GDT: Maple Leafs (9-6-4) @ Islanders (12-3-1) | 7:00 PM EST | SNO

[DarkKnight]

Amazing what a real coach can do for a team.

He was so amazing Washington didn't want to extend him because he failed in the playoffs prior(ditto Nashville, never made it out 2nd). Now he's a god amongst mortals since they won. Just saying, he's a good coach, but man the narrative around him has sure changed, from "can't win" to Zeus.

 

[fahad203]

Other teams fight back! When they get hit - they hit back. Run by Dubas we are the geeky kid that every bully has a field day with. In order to stop this we must hit and fight back! Not go cower in a corner or read our Excel sheets.

That's exactly why other teams have a field day against us. On top of that, very few team gets attention as the Leafs do

Not to mention John Tavares fiasco. Want to win some free love from Islander fans? Hit Johnny T and the Leafs

Not to mention Leafs are more skilled than the Isles. How do you eliminate skills? simple, hit and grind
Takeaway our time and space.

 

[stickty111]

2 things are possible here.
1. Trotz takes Babcock to school, and our players aren't able to overcome it.
2. Our players are able to win the game for us.

 

[fahad203]

He was so amazing Washington didn't want to extend him because he failed in the playoffs prior(ditto Nashville, never made it out 2nd). Now he's a god amongst mortals since they won. Just saying, he's a good coach, but man the narrative around him has sure changed, from "can't win" to Zeus.

It's really hard to define what really is a good coach. Coaches style works with certain teams for a while but really at the end of the day players have to deliver

What Trotz has done is maximized his assets, restored pride that they can go toe to toe against any teams.

I am not sure if I can say the same about the Leafs team. Leafs team can go toe to toe against skilled teams. But against teams that plays a bit physical, plays a bit of a trap or boring game, I wonder if the Leafs can

 

[Nineteen67]

Why does it feel like the Leafs have no chance against this team? On paper, they’re close to even but it feels like the Isles will win by 3.

 

[fahad203]

2 things are possible here.
1. Trotz takes Babcock to school, and our players aren't able to overcome it.
2. Our players are able to win the game for us.

Freddy makes this team look much better than what we really are. Against Philly we got points because Freddy was on his game. The 2 games before that, same

Leafs D is going to get peppered and so will Freddy. If Freddy has a good game, we win.

 

[kb]

He was so amazing Washington didn't want to extend him because he failed in the playoffs prior(ditto Nashville, never made it out 2nd). Now he's a god amongst mortals since they won. Just saying, he's a good coach, but man the narrative around him has sure changed, from "can't win" to Zeus.

Well, if we want to get the facts correct, he won a Stanley Cup with Washington, the perennial chokers, then resigned over a contract dispute to coach a rag tag Islander team that had just finished 31st in GAA, and in his first season got them all the way to 1st in GAA, and into the second round of the playoffs.

Now this season they are 12-3-1.

He's doing a hell of a lot better job than ours is.

 

[ToneDog]

Well, if we want to get the facts correct, he won a Stanley Cup with Washington, the perennial chokers, then resigned over a contract dispute to coach a rag tag Islander team that had just finished 31st in GAA, and in his first season got them all the way to 1st in GAA, and into the second round of the playoffs.

Now this season they are 12-3-1.

He's doing a hell of a lot better job than ours is.

How much credit do you give Lou ? Many members of the Dubas fan club give him credit for hiring Trotz and not much more.

 

[kb]

How much credit do you give Lou ? Many members of the Dubas fan club give him credit for hiring Trotz and not much more.

He gets full credit for hiring him. I give the coach credit for 90% of the teams on ice performance.

Same as I give Babcock - 90% of the on ice performance is on him.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

The Tavares - Marner line has been awful 5 on 5, which is not okay when you're paying them over 20M dollars.

I think the rest of the lines have been solid in their setting and composition. Matthews line obviously should be that dominant.

I am curious to see how Tavares can do without Marner. He can go back to being the sole driver on his line, he gets Hyman back, and Kapanen should give him more options. Kapanen has a shot that teams need to respect, so they can't just cut off his passing lanes and let him fire off a shot at the goalie uncontested. Marner's shots have not been threats to goalies.

He did have 2 points in his first full game without Marner. Was also a -2 but that was more on Hutch and some iffy defense than on him.

 

[ACC1224]

Well, if we want to get the facts correct, he won a Stanley Cup with Washington, the perennial chokers, then resigned over a contract dispute to coach a rag tag Islander team that had just finished 31st in GAA, and in his first season got them all the way to 1st in GAA, and into the second round of the playoffs.

Now this season they are 12-3-1.

He's doing a hell of a lot better job than ours is.

He chased the money which he had every right to do.
Good coach no doubt, certainly not a Messiah.

 

[IPS]

He was so amazing Washington didn't want to extend him because he failed in the playoffs prior(ditto Nashville, never made it out 2nd). Now he's a god amongst mortals since they won. Just saying, he's a good coach, but man the narrative around him has sure changed, from "can't win" to Zeus.

He won the cup...

There were several reasons he wasn't extended, failing in the playoffs wasn't one of them.

 

[Nineteen67]

How much credit do you give Lou ? Many members of the Dubas fan club give him credit for hiring Trotz and not much more.

Hiring Trotz, instilling discipline and unity are his main contributions.

 

[GoonieFace]

He gets full credit for hiring him. I give the coach credit for 90% of the teams on ice performance.

Same as I give Babcock - 90% of the on ice performance is on him.

90% is way too high, its at most 50/50. You can gameplan all you like, but if you have a bunch of floaters who are allergic to contact, it wont matter much.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Why does it feel like the Leafs have no chance against this team? On paper, they’re close to even but it feels like the Isles will win by 3.

I think on paper we are a far more talented team.

The difference is the Islanders fire on all cylinders most of the time, and we are lucky to fire on half (on a good day). Blame the coach, blame the players, blame the GM, or blame a combination of any, but that's the difference.

I personally place the most amount of accountability on the coach in that situation, because I believe a good chunk of his job is to get the most out of his players, but ultimately his players do need to perform in spite of what the coach does or does not do as well.

 

[GoonieFace]

He won the cup...

There were several reasons he wasn't extended, failing in the playoffs wasn't one of them.

So Babcock won a cup, and hasnt done much since than, hes terrible. Trotz did nothing for years with good teams, finally wins a cup, and hes the best coach ever. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth.

 

[kb]

He chased the money which he had every right to do.
Good coach no doubt, certainly not a Messiah.

But he is the type of coach who can instill a system, and relate to the players in a way that the players are willing to go through the wall for him.

I personally don't think many Leafs would go through a drive through for a Timbit for Babcock.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

On skill alone we should beat this team by 5 goals easy. But Isles play old fashioned defense, simple easy breakouts and dump and chase forecheck game. Hard to penetrate them. They counter well. I expect low scoring game. Maybe 2-2 tie.

 

[Bomber0104]

He gets full credit for hiring him. I give the coach credit for 90% of the teams on ice performance.

Same as I give Babcock - 90% of the on ice performance is on him.

Wow, so in your esteemed opinion, the 22 players that play every night are only 10% responsible for what they do on the ice?

I swear this place is getting worse by the day.

 

[al secord]

Other teams fight back! When they get hit - they hit back. Run by Dubas we are the geeky kid that every bully has a field day with. In order to stop this we must hit and fight back! Not go cower in a corner or read our Excel sheets.

Do teams stop hitting when opposing players fight back?

 

[horner]

work born and hard hats are required from our players tonight
islanders are really good.

they love to hit and muck it up

remember last yr Tavares first game back, we laid an egg.

try to show up for JT.

expecting the worst prove me wrong.

 

[kb]

90% is way too high, its at most 50/50. You can gameplan all you like, but if you have a bunch of floaters who are allergic to contact, it wont matter much.

How does a team go from last to first in GAA in one season without ditching the whole team? You can't hold up a 31st place team in GAA and say they were a hard working bunch

Obviously there were a hell of a lot of floaters on that team that finally got the message.

 

[67leafs]

The Tavares - Marner line has been awful 5 on 5, which is not okay when you're paying them over 20M dollars.

I think the rest of the lines have been solid in their setting and composition. Matthews line obviously should be that dominant.

Tavares looks super slow this year?

 

[Nineteen67]

I think on paper we are a far more talented team.

The difference is the Islanders fire on all cylinders most of the time, and we are lucky to fire on half (on a good day). Blame the coach, blame the players, blame the GM, or blame a combination of any, but that's the difference.

I personally place the most amount of accountability on the coach in that situation, because I believe a good chunk of his job is to get the most out of his players, but ultimately his players do need to perform in spite of what the coach does or does not do as well.

After 82 games of sub 500 hockey I wouldn’t say the Leafs core players are far more talented on any paper.
You’re right, the Isles have a much better work ethic and are more entertaining, but at the end of the day neither is considered a real Cup contender.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Fun facts about Trotz:

He has coached in the NHL for 20 years.
He has made it out of the 2nd round once.
It took until his 12th year coaching to even make the 2nd round. In those 11 prior years, he lost 5 times in the 1st round.
In those 5 first round match-ups, his team went 8-20, despite having 100, 106, and 110 point teams, facing weaker opponents, and having home ice advantage in 3 of those years.
After those five 1st round losses, his team lost in the 2nd round five more times.
This cup-winning coach just got swept in the 2nd round to a mediocre team.

Not saying Trotz is bad. Not saying Babcock is good. However, the comments/rationale that some people have to like/dislike coaches just screams hypocrite.