Well simply put, we ain't gonna' win the cup this year unless a miracle ensues.
Reading the posts tonight there's a lot of ideas put forth about where the problem lies among the players. And I offer my thoughts on this matter if I may; I find point form is a great way to summarize thinking:
1. The Leafs are a young team - any talk about trading Gardiner, Riley, or Kadri is akin to discussions of trading 2 Karlssons and a poor man's Gilmour (a poor man's Gilmour is still damn good).
2. Reimer is being constantly hung out to dry. 3 Goals allowed in the paint. Carlisle's defense is supposedly about keeping shots to the outside. This is a big fail for the system, NOT THE GOALTENDER. By the way, Reimer has a better win/loss ratio and a better save % than Bernier and has played more NHL games. Get something in return while his stock is still worth something.
3. Trade Reimer - he'll win a Vezina somewhere else. He's not technically pristine but he's a fighter a la Tim Thomas. But he'll lose his career in Toronto at this pace. Calgary is a good fit.
4. People need to redefine their expectations from Kessel. He's didn't get his contract to be the leader, he's there to create offense in the purest sense. We need a centre that can create space. He's the reason Toronto's powerplay is 4th in the league. Create space for Kessel, and you'll see him excel
5. Why on earth did Nonis buy out Grabovski? Last season, a shortage down the middle already existed yet Nonis made us more short. It's not a question of Grabo vs. Bozak; it's a question of, Why not Both? Coaching preferences? See No. 6.
6. In the Market Cap NHL, teams can't be built around coaches--quite the opposite. Coaches need to adapt to the players they have. I personally believe this is where coaches like Carlyle (i.e. so-called "old-school") sometimes just don't get it. Because of this, coaching changes should not be considered radical. Look at Philly--on T.O.'s heels.
7. Clarkson should kick his agent in the nuts or give him a kiss on the lips: 5.2M for a checking forward? I've not doubt he'll find his stride, but this is by far an egregious oversestimation of a evaluating an "intangible." So where does the blame go? Well...would you turn that money down to play on the Toronto Maple Leafs? Of course not...so who brokered this deal? Nonis. Overthinking the play...ask yourself if we'd have had more wins with Komarov this season or Clarkson? And to flip the coin--NJ would have likely had more wins had Clarkson stayed with his teammates. I don't blame Clarkson one bit--in fact I think he'll come around. But this year Leafs expect a winning team--not another development program.
8. Trade no youth. Leaf fans have to accept that we may just be a rebuild. Sort of like Edmonton only our middle of the road standings and years with the woeful John Ferguson and sadly the Kessel trade -sigh- didn't offer us the highest draft picks during our sad sack decade that was 2000-2010 (and before and now beyond). Yet the highlights are this: all legitimate NHL'er's: Kadri, Gardiner, Reilly. Imagine these guys in 4-5 years. If you trade them now, they'll fill our nets with pucks.
