Sportsnet: Maple Leafs grooming D.J. Smith to become an NHL head coach

[stickty111]

If they are a below average team, what does that make us?

They are not a below average team whatsoever. They are much better than us. It was evident form the series. They should have won in 5 but they didn't and they did the job in 7.

More like if we are a "meh" team, what does that make the Bruins?
They are a below average team in many ways. We are much better then them. It was obvious from anyone that watched the series. They should have won in 5, but didnt, which means they were callapsing and arent very good. They only won because Freddy had a bad game 7. My point got proven again when they lost 4 straight to the Lightning.

 

[stickty111]

overall, the PK was dreadful. 2nd worst in the playoffs in GA/60 and 4th worst in xGA/60. to be fair, a lot of the blame goes to Andersen as well. he blew it

The blame goes all around. Kadri with his suspension, Babcock's line management, Matthews not playing up to potential, etc...
However I still think the main guy at fault is Andersen.

 

[StatsNightHeroes]

I thought the aggressive PK was being picked apart by Boston throughout the series. Seemed to me that Boston was baiting Toronto to get aggressive then getting the puck into the middle with ease when Toronto got chasing around the perimeter. Come playoff time teams have plenty of tape on special teams to look at and time to make adjustments specifically for that team. It’s also a huge focus in the playoffs (like international tournaments) because hot/cold special teams often times decide series in such small samples.

To be honest I thought it was obvious that Boston was exploiting Toronto’s aggressive on the PK all series and am surprised it never really became a talking point in the media/this board.

 

[rent free]

They weren't much better, they were much more experienced.

They dominated 6 of the 7 games. To say that they weren't better answer make an excuse is just what a typical leaf fan would say.

 

[rent free]

More like if we are a "meh" team, what does that make the Bruins?
They are a below average team in many ways. We are much better then them. It was obvious from anyone that watched the series. They should have won in 5, but didnt, which means they were callapsing and arent very good. They only won because Freddy had a bad game 7. My point got proven again when they lost 4 straight to the Lightning.

This is quite a ridiculous argument. We are inferior to the bruins despite what you say. That playoff series against them proved it. You need to stop being partial and realize that we aren't as good as them. The only reason they didn't win in 5 is because Andersen stood on his head and the leafs got lucky. Even with him playing amazing, we still lost the series.

 

[DarkKnight]

They dominated 6 of the 7 games. To say that they weren't better answer make an excuse is just what a typical leaf fan would say.

Speaking of typical your last line, find another thesis, seems to be your only thought to contribute “leaf fans”. Kind of average.

 

[The Iceman]

Leafs do not need to groom a coach to take over for Babcock. We are THE FRIGGIN LEAFS. Give me the best coach money can buy when it is time to replace Babs. You put a help wanted sign out with the job description and $6 million as the salary and watch the line form.
Other teams need to groom coaching successors.

 

[stickty111]

They dominated 6 of the 7 games. To say that they weren't better answer make an excuse is just what a typical leaf fan would say.

Yet the still needed a bad Freddy in game 7 to win. Looks like they dont have a lot of talent.
Your comment is what a typical Leafs hater would say.

 

[stickty111]

This is quite a ridiculous argument. We are inferior to the bruins despite what you say. That playoff series against them proved it. You need to stop being partial and realize that we aren't as good as them. The only reason they didn't win in 5 is because Andersen stood on his head and the leafs got lucky. Even with him playing amazing, we still lost the series.

We are superior to the Bruins. You need to stop being illogical and face that we are better then them. They won in 7 because Freddy didnt show up. Andersen had a .896 sv%, how is that amazing? Posting fake facts means your admitting to being wrong. Even though he played terrible, its embarrassing the Bruins still needed a 7th game to win.
Then the Lightning ran through the Bruins, which demonstrated once again Bruins are below average.

 

[Zybalto]

They dominated 6 of the 7 games. To say that they weren't better answer make an excuse is just what a typical leaf fan would say.

Over the series, 5v5, Boston had a slight edge is corsi and scoring chances 52-48% and they were 50-50 in high danger chances........thats not dominating.

It was a close series and the stats bear that out. It even came down to one period!

The reason we lost was because our PK sucked the first two games(we actually outscored them in special teams 3-2 from games 3-7), Anderson and Matthews went cold and we couldnt shut down their top line, especially early on (Kadri deserves some blame here). We were also unlucky with the refs and the fact I dont think we got a bounce until that puck fell to JVR in game 3.

There was a also a ton of good to take away from the series but you seem determined to find the bad.

 

[stickty111]

Over the series, 5v5, Boston had a slight edge is corsi and scoring chances 52-48% and they were 50-50 in high danger chances........thats not dominating.

It was a close series and the stats bear that out. It even came down to one period!

The reason we lost was because our PK sucked the first two games(we actually outscored them in special teams 3-2 from games 3-7), Anderson and Matthews went cold and we couldnt shut down their top line, especially early on (Kadri deserves some blame here). We were also unlucky with the refs and the fact I dont think we got a bounce until that puck fell to JVR in game 3.

There was a also a ton of good to take away from the series but you seem determined to find the bad.

Thats because he isnt a Leafs fan.

 

[saltming]

This isn't really news though. Shanahan at the start said they were going to find and develop the best talent on and off the ice. I believe the thought then was we could get draft picks for other teams poaching our talent.

 

[ShaneFalco]

......

 

[rent free]

Over the series, 5v5, Boston had a slight edge is corsi and scoring chances 52-48% and they were 50-50 in high danger chances........thats not dominating.

It was a close series and the stats bear that out. It even came down to one period!

The reason we lost was because our PK sucked the first two games(we actually outscored them in special teams 3-2 from games 3-7), Anderson and Matthews went cold and we couldnt shut down their top line, especially early on (Kadri deserves some blame here). We were also unlucky with the refs and the fact I dont think we got a bounce until that puck fell to JVR in game 3.

There was a also a ton of good to take away from the series but you seem determined to find the bad.

The corsi numbers are misleading. They were more dominate than us for all but one game. Time after time we were hemmed in our own zone, constantly turning the puck over and icing it as a result. It's an issue with the leafs all season that probably won't change. The series just magnified that.

 

[rent free]

Yet the still needed a bad Freddy in game 7 to win. Looks like they dont have a lot of talent.
Your comment is what a typical Leafs hater would say.

They don't have a lot of talent? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard today. Thy are much more talented than the leafs. Their lineup top through bottom is much better than the leafs.

A 'Typical leaf hater' aka the truth is something you should be aware of. You are too blinded by the media and the rest of hf leafs to realize that this team isn't as good as you think it is.

 

[rent free]

We are superior to the Bruins. You need to stop being illogical and face that we are better then them. They won in 7 because Freddy didnt show up. Andersen had a .896 sv%, how is that amazing? Posting fake facts means your admitting to being wrong. Even though he played terrible, its embarrassing the Bruins still needed a 7th game to win.
Then the Lightning ran through the Bruins, which demonstrated once again Bruins are below average.

We aren't superior to the bruins at all. You are being ridiculous just to defend your team. It's quite obvious they were the better team answer it's also quite obvious that they outclassed us. The leafs got extremely lucky that Andersen played out of his mind to extend the series to 7 and they still fell short. Look at Andersen's stats for game 5 and 6. That's what I'm referring to by 'he played amazing'. You should really comprehend better before calling me out on 'fake facts'.

 

[Zybalto]

The corsi numbers are misleading. They were more dominate than us for all but one game. Time after time we were hemmed in our own zone, constantly turning the puck over and icing it as a result. It's an issue with the leafs all season that probably won't change. The series just magnified that.

So let's just throw out all of the analytics that tell a different picture than your opinion?

Only 1 defensive pairing had bad analytics for series and that was Reilly/Hainsey....maybe the worst in the whole playoffs.

Why?

It can't be that they are going up against one if the best lines in hockey right? Just as advertised.

It just has to be Riellys 3 turnovers all series that are more important than the burned out Hainsey (and his 5 turnovers) next to him and the inept forward defense along with subpar Anderson.

Perhaps if they only could have had the 10 and 7 turnovers for Carlson and Orlov in only 6 games in the first round, they would be holding a cup right now right? I wonder if Holtby coming in for game 3 may have changed the series?

Turnovers and icings do matter in the grand scheme of things but even one of the other variables is so much more important (like the play of your keeper) that you are just grasping at straws with that kind of argument. The other Leafs pairings dominated the other side in almost every metric but (gasp) had higher turnover and icing metrics.

 

[stickty111]

They don't have a lot of talent? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard today. Thy are much more talented than the leafs. Their lineup top through bottom is much better than the leafs.

A 'Typical leaf hater' aka the truth is something you should be aware of. You are too blinded by the media and the rest of hf leafs to realize that this team isn't as good as you think it is.

Yes they dont have a lot of talent? The leafs are much more talented then them. No it isnt but keep overrating the Bruins.
Thats is the truth. You are too blinded by the media and the rest of HF leaf haters to know that this team is very good.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

Yes they dont have a lot of talent? The leafs are much more talented then them. No it isnt but keep overrating the Bruins.
Thats is the truth. You are too blinded by the media and the rest of HF leaf haters to know that this team is very good.

I agree the Leafs are better on paper but they were not a better team than Boston in the playoffs for a lot of reasons. Matthews, Kadri suspension, Andy, Nylander, our ridiculous breakout structures and "systems" which basically involved turtling every time we had a lead. The Leafs are better on paper but if they were better in real life they would've won. Saying that Tampa beating Boston proves the Leafs are better is mind mindbogglingly asinine.

 

[rent free]

Yes they dont have a lot of talent? The leafs are much more talented then them. No it isnt but keep overrating the Bruins.
Thats is the truth. You are too blinded by the media and the rest of HF leaf haters to know that this team is very good.

How do they not have a lot of talent? Thats preposterous. They are more talented than the leafs

 

[stickty111]

We aren't superior to the bruins at all. You are being ridiculous just to defend your team. It's quite obvious they were the better team answer it's also quite obvious that they outclassed us. The leafs got extremely lucky that Andersen played out of his mind to extend the series to 7 and they still fell short. Look at Andersen's stats for game 5 and 6. That's what I'm referring to by 'he played amazing'. You should really comprehend better before calling me out on 'fake facts'.

The Leafs are superior to the Bruins. You are just being biased to criticise the team. Like I said quite embarrassing, they only won in 7 games if they are better then us. Maybe the Bruins talent is overrated? Andersen was terrible in games 1-4, and game 7, see there is your fake facts, yet the Leafs still made it to 7. Will you just ignore his stats in those games?
Therefore, I am comprehending better when calling you out on fake facts.

 

[stickty111]

I agree the Leafs are better on paper but they were not a better team than Boston in the playoffs for a lot of reasons. Matthews, Kadri suspension, Andy, Nylander, our ridiculous breakout structures and "systems" which basically involved turtling every time we had a lead. The Leafs are better on paper but if they were better in real life they would've won. Saying that Tampa beating Boston proves the Leafs are better is mind mindbogglingly asinine.

They didnt win because Andersen wasnt very good. This means the Bruins arent better.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

They didnt win because Andersen wasnt very good. This means the Bruins arent better.

Rask didn't exactly stand on his head either. And either way you accuse the other poster of being "illogical" even though his argument is based on what happened here on the real world and yours is an unknowable hypothetical about a scenario where Andy plays better. The facts are not on your side.

 

[rent free]

The Leafs are superior to the Bruins. You are just being biased to criticise the team. Like I said quite embarrassing, they only won in 7 games if they are better then us. Maybe the Bruins talent is overrated? Andersen was terrible in games 1-4, and game 7, see there is your fake facts, yet the Leafs still made it to 7. Will you just ignore his stats in those games?
Therefore, I am comprehending better when calling you out on fake facts.

No they aren't. If the leafs were superior to the bruins, they would have placed higher that then in the regular season standings. If the leafs were superior to the bruins, they would have beat them. None of those things happened. It's quite unfortunate and idiotic that you actually believe the leafs are better than the bruins.

 

[rent free]

They didnt win because Andersen wasnt very good. This means the Bruins arent better.

That's horrific logic. The only reason the leafs managed to make it to 7 was because Andersen saved them in game 5 and 6. They would have been packing in 5 if it wasn't for him.