News Article: Toronto Maple Leafs opt to tinker, while other teams splurge on free agents

[Brewsky]

As long as we keep our 1st rounder this year, I don't care how it goes, I just want playoffs or complete freefall, no in between.

 

[KuleminFan41]

a year ago we signed the top free agent, a third liner, to a deal with 5M a year until he's bought out.

i'm not against being patient if that's what this is. but Nonis deserves to be taken to task for preaching the exact opposite approach to the one he took last summer when he set this team back another few years at least with silly deals for bit part veteran winners that were meant to improve an already improving team that would also of course improve by virtue of subtracting the non-winners Macarthur and Grabovski.

it's patience espoused by the front office that had a destructively impulsive offseason last summer.

Oh dear lord, not another "set this franchise back" post. People say that crap far too often

 

[leafs in five]

Oh dear lord, not another "set this franchise back" post. People say that crap far too often

yeah especially when you consider how much the Leafs have improved year in year out

 

[leafs in five]

Im glad the leafs only tinkered. The contracts given out this year were ludicrous

only Orpik, maybe Poulliot can compete with the Clarkson deal

 

[sgupca]

So the leafs go out and spend big in other years and everyone cries "let the kids play"

this year the leafs go out and fill in some much needed holes and don't overspend and everyone in the media cries "we're a rich team spend more money"

sounds like the Toronto media just likes to complain no matter what the leafs do.

 

[sgupca]

As long as we keep our 1st rounder this year, I don't care how it goes, I just want playoffs or complete freefall, no in between.

i sort of agree with this statement

 

[MrDiddlez]

You need to realize why they do it. I have a hypothesis. It goes like this.

Headline in TO newspapers:

"Leafs win the Cup"

UN investigating crime as 14, 984, 383 died waiting in vain. Called it worse sporticide since Roman Coliseum. Kafar El Hab states, "it says it all when parades are planned yearly and cancelled by Christmas, as if to say kids, Santa hates you, and so do the Leafs". When asked for his incite, Steve Simmons, who exposed the crime against Leaf fans daily, had this to say, "**** all y'all, click my site, *****es". He seems too upset to speak really. Another reporter, "Mirtle", states Corsi could have saved them. We haven't found Corsi yet, and are doubting "Mirtle" is his real name. Canadien's GM Marc bergeron screamed, almost incoherently, "they burn boats. We need boats. L'arrest, L'arrest. Beside himself at the atrocity we suspect. News at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, and on the 30's, forever.

Underrated post here

 

[leafs in five]

So the leafs go out and spend big in other years and everyone cries "let the kids play"

this year the leafs go out and fill in some much needed holes and don't overspend and everyone in the media cries "we're a rich team spend more money"

sounds like the Toronto media just likes to complain no matter what the leafs do.

sounds like a front office without a real plan or even idea of what kind of team it has put together.

 

[Tak7]

So the leafs go out and spend big in other years and everyone cries "let the kids play"

this year the leafs go out and fill in some much needed holes and don't overspend and everyone in the media cries "we're a rich team spend more money"

sounds like the Toronto media just likes to complain no matter what the leafs do.

Have you ever stopped and just asked yourself what direction this team is going in?

Have you ever asked yourself where this organization sees itself in 3 years? 5 years?

Is there a plan in place? Do they have plans that go beyond "Try and make the playoffs this year?"

I don't know what the plan is. I don't think there is one. I don't think anyone in that organization could tell you, hand on heart right now, what the objective of this organization was moving into the next 5 years.

Buy? Spend? Let the kids play? It's all fancy and makes a lot of sense, but consider this: the Leafs were GOING to do ONE, and then fully decided to do the other.

Plan A - Spend BIG on Bolland and Boyle.

Plan B - Play the kids.

You couldn't be any more further apart on organizational philosophies, and yet the Leafs transitioned from Plan A to Plan B in a period of about 49 minutes on July 1st.

Does that sound like an organization that has a single clue what the hell they are doing?

 

[FreeBird]

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014...ker-while-other-teams-splurge-on-free-agents/

Finally doing the right thing, after signing so many UFA's at ridiculous salaries and them under achieve consistently.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Finally doing the right thing

Whoa. What just happened? Where am I?

You feeling OK freebird?

 

[Mess]

Finally doing the right thing, after signing so many UFA's at ridiculous salaries and them under achieve consistently.

Shanny is rebuilding the rebuild and not following previous regrettable mistakes.

He is filling holes and needs at affordable prices on short term deals to gauge success and not going off the deep end mortgaging the future or painting the team into a corner with long-term deals.

These are the types of moves Leafs should have been making from the beginning and focusing heavy on building through draft.

 

[Holymakinaw]

Shanny is rebuilding the rebuild and not following previous regrettable mistakes.

He is filling holes and needs at affordable prices on short term deals to gauge success and not going off the deep end mortgaging the future or painting the team into a corner with long-term deals.

These are the types of moves Leafs should have been making from the beginning and focusing heavy on building through draft.

LOL. The previous guy(s) built us up a VERY talented core, and the current guy is tweaking things with little moves for good peripheral players. No one ever claimed to be perfect, but they should ALL get credit for making us better.

Do you ever not "should" all over the team?

 

[FlareKnight]

I do think it's good that they are spending reasonably with these small deals and hopefully leaving plenty of room for some Marlies to steal a spot.

Of course also a bit scary that they were really only saved from doing something stupid like throwing insane money at Bolland by Florida being even crazier than them. Not sure how far a management group can go being saved only by the bad choices of others.

But the moves that have been made in general are solid. Not sure how it will all work out, but at least the decisions aren't of the kind that will cripple them going forward.

 

[KuleminFan41]

yeah especially when you consider how much the Leafs have improved year in year out

Doom and gloom every year, why bother being here if everything is just so awful for you?

Last time I checked this Leafs team made the playoffs 2 seasons ago. I'd reckon thats an improvement? Especially going to game 7 vs the eventual Stanley Cup Finalists a team that routinely beat the Leafs for years

 

[Antropovsky]

Love this offseason for Nonis. Our team is so much more harder to play against today. We're a team with piss and vinegar again. By no means do I think were a cup winning team, but in terms of building a good culture, and giving our talented youth good role models, I feel like we've done that in spades this offseason.

Really looking forward to next season, and to think, I started to question Shanahan and Nonis.

 

[Bomber0104]

Love this offseason for Nonis. Our team is so much more harder to play against today. We're a team with piss and vinegar again.

Really looking forward to next season, and to think, I started to question Shanahan and Nonis.

What exactly impresses you about this team re-tooling the third and fourth line?

I'm almost 100% sure that our depth players were not the reason we finished 8th last this past season...

If the answer to this team's woes were adding a few scrap pieces, what was the reason for not doing it at the deadline this spring?

Clearly Nonis has no problem parting with 2nd-7th round picks...which is exactly what these guys we picked up are worth.

 

[Tyler Biggs*]

All good signings I can see why they added Frattin lost Raymond so get a younger more gritty version of him. Leo is part of the grit we really lacked last year along with Polak on the back end too. Robidas is what we need to help the young d guys back there. I laugh at most Leaf fans complaining about Robidas being old but is someone we needed to help shore up a bad back end yet, these same fans would throw huge bucks at Brad Richards or Joe Thorton who are 34 or 35 plus. We don't need scoring we needed help on the back end you don't like vets on the backend but would waste money up front for guys 34+ we don't need quite funny.

 

[JackJ]

I'm glad Nonis was forced (by Shanny and being outbid) into taking this route.

 

[Northern Dancer]

what exactly impresses you about this team re-tooling the third and fourth line?

i'm almost 100% sure that our depth players were not the reason we finished 8th last this past season...

if the answer to this team's woes were adding a few scrap pieces, what was the reason for not doing it at the deadline this spring?

Clearly nonis has no problem parting with 2nd-7th round picks...which is exactly what these guys we picked up are worth.

lmao !!!!!!!!!

 

[Bomber0104]

lmao !!!!!!!!!

What's to dispute here?

It was McClement's fault because he didn't score 40 goals on the fourth line?

Rielly should have won the Norris on the 3rd pairing?

What exactly are you disputing here Northern Dancer, #1 Brian Burke / Dave Nonis fan?

 

[Northern Dancer]

What's to dispute here?

It was McClement's fault he didn't score 40 goals?

Rielly should have won the Norris on the 3rd pairing?

What exactly are you disputing here?

Leafs 3rd and 4th line were pathetic and you know it.

 

[Bomber0104]

Leafs 3rd and 4th line were pathetic and you know it.

They play marginal minutes and shouldn't be counted on for offence.

As a watcher of the game of hockey, Northern Dancer, proud member of the Brian Burke fan club, you should know this.

 

[TOG26]

What exactly impresses you about this team re-tooling the third and fourth line?

I'm almost 100% sure that our depth players were not the reason we finished 8th last this past season...

If the answer to this team's woes were adding a few scrap pieces, what was the reason for not doing it at the deadline this spring?

Clearly Nonis has no problem parting with 2nd-7th round picks...which is exactly what these guys we picked up are worth.

Playing the blackhole of offense known as Jay McClement as many minutes a game we did sure didn't help. Not to mention never being able to play a 4th line in most games.

 

[Bomber0104]

Playing the blackhole of offense known as Jay McClement as many minutes a game we did sure didn't help.

So wait...

The premise is the Leafs failed because they didn't score enough.

And the Leafs needed Jay McClement and the rest of the bottom six to score...

Nothing to do with shots and goals agaist?

Nothing to do with our top two lines being lost defensively and unable to possess the puck?

Nothing to do with that?

Really?