News Article: Babcock: Marleau, Tavares, Rielly will wear a letter

[meefer]

The horror, the horror.

 

[Mr Hockey]

It feels like so many here will take it very personally if Matthews is not chosen as the Leafs "C" , get a grip

 

[pulfordfan]

No contract for Willie, no letter for Auston.......Leafs management stirring up some controversy as camp opens. Interesting

Willy' contract is being negotiated. Too early for Auston to get a C, notice no one got the C yet? No soap opera here, pump the brakes.

 

[colchar]

AM said the right things but didn't seem to thrilled when questioned by the media about it.

don't get why they wouldn't slap an A on his jersey but give one to a someone who's never played a game with us and another to someone who'll be gone within a year or two and couldn't care less , seems like creating drama where there doesn't need to be any

With comments like "but give one to a someone who's never played a game with us" and "another to someone who'll be gone within a year or two and couldn't care less" it is clearly you who is creating drama where there doesn't need to be any.

 

[AlexeiC]

diceman934, its my first post, even though i am on this forum for couple years (I started to read it about 5 years ago). Pls post more, and dont pay attention to ppl who disagree with you. You got great hockey mind and wonderful sense of humor. And you know it...

 

[indigobuffalo]

AM said the right things but didn't seem to thrilled when questioned by the media about it.

don't get why they wouldn't slap an A on his jersey but give one to a someone who's never played a game with us and another to someone who'll be gone within a year or two and couldn't care less , seems like creating drama where there doesn't need to be any

Because Matthews isn’t locked in to a new contract and that’s a big bargaining chip.

 

[Joedoggy]

When your coach thinks he wins games with line changes..."he thinks he is the captain"

 

[Spirit of 67]

Babcock: Marleau, Tavares, Rielly will wear a letter for Leafs this season
by Josh Wegman The Score

Babcock: Marleau, Tavares, Rielly will wear a letter for Leafs this season

Patrick Marleau, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly will all wear a letter for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, head coach Mike Babcock told TSN's Darren Dreger.
This, of course, would leave out Auston Matthews.

Two of the Maple Leafs' alternate captains from a year ago - Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov - departed via free agency this offseason.

Rielly was the third alternate captain, while Marleau, a former captain of the San Jose Sharks, wore an "A" on occasion last season.

Tavares spent the last five seasons as the captain of the New York Islanders.

In late August, Matthews said he would be ready to accept the Leafs' captaincy if called upon.

3 good choices. Tough to argue against it.

 

[Pookie]

Babcock: Marleau, Tavares, Rielly will wear a letter for Leafs this season
by Josh Wegman The Score

Babcock: Marleau, Tavares, Rielly will wear a letter for Leafs this season

Patrick Marleau, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly will all wear a letter for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, head coach Mike Babcock told TSN's Darren Dreger.
This, of course, would leave out Auston Matthews.

Two of the Maple Leafs' alternate captains from a year ago - Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov - departed via free agency this offseason.

Rielly was the third alternate captain, while Marleau, a former captain of the San Jose Sharks, wore an "A" on occasion last season.

Tavares spent the last five seasons as the captain of the New York Islanders.

In late August, Matthews said he would be ready to accept the Leafs' captaincy if called upon.

Makes complete sense. Rielly and Marleau wore one last year. Tavares is an established Captain in the league.

 

[Pookie]

You simply like to post nonsense with out a thought process. It was not a simply disagreement his parents were involved. You do not put a letter on a player who still has his parents involved in his adult life.

What side were you on in "Kadri for C?"

 

[Pookie]

I'd have given Matthews an A. But what do I know?

Matthews might get to wear one if one of the A's is out of the line up.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Matthews' probably gets an 'A' once Marleau is no longer on the team as well.

Rielly is known for being generally well-liked and connected with everyone in the dressing room (also one of the longer tenured Leafs at this point), and Marleau/Tavares' resumes speak for themselves.

 

[thewave]

Makes complete sense. Rielly and Marleau wore one last year. Tavares is an established Captain in the league.

JT is going to be the captain. I don't doubt that or that the Matthews negotiations are going to be harsh to the point where I doubt we give him an offer a penny shy or more of the 4x 1sts compensation level. What I am saying is no to paying Matthews 13m and no to long term and I don't care if someone gives us 4x 1sts for him if it comes to that. Neither should MLSE

Who loves least rules the relationship. Dont love Matthews because it's Matthews. Be weary his mom and how much she is involved seemingly. Matthews should detach from his mom this year, follow his heart and we will make sure that backs not going to be problematic.

 

[JamieG19]

JT is going to be the captain. I don't doubt that or that the Matthews negotiations are going to be harsh to the point where I doubt we give him an offer a penny shy or more of the 4x 1sts compensation level. What I am saying is no to paying Matthews 13m and no to long term and I don't care if someone gives us 4x 1sts for him if it comes to that. Neither should MLSE

Who loves least rules the relationship. Dont love Matthews because it's Matthews. Be weary his mom and how much she is involved seemingly. Matthews should detach from his mom this year, follow his heart and we will make sure that backs not going to be problematic.

Just wondering what makes you think his Mom is calling the shots?

And I totally disagree. He has the potential to be the very best. Give him whatever is needed.

 

[Skin Tape Session]

2 things. Number one ignore anything a player or team says in the media. It’s meaningless garbage and they have no interest in truth. It’s the say nothing put on a happy face and whatever you don’t give anybody from outside any fodder to know any problems.

Number 2. I don’t find it impossible to believe Matthews could think Tavares could be good (but what the hell did you expect him to tweet after they signed him??) for the team. But just wait.

When you have 2 horses it doesn’t always work out the way you think. People want to dismiss what happened to Gilmour when Sundin came in.

Auston wants and needs to be the man in Toronto just as McDavid is in Edmonton.

Ask yourself honestly how Matthews is going to feel when there’s a big moment in big games and Babcock sends out JT’s line and leaves Auston on the bench. And then if people start to talk about a Matthews slump or poor play how is he going to really feel when he knows JT is being used as the man and not him.

You’re not very perceptive if you don’t see this has potential for disaster.

It was fine to bring in JT if you do it the right way and play to Auston’s Ego. Assure him in every way possible this is His team. And this move shows they are tone deaf.

I believe Matthews can be better than McDavid. But you need to make everything happen around Auston and always make sure he knows that.

These moves are very disturbing and a precursor to on ice in game decisions that will piss Matthews off.

Look how pissed jeter was when a rod czme over, yankess won a ws and jeter was so livid he wanted out because a rod won mvp. Its too bad as jeter would of went down as a yankee great, i stead he tarnished his legacy while he played the last five years as a diamondback...oh wait!!

Players want to win!! Gilmour was traded because we were rebuilding, youre just wrong. It baffles my mind how someone could go so far down a wrong turn in their mind and just make thinks up to support it. You really need to backtrack and get on the right path because you are sooo far down wrong road you may just start believing in flat earth at this rate

 

[Skin Tape Session]

diceman934, its my first post, even though i am on this forum for couple years (I started to read it about 5 years ago). Pls post more, and dont pay attention to ppl who disagree with you. You got great hockey mind and wonderful sense of humor. And you know it...

I disagree, hes on ignore, i find him cocky, arrogant and insufferable

 

[JamieG19]

Look how pissed jeter was when a rod czme over, yankess won a ws and jeter was so livid he wanted out because a rod won mvp. Its too bad as jeter would of went down as a yankee great, i stead he tarnished his legacy while he played the last five years as a diamondback...oh wait!!

Players want to win!! Gilmour was traded because we were rebuilding, youre just wrong. It baffles my mind how someone could go so far down a wrong turn in their mind and just make thinks up to support it. You really need to backtrack and get on the right path because you are sooo far down wrong road you may just start believing in flat earth at this rate

I wonder if you even know what happened to Gilmour?

Quick version: he was arguably best center in league. Popular thinking was Leafs could win if they had better #2 centre. They got Sundin. Two number one centres! What could go wrong?

Well Gilmour fell off the map and was not the same player because he was no longer the man.

Another great example was Fedorov and Yzerman in Detroit. Ask yourself why Fedorov always played his best when Yzerman was injured?

This is a real thing in sports.

 

[IPS]

diceman934, its my first post, even though i am on this forum for couple years (I started to read it about 5 years ago). Pls post more, and dont pay attention to ppl who disagree with you. You got great hockey mind and wonderful sense of humor. And you know it...

Ok diceman934 it's time to log back on to your main account.

 

[Leafling]

Eventually i see Matthews with C, and 3As in Tavares, Rielly and Kadri (guy literally loves the team n city and has matured significantly)
Marleau is just being given an A as a sign of respect i feel, don't see him being resigned.

 

[AlexeiC]

Ok diceman934 it's time to log back on to your main account.

One day as the Buddha was sitting under a tree, a young, trim soldier walked by, looked at the Buddha, noticed his weight and his fat, and said: “You look like a pig!” The Buddha looked up calmly at the soldier and said: “And you look like God!” Taken aback by the comment, the soldier asked the Buddha: “Why do you say that I look like God?” The Buddha replied: “Well, we don’t really see what’s outside of ourselves, we see what’s inside of us and project it out. I sit under this tree all day and I think about God, so that when I look out, that’s what I see. And you, you must be thinking about other things!”

 

[leburn98]

Smart not to give Matthews or Marner any letter this year.

Obviously we will wait until they are locked up so this isn't another piece of leverage for them to bargain with. Next year 34 gets the C and 16 will get an A.

This. I'm surprised more people have picked up on this. You don't want to give his camp an extra bargaining chip in contract negotiations. While I don't feel like having a letter is a big deal in the locker room (many NHL and ex-NHLers have said this), it is a big deal in a market like Toronto. There is a ton of added pressure on the Captain when you are in a big market, especially when things are not going smoothly. Captains are usually the first ones to address the media and are always there to take the heat for the team. You can't have a Captain duck out of a post game interview after a tough loss. All of these added pressures will be used by his agent when negotiating his contract. In this aspect, signing Tavares is the best thing that could have happened for these negotiations. Matthews is no longer expected to be the defecto captain like he was pre-Tavares and the agent can no longer use that as a bargaining chip.

 

[Kiwi]

Matthews' probably gets an 'A' once Marleau is no longer on the team as well.

Rielly is known for being generally well-liked and connected with everyone in the dressing room (also one of the longer tenured Leafs at this point), and Marleau/Tavares' resumes speak for themselves.

I wouldn't mind Rielly getting the "C" and Matthews getting the "A" when Marleau leaves

From the outside looking in the Rielly seems to be a guy people listen to and want to follow, he speaks well and the pressure doesn't seem to get to him, he'd be my choice

 

[leburn98]

I wouldn't mind Rielly getting the "C" and Matthews getting the "A" when Marleau leaves

From the outside looking in the Rielly seems to be a guy people listen to and want to follow, he speaks well and the pressure doesn't seem to get to him, he'd be my choice

We also get the added benefit of calling him Captain Morgan

 

[BertCorbeau]

I wouldn't mind Rielly getting the "C" and Matthews getting the "A" when Marleau leaves

From the outside looking in the Rielly seems to be a guy people listen to and want to follow, he speaks well and the pressure doesn't seem to get to him, he'd be my choice

I also recall hearing that Rielly is just a genuinely good guy that gets along and is friends with everyone in the room

 

[Kiwi]

We also get the added benefit of calling him Captain Morgan

Nothing better than that (even though I can't stand the stuff)

I also recall hearing that Rielly is just a genuinely good guy that gets along and is friends with everyone in the room

He seems like a great kid, guys that can bring people together like that are great for team chemistry