2019-2020 Around the League Thread

[Bill Peckerskull]

This certainly won't help matters...

 

[Balthazar]

Barrie should like him

Why Sheldon Keefe is the Most Important Piece of the Leafs’ Developmental Program

 

[Pokecheque]

 

[Ceremony]

Toronto Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan announced today that Mike Babcock has been relieved of his coaching duties and Sheldon Keefe has been named the Club’s new head coach. #LeafsForever

"Alternate Governor" sounds like a layer of pseudo-management bullshit that Craig Billington and Eric Lacroix would be proud of.

 

[The Merchant]

As much as I can't stand the over-inflated ego known as the Leafs fanbase, I truly hope Barrie finds success in this change. Dude deserves his payday.

 

[Pokecheque]

Tellin' you, the Preds are gonna shitcan Lavi and hire Babs.

 

[SaltySkywalker]

Tellin' you, the Preds are gonna ****can Lavi and hire Babs.

Good.

 

[Pokecheque]

Good.

I dunno...I think he might actually do some good with them.

 

[Pokecheque]

BTW, can't remember if I posted that Ian Graph article in this thread or elsewhere regarding the discussion about blueline corps with a lot of puck movement ability and guys who regularly jump into the play ("positionless" hockey). The grand irony of this is...you know which team actually doesn't have guys like that? Tampa. Admittedly I haven't seen a ton of their games but for all the talk about them embracing analytics and what not, they might be a little more conventionally-built than most teams. Their defense, if anything, is actually kinda slow. I don't see them jump into the play that often.

 

[Foppa2118]

The one thing that may keep Babcock on the sidelines is he was the highest paid coach in the NHL.

He'll get paid $6.25M a year for three more years after this one, just to sit on the couch. He's going to cost a pretty penny for whoever signs him.

 

[henchman21]

BTW, can't remember if I posted that Ian Graph article in this thread or elsewhere regarding the discussion about blueline corps with a lot of puck movement ability and guys who regularly jump into the play ("positionless" hockey). The grand irony of this is...you know which team actually doesn't have guys like that? Tampa. Admittedly I haven't seen a ton of their games but for all the talk about them embracing analytics and what not, they might be a little more conventionally-built than most teams. Their defense, if anything, is actually kinda slow. I don't see them jump into the play that often.

I don't think anybody wanted to admit it, but Miller is a much more impactful and useful player than they thought. They should have moved out Johnson instead. His swiss army knife ability and ability to play on any line was incredibly useful on getting their stars out of funks then helping the bottom 6 when they were going.

 

[Pokecheque]

I don't think anybody wanted to admit it, but Miller is a much more impactful and useful player than they thought. They should have moved out Johnson instead. His swiss army knife ability and ability to play on any line was incredibly useful on getting their stars out of funks then helping the bottom 6 when they were going.

Agreed. I'm a big JTM fan. Even Namestnikov kinda served that role for them (though he's not nearly as good as Miller IMO) and now they have neither.

 

[Foppa2118]

Babcock's tenure reminds me a lot of Roy's. I think both teams thought the dog years of their rebuild were behind them, but it took longer than they expected.

Both coaches made mistakes, but I think both were hired with the idea that they'd spend a year or two teaching a rebuilding team how to take the next step while the GM put the final touches on the team, before they became a veteran group capable of competing.

Unfortunately, neither team was as good as they hoped, and needed extra time to fill out their lineup, address weaknesses, and learn what it takes to become a good team.

I expect Keefe may end up benefiting from the timing similar to Bednar, if Dubas can add more defensive ability to their blueline. Similar to Sakic with the Avs. I think the current team may be more suited to Keefe than the one Bednar inherited though, so I don't think he'll have the struggles Bednar did his first season.

 

[Pokecheque]

One thing not being talked about though--Hakstol is still on the staff and he's kinda Babcock-lite. Don't see that working out well either.

 

[Gatorbait19]

The thing that surprises me about Babcock is the timing of it. You’d think they would’ve fired him before or after a 6 game road trip, not 1/3rd of the way through it.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[AllAboutAvs]

So Shanahan doesn't get any bad press from anybody for putting Dubas and Babcock together? Two guys that have complete different views on how to build a team. I get that you can't hire a certain type pf GM because because of your current coach but that marriage was doomed from the start.

 

[McMetal]

I'm not sure a rookie HC is going to fix what ails that team in just a couple of road games. Maybe they get a short morale boost from being out from under his thumb, but the issues with their goaltending, defense, and lack of physical presence aren't going to disappear overnight.

 

[Foppa2118]

I'm not sure a rookie HC is going to fix what ails that team in just a couple of road games. Maybe they get a short morale boost from being out from under his thumb, but the issues with their goaltending, defense, and lack of physical presence aren't going to disappear overnight.

It's just an oddly constructed team. Reminds me a lot of the Avs a few years ago.

They need to get grittier up front but the real problem is the D core. They've got some good puck movement and offense from Rielly, Barrie, and Ceci, but they're not exactly studs defensively.

Muzzin is really the only guy on their blueline that's reliable defensively and like nearly all their other D men, he's a UFA at the end of the year.

 

[5280]

As much as I can't stand the over-inflated ego known as the Leafs fanbase, I truly hope Barrie finds success in this change. Dude deserves his payday.

Yep, it’s kind of strange that Barrie is such a mess. I feel for the guy.

 

[Balthazar]

While Babcock and Dubas were different, Keefe is Dubas' guy though, they have known each other for a long time and worked together in the past. We'll see.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think this may end up being a lesson--no matter how big-ticket he may be, it's probably not a good idea to hire a coach before you hire the general manager who will be his boss.

 

[LOFIN]

Very unfortunate timing. Not only do I think the majority of Leafs problems had to do with Babcock, they are surely getting that "bump" you always get after a coaching change. And they play us saturday...

 

[Papa Francouz]

It’s a shame that such an incredibly talented player like Panarin is going to waste his prime playing for the Rangers. Oh, what could’ve been...