This was the most miserable season I've had seriously watching this team. I don't think even 2009-10 when we were on a crash course to handing Boston a top draft pick was as bad as this one was. It started out great with the Tavares signing in July, but it became depressing and anxiety riddled soon enough. The Nylander contract situation was a black cloud hanging over this team despite the fact that they were playing great hockey to start the season. The contract talk regarding Matthews and Marner and the constant media narrative about the impending cap crunch was also annoying as it seemed the media was intent on making sure no one had any fun following the team this season. The drama with that team from the state of N.Y. and their hick fans was annoying as well. And the knowledge since like January that we'd be facing Boston again just compounded with everything else going on around this team.
I don't see how anyone could rate this season as anything but a failure. We were billed as contenders after we signed Tavares, the biggest free agent signing for this franchise and one of not the biggest free agent signing in the NHL since the salary cap was implemented. This team added a legitimate top four defenseman in Muzzin at the deadline, the core was another year older and experienced, but the end result was the exact same as last season.
2018-19 will be remembered as the wasted season. 2/3 of the Leafs "Big Three" were still on their ELC's, as were other talented young players in Dermott, Johnsson, and Kapanen. This was Tavares first year here and could potentially be his most productive season. Rielly, Gardiner, Kadri, Muzzin, and Andersen are in their primes and on good contracts. This is arguably the most talented Leafs squad since the turn of the century, and all they've got to show for it is another first round Game 7 loss to Boston. Going forward, it will be difficult to construct a team this deep again given the impending salary cap crunch.
The poor play this team demonstrated in the second half of the season was baffling. I don't understand how a team this talented could play so inconsistently. They looked like gangbusters from October to December, and then the wheels just fell off. Yes, there was injury trouble to be sure, but this team should've been able to handle it, and injuries aren't the main reason why this team went 20-17-6 from January to April, an 87/88 point pace that would've been good for 17th overall in the league, certainly not a playoff team.
There are hard questions that need answering, and heads will/should roll for this seasons shortcomings. The special teams coaches (Hiller and Smith) should be out. Supporting players like Marleau, Brown, Kadri, Gardiner, Hainsey, and Zaitsev should be moved out to make room for new players and cap space to sign Marner and our other RFAs. And Babcock should be put on notice, if he isn't already.
I know people are gunning for Dubas as well, but I actually liked the moves he made to improve the team. The contract negotiations have been bad yes, but adding Tavares and Muzzin to this roster while trimming the fat from previous squads (many of whom are ironically going to be playing in the second round) should've resulted in a better finish than it did. I don't think he (or anybody else really) realized just how far Babcock would go to play scrubs and his personal favourites over actual skilled players. Forcing Marleau and Brown on the ice in the dying minutes when we're trying to tie the game was asinine.
In my personal opinion, Babcock has one more season to win this team a playoff round, and Dubas has a couple more years on the clock, a year to re-tool and give Babcock a chance, and another year or two with his own coach should Babs and the team fail again and he fires him in favour of Keefe or whoever.
This off-season is going to be interesting, not that I'm going to follow it all that closely, I'm going to try to ignore this team during the summer. I'll still watch the playoffs (Go Jackets and Sharks) but after that I need a break from hockey. This off-season to me is foggy. Decisions are going to need to be made with the cap crunch, and there's no real "goal" imo that this team can look forward to. There's no Tavares level free agent for us this time, no first round pick so the draft will be boring. I'm not sure what moves this team is going to make in the off-season.
Also going to avoid any main hubs of hockey discussion (main boards here and r/hockey on reddit) because really, we're just going to get carved for the entire off-season and pretty much all of next season. Still no playoff series win, fans of Tavares' former team will be dancing on our grave and celebrating having more success than we've had in 15 years, Bruins fans will continue to lord over us, and the rest of the NHL will laugh at our cap situation and this franchises continued futility.
My avatar for the forseeable future perfectly encapsulates how I feel about this season. Disappointing and exhausting.