Brown Dog
Registered User
- Jun 23, 2007
- 5,765
- 4,934
We’re getting no big trade, missing the playoffs and Reilly walking at the end of the year. Then everyone will be fired and Dubas will still stand by the core 4.
A scary scenario (that is, unless we have all become too numb to even feel fear).
Lets say your scenario plays out. Leafs fail again and the team has no choice but to clean house and bring in a new GM. The new GM has no choice but to make cuts to the core that Dubas wouldn't, most likely Marner because Matthews is still the cornerstone of any retool and Tavares has the NMC. The whole league knows the deal and Marner's reputation is even further in the tank with another failure on his resume. Leafs get 50 cents on the dollar in the trade.
Now, without Marner and Rielly, Tavares aging, and turnover throughout the organization and roster, the team takes a step back and maybe even misses the playoffs as they struggle to find an identity. Levels of fan outrage and apathy reach all-time highs and Matthews refuses to commit long-term, forcing a trade and the start of a new rebuild.
Meanwhile, Marner (now away from the pressure cooker and spotlight of Toronto) finds his groove and leads New Jersey (or some other such team) to various playoff successes.
This is worst-case scenario but not hard to see how it might play out. It's the flipside to the assumption that massive changes to the roster will inevitably work out well.