News Article: Looking Back on the Maple Leafs Playoff Woes

[Ianturnedbull]

They are built to win, and that applies to both the regular season and playoffs. That doesn't always mean things are going to fall into place in an ideal way, but pretty much everywhere has them among the favourites to win the cup for a reason. They are not the same team as last year, but that wouldn't really be an issue if they were anyway, because they were an exceptionally good team last year and nothing that happened indicated an inability to win.

But regardless of where you think the Leafs are at, you obviously don't improve your chances by making yourself worse.

No one has them as a favourite to win the cup. Are you talking about Vegas odds?

 

[Dekes For Days]

No one has them as a favourite to win the cup.

Pretty much everywhere does. Where are you looking that doesn't? Heck, even HFboards of all places has them ranked 4th, and they're heavily anti-Leafs.

 

[zeke]

No one has them as a favourite to win the cup. Are you talking about Vegas odds?

Literally everywhere does, other than hfboards.

 

[kb]

Pretty much everywhere does. Where are you looking that doesn't? Heck, even HFboards of all places has them ranked 4th, and they're heavily anti-Leafs.

Literally everywhere does, other than hfboards.

Aha!!

Now it all makes sense. Posters come here when they need their incorrect negative takes to be validated, as this is the only place that affords them that.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Literally everywhere does, other than hfboards.

This is a quote from the Athletic. I am by no means saying that this proves everyone wrong.

They ranked TOR 31st in terms of offseason improvements.

"I didn’t expect to see the Leafs this low, but several little things begin to add up. The biggest change is obviously in net where the team likely downgraded. The combo of Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek wasn’t elite by any means, but on paper, it’s probably more reliable than Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. Again, goalies are weird beings, so maybe this bet pays off for Toronto, but for now it’s a net negative.

Individually, the biggest loss is Ilya Mikheyev, who comes in at around 1.5 wins on his own. The model loves his combination of goal-scoring ability and defensive prowess and he’ll be missed more than many might think, especially on the penalty kill. Ondrej Kase and Colin Blackwell are decent depth players too and losing them hurts the low end of Toronto’s roster. The top end is obviously good enough that it may not matter much, but the team definitely took a hit with its depth. Calle Jarnkrok and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are fine, but both are coming off down years and are unlikely to match the value of Mikheyev and Kase.

The model still loves the Leafs, don’t you worry — it just would’ve been to a bigger degree with a more sturdy plan between the pipes. The Leafs come into the season with the 28th best goaltending in the league. Ouch"

The Athletic August 4th.

I know that the above comments don't have much to do with TOR being considered "one of the favourites".

I'm not a fool. Based on TOR's playoff futility I cannot stand behind them. I love the Leafs, but this version that Shanny/Dubas built fails to make it past the first round. They have to prove it, and usually they don't. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? Yes.

 

[zeke]

This is a quote from the Athletic. I am by no means saying that this proves everyone wrong.

They ranked TOR 31st in terms of offseason improvements.

"I didn’t expect to see the Leafs this low, but several little things begin to add up. The biggest change is obviously in net where the team likely downgraded. The combo of Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek wasn’t elite by any means, but on paper, it’s probably more reliable than Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. Again, goalies are weird beings, so maybe this bet pays off for Toronto, but for now it’s a net negative.

Individually, the biggest loss is Ilya Mikheyev, who comes in at around 1.5 wins on his own. The model loves his combination of goal-scoring ability and defensive prowess and he’ll be missed more than many might think, especially on the penalty kill. Ondrej Kase and Colin Blackwell are decent depth players too and losing them hurts the low end of Toronto’s roster. The top end is obviously good enough that it may not matter much, but the team definitely took a hit with its depth. Calle Jarnkrok and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are fine, but both are coming off down years and are unlikely to match the value of Mikheyev and Kase.

The model still loves the Leafs, don’t you worry — it just would’ve been to a bigger degree with a more sturdy plan between the pipes. The Leafs come into the season with the 28th best goaltending in the league. Ouch"

The Athletic August 4th.

I know that the above comments have to do with TOR being considered "one of the favourites".

I'm not a fool. Based on TOR's playoff futility I cannot stand behind them. I love the Leafs, but this version that Shanny/Dubas built fails to make it past the first round. They have to prove it, and usually they don't. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? Yes.

Take a note of the writer of that piece.

His preseason projections will come out prior to the start of the season.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Take a note of the writer of that piece.

His preseason projections will come out prior to the start of the season.

Dom Luszczyszyn? Ok sure.

 

[zeke]

Dom Luszczyszyn? Ok sure.

Make sure you do.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Make sure you do.

Why do you have to order me twice?

 

[Zack47]

Honestly, some of the responses here are either subtly sarcastic or simply pathetic. To be clear -- you cannot explain six years of the same outcome using words like "luck", and you can't explain it using six different explanations, one per year. There is a consistency in the data, so there is something more deeply wrong. My take: there is no middle class on this team, just an upper class and a lower class of honorable grinders who don't have the collective talent to distribute the threat of playing against us enough. Its' a completely screwed . oops, skewed team.

 

[Beaumaris]

Bad luck and refs is all.

What exactly is this Luck,bad Luck people keep harping on about?