Post-Game Talk: Thats all she wrote.

[Captain14]

In all honesty, this team is just not built to be successful in the playoffs. We are far too soft at every position, our players were being pasted into the boards at every chance Boston had, to the point of us bailing out to avoid a hit and give up puck possession.
Yet, Boston was able to retrieve almost every loose puck knowing there would be time to make a play with nobody bearing down on them with a big check.

In the playoffs, it is imperative to instill that fear, if anything to cause mistakes, bad passes and wear down the opponent.
Then we have that stupid stretch pass which usually ends up as an icing or worse yet, a turnover with our forwards caught way up ice.
What good is having mobile, skating d men, when all they do throw up a Hail Mary pass for our breakout?

I recall being excited when the hiring of Babcock was announced, I am now very much on the fence of whether he is the right guy to lead us.
For his supposed "elite" coach status, he has made far too many blunders regarding the roster, game preparation/in-game adjustments and on ice challenges that have cost us games.
I don't want Babcock's "Red Wings" and sadly, this is exactly what we have. A team that might make the playoffs every year but never go deep into the cup run.

We are young and talented, but lack heart, grit and desire to do what it takes to win, maybe that is the downside of youth Throughout this series there was way too many stretches of play with our players appearing to just go through the motions, not skating just gliding along with no interest to engage with any kind of physicality.

The front office certainly shares some of this blame by not addressing our needs at the trade deadline, with all of our Free Agents walking this year with nothing in return, we will have plenty of holes to fill up front and still have the defense to completely overhaul. With big contract signings looming, we may need to part ways with a few of our young guns to fix this team properly and I would not be surprised at all if we are battling just to get in as a wild card or miss next year all together.

Being a fan since the early 1970's I have certainly lived through enough BS with this franchise that I am almost immune to the pain of failing yet again, the excitement of what the future holds is always balanced out by thoughts of "what can this franchise do to muck it all up"
I hate to be pessimistic, but for anyone in their 50's that is reading this, you know where I'm coming from!

 

[Azazel]

yeah, I caught that, too. the way the guy asked that though was a bit timid which might have thrown babcock off, not sure.

Im hoping that it just caught him off guard and he isn't really that oblivious to the fact that his team is frequently hemmed in their own zone for absolutely no reason. If he is then we need to hire a defensive coach who is aware and knows how to fix it.

 

[hoglund]

Time is a flat circle. Life is a joke. No one can ****ing come up clutch. Hell our players go out of our way to lose it feels like.

**** me why do I cheer for this team?

Sounds like you are a bandwagon fan.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Sounds like you are a bandwagon fan.

Never been more insulted. I’ve cheered for this team my whole life, hell my account is older than yours on here, not that that’s a great measure.

I cheered the Sundin teams as a kid in the playoffs, and have been a die hard since I was 13. I’ve cheered through some hellish times bud. Just because I’m frustrated now doesn’t make me any less of a fan than you.

 

[slozo]

Sigh. Lots of overreacting here as usual, in my humble opinion.

We're still probably slightly ahead of schedule, in terms of the organization's process towards a cup. Would have been nice to win a round or two, of course; but we drew the short straw on the first round matchups. And we were within a period of winning it anyway, much closer than last year. Other than Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay in the East, I think we'd be in the second round.

That being said, there is disappointment for sure - especially with Andersen, for me. I expected him to perform much better, especially in a game 7, and he's my big lingering doubt after this series... and we'll have to wait until next year to see if he can greatly improve on this effort.

I don't blame Gardiner for being Gardiner, but I do question the coach on playing times, and management (Lou) on personnel.

Matthews was a bit disappointing, but I'm not going to dwell on it.

Other than that, I'm stoked for the future. Our young core played pretty well, and Marner looks like a superstar. Rielly played great, and is really coming into his own.

And the kids will learn, grow, and get better.

It was a great season, a fun ride, and as always when you exit in the first round, a bit disappointing. But there's still a bright future ahead of us, and the team's development is chugging along very nicely.

 

[PuckMagi]

I still think our main problem is Babcock. I don't think he has ever got this team to play up to their potential.

I don't think he's the right coach for our team. I think he's probably just not a good coach anymore, period... but at the very least, he's not a good coach for our team. I think we had the Marleau - Kadri - Marner line playing really well near the end of the year, but that's about it. The Rielly - Hainsey pairing looked good in the first half of the year, but not as much in the second half (probably due to Babcock overworking Hainsey). But I never felt like any of our forward lines or D pairings really clicked other than the ones I just mentioned.

Lou has really dropped the ball on defense IMO. We could have really used an upgrade there. The Zaitsev signing is looking questionable. Doesn't seem unreasonable to ask for someone better than Polak.

I'm happy with Hunter and our scouts as I think he did a good job picking Dermott and finding Borgman.

Really disappointing game 7 from Gardiner. He was my favourite Leaf player for a long time and I've had this avatar since I created this account. I think I'll be changing it before the start of next season. I still think that Gardiner is the most in need of a Hainsey type of player, but regardless of who he was playing with... it was still a really horrible Game 7 for him. I was hoping that he would step up and become one of the best defenseman on the ice... instead he became one of the worst. Can't have that happen in such an important game. I still like Gardiner and I've seen how good he can play... but if we end up trading him or not re-signing him, I'm not going to object. I'm not going to defend that type of performance in a Game 7.

I've talked a lot of crap about Hyman over the last few years, and I think that's going to mostly stop now. He had a great series. Happy to have him on the Leafs. I think he has improved a lot over these last 2 years. I still think he would be better on the RW and in the bottom 6... but his playoff performance has won me over. He showed up when not a lot of others did and he has my respect for that. Effort was obviously never my problem with him, I always gave him credit for working hard every shift... but he also made some good plays.

Obviously it would have been nice if Matthews dominated... but he got our two least skilled wingers. I like Brown and I like Hyman now too, but compared to the other wingers in this game (Marner, Marleau / Johnsson, Nylander / JVR, Kapanen ) ... it's safe to say that Matthews basically got our "4th line" wingers. Maybe he was playing hurt... maybe not. The feeling I get (and it's just a feeling) is that Matthews is a bit frustrated having to play with Hyman and now also Brown... and that he's not on the #1 PP and does not get the ice time he needs. It just seems like it results in some frustration and him not having fun and it makes him play not as well. I notice that he will sometimes get fed up and just try to do it himself, but often shoots just a bit wide. I still think that Matthews is the best player in the NHL right now. Maybe he didn't look like it this series, but I wouldn't take anyone else over him.

I think for our team to be truly successful, we need to have Matthews - Marner on the same line (with someone like Johnsson or Marleau on the LW). We need a legit top line that is going to produce night in and night out. I think to really turn the corner, those two need to play together. Those two can create that magic spark that we really missed this series. With those two on the top line and having them score tons of goals and have lots of fun... it will be infectious. It's a lot more fun scoring goals with your buddy Marner than grinding it out in the corners with Hyman and Brown. Nylander should be #2 center and I think his competitive streak really elevate his game. Nylander is not going to like being outshined by Matthews and Marner, and he's going to step up his game to show everyone that we're not a one line team.

- Matthews - Marner
- Nylander - Kapanen
- Kadri - Brown
- - Hyman

^^^ this needs to be our template for next year.

Wont say much about Andersen, obviously not a good Game 7, but I'm still happy with him as our goalie. He had a great season and I still view him as a top 10 NHL goalie going forward.

Probably not going to post much this summer. Got too much stuff going on in real life to waste my time talking about something in the past. I'm sure I'll be ready to go in October, but for now, I've lost interest. I've said what I needed to say, and I'll leave it at that. I would also encourage the rest of you not to spend the next few months debating things we ultimately have no control over. Let's all take a much needed break, get stuff done in real life... and come back recharged in October.

 

[HolyCrap]

I was really hoping my hangover this morning was due to celebrating not drowning my sorrows.

 

[Tavares to Marner]

Marner is our best player, this series showed us whos proud to be a Leaf

Hyman, Marner, Rielly, Kapanen and to a lesser extent Marleau, Dermott

 

[Nalens Oga]

Tbh, this loss hurts more than 2013. 2013 sucked but we weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs last year let alone game 7 against a really good Bruins team.

This year however, we were supposed to be as good as the Bruins, arguably better with how hurt some of them were and these guys got outplayed in EVER single game, even the ones they won. Their effort in game 7 was embarrassing. Though I'm one to blame the coaching staff more because I think it's structural problems and lack of adjustments but it shows in the player performance.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

the thing I dislike about Andersen the most is he's completely unwilling to take responsibility. Matthews admitted he wasn't as good as he should have been. Gardiner admitted he had a lousy game 7. Andersen seemed at a loss for why game 7 didn't go well. It shouldn't be hard to say he gave up weak goals that he should have stopped. He was like that in October too when he kept letting everything in. Couldn't place any blame on himself

 

[Daisy Jane]

the thing I dislike about Andersen the most is he's completely unwilling to take responsibility. Matthews admitted he wasn't as good as he should have been. Gardiner admitted he had a lousy game 7. Andersen seemed at a loss for why game 7 didn't go well. It shouldn't be hard to say he gave up weak goals that he should have stopped. He was like that in October too when he kept letting everything in. Couldn't place any blame on himself

ugh. i hate that. that reminds me of Reimer and Bernier. you weren't good enough in the 1st and 3rd,dude, it's okay people will be grumpy, but accept it.


It just hit me too. this is the deepest (for a while) our forwards will be. and there is gonna be a lot of transition. We could easily miss the playoffs next year or not be as fire-power-works as the last two years. this was such a missed opportunity to get some more experience and make a little bit more hay with the sunshine we got.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

ugh. i hate that. that reminds me of Reimer and Bernier. you weren't good enough in the 1st and 3rd,dude, it's okay people will be grumpy, but accept it.


It just hit me too. this is the deepest (for a while) our forwards will be. and there is gonna be a lot of transition. We could easily miss the playoffs next year or not be as fire-power-works as the last two years. this was such a missed opportunity to get some more experience and make a little bit more hay with the sunshine we got.

Actually I think next year is the deepest and best our offense will be. Guys like Komarov will be replaced by guys like Kapanen for the whole season. Plus Johnsson gets stuff done. it depends on what moves we make, but this past season is definitely not the best the Leafs will be

 

[Daisy Jane]

Actually I think next year is the deepest and best our offense will be. Guys like Komarov will be replaced by guys like Kapanen for the whole season. Plus Johnsson gets stuff done. it depends on what moves we make, but this past season is definitely not the best the Leafs will be

well yah.
don't get me wrong, I love Kappy and AJ, but we had a 35 goal scorer playing 12ish minutes a night on our third line. unless Kappy/AJ can get that between them...

but this team loves to surprise me so who knows

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

well yah.
don't get me wrong, I love Kappy and AJ, but we had a 35 goal scorer playing 12ish minutes a night on our third line. unless Kappy/AJ can get that between them...

but this team loves to surprise me so who knows

a lot of JVR's offense came from letting Marner work magic on the powerplay. Yeah his goal totals are nice, but he's not an effective player unless he's 5 feet away from the opposition's net. And even then he doesn't really create offense. Players who are effective all over the ice are more beneficial overall

 

[AstoriaIceNinja]

Not saying he would have been an upgrade in this series in any capacity, but after getting squeezed out of a roster spot only to have the Leafs defense play like that...somewhere in northeastern North America (Toronto/Utica), Martin Marincin is feeling hella schadenfreude right now.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Not saying he would have been an upgrade in this series in any capacity, but after getting squeezed out of a roster spot only to have the Leafs defense play like that...somewhere in northeastern North America (Toronto/Utica), Martin Marincin is feeling hella schadenfreude right now.

yeah but our biggest problem defensively was not getting the puck out, and he would have made that even worse.

 

[Daisy Jane]

a lot of JVR's offense came from letting Marner work magic on the powerplay. Yeah his goal totals are nice, but he's not an effective player unless he's 5 feet away from the opposition's net. And even then he doesn't really create offense. Players who are effective all over the ice are more beneficial overall

i know.
i just feel blue still. i really hope they can continue to trek upwards

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

i know.
i just feel blue still. i really hope they can continue to trek upwards

they will. Forcing the series into being a close one but still losing is arguably the best thing that could have happened. Management knows they need to make changes to compete with other contending teams, but will not be forced into making kneejerk decisions like if we'd lost in 5

 

[TML11]

This team has made HUGE gains. Let's be real, we were dead last 2 years ago, with no real future. and now, we have one! BUT, that being said, our superstar is Marner. He is all heart. Matthews did not even talk to the media after the game!! At least Gardiner came out to address his faults and took ownership. Where was Matthews saying "I needed to step up". Marner was trying to go through the Bruins defence all 7 games, basically on his own...and Matthews had 2 points in 7 games!!! Even when Babcock put him with Nylander again he did nothing. A superstar finds a way to make an impact. (Marner). Even Hyman and Brown did more than Matthews IMO. These guys are just as inexperienced as Matthews and with LESS of a skill set. I heard that Matthews didn't like the line combos and there is some issue between him and Babcock. Geez all of a sudden he thinks he can dictate the lines?!? Even if Chara was on Matthews for the series, it's not a good enough explanation. Good players find a way. Not so good find excuses. I am so disappointed in Matthews. Let's build around Marner, Hyman, Kadri, Brown, Reilly, Dermott, Johnnson, and Kappy. they showed heart and grit.

 

[Daisy Jane]

they will. Forcing the series into being a close one but still losing is arguably the best thing that could have happened. Management knows they need to make changes to compete with other contending teams, but will not be forced into making kneejerk decisions like if we'd lost in 5

that's how I look at it.
last year we evened it up and we didn't have the knowledge to force more games.

that translated to this year where we were actually in a worse situation and forced it to seven and, to sum it up they froze in the moment.

now next year what i hope is that they realise a few things (even things i excused this year, so i will take ownership in that)

#1: if we are lucky enough to be guaranteed a playoff spot 3 months in - don't settle. push for #2. push for #1. make it worth something

#2: burn the NHL with the wrath of your anger. like make home hard to play in (ALL season). if we're down make us a tough out.

#3: commit to playing well every period. you won't always win it but this "okay now we play" mode they have isn't gonna cut it.

I do trust Shanahan not to allow knee-jerk moves (people keep bringing up clarkson etc). but I do think this series also showed having some people to help maintain a cycle, defensive inded players wouldn't help. (also a bit (teensy bit) more experience. Boston knows how to walk that line of being cruddy and getting penalized. we got wacked a lot with the retaliations.

 

[Nithoniniel]

yeah but our biggest problem defensively was not getting the puck out, and he would have made that even worse.

The stretch pass fixation is a problem there. I don't know why we insist on it, since it doesn't seem to have been very effective. At least use it only as alternative to a more free-flowing, passing-based breakout scheme.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

that's how I look at it.
last year we evened it up and we didn't have the knowledge to force more games.

that translated to this year where we were actually in a worse situation and forced it to seven and, to sum it up they froze in the moment.

now next year what i hope is that they realise a few things (even things i excused this year, so i will take ownership in that)

#1: if we are lucky enough to be guaranteed a playoff spot 3 months in - don't settle. push for #2. push for #1. make it worth something

#2: burn the NHL with the wrath of your anger. like make home hard to play in (ALL season). if we're down make us a tough out.

#3: commit to playing well every period. you won't always win it but this "okay now we play" mode they have isn't gonna cut it.

I do trust Shanahan not to allow knee-jerk moves (people keep bringing up clarkson etc). but I do think this series also showed having some people to help maintain a cycle, defensive inded players wouldn't help. (also a bit (teensy bit) more experience. Boston knows how to walk that line of being cruddy and getting penalized. we got wacked a lot with the retaliations.

those are all good points. The only areas I think we need to look to solidify are our bottom 6 and our defense. we need a center who's actually tough to play against, rather than a guy like Bozak.

On defense we have to look at solidifying our right side. we need guys who can break out from both sides, so that an opponent can't just pressure one of them. It happened all the time against guys like Rielly and Gardiner and Dermott and forced them into making bad plays, and it could be fixed if their partners could make plays.

Our entire system needs drastic changes in terms of zone exits, and we need to be able to apply heavy offensive pressure and forecheck heavily. Not just to score goals, but also to give our defense/goalie a break and wear the other team down for a change.

Finally, I'd look at our goaltending situation long and hard. At the very least, we need to lighten up Andersen's workload to ~50 games

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

The stretch pass fixation is a problem there. I don't know why we insist on it, since it doesn't seem to have been very effective. At least use it only as alternative to a more free-flowing, passing-based breakout scheme.

yeah I just don't understand that one. Half of our defensemen struggle moving the puck, especially under pressure. Almost all of our forwards excel at it. I don't see why that wouldn't be fixed by using forward support to break out

 

[Daisy Jane]

those are all good points. The only areas I think we need to look to solidify are our bottom 6 and our defense. we need a center who's actually tough to play against, rather than a guy like Bozak.

On defense we have to look at solidifying our right side. we need guys who can break out from both sides, so that an opponent can't just pressure one of them. It happened all the time against guys like Rielly and Gardiner and Dermott and forced them into making bad plays, and it could be fixed if their partners could make plays.

Our entire system needs drastic changes in terms of zone exits, and we need to be able to apply heavy offensive pressure and forecheck heavily. Not just to score goals, but also to give our defense/goalie a break and wear the other team down for a change.

Finally, I'd look at our goaltending situation long and hard. At the very least, we need to lighten up Andersen's workload to ~50 games

i don't know where i stand on the "Andy was Tired" debate.
i can see both sides. but then i have to go by what Andy said - which was he wasn't tired, and then look how he played when he had a break (not good). though i also know he had a LOT more work (ontop of the workload) so maybe it's mental tired, not physical tired.

there's gonna be a lot of tinkering being done. it will be interesting to see

 

[Craig Button]

Fair enough. Still doesn't excuse his poor series. And people should stop trying to gift wrap him the "C" if he isn't comparable to our captains of the past yet. People are far to quick to anoint him as captain.

He definitely had a poor performance and shouldn't be handed the C.

Once he can manage a solid performance in the regular season then follow that with a solid performance in the playoffs.
Only then he should be handed the C.