Are the Leafs' players tanking

[Trapper]

Nah. Losing to Zamboni drivers and Pittsburgh AHL squads 7-1 does.

And still thinking you are better than everyone else…

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

A player trains their entire life to make the league, they aren't going to tank when they want their next contract.

 

[Kazparov]

You don't tank as a max cap team.

The blueprint for tanking is well established.

You take on cap hits and bury them. You sign a lot of players to 1 year deals and sell them off before the deadline to get more picks and prospects.

They just suck right now. There is no silver lining here.

 

[ottomaddox]

It's fun to vote "yes", but that can't be.

These guys had pride before, they are imploding before your eyes this season. Hard to believe because they seemed like Olympic hopefuls. Matthews has already made the team but Marner, Rielly, and Tavares have f***ing blown it.

 

[Stephen]

Overpaid contracts and underperforming players does not = tanking.

Overpaid players without earning it breads complacency, and creates an environment of self entitlement, when you hand out guaranteed contracts in advance of performance.

In Toronto this is referred to as "Blue and White" disease, and its created by management both GM and Coach on how they created it, and are not handling this situation.

Mess, remember when terms like the “Muskoka 5” and “Mickey Mouse Organization” were insults thrown at complacent and poorly run teams and now we have player only summits in cottage country and guys showing up in head to toe Disney?

I’m not an old school curmudgeon (yet) but sometimes there’s something to be said about boring button down professionalism. Doesn’t necessarily help you when you struggle but at least doesn’t pour more gasoline on the fire.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Definitely tanking.
They want a top end prospect, to possibly take their spot!

 

[Mess]

Mess, remember when terms like the “Muskoka 5” and “Mickey Mouse Organization” were insults thrown at complacent and poorly run teams and now we have player only summits in cottage country and guys showing up in head to toe Disney?

I’m not an old school curmudgeon (yet) but sometimes there’s something to be said about boring button down professionalism. Doesn’t necessarily help you when you struggle but at least doesn’t pour more gasoline on the fire.

The Inmates are running the Asylum in Toronto.

Its not "tanking" its anarchy and that leads to chaos and dysfunctionality.

A sense of entitlement is not tanking it just looks like it from the effort and results but that is a false positive.

 

[Clark4Ever]

The players are gripping their sticks too tight and not playing with any sense of cohesion.

It's not necessarily a lack of will, it's a lack of execution.

Whatever Marner is dealing with between the ears seems to be contagious at the moment.

 

[HandshakeLineRespect]

Tanking? Brutal take buds

 

[hamzarocks]

Leafs just aren't a talented team

1 top ten player whose not performing

1 top 30 player whose a mental midget

Nylander who despite playing good isn't smart or talented enough to put a 100 pt pace to make uo for the mental mudget and declining 2C

And the fastest declining 2C in the league

Leafs are not talented enough.

 

[AllDay28]

Matthews was laughing in pressers after Saturday's game. Saying the media is acting like the sky is falling after 6 games, saying they're blocking out the noise and they believe in themselves in the room and that's all that matters.

I call BS. I agree with people saying they're losing belief in themselves and Im not surprised, because to me they just don't seem like a team.

There's a few guys getting paid well who get supported by a rag tag group of project player mercenaries every year. There's nothing cohesive about the group anymore, no one is having fun. And neither are the fans.

Locker Room insider here reporting.

also today I learn that making millions to play a game means you’re in a “rag tag” group. Good times.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Leafs just aren't a talented team

1 top ten player whose not performing

1 top 30 player whose a mental midget

Nylander who despite playing good isn't smart or talented enough to put a 100 pt pace to make uo for the mental mudget and declining 2C

And the fastest declining 2C in the league

Leafs are not talented enough.

If this was true, and I think it is, I want a rebuild to start now. Get some assets for the current roster and move on.

 

[The Blueprint]

Locker Room insider here reporting.

also today I learn that making millions to play a game means you’re in a “rag tag” group. Good times.

Haha come on man. It's all relative. 40 mil for 4 guys and a bunch of league min making up the rest of your roster.

If a guy making 12 mil on the team wasn't worried, not playing with urgency...why would a guy making league min?

The team never practiced what they preached when they said "everybody has to take a discount, it's about the logo on the front blah blah"

All went out the window with Tavares and the following contracts, paved the way for the disaster that's unfolding today. Inmates running the asylum.

 

[Confucius]

Sadly, no, this is as well as they can play under these circumstances.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

If a guy making 12 mil on the team wasn't worried, not playing with urgency...why would a guy making league min?

Or why work hard when you know the Leafs don’t have money for you.

Rielly knows he is walking

 

[Confucius]

Or why work hard when you know the Leafs don’t have money for you.

Rielly knows he is walking

Well he is playing for a new contract he hopes to get from someone.

 

[Menzinger]

I think we're overthinking things a bit. A few of them definitely look mentally shook (Marner). Some potentially showing age/dealing with injury (Tavares/Muzzin), some look Rusty (Matthews).

Don't think it's any grand scheme at play here. They just haven't played very well

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Don't think it's any grand scheme at play here. They just haven't played very well

I'm not talking results i'm talking effort

 

[MagicalRazor]

I'm talking about the players tanking.

Not the organization.

Are they losing games because they no longer care ?

The kids with phat pay days yeah probably. You pay kids the biggest contracts in the league at their earliest age they are able to obtain the bag … what else they playing for they can retire by 30

 

[17 Clark]

Well he is playing for a new contract he hopes to get from someone.

He will get it look what Edmonton payed Darnell nurse 9 1/2 million dollars wow he’s not that talented Riley will get eight or 8 1/2 million whether you like it or not

 

[The Iceman]

YUP, the player stank so far...oh, you said tank.

not a .000001% chance.

Close thread

 

[Tak7]

Lol. No. They just aren't very good.

 

[socko]

If poor effort is tanking, then some of them have been tanking since they were drafted.

 

[cookie]

I've outright stopped watching these games midway through. It feels like we're not seeing these boys put in a 100% for various reasons. Take the bottom line forwards: some of the shifts feel like desperate attempts at exiting the zone and setting up an offensive zone draw. Obviously that isn't a bad thing in and of itself, especially with how skewed some of the zone starts seem to be, but it kind of feels like guys filling a role that's given to them, and not guys that are actually playing hockey. You rarely see guys engage in extra-curriculars or make use of their physicality in forecheck either. This sort of thing disgusts me when I see, like in the previous game, guys like Aho actually competing and standing up for themselves against Dermott. We need to see guys initiate, compete, and play to their strengths instead of playing reactionary hockey and getting down on themselves.

 

[hfman]

they started their "tank" in game 5 last season vs Montreal. That was no upset, rather they just stopped playing. And when you stop playing and stop putting in the effort, that's an intentional act.

So, why did they dangle the carrot to go up 3-1 only to begin their tank the next game?

Whatever problem caused them to give up, the problem is still here right now.