What you're seeing now is more players that work their ***** off coming. Polak, Robidas, Komarov, and Santo all play hard and are well liked. Maybe they aren't all the biggest guys, but they work harder than anyone and set a good example to their teammates and their energy really is contagious, and that's the best kind of leadership.
Work ethic > size.
Compared to last year, it seemed like maybe once all season this team played and competed a whole 60 minutes. It wasn't just frustrating seeing this team be outshot and having little possession, it was even more frustrating seeing no push back or compete from the team.
These moves are addressing this. I've loved the off-season so far, my only concern being where Holland will fit in. I think he is certainly an NHL calibre player, I thought he'd get an opportunity to be the 3rd line centre. But we've acquired so many centres and management talks about him being on the 4th line and that blows my mind how much he would be misused in a 4th line role with his offensive capabilities.
My definition of culture change as it pertains to the Leafs is the way the team is run, not the players on it.
I think culture change is when ALL the players buy into a system and don't want to let their team-mates down...It's like a peer pressure to keep up with your end of the bargain.
I'm not sure that's possible with floaters like Kessell and Kadri (on defense) in the lineup...Even Lupul played softer last season,which was a big disappointment to me. At times the previous year he was the Leafs best player in my opinion.
The season we made the playoffs we still got outplayed by most other teams. We was the worse possession team in the league. But we also had the highest shooting % in the league. Now with a shortened season we some how managed to get in before the team collapsed and the poor play cached up to us like it did the season before and the season after. I dont know why on earth we would want to recreated the 12/13 season. Just because we was lucky to make the playoffs?
A good read about it.
http://blog.philbirnbaum.com/2013/10/corsi-shot-quality-and-toronto-maple.html
They've definately changed the "culture". It will be nice to see a hardworking Team again.
Exactly.
More leadership and more work ethic is the plan, it seems.
Last years team got outworked, outplayed and outshot regularly.
It appears by the type of players being brought in that is the culture change that Management was talking about trying to fix.
More blue collar effort and push back is expected.
No accountability at the top
Gm keeps his job
Coach keeps his job. But assistants get fall
Top players stay, supporting cast takes fall
Until they change the core pièces the same culture will eventually trickle down as the new supporting case sees the inbalance
No accountability at the top
Gm keeps his job
Coach keeps his job. But assistants get fall
Top players stay, supporting cast takes fall
Until they change the core pièces the same culture will eventually trickle down as the new supporting case sees the inbalance
No accountability at the top
Gm keeps his job
Coach keeps his job. But assistants get fall
Top players stay, supporting cast takes fall
Until they change the core pièces the same culture will eventually trickle down as the new supporting case sees the inbalance
It's good the problems are being addressed but it's also a bit damming on the players that they need to bring in people known for work ethic and professionalism to help them dig out of the hole the Leafs are in.
And that is why the culture have not change. It is the core guys, the top earners, the ones who have the key positions and who see most of the ice time that should drive the team forward with their work rate and leadership. Sure a couple of skill guys who are only skill guys is something you can get away with but when your whole core is soft, lack leadership and grit you are in trouble. It is not the depth guys that should push the core forward, it is the core who should lead the way and drag the depth guys with them.
We have rearranged the bottom six and made side way moves on defense. That is not changing the culture, that is staying mostly the same. People really think Komarov will take this team on his shoulders and carry us to the playoffs? Lol, he is a 4th/3rd liner that even do a nice player to have on the team is still nothing more then a 4th/3rd liner.
It's good the problems are being addressed but it's also a bit damming on the players that they need to bring in people known for work ethic and professionalism to help them dig out of the hole the Leafs are in.
And that is why the culture have not change. It is the core guys, the top earners, the ones who have the key positions and who see most of the ice time that should drive the team forward with their work rate and leadership. Sure a couple of skill guys who are only skill guys is something you can get away with but when your whole core is soft, lack leadership and grit you are in trouble. It is not the depth guys that should push the core forward, it is the core who should lead the way and drag the depth guys with them.
We have rearranged the bottom six and made side way moves on defense. That is not changing the culture, that is staying mostly the same. People really think Komarov will take this team on his shoulders and carry us to the playoffs? Lol, he is a 4th/3rd liner that even do a nice player to have on the team is still nothing more then a 4th/3rd liner.
Right on, they should have overpaid to keep Kulemin, Bolland and Raymond and traded Dion, Kessel and JVR.
You got all that from them not saying anything remotely resembling that? Show me the magic?
And that is why the culture have not change. It is the core guys, the top earners, the ones who have the key positions and who see most of the ice time that should drive the team forward with their work rate and leadership. Sure a couple of skill guys who are only skill guys is something you can get away with but when your whole core is soft, lack leadership and grit you are in trouble. It is not the depth guys that should push the core forward, it is the core who should lead the way and drag the depth guys with them.
We have rearranged the bottom six and made side way moves on defense. That is not changing the culture, that is staying mostly the same. People really think Komarov will take this team on his shoulders and carry us to the playoffs? Lol, he is a 4th/3rd liner that even do a nice player to have on the team is still nothing more then a 4th/3rd liner.
You don't need any magic, you should already know this from watching what is really wrong with the team. There has not been a respectable bottom six and an acceptable group of defensive pairings for more than a few seasons. Culture is not fixed by getting rid of a core that do their jobs, it is fixed by finally getting rid of the overpaid bottom six players and fixing the pairings.
You don't need any magic, you should already know this from watching what is really wrong with the team. There has not been a respectable bottom six and an acceptable group of defensive pairings for more than a few seasons. Culture is not fixed by getting rid of a core that do their jobs, it is fixed by finally getting rid of the overpaid bottom six players and fixing the pairings.