Bob McKenzie on last night's broadcast: "Are [the Leafs] going to win the Cup? No."

[Northern Dancer]

Leafs have some snipers that are also very weak defensively and in terms of puck possession which cause peaks and valleys based on Shooting %.

During Leafs hot streak of 10-1-1 the Leafs SH% was 14.4% however last season Leafs were 8.4%.

What that suggests is the actual win-loss record is inflated by unsustainable sh% and Leafs were able to outscore their poor Corsi/Fenwick and shots. If the Leafs performed at their average SH% at around 8 that record they would have lost 3-5 more games during that stretch of games.

So an NHL Insider like McKenzie is not going to be influenced by the anomaly of a league high shooting % over a 12 game stretch masking their poor possession and defensive play to reasonably believe Leafs are a serious Cup contender.

Do you honestly believe that posters here actually ever believed that. I thought the consensus was they would be life and death to make the play-offs and perhaps win a round. Nothing has really changed with that view. It is the ridiculousness of the highs and lows that drive the sane poster away from these boards.

 

[DesertHombre]

Who cares what Bob McKenzie thinks.

Lloyd Christmas thinks that the Leafs do have a chance.

 

[pucky]

The answer is a resounding 'NO!.'

Obviously, McKenzie knows more than gullible, biased Leaf fans... let's see, the Leafs are embarrassing themselves, giving up 40 shots on net, lost most recently to the Flyers 7-4 in dramatic fashion and on their way to lose to the 'Hawks, so far 4-0. The Hawks still have time to get to 40 shots on goal. Yep, the Leafs aren't winning the Cup this year.

 

[34]

The answer is a resounding 'NO!.'

Obviously, McKenzie knows more than gullible, biased Leaf fans... let's see, the Leafs are embarrassing themselves, giving up 40 shots on net, lost most recently to the Flyers 7-4 in dramatic fashion and on their way to lose to the 'Hawks, so far 4-0. The Hawks still have time to get to 40 shots on goal. Yep, the Leafs aren't winning the Cup this year.

Winning the Cup?

They will miss the playoffs.

 

[Moncherry]

McKenzie on point again.

He doesn't need to tailor his answers to not upset this fanbase because he's an actual analyst and not a shill like Dreger.

 

[happyaccident]

McKenzie on point again.

He doesn't need to tailor his answers to not upset this fanbase because he's an actual analyst and not a shill like Dreger.

He's going to look pretty stupid when we go on our next 10 game winning streak.

 

[mikeyz]

He's going to look pretty stupid when we go on our next 10 game winning streak.

Not if the Leafs give up 30-40 SOG in half of those games like they did during the last one.

 

[SenatorArmy*]

He misspoke. He meant "probably not".

Big deal.

No, he did not. No was correct.

 

[StringsAttached]

It'll be tough for this team to even make the playoffs. The cup might as well be on the summit of K2.

Even if by some miracle we win a round...or 2...or 3 we'll have to deal with the likes of Chicago/LA and those teams really turn it up in the playoffs. There's just no way with this roster.

 

[leafstilldeath*]

 

[Socreges]

Bobby Mac will be eating his words later in the season. A healthy Bernier into the playoffs and ANYTHING can happen. Kadri is slowly developing into Selke material as well, you need that type of center if you're to be considered a contender. Aka Toews. Think about it.

 

[skacore]

Bobby Mac will be eating his words later in the season. A healthy Bernier into the playoffs and ANYTHING can happen. Kadri is slowly developing into Selke material as well, you need that type of center if you're to be considered a contender. Aka Toews. Think about it.

Make it stop.

 

[GreekLeafer]

You're pretty foolish to be insulted by what Mckenzie said. I mean really? This team has shown only a sliver of improvement over last year.

 

[ironhorse384]

Anything is possible in the playoffs but they way the leafs don't play a team game I find it hard to fathom them going very deep in the playoffs never mind winning it all. It's not impossible but its highly improbable.

 

[MajorLeaf]

Bobby Mac will be eating his words later in the season. A healthy Bernier into the playoffs and ANYTHING can happen. Kadri is slowly developing into Selke material as well, you need that type of center if you're to be considered a contender. Aka Toews. Think about it.

Thanks for the entertaining post.

Two players (Bernier/Kadri) is not an entire team. To win the Stanley Cup the team requires ALL the players to be at least good to great.

Just look at J.S Giguere the year he won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Giguere had an amazing Stanley Cup run but still fell short. This Maple Leafs team doesn't have the defense to help Beriner and that is going to be the biggest problem for this Leafs team.

 

[Mr Lahey]

You're pretty foolish to be insulted by what Mckenzie said. I mean really? This team has shown only a sliver of improvement over last year.

I think the point is that whether the Leafs will win the cup or not had little to do with the question he was answering in the segment. Not only did he not have to bring that up, but rather than diplomatically stating that the Leafs will 'probably' not win the cup, he definitively stated that they won't.

I get that he 'probably' isn't wrong, but it was was an unnecessary comment and a little unprofessional.

Before you call me a whiner, I really don't give a **** about the whole thing - just calling it like I see it.

 

[happyaccident]

BMac was badly misquoted because he had a cruller stuffed in his face. He actually said that we have an excellent chance to win the Stanley Cup, even to be a dynasty.
Should never have been a controversy.

 

[Mr Lahey]

BMac was badly misquoted because he had a cruller stuffed in his face. He actually said that we have an excellent chance to win the Stanley Cup, even to be a dynasty.
Should never have been a controversy.

lol, pretty sure there would be a much bigger controversy if he said that.

 

[GalacticaActual]

McKenzie got the last laugh.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

The show between the periods in the Tampa game was pretty good and they showed an interview with Callahan when his team was 2-0 down and he looked rather comfortable and said his team played well and if they just kept on doing what they where doing and perhaps become a bit more tight in their backend they could turn the game around. That was a confidence that comes from being on a talented team who plays with structure, in a system the players buy in to. He and every one else on his team believe that if they just keep doing what they are doing, good things will happen.

Can a Leaf player really say the same with confidence? Can anyone look at Kessel and comfortably say, well if he keeps cherry picking the way he does, good things will happen?

They interviewed Kadri between the 2nd and 3rd period when the game was 2-2 and Kadri said Tampa is shooting from all angles and perhaps they need to take a leaf out of their book and do the same. No Kadri, the problem is not really that the Leafs dont shot enough (even do they could improve there as well). The problem is that the Leafs allow the other team to control the puck and take shot after shot without having to leave our zone.

Nonis has said he believes in this core since he have seen them make the playoffs in the past, meaning they was out shot and out played for a large part of a shortened season but managed to get in before the teams usual collapse happens. And until we get a GM who understands the game we will always struggle.

As long as Kessel and Phaneuf is our go to guys we will always struggle. Dion has stepped up a bit this season but for the long term and perhaps to finally cut ties with the past I think he has to go.
Kessel, well he do look unfit out there. We can not invest that much money and ice time in half a hockey player EVEN if that half that he sometimes brings is excellent at what it does.

This team needs a restart, reboot, retool of its core. Still lots of good players on the team worth keeping but the core guys are just simply not good enough. Well Bernier of course is a key to keep.

 

[achtungbaby]

It was silly to be offended by Bob's answer to begin with. How many folks here actually believed they had a shot to begin with? Probably not many, but this board by design is filled with the biggest Leaf homers there are. If most of them aren't even convinced, who are we to get mad at a pro like Bob for giving us his unfettered opinion??

 

[Mess]

McKenzie got the last laugh.

That is why Bob Mckenzie is a well respected knowledgeable "Hockey Insider" and professionally employed in the industry.

He is not going to be influenced by a small sample set, and this latest 5 losses in the past 6 games has seen the Leafs return back to where their Corsi stats suggest they should be.

Leafs are currently #27th in CF% (Corsi-On ice possession) at 44.8%, which is .1 ahead of Colorado (#28) @ 44.7% and .2 ahead of Calgary (#29) @44.6% as they're rapidly falling toward the bottom of the league again. Advanced stats suggest they should be ranked among the bottom teams and not the Cup contenders.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

It was silly to offended by Bob's answer to begin with. How many folks here actually believed they had a shot to begin with? Probably not many, but this board by design is filled with the biggest Leaf homers there are. If most of them aren't even convinced, who are we to get mad at a pro like Bob for giving us his unfettered opinion??

Yup, Bobs been an analyst long enough to avoid falling for small sample sizes. I don't get why anyone would be offended. If you watch the product on the ice it should be very telling that this team is not going to win the Stanley Cup. Yes it is an opinion but at this point it may as well be a fact.