Has the Leafs rebuild failed?

Has the Leafs rebuild failed?


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TomasHertlsRooster

Don’t say eye test when you mean points
May 14, 2012
33,360
25,417
Fremont, CA
Not a f***ing chance.

They spent a few years in the cellar and were rewarded for it with some fantastic elite talent. That's all you could dream of in a re-build.
 

sharks9

Registered User
Jan 16, 2012
16,444
2,604
Canada
I hate the Leafs, but no.

They've still got a lot of young pieces, but they definitely missed a big chance to capitalize on those young pieces being cheap. Every year from here on out it'll be hard for them to add more talent
 

34

Registered User
Mar 26, 2010
21,132
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Yes it has. Babcock needs to be fired and Andersen is trash. The Leafs need to get a #1 goalie this offseason.
 

vippe

Registered User
Mar 18, 2008
14,234
1,184
Sweden
Yes it has. Babcock needs to be fired and Andersen is trash. The Leafs need to get a #1 goalie this offseason.

Andersen was the best player on the leafs this post season though..

Should probably look at Tavares, Nylander with a combined salary of 28 million dollars this year and superstar Mitch Marner with their poor series effort and Kadri with his mindblowing selfish play before you blame it on Freddie.
 
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LuckyBoeser

Registered User
Oct 8, 2018
1,354
1,706
Yes it has. Babcock needs to be fired and Andersen is trash. The Leafs need to get a #1 goalie this offseason.
Andersen ranks 3rd in gsaa during a 3 years span. He definitely a starter, and there is nooooo way you will find a better goalie than him in the offseason.
 

Tim Vezina Thomas

Registered User
Jun 4, 2009
11,342
629
Yes and no, mostly no.

They didn't really capitalize on cheap ELCs for Matthews and Marner, but their rebuild netted them Matthews, Marner and Nylander, which gave Tavares enough comfortability that the organization was headed in the right direction.

Now that they have their core locked up long term, drafting will be key for them. Need to supplement that core with young cheap talent.
 

boredmale

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Jul 13, 2005
42,363
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They are entering cap hell so I would say yes. These past few years were their best chance and they blew it. Half of their cap is gonna be used on 4 players..

Leafs just need to get rid of Nylander and Marleau and then they should have more then enough space to field a competitive team after the big 3. The way the cap goes up about 2M a year should cause no problems when others contracts come up.
 

SpezDispenser

Registered User
Aug 15, 2007
26,707
6,233
Leafs just need to get rid of Nylander and Marleau and then they should have more then enough space to field a competitive team after the big 3. The way the cap goes up about 2M a year should cause no problems when others contracts come up.

Who is gonna take old man Marleau of their hands? That's a ton of money for a 37 point player who will turn 40 before the drop of puck next season.
 

Nizdizzle

Offseason Is The Worst Season
Jul 7, 2007
13,861
6,874
Windsor, Ontario
twitter.com
Yes and no, mostly no.

They didn't really capitalize on cheap ELCs for Matthews and Marner, but their rebuild netted them Matthews, Marner and Nylander, which gave Tavares enough comfortability that the organization was headed in the right direction.

Now that they have their core locked up long term, drafting will be key for them. Need to supplement that core with young cheap talent.
Not seeing the "yes" part in that answer.

The rebuild got the Leafs a number of high end players. The rebuild has the Leafs as a top-10 team now and likely the foreseeable future. They've had the **** luck of having to play a top-3 team every year in the first round due to the hilarity of the NHL playoff system. How anyone can claim the rebuild has failed is beyond me, and IMO isn't looking at this with an impartial perspective.
 

Space Coyote

Registered User
Oct 29, 2010
5,894
2,701
Leafs need a new coach and goalie who doesn't choke elimination games. The real failures are Buffalo and Edmonton.
 

Aceboogie

Registered User
Aug 25, 2012
32,649
3,896
Remember when Washington had a great team but choked in round 1 and 2 all the time. Wonder how they wound up over the long term
 

E76

Registered User
Sep 29, 2018
38
38
Obviously no, it has not failed. Their window is fairly big and any given year if they get hot at the right time they could go all the way. What they did fail at was executing during the most prime period of their window when Matthews & Marner were on ELCs.

They have the assets to fix their problem areas. The only question is will Dubas execute on it.
 

obey86

Registered User
Jun 9, 2009
8,013
1,274
So you think losing Jake Gardiner and idk, Connor Brown (?) makes this team so much worse they can't be a good team next year? Have to say i disagree. Leafs have pretty decent young players coming up to replace guys who, in this Boston series, were secondary pieces at best.

They're going to bring back 90%+ same team they had this year for next year, and after that Marleau's contract comes off the books and the cap goes up again, freeing up good amount of space to manage their cap and at that point replacing Marleau with a young guy will probably make the team better.

And as far as your Chicago example goes, the Hawks didn't become a bad team the moment they handed out those contracts. They had over 100 pts b2b seasons. Besides, one could argue the depth wasn't their biggest issue, rather the core guys declining. Seabrook turned from a minute eater to bottom pairing dman on a good team. Toews saw a decline in offense for years. Keith has been slowing down gradually. Marian Hossa was in his late 30's and ultimately 'retired'.

Comparing the Hawks aging core to the Leafs young core is laughable and they are not similar in any way.

To answer the OP's question, has the Leafs rebuild failed, of course not lol. As far as i remember they were a bottom dweller for years. Now they've been a playoff team for 3 years in a row, and have that young core for years to come. Seems to me like they went from a terrible team with no winning culture to a team that's seen as a great team around the league = rebuild successful.

So much worse? No. But they are a better team on paper with Gardiner than they are without him. Doesn't mean they can't win in the future, but there roster will likely be worse next year (again, on paper) than it was this year. Anything can certainly happen (see NYI, better team this year despite losing Tavares) but that doesn't change what I said above.
 

smitty10

Registered User
Aug 6, 2009
9,805
2,643
Toronto
No.

Outside of Andersen (29), Muzzin (30) and Tavares (28), our entire core is 25 or under.

Rielly - 25
Matthews - 21
Marner - 21
Nylander - 22
Kapanen - 22

And we still have a bunch of younger quality players who are either rookies or playing with the Marlies and graduating in the next 2 seasons.

Johnsson - 24
Rosen - 25
Dermott - 22
Bracco - 22
Borgman - 23
Sandin - 19
Liljegren - 19

The future is very bright in Toronto.
 
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izlez

We need more toe-drags/60
Feb 28, 2012
4,575
3,462
It's been a failure, but too early to say it has failed.

But on the other side, it was DEFINITELY too early for everyone in the hockey world to cite Toronto as a successful rebuild or a team that shows "tanking works" for the last 3 years
 
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Team Cozens

Registered User
Oct 24, 2013
6,566
3,863
Burlington
Absolutely not. SHOULD be fine.
Having said that Dubas needs to make way better decisions moving forward.
When does Tavares start to regress? 2/3/4/5 years? Never know.

What contract does Marner get?
Muzzin replaces Gardiner, someone tell Dubas there is a right side as well.
Need 2 RHD. Don't rush Sandin
Get rid of Nylander and Kadri for said RHD.
Kapanen is a tough one. Extremely fast, low IQ player.

Marleau? Zaitsive? Yikes
 
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Team Cozens

Registered User
Oct 24, 2013
6,566
3,863
Burlington
No.

Outside of Andersen (29), Muzzin (30) and Tavares (28), our entire core is 25 or under.

Rielly - 25
Matthews - 21
Marner - 21
Nylander - 22
Kapanen - 22

And we still have a bunch of younger quality players who are either rookies or playing with the Marlies and graduating in the next 2 seasons.

Johnsson - 24
Rosen - 25
Dermott - 22
Bracco - 22
Borgman - 23
Sandin - 19
Liljegren - 19

The future is very bright in Toronto.

Future is potentially bright. Welcome to the NHL.
 

KingJoffrey

Registered User
Jan 30, 2014
2,247
745
Yes. They are in cap hell without any success. I'm willing to bet that they won't make to playoffs next year. 40 mil for 4 forwards is simply nuts. 3/1 split would be okey, but that's just simply brutal. And add to that Nylander bum is KHL bound in three years.
'
 

Paris in Flames

Registered User
Feb 4, 2009
15,903
7,935
They haven't done enough to win yet but that doesn't mean it's failed.

They have a core that will keep them near the top of the league for many years. It's just a matter of finishing the product.
 
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