this much and our chances are still pretty slim when you consider we're probably 1st round underdogs. And then 2nd round underdogs and then ... who knows, if we get that far and we're heal;thy, our stock just might have gone up far enough that we'll be favoured in the 3rd round, hopefully we'll see.

Really, because I've shown up here during GDT and post game, to see the crazy amount of trash that gets posted after a Leafs loss where almost everyone needs to be fired.

These comments surprise you?

I'm surprised that you're surprised.

 

[wingman75]

Surprise = Dermott. Easy pick since he was not on the roster at the start of the season. If we go with guys who were on the roster on opening night, I would have to go with JVR. I didn't see him scoring a new career high in goals...

Disappointment = Brown. This one is easy for me. I know everyone loves that he works hard, but he rarely accomplishes anything and is starting to look really out of place in the NHL. Not saying that cannot be corrected, but I thought he would have been able to bring more to the table based on his effectiveness last season.

 

[Hockey Crazy]

It took him almost 50 games to get to his best lineup on the ice.

You should read this: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/nothing-but-praise.2465419/

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Disappointment: Babcock's stubbornness[/QUOTE]

At least one season later, Babcock isn't starting Kadri and Komarov on the OT. Especially early in the season, I thought the Leafs were obsessed with changing on the fly to get the "proper" line match ups. Seems they were skating to the bench more often than playing hockey.

 

[Mess]

Biggest surprise Hyman 13 goals and Nylander with just 14 goals on the year. Either Hyman is having a great year or Willy is having a bad one in terms of goal scoring ability, with only one of these guys getting PP time to boot. The upside is that Leafs will get Nylander to a better contract this summer than first fear.

Biggest disappointment is that Lou Lam didn't upgrade the Dcore in the offseason nor TD.. Having a RHD side with Zaitsev, Polak, Carrick and Hainsey a LH shot playing his weak side might be among the weakest combo on the right side in the entire NHL.

HM: Biggest disappointment has been Matthews missing 16+ games to injury on 3 different occasions as Leaf games are much funner to watch when #34 is leading the charge nightly.

 

[Pi]

Surprise? Babcock is finally starting to play the better players a little bit more.

Disappointment? Nylander and Matthews on the second PP. Nylander is close to PPG right now if his PP production was higher. He's right up there in the top ~30 in terms of ES production so it's very good but PP production has been bad. Matthews would be at like 65-70 points in 53 games if he too had better PP production.

I guess the benefit of that is we get a better deal for Nylander because his PP production is low.

 

[highslot]

surprise:

hainsey.
anderson being more consistent
aj getting his chance.

disappointment.

some of babs decisions.
bozak not being traded nor jvr.
gardiner still being gardiner and not being consistently high level.
komorov slowing down drastically.

 

[LeafsFan89]

My biggest disappointment is the officiating. Biggest surprise is that our defence prospect pool isn't as bad as we thought.

 

[Pookie]

Surprise:

Freddy’s play, Kadri’s slump, our place in the standings (expected a bubble team)

Disappointment:

Fans looking for a scapegoat (eg. blaming Leo for everything), trading picks again and an organizational desire to put veterans in places developing youth could take... leading to trade demands and stalled careers.

 

[nuck]

Disappointment is Willie for sure. After that rookie season and then a World Hockey Championship MVP I was expecting him to take it to the next level. It could have been the Matthews injuries after that hot start but random injuries aren't really a failure, any more than staying healthy is an unexpected success.

Biggest surprise has been the defense. Hainsey, Dermott, Rielly , Gardner and Borgman have been a lot better group than I had expected. Its hard to fathom how this much stronger group is allowing more shots on goal than the 15-16 club that finished dead last.

 

[Joey Hoser]

an organizational desire to put veterans in places developing youth could take...

We've graduated like 8-9 rookies in the last two seasons.

 

[Pookie]

We've graduated like 8-9 rookies in the last two seasons.

I see.

So signing Moore, Hainsey and Polak haven’t impacted D opportunities?

Marleau, Moore and trading for Plekanek haven’t kept Kapanen/Leivo out of the line up?

Not to mention the UFAs we haven’t traded.

 

[Daisy Jane]

Surprise:

Freddy’s play, Kadri’s slump, our place in the standings (expected a bubble team)

Disappointment:

Fans looking for a scapegoat (eg. blaming Leo for everything), trading picks again and an organizational desire to put veterans in places developing youth could take... leading to trade demands and stalled careers.

the leafs for the last two years have graduated players they felt have been ready. which by my count has been like what? 9? what more did you want, the entire marlies graduating up?

 

[Daisy Jane]

I see.

So signing Moore, Hainsey and Polak haven’t impacted D opportunities?

Marleau, Moore and trading for Plekanek haven’t kept Kapanen/Leivo out of the line up?

Not to mention the UFAs we haven’t traded.

well. Moore is a centre, and was signed because Gauthier didn't have a hamstring. so there is that.
Moore, also a forward - thus, i don't know what defenseman he's impacting coming up.

 

[Pookie]

the leafs for the last two years have graduated players they felt have been ready. which by my count has been like what? 9? what more did you want, the entire marlies graduating up?

See above.

Saying Matthews was a Marlie is a little bit of a stretch.

It’s a given that our high picks would have had a run at the NHL as all teams do.

The issue is the middle of the pack and bottom bunch.

We are paying top dollar and giving up picks to fill out roles that we have viable options for. They may not be as good now, which doesn’t fit the win now goal, but long term would be less costly and restrictive IMO

 

[Daisy Jane]

See above.

Saying Matthews was a Marlie is a little bit of a stretch.

It’s a given that our high picks would have had a run at the NHL as all teams do.

The issue is the middle of the pack and bottom bunch.

We are paying top dollar and giving up picks to fill out roles that we have viable options for. They may not be as good now, which doesn’t fit the win now goal, but long term would be less costly and restrictive IMO

I didn't say Matthews was a Marlie.
what i asked you is what did you want - the entire Marlies to graduate?

to me, they are doing what they said they wanted to do. they are keeping a lot of players in the AHL a tick longer than they wanted so when they do come up, they are up. There is nothing wrong with putting a little extra fire in their belly. It also avoids you making mistakes like other teams who are struggling and shoving all their young and fancy player up when it would behoove them to be in the minors a tick more (ie: playing top minutes and getting more chances to do other things vs playing on the 4th line).


Also - having veterans on the team is a good thing vs. having an entire team of rookies and 2nd year players. insulation is a good thing, the last time I checked. so is having depth.

the only picks we've given up - was to fix the 4th line option, mostly due to the fact that Freddy either wasn't ready (or was injured). and this year it provided depth. why this is bad, is beyond me

 

[Joey Hoser]

I see.

So signing Moore, Hainsey and Polak haven’t impacted D opportunities?

Marleau, Moore and trading for Plekanek haven’t kept Kapanen/Leivo out of the line up?

Not to mention the UFAs we haven’t traded.

We graduated 8-9 rookies in two years. Saying we have "an organizational desire to put veterans in places developing youth could take..." is just plainly the opposite of the very obvious truth.

I don't get you man.

 

[Pookie]

I didn't say Matthews was a Marlie.
what i asked you is what did you want - the entire Marlies to graduate?

to me, they are doing what they said they wanted to do. they are keeping a lot of players in the AHL a tick longer than they wanted so when they do come up, they are up. There is nothing wrong with putting a little extra fire in their belly. It also avoids you making mistakes like other teams who are struggling and shoving all their young and fancy player up when it would behoove them to be in the minors a tick more (ie: playing top minutes and getting more chances to do other things vs playing on the 4th line).


Also - having veterans on the team is a good thing vs. having an entire team of rookies and 2nd year players. insulation is a good thing, the last time I checked. so is having depth.

the only picks we've given up - was to fix the 4th line option, mostly due to the fact that Freddy either wasn't ready (or was injured). and this year it provided depth. why this is bad, is beyond me

According to NHL.com, we aren't alone in playing younger players. 48% of players in the NHL were under 25. The Bruins have 9 rookies this year. Colorado 10. LA 8. Washington even has 7.

Columbus has 15 players under 25 and no one is older than 31.

Last year we were the youngest team. This year, we are above the NHL average age of 27.1. We are ranked 21st from youngest to oldest teams in the league.

Rookie watch: More teams depending on young talent

I'm looking beyond this season. I don't think that's where the organization is thinking at the moment and who am I to say it's wrong?

But...

...if you were looking beyond this season you would be looking at your JVR/Bozak/Komarov situation with some concern. Two of them are part of the league's best power play. The other is a pretty proficient PK guy.

You either sign them long term or you don't. Either way, you have to be prepared to replace them at some point as they won't be here or their skills will decline.

Where's that level of skill going to come from?

We've seen the UFA market... it's not likely. And whatever is there is likely going to cost significant dollars.

We don't expect to draft high any time soon so the injection of a Marner/Nylander/Matthews is not likely. You do need to maximize your number of times to the podium to increase your odds.

Waivers? If the player was a gem they wouldn't go on waivers.

The only other vehicle is trading. And as a result of not getting the UFA signings right, we give up tradable assets for rentals.

The levers to pull to take the team to beyond the present dwindle as you stuff veterans into the roster At some point, a developing team needs to see what it has and must continually be stocking it's cupboards to tilt the odds in its favour.

 

[Tak7]

You should read this: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/nothing-but-praise.2465419/

Why? This thread asked for disappointments, so I gave one.

 

[IPS]

People who think of Nylander as a disappointment do realise he just shut down Malkin the other night and is playing like a #1C since Matty's injury, as a sophomore.
Right?

Right?!

Surprise: Dermott. I knew he was good, but not this good, like...almost perfect.

Disappointment: Connor Brown lately, but it's still not the end of the world because he is still really good defensively.

What exactly is the problem?

Nylander has not been playing like a #1C lmfao, that's a pretty horrific standard for a #1C.

Production-wise, he has kind of been a disappointment this year, but only because his offensive upside is super high. It's ok to admit it.

 

[Daisy Jane]

According to NHL.com, we aren't alone in playing younger players. 48% of players in the NHL were under 25. The Bruins have 9 rookies this year. Colorado 10. LA 8. Washington even has 7.

Columbus has 15 players under 25 and no one is older than 31.

Last year we were the youngest team. This year, we are above the NHL average age of 27.1. We are ranked 21st from youngest to oldest teams in the league.

Rookie watch: More teams depending on young talent

I'm looking beyond this season. I don't think that's where the organization is thinking at the moment and who am I to say it's wrong?

Why would you think the organization isn't?


but you can't "Look beyond this season" and say "well we have to strip the team now. again. I think what a lot of people are failing to accept (which is a disappointment) that this team is good now. And people want the leafs to make moves that teams that are crappy would do.

But...

...if you were looking beyond this season you would be looking at your JVR/Bozak/Komarov situation with some concern. Two of them are part of the league's best power play. The other is a pretty proficient PK guy.

You either sign them long term or you don't. Either way, you have to be prepared to replace them at some point as they won't be here or their skills will decline.

okay?

Where's that level of skill going to come from?

We've seen the UFA market... it's not likely. And whatever is there is likely going to cost significant dollars.

We don't expect to draft high any time soon so the injection of a Marner/Nylander/Matthews is not likely. You do need to maximize your number of times to the podium to increase your odds.

Waivers? If the player was a gem they wouldn't go on waivers.

The only other vehicle is trading. And as a result of not getting the UFA signings right, we give up tradable assets for rentals.

The levers to pull to take the team to beyond the present dwindle as you stuff veterans into the roster At some point, a developing team needs to see what it has and must continually be stocking it's cupboards to tilt the odds in its favour.

so...
we have more than enough people in the minors.

we can sign people as UFAs (which is an issue to you because it will cost money)

but you are upset that we don't have have more picks (which would be low (because you aren't trading the people you wanted to trade to teams who suck thus their picks would be high) and therefore they wouldn't be making the show for at least 4-5 years anyway) and not to mention you would be removing assets from a team that is one of the top 6 teams in the NHL.

not to mention -the leafs have been continually stocking their cupboards to tilt the odds in its favour. just because it's not a draft pick doesn't mean the aren't doing that.

They looked at their developing team, sees how they are and to help the developing team garner success in the playoffs. that's also a good thing.

it would be nice if people would look at our team and see that we're actually good, and good teams don't stripmine the team because technically they should be where Buffalo and Carolina and Arizona are, but instead they are seen as one of top teams in the NHL. like it's not the organizations fault that the team on the ice are better faster than expected.

 

[Gabriel426]

Surprise:
Hanisey, he is just amazing, hope he recovers his injuries before the playoffs.
Dermott, need I say more.
Willie, he is holding his own as a C and playing really good D.

 

[frog]

Biggest Surprise: Nylander's grit/defensive abilities. Hainsey's on-ice leadership and poise.

Biggest Disappointment: Bozak provided very little all season (hopefully he picks it up in playoffs). Zaitsev, I would rather have Carrick and Polak over him this season.