2015 playoffs ?

[maketrades]

can we beat out any of these team to make the playoffs?
1
P - BOSTON
2
Y - PITTSBURGH
3
X - TAMPA BAY
4
X - MONTRÉAL
5
X - NY RANGERS
6
X - PHILADELPHIA
7
X - COLUMBUS
8
X - DETROIT
9
WASHINGTON

UP INCOMING TEAMS NYI, PANTHERS, OTTAWA, NEW JERSEY

WHERE DO WE FIT? 1- 15

ARE WE A TOP 8 TEAM?

OR ANOTHER TOP 8 PICK NEXT YEAR?

IMO the strength of all of those teams, excluding the top 3, are questionable.

 

[Liminality]

I somewhat doubt it. They'll probably be on the bubble of the playoffs or falter to be even lower. I think this year we're going to see a lot more playing time for our younger players and with that comes the growing pains of them developing their game.

 

[Leafidelity]

Best thing about the East is that it's wide open. If Montreal can go as far as they did, any other fringe team could do the same.

I honestly have no idea how the East will shake out.

 

[HarryLime]

There are 3 strong teams in the east.

Boston
Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay

And even those 3 teams have some flaws and issues. I'm just happy we are in the East. I think we can squeeze out another 10 points or so this season. So chalk me up to making the playoffs.

I'm not as sold on TB as others. I mean they are a playoff team but I wouldn't put them there w PIT and BOS

 

[Stats01]

They make it last year if Bernier doesn't get hurt. With a better Roster this year and a healthy Bernier there's no reason to think they can't make it.

Honestly who knows if this is a better roster, all we did was let some guys go and fill those spots with either Marlies or guys like Komarov/Frattin/Robidas. Are we that much better or are we making a bunch of lateral moves or did we actually get worse. You have to look at what the other teams did too around us. Once again it'll be a battle for 8th, and we keep saying that year after year after year.

 

[GardinerTheForward]

I'm not as sold on TB as others. I mean they are a playoff team but I wouldn't put them there w PIT and BOS

Tampa has one of the youngest teams in the league, young and talented... That means cheap contracts so they can bring in a massive contract/excellent player. Not to mention, the only reason they lost to MTL last season is because Bishop was hurt. Even then they could've easily won any/all game in that series. We all remember how close the games were and the BS calls. Finally, Tampa Bay has one of the beat prospect pool in the league rn. I don't know if Drouin counts as a prospect but if he doesn't then Tampa might just have the best prospect pool.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

If I was a gambling man, I would not put money on the Leafs for any result.

 

[GardinerTheForward]

Honestly who knows if this is a better roster, all we did was let some guys go and fill those spots with either Marlies or guys like Komarov/Frattin/Robidas. Are we that much better or are we making a bunch of lateral moves or did we actually get worse. You have to look at what the other teams did too around us. Once again it'll be a battle for 8th, and we keep saying that year after year after year.

We got worse. Hands Down.

 

[Clark4Ever]

As always, the key will be the health of our core players, notably Kessel and Bernier. I think we stack up well against most of the teams in the conference beyond the top 3 seeds.

 

[ACC1224]

Honestly who knows if this is a better roster, all we did was let some guys go and fill those spots with either Marlies or guys like Komarov/Frattin/Robidas. Are we that much better or are we making a bunch of lateral moves or did we actually get worse. You have to look at what the other teams did too around us. Once again it'll be a battle for 8th, and we keep saying that year after year after year.

IMO, the Defense is better, the 3rd line is better and they are talking about dressing a 4th line that can handle more than 3 minutes a game.

All positives and I doubt they are done.

 

[colchar]

can we beat out any of these team to make the playoffs?
1
P - BOSTON
2
Y - PITTSBURGH
3
X - TAMPA BAY
4
X - MONTRÉAL
5
X - NY RANGERS
6
X - PHILADELPHIA
7
X - COLUMBUS
8
X - DETROIT
9
WASHINGTON

UP INCOMING TEAMS NYI, PANTHERS, OTTAWA, NEW JERSEY

WHERE DO WE FIT? 1- 15

ARE WE A TOP 8 TEAM?

OR ANOTHER TOP 8 PICK NEXT YEAR?

What are up incoming teams? Up and coming I have heard of, but up incoming? Or did they realign the divisions again?

 

[Purity*]

Boston, Pittsburgh, NYR, Tampa and Montreal all have significantly more complete teams than we do. We lose to all of them in a 7 game series.

Philly, Columbus and Detroit? We'd probably have a decent chance at beating them.

I don't think we're in the playoffs next year however.

 

[pspot]

can we beat out any of these team to make the playoffs?
1
P - BOSTON
2
Y - PITTSBURGH
3
X - TAMPA BAY
4
X - MONTRÉAL
5
X - NY RANGERS
6
X - PHILADELPHIA
7
X - COLUMBUS
8
X - DETROIT
9
WASHINGTON

UP INCOMING TEAMS NYI, PANTHERS, OTTAWA, NEW JERSEY

WHERE DO WE FIT? 1- 15

ARE WE A TOP 8 TEAM?

OR ANOTHER TOP 8 PICK NEXT YEAR?

I'd Say Islanders have jumped up a few spots too

Detroit out, Islanders in

Leafs finish 11th behind CLS/NYI/Det/WSH

 

[Durrr]

With a healthy group of core players (notably Bernier), this is a 6th-10th in the east team. Our defense got better already on paper, and Kadri, Gardiner and Rielly will all be a year older and more experienced. We also shed some dead weight throughout the roster so I'd expect better results overall.

Also.....Clarkson can't be as bad this season can he?

 

[gabeliscious]

i dont see us getting into the playoffs. i have a hard time seeing us as a bubble team even. it looks like nonis did just enough to keep us out of the bottom 5 and mcdavid territory but not good enough for playoffs

 

[Moncherry]

If they end the season in March, sure.

 

[Mitchy]

I can easily see us making it. The x-factor will be Carlyle. Can he change his system? Will we see the same collapse for your life system like last year? Will Bernier and Reimer still face 40+ shots a night?

It will all come down to Carlyle.

Me? I'm still on the tank nation bandwagon.

 

[J1S]

If we can improve the penalty kill and have a modest shot ratio I see no reason why we can't push for 6th-8th in the east, that being said 9th-11th isn't out of the question either.

 

[maketrades]

I'm not as sold on TB as others. I mean they are a playoff team but I wouldn't put them there w PIT and BOS

With Drouin up next year, Stamkos for a full season, and Hedman becoming very very good. I'd put them up there

 

[socko]

A lot of questions: Who is going to play with Dion? Will we spend the season trying to force Clarktard on the Kadri line again? How are these new defensemen who can't pass going to mesh with a team that plays run and gun? Will Bernier stay healthy all year? I think Nonis is making the team a little worse each year.

 

[hoglund]

Best thing about the East is that it's wide open. If Montreal can go as far as they did, any other fringe team could do the same.

I honestly have no idea how the East will shake out.

I totally agree

 

[TheLeafsBro]

Yeah the East is garb so who knows. We need to stay healthy though if we have a chance. I honestly feel like it's up to the coaching staff to get the most out of this team. We have the potential to be a hard team to play against that hits you with speed in waves. The real question mark for me is how well are Gardiner and Rielly going to be if both are in the top 4. Can they handle it? Will Gardiner really be able to play well with Phaneuf on the top pairing? It could be a genius pairing or it could be a complete disaster I really don't know.. But with Gunnarsson gone there's not really anyone to fall back on to pair with Phaneuf that will work long term. I really don't think it's reasonable for Rielly to jump from a 3rd pairing to top pairing with Phaneuf as some suggest. I think Nonis clearly has Gardiner-Phaneuf as a planned top pairing or Gunnar wouldn't have been traded.

But what I will say is if we roll all 4 lines with some skill on each and we take the pressure off our Top 6 we can definitely be a dangerous team. Bernier will need to be there to bail us out a lot though so we have to meet him half-way and tighten up our coverage or it will be too much for him to handle.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

I suspect we'll be getting Tweets from Kessel nightfishing during Round 1 of the Playoffs again.

 

[Raymoondo]

I sure hope we tank this year. The 2015 draft looks niceeeee

 

[HarryLime]

Tampa has one of the youngest teams in the league, young and talented... That means cheap contracts so they can bring in a massive contract/excellent player. Not to mention, the only reason they lost to MTL last season is because Bishop was hurt. Even then they could've easily won any/all game in that series. We all remember how close the games were and the BS calls. Finally, Tampa Bay has one of the beat prospect pool in the league rn. I don't know if Drouin counts as a prospect but if he doesn't then Tampa might just have the best prospect pool.

They are in great shape now and especially down the road, but at this moment in time they aren't a powerhouse. Drouin and Stamkos will destroy together.

I wouldn't be shocked if they missed out tbh. I think they'll finish around 5th-7th. Certainly will be fun to watch when Drouin gets there.