Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose 4-3 in Washington

[ORRFForever]

Well then, all we need is to acquire Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.
That shouldn't be difficult at all.

Or, maybe acquire a team where John Tavares is borderline a 4th line centre. Sounds even easier.

Give credit where credit is due. He's won. You can't take that away from him.

 

[Canadian Finn]

Yet when Nylander had the hot hand against St Louis and was the best player on both teams, he was benched.

This coach doesn't know **** about accountability. He plays favorites.

Well, fire him, or have the "star players" play better so they too can become favourites.

That would be our best hope.

Best option is to fire him, let the junior come in, and coach our junior players.

If things turn around. Great! If things don't, oh well, at least we tried.

I'm not against firing Babcock at all.

I think bringing in a new face could be an eye opener. (for both players, and the fans)

 

[MattySnipes]

Why can't we have one Tom Wilson to spend 10+ minutes in the penalty box every night as the refs quietly celebrate because that makes the job of looking for something to call so much easier...

If Wilson was a Leaf, he wouldn't go 5 minutes without a penalty called against him. Book it. All those hits he laid tonight, would've been called if he was a Leaf. I'm dead serious. I still can't believe Caps were only penalised once, and given 5 PP.

 

[ORRFForever]

Actually Matty would be the last guy I move unless I know he will not resign.

M.S. was just joking.

 

[deletethis]

They didn't play well, the best players weren't the best players, the defense struggled, the goaltending wasn't very good, they were outhit, they got 4 less PPs. And yet it was only a one goal loss.

 

[PromisedLand]

I'm not sure they are capable of more.

Marner is little and isn't going to intimidate anyone.
Matthews plays smaller than Marner so that's a lost cause.

This team needs some size. I would trade Nylander for something big up front - even if you lose points in the process.

In the end team composition matters more than just scoring to win. Blues, Bruins, Hawks, Caps, Pens have all shown that.

Having more skill doesn't mean you are going to out skill your opponent - this isn't EA Sports. Puck pursuit and puck tracking (i.e. play without the puck); holding on to the puck and not get seprated easily from the puck is also very important.

I don't expect Marner to do the heavy lifting so he needs to play with players that will. That is why Hyman is so crucial to that line.

I think we need another big body on the Matthews-Nylander line; we can choose one of Johnsson or Kapanen to make a trade

 

[ToneDog]

yeah it's so funny. Kapanen was hot garbage with Tavares and Marner and lasted 7 games. Moore was mediocre at worst after an excellent game and was taken off almost immediately

Babs said he was not ready to move Soupman up yet in a pregame interview, yet he did tonight. I found it rather strange.

 

[MattySnipes]

Actually Matty would be the last guy I move unless I know he will not resign.

You're taking me seriously? Didn't see the ?

Like I said earlier. I wouldn't trade a soul. Babcock would be the first to go.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

No team is worried about playing the maple leafs.
Deal with the speed...wait for opportunities. You'll have a shot, no matter who you are.

Kinda sad. I love this team... but no one is worried about us. Skilled team...can work hard, but doesnt bury teams or make them pay for penalties or bad matchups...

 

[Leaf4Life]

He won in Detroit and with Team Canada so he has the pedigree.

You really think Babcock is the only professional coach in the world who could've won with that Detroit team and with Team Canada? Lmao. You're too much.

Winning with dream teams proves nothing.

 

[PromisedLand]

Ok. If we're talking back to back against the ducks and knights, I get your line of thinking.

But it was the Wild.

They just barely scraped by the Sens for their first win!

Versus the Caps!

For a team that needs home ice advantage, conceding 2 is a bad decision. Roll those dice for 4 there.

What if Hutch played bad against the Wild and then Freddy gets lit up against the cap we get zero points. At least we have 2.

From what I've seen of Hutch I don't have much faith in him to win games; so getting at least 2 points was important and so Freddy starting against the Wild makes sense to me

 

[ORRFForever]

Actually Matty would be the last guy I move unless I know he will not resign.

I am NOT a Matthews fan but I will give him credit. He has one of the best shots in the NHL and he has that "fly by" thing down pat.

Having said that, at $11.67 you can NOT be scared of your own shadow and you can't disappear. After his usual BIG start, Matthews has been MIA for 3 games. When was the last time O.V. or McDavid or Crosby went missing for 3 games?

 

[ToneDog]

M.S. was just joking.

He used the sarcasm icon but I was not sure if that was because he thought I was entertaining the thought of moving Matty. Either way we agree.

 

[Stephen]

Why can't we have one Tom Wilson to spend 10+ minutes in the penalty box every night as the refs quietly celebrate because that makes the job of looking for something to call so much easier...

Curious nitpick on a 20 goal who has actually brought a Stanley Cup back to Toronto...

 

[Cpt Maple Leaf]

You're taking me seriously? Didn't see the ?

Like I said earlier. I wouldn't trade a soul. Babcock would be the first to go.

Plenty of players to trade if anyone would take them. Question is the return. And yes, I am thinking Babs has got to go.

 

[Lightsol]

can you give me an example of a team that traded all their players away and kept their coach?

I think there's a bunch of Leaf fans who enjoyed the Matthews and Marner PICKS, but haven't really enjoyed watching the team itself. So they want to go back to when the Leafs were bottoming out and getting high picks again. Remember the high of having the Leafs get the 1st overall?

 

[Canadian Finn]

I am NOT a Matthews fan but I will give him credit. He has one of the best shots in the NHL and he has that "fly by" thing down pat.

Having said that, at $11.67 you can NOT be scared of your own shadow and you can not just disappear. After his usual BIG start, Matthews has been MIA for 3 games. When was the last time O.V. or McDavid or Crosby went missing for 3 games?

Watching the Edmonton Philly game now. McDavid just undressed the D for a huge goal then just set up RNH for a great goal.

It is sad watching him after watching our "stars".

 

[ORRFForever]

You really think Babcock is the only professional coach in the world who could've won with that Detroit team and with Team Canada? Lmao. You're too much.

Winning with dream teams proves nothing.

I'm glad I'm "too much".

He has pedigree. If you want him fired, let the Leafs know. I, for one, would keep him.

 

[Legendary]

An embarrassing loss to Boston and I think thats all she wrote for Babcock

 

[Dave92]

So we can't make evaluations of how the team should perform based on player personnel only on ice performance? Incredibly convenient for the coach who we can praise for his cup a decade ago but whatever he gets out of this team we're forced to assume is it firing at maximum potential.

What are you basing them being an elite team on tho? They have 1 player that has ever been part of an elite team. Edmonton has had many elite players over teh years but poor team construction kept them from ever having an elite team. Babcock at least has a track record, Dubas and his philosophies don't.

Babs was begged to come to Toronto 4 years ago when the Leafs had nothing, and there were rumblings he was promised personel input. But since then they have never iced a team that fits well his style of coaching.

 

[All Mod Cons]

What a mess Dubas has created, and for no real apparent reason.

Does he have the balls to fire Babcock? Surely he knows he wouldn't be too far behind.

 

[ORRFForever]

Watching the Edmonton Philly game now. McDavid just undressed the D for a huge goal then just set up RNH for a great goal.

It is sad watching him after watching our "stars".

LOL. Me too and I was thinking the EXACT same thing.

Mc David is everywhere. Dominant... and he makes less than Matthews for a longer term. I guess the laughs on us.

 

[Stephen]

I think Freddy said he has a say in it; may be Freddy didn't want to play back to back.

Freddy should play the stronger team regardless of sequence. I mean, if Hutch can't win against a team like Minnesota, they should just dress the PA guy.

 

[pcruz]

Give credit where credit is due. He's won. You can't take that away from him.

You misjudge me.
I believe Babcock is a very good head coach. I believe he has what it takes to win more Cups.

I also believe that his view of the game and the General Manager's view of the game are polar opposites.
If it were up to Babs, he would have some farmers on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th line. Hard nosed, quality skilled players (Hyman ++) who he could rely on to keep the opposition in check and who would be more than respectable in their own end.

We have a bunch of cowards on the team. Players who float around sprinkling stick checks and dekes at the blue line.

I am waiting for the night when Morgan Rielly leaves the butt end of his stick for someone like Tom Wilson to swallow.
Marner should have done that tonight when he was hit from behind about 1.5 seconds after releasing a pass. He saw the hit coming, and just allowed himself to be ragdolled.

Pull a Jamie Noodles McLennan. Give the trainer the responsibility to remove the splinters from Wilson's gums.
Send a message.
Take the penalty - apparently everything else was one tonight against Toronto and nothing was for Wash.

 

[Critical13]

It’s annoying that we stagnated after that painful rebuild while our enemies are seemingly already catching up. Detroit, Buffalo, Montreal and Ottawa all stockpiling high end talent. It’s realistic that all 4 surpass us in the next 3 years if this core doesn’t show a high gear.