Do you have faith in this team?

[gamer1035]

The team is winning. They've been playing winning hockey for a while now. However, they've had collpases in 3 straight years, and this isn't the first time we've seen this core doing well.

I personally don't think this core has what it takes, and see every win as a step further from McDavid.

Click to read more...

 

[socko]

I think they make the playoffs if Bernier stays healthy the entire year.

 

[hfman]

with all due respect this is just another "flavour of the day" topic. Leafs are winning tonight... so we post a "can we win it all" topic. But when we lose the next 3 the poll will be "who should we fire first".

It's going to take a lot more than one winning streak or one losing streak to determine where this team is going. Until this team shows that they can win consistently for an entire season or two, and prove that they're on the way up during the course of a few seasons, then I vote "no".

Run this poll again 2 or 3 years from now after they've consistently been winning and consistently finishing higher in the standings and making the playoffs. Right now this topic is very short-sighted, as usual.

And yeah they're winning tonight, 4-1 with 11 minutes left... but what does that mean? I've seen a 4-1 lead evaporate with 11 minutes to go before...


edit - make that 4-2.

Is it going to happen again tonight? I'll never trust this team for a win until the 60 minutes is up - and now it looks like we're in for some kind of finish here

 

[Diatomic]

The team is winning. They've been playing winning hockey for a while now. However, they've had collpases in 3 straight years, and this isn't the first time we've seen this core doing well.

I personally don't think this core has what it takes, and see every win as a step further from McDavid.

Faith in what? Playoffs, yes. The Cup, no. I personally don't think they'll collapse as hard as they did in the past 3 years but yes a collapse is always on the horizon with these players.

 

[The Reaper]

Nope.

 

[headwire]

Not while Randy Carlyle is anywhere near this team.

 

[HEAVY DUTY]

i do believe this team is good with the depth we have. but the coaching makes me doubt it.

i voted yes i believe in this team but it can go the other way quite easily.

 

[hfman]

i do believe this team is good with the depth we have. but the coaching makes me doubt it.

i voted yes i believe in this team but it can go the other way quite easily.

but if they'd lost 6 of their last 10 instead of winning them, then we'd vote "no".

That's why this is short-sighted and most participants will use the Leafs' current streak as a basis for their vote.

Look at it over the last 2 or 3 years. The answer is clearly "no". Winning or losing 6 of their last 10 does nothing to change that vote. It's still "no", simply because of the last few seasons. If the last few seasons were winning ones with promise, and we were in a current hot streak, then "yes" could become feasible. But not yet. Not until we see a few years of consistent winning and climbing the standings can we realistically vote "yes".

 

[FlareKnight]

Same response as to the last poll about this topic. Right now, no. I don't think this group or the majority of it will be part of a roster that wins the Cup here.

If they can start making the playoffs consistently and actually start going past round one, then that opinion can change.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

I think our depth is good enough (and since we are a cap team that is to be expected) and our goalies are good but our D and our 1st line is not good enough. Might be enough to make the playoffs but I dont see a future contender here.

 

[ConnorTO]

praise JESUS praise the LORD

i have faith in this season

 

[Suntouchable13]

I don't have much faith. This team is way too flawed.

 

[Bionda]

Not much faith, way too many flaws and inconsistent play.
WC spot at best.

 

[Anthrax442]

I have 51% faith

 

[Drew311]

8 games ago? No

8 games later? Yes

I'm not jumping on and off the bandwagon, I actually see some kind of mental change from the players after the Nashville loss. They actually seem like they care, which has made all the difference. If they keep playing like they care I think they could make the ECF considering how wide open the conference is. If they choose to take games off on a regular basis they'll be drafting in the top 10 once again.

 

[Pi]

Team? No... We give up too many goals and have far too many breakdowns.

I do have faith in Bernier to bail them out if he stays healthy and plays 80% of the remaining games. We are better than last year but the main culprits still suck at defence.

 

[Pyromaniac3]

Just feels like we are outscoring our problems again. Still bottom 5 in CF and FF. We are better than last year, but not good enough.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I'm going with a "believe it when I see it" approach.

Despite thinking this team needs an overhaul with the core, I do cheer for them to win and hope they prove me wrong, but they still look poor defensively at times and I have little faith in Carlyle as coach.

 

[TheLeastOfTheBunch]

Think they will make it this year, so I will vote yes.

Although I think blowing it up and rebuilding around one of the high end Cs from this draft, along with Nylander, Rielly, Bernier and JVR, would be better for winning more games in the long run. Guess we will have to wait and see

 

[go_leafs_go02]

Still don't trust the team. Still waiting for them to rip my heart out again.

But the secondary scoring is far better this year than last. Still winning without the first line producing like they used to.

 

[cookie]

All three of our young centers can play special teams.

PK: no surprise how many SH goals we have this year. Kadri was 5-5-10 on the PK in his draft year. Holland was drafted as a two-way forward and could gain experience in that regard. Bozak is a good skater who can quickly read plays and force netural zone and blue line turnovers.

PP: I don't like Bozak being here but being with Kessel and JVR overshadows his own quick shot and sensible (though not overly creative) passing game. Kadri played the point and huge PP minutes in the OHL. I'm not so sure about Holland, but he has a good hard shot and has shown offensive instincts in his time up here.

Seems to me that all three gents are interchangable in the lineup, with some minor differences in skill. It should be Randy's job to surround our centers with one winger that struggles defensively and another that can act as the line's defensive consciousness.

16 minutes on average per top-3 line, with more minutes going to the performers, leaves 12 minutes for the 4th line to play. This set-up is quite similar to the winning Raptors where each night someone new finds a way to win the game.

 

[mikeyz]

if Bernier stays healthy, yes.

 

[WordsOfWisdumb*]

The team is winning. They've been playing winning hockey for a while now. However, they've had collpases in 3 straight years, and this isn't the first time we've seen this core doing well.

I personally don't think this core has what it takes, and see every win as a step further from McDavid.

Best case: Second round of the playoffs.
Average case: They make the playoffs and bow out in round one.
Worst case: They miss the playoffs again, finishing in the middle.

I think they need to make a trade like the hypothetical one I suggested earlier.

 

[leafstilldeath*]

Nope no faith in this team because of following reasons:

1. No Accountability.
2. No Pride
3. Its always someone else's fault, No responsibility
4. Easily satisfied team. No hunger (I blame the vets for this not youngsters)
5. I do not see the drive to be better than what they were the previous night (win or lose)
6. Status quo. is the norm
7. Trust is earned. The same core has failed for 4+ seasons in a row. Hard to put your faith in them when they repeat the same mistakes again and again
7. Faith

 

[Jacquestrapless]

There is just something that troubles me when I watch them play: mainly defensive zone-coverage. When the pace in the 2nd half of the season picks up, will they handle the intensity?