This just in...The Sky isn't Falling

[egd27]

What if Toronto ends up missing the playoffs by 1 point? Can Babcock not be blamed since he cost them wins by always starting Hutchinson on the second night of a back to back no matter what. One of those examples was in October when he played him against Boston on the second night, even though Andersen has a 12-3 regular season record against them and those were 2 points they lost in the standings.

Go ahead

you certainly wouldn’t want to think that choking up 2 games (a possible 8 point swing) to the team they are battling for 3rd in the division in January would be a factor. It was losing a road game to the hottest team in the league in October that was the tipping point.

Laughable

 

[ShaneFalco]

Go ahead

you certainly wouldn’t want to think that choking up 2 games (a possible 8 point swing) to the team they are battling for 3rd in the division in January would be a factor. It was losing a road game to the hottest team in the league in October that was the tipping point.

Laughable

Noone puts Babcock in the corner

 

[yubbers]

Go ahead

you certainly wouldn’t want to think that choking up 2 games (a possible 8 point swing) to the team they are battling for 3rd in the division in January would be a factor. It was losing a road game to the hottest team in the league in October that was the tipping point.

Laughable

Get outta here with that logic. Being worst in teh league for backup goalie points by a WIDE margin couldn't be the issue either. They don't know what to do without their Babs shield :p

 

[Mess]

If they win the next 10 I can almost guarantee you will be nowhere near here to show any kind of success.

Always doom and gloom.

Were you in here in December when they had a last 10 of 8-1-1, I don't remember seeing that, but might have missed it.

Or the 10 before this recent stretch 8-1-1 ? (But you call it the Keefe initial bump when its 12 games after his "Initial bump")

You choose to look at the last 10 only because they have sputtered.

Why are you so offended by the fact that Leafs record shows their currently struggling and losing ground on playoff teams? That isn't an opinion its supported with last 10 game results that supports it.

If the season ended today would the Leafs be in the playoffs ?? If that answer is NO then I was trying to explain why that was and it has nothing to do with Keefe's early success.

If the Leafs win 10 in a row this thread wouldn't even exist as nobody would be commenting on the recent struggles and Dubas wouldn't be trading for goalie help and more muscle to try and change Leafs fortunes and try and turn this around in time to make the playoffs.

Keefe early success coached the Leafs into a playoff spot, and now his most recent past 10 games has them playing at .500 while other teams they're chasing have passed or increased their leads because the Leafs are struggling and have lost 7 of their last 11 games. No Leaf fan likes it, but that doesn't make it false either.

PS. I've been here from the start of this website back in 2002 going on 18 years now, so I'm always around, you can always find me here.

 

[Clark4Ever]

The sky isn't falling yet but the teams we're trying to catch have games in hand. Our margin for error the rest of the way is razor thin, especially against teams we're expected to beat.

 

[Zybalto]

Recent slide mostly goaltending related.

Dubas has made a needed adjustment but we need Anderson back and in non-October form.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Go ahead

you certainly wouldn’t want to think that choking up 2 games (a possible 8 point swing) to the team they are battling for 3rd in the division in January would be a factor. It was losing a road game to the hottest team in the league in October that was the tipping point.

Laughable

It was more about Babcock not willing to change any of his coaching decisions when it came to always playing the #2 Goalie on the second night of a back to back. Also no matter what a regulation loss is still 2 points less in the standings, no matter if it's in October or April.

 

[Superstar]

But the playoff picture certainly is falling.

 

[goleafsgo1990]

W

why pile on its true. Nobody uses the injury excuse but i will say we done decent considering. Anybody who thinks management is not still team building is missing something. The team chemistry as a whole is still like every other team (wanting). Teams would like to have our skill trouble and scoring. Most teams need scoring and defense. We only need defense and grit types now. That doesn’t mean they are easy to acquire but Dubas needs to get them and he knows that.

Sorry I didn’t pile on

Lol thanks I was just p*ssing everyone off today so figured it would continue. Didn’t intend to just trying to see things for how they are. Frustrating season for many.

 

[Polaris1010]

Get outta here with that logic. Being worst in teh league for backup goalie points by a WIDE margin couldn't be the issue either. They don't know what to do without their Babs shield :p

Their "Babs shield" up . . .

Simply outstanding!!!

Heh!

 

[18leafsfan18]

Why are you so offended by the fact that Leafs record shows their currently struggling and losing ground on playoff teams? That isn't an opinion its supported with last 10 game results that supports it.

If the season ended today would the Leafs be in the playoffs ?? If that answer is NO then I was trying to explain why that was and it has nothing to do with Keefe's early success.

If the Leafs win 10 in a row this thread wouldn't even exist as nobody would be commenting on the recent struggles and Dubas wouldn't be trading for goalie help and more muscle to try and change Leafs fortunes and try and turn this around in time to make the playoffs.

Keefe early success coached the Leafs into a playoff spot, and now his most recent past 10 games has them playing at .500 while other teams they're chasing have passed or increased their leads because the Leafs are struggling and have lost 7 of their last 11 games. No Leaf fan likes it, but that doesn't make it false either.

PS. I've been here from the start of this website back in 2002 going on 18 years now, so I'm always around, you can always find me here.

Alright. Very rare to see a positive post from you.

I'll keep my eyes open.

 

[IrishInOntario]

The sky is far from falling but this team is going absolutely nowhere until they realize that they need to value a 200 foot game and that starts with defensively capable, big, strong, defensemen that break the cycle, move bodies in front of their net, etc... Reilly and Sandin can focus on driving offense from the backend. The other guys need to be rock solid in front of Anderson and Campbell, as do the 3rd and 4th lines when they are on the ice. Let the top 6 do the scoring and have the other lines Chip in when they can.

This organization has not taken its defense core seriously in years. No emphasis on drafting and developing complete guys. No emphasis on making those same two way guys a priority in free agency and a complete reluctance to package redundant scoring depth, picks and prospects to acquire the tight type of guys via trade.

Until that changes and guys like Matthews and Marner take their 200 foot game seriously every night, this team will remain what it is. Highly volatile and completely capable for losing to any team, on any night, home or away... If the goalie doesn't stand on his head, or the offense doesn't put up 5 goals, it's over.

 

[Wilma]

The Leafs are 19-9-3 since Keefe took over.

This remains the important datapoint to me when thinking about the remainder of the year.

 

[Shanwhatplan]

Hey guys and gals

We need to take a deep breath here...This Leafs team IS massively flawed in terms of makeup but to say with a straight face that we should be selling off our UFA's when we are only 5 points out of 3rd (I assumed Florida wins their 2 games in hand on us) seems to be a bit of an over reaction on our parts...

add in Campell and Clifford not to mention assume of course Freddie is ready to go (not a long term injury) subtract Moore...I think we sneak in this year by the skin of our teeth...

Maybe it helps the boys to have to play meaningful games down the stretch...and maybe im just Full of Shyte lol but We've been through worse as Leafs fans...

Sorry, but I have to disagree. Campbell and Clifford will help (so nice to see we’ve finally acquired some much needed toughness), but we desperately need to add at least a top 4 rhd (I don’t think Kapanen or Johnsson will get a top 2 rhd). And will this draft be the 2nd year in a row we won’t have a 1st round pick? I wouldn’t mind that as much if we were going deeper in the playoffs, but we’ve gone out in the 1st round 3 years in a row. And even if we do sneak into the playoffs, we’re not getting past the 1st round.

And please don’t bring up how the Blues won it all last year after being in last place until January, or whenever it was. The Blues turned it around in January. The Leafs have been inconsistent, and our defensive zone coverage (and defence) are like night and day compared to the Blues.

It’s like people have said, not replenishing the pipeline with draft picks, especially 1st and 2 nd round picks, catches up to you sooner or later.

 

[egd27]

It was more about Babcock not willing to change any of his coaching decisions when it came to always playing the #2 Goalie on the second night of a back to back. Also no matter what a regulation loss is still 2 points less in the standings, no matter if it's in October or April.

Yes Babcock made a whole pile of really bad decisions, the team quit on him, and he was fired in November as he should have been.

This team is still losing the important games due to mental mistakes and quite often, outright laziness.

Yes, Ceci is not very good, yes Hutch is not very good, yes our best defenceman is injured, but can’t someone figure that out and adapt the style to minimize the impact of that?

Can’t a forward recognize that maybe they need to provide more defensive awareness when Ceci is out there?

It can’t be that hard for the most talented group of forwards in the league, can it?

 

[JayfromNB1219]

Sorry, but I have to disagree. Campbell and Clifford will help (so nice to see we’ve finally acquired some much needed toughness), but we desperately need to add at least a top 4 rhd (I don’t think Kapanen or Johnsson will get a top 2 rhd). And will this draft be the 2nd year in a row we won’t have a 1st round pick? I wouldn’t mind that as much if we were going deeper in the playoffs, but we’ve gone out in the 1st round 3 years in a row. And even if we do sneak into the playoffs, we’re not getting past the 1st round.

And please don’t bring up how the Blues won it all last year after being in last place until January, or whenever it was. The Blues turned it around in January. The Leafs have been inconsistent, and our defensive zone coverage (and defence) are like night and day compared to the Blues.

It’s like people have said, not replenishing the pipeline with draft picks, especially 1st and 2 nd round picks, catches up to you sooner or later.

Yeah never even pretended to bring that up...The flaws that blues team had were massively different than our own, they had the defensive part of the game down and were on the receiving end of some terrible bounces for the first half of the season...comparing us to the Blues is like comparing apples to watermelons.

That being said if we sneak in we definitely have the firepower to potentially do some damage provided our spoiled "core" shows up and decides that the jersey they wear is worth sacrificing their offensive numbers for,,,

 

[Merrrlin]

The sky is far from falling but this team is going absolutely nowhere until they realize that they need to value a 200 foot game and that starts with defensively capable, big, strong, defensemen that break the cycle, move bodies in front of their net, etc... Reilly and Sandin can focus on driving offense from the backend. The other guys need to be rock solid in front of Anderson and Campbell, as do the 3rd and 4th lines when they are on the ice. Let the top 6 do the scoring and have the other lines Chip in when they can.

This organization has not taken its defense core seriously in years. No emphasis on drafting and developing complete guys. No emphasis on making those same two way guys a priority in free agency and a complete reluctance to package redundant scoring depth, picks and prospects to acquire the tight type of guys via trade.

Until that changes and guys like Matthews and Marner take their 200 foot game seriously every night, this team will remain what it is. Highly volatile and completely capable for losing to any team, on any night, home or away... If the goalie doesn't stand on his head, or the offense doesn't put up 5 goals, it's over.

I thought you made a great post until I saw you singled out Marner and Matthews. Of all the players that deserve criticism right now, you are targeting the two guys on pace for 100+ points? Are both guys not top 10 league wide in takeaways still?

What about the 12 other guys on this team that provide very little offence but also don’t back check or work hard in their zone.

Matthews and Marner are the absolute LEAST of the Leafs issues right now.

 

[Merrrlin]

The Leafs are 19-9-3 since Keefe took over. Assuming 17-8-3 in the remaining 28 games (approx the same pace) we would finish with 100 pts and likely make the playoffs.

Good morning. Great post! I’m a believer

I know injuries affect everyone but the Leafs really missed their #1D and 1G this past week, not to mention their #1LW and #2LW...show me a team that doesn’t struggle with those types of injuries.

This doesn’t excuse the rotten 3rd peridots lately but should be considered in the big picture...

So many terrified to admit the Keefe honeymoon is over and this team is who we thought they were. At least desperate times will cause much needed change. Thankfully Dubas seems to be aware of his mistakes finally but it might be too late for this season. He can’t be done because we’re still a very broken team and he doesn’t wanna lose his job.

Pile on

This post right here is the reason we have a bookmark button

 

[sxvnert]

Under Keefe: 21-9-4 (.676)

It may end up that the leafs ran out of road. The best the leafs have done under Babcock was back in 17/18: 49-26-5 0.640

 

[Pookie]

I'm happy that there now appears to be some flexibility in Dubas to admit a gaffe and take corrective action.

It's looking like it will come down to having a better record than Florida. #3 or WC seems to be the likely landing spot if we make it.

Good thing is that we have two more games against them. As they say, destiny is in our hands.

 

[moon111]

Reilly looked like a Norris candidate and then something was wrong, then he's gone.
If he comes back, big difference.
Also Leafs are missing a forward with about the exact same 5v5 point production as Marner.
Are the Leafs a perfect team? No. Is any team? No. They can put this together.

 

[Pookie]

Under Keefe: 21-9-4 (.676)

It may end up that the leafs ran out of road. The best the leafs have done under Babcock was back in 17/18: 49-26-5 0.640

Just to be picky here... you are comparing 34 games under one coach and a full season under another.

Babcock had plenty of 34 game stretches with records of 21-9-4 and better.

Eg. The 2018-19 season started with a record of 22-10-2 for 46 points

 

[nsleaf]

Why are you so offended by the fact that Leafs record shows their currently struggling and losing ground on playoff teams? That isn't an opinion its supported with last 10 game results that supports it.

If the season ended today would the Leafs be in the playoffs ?? If that answer is NO then I was trying to explain why that was and it has nothing to do with Keefe's early success.

If the Leafs win 10 in a row this thread wouldn't even exist as nobody would be commenting on the recent struggles and Dubas wouldn't be trading for goalie help and more muscle to try and change Leafs fortunes and try and turn this around in time to make the playoffs.




Keefe early success coached the Leafs into a playoff spot, and now his most recent past 10 games has them playing at .500 while other teams they're chasing have passed or increased their leads because the Leafs are struggling and have lost 7 of their last 11 games. No Leaf fan likes it, but that doesn't make it false either.



PS. I've been here from the start of this website back in 2002 going on 18 years now, so I'm always around, you can always find me here.

That explains it.!

 

[egd27]

Recent slide mostly goaltending related.

Dubas has made a needed adjustment but we need Anderson back and in non-October form.

Shame he didn’t make the “needed adjustment” before it became absolutely crucial. You know, when it was just a problem everyone recognized.

 

[sxvnert]

Just to be picky here... you are comparing 34 games under one coach and a full season under another.

True. Point being were people expecting a 30-0-4 during that stretch?

I'm not overly impressed with many of those wins but a win is a win.