News Article: Video What does everyone think?

[Pookie]

Do not see how they are wrong, the big horses are paid to perform pretty simple really.

When confronted with an idea that goes against one’s established and inflexible beliefs, one seeks to reduce the dissonance.

If you can’t attack the message, attack the messenger

Pretty predictable. I wouldn’t give it one squirt, let alone two squirts.

 

[Coachcorner]

We have a leader in Jonathan T. That sucka hard as dirt. Doesn't flinch. Mayne that some tough cookie, he was the chosen one for the C so it doesnt matter that much if our other "leaders" LOL say thangs like this. Its mui importantte what tavares and andersen say and also some upcoming thug says. That that real talk.

 

[ruaware41]

no. its' not but i mean quite frankly, it's not like they said "oh yah you know i know i'm worth this, but i'll take a bit less to help the team out." and before anyone goes "no one ever takes less in regular life." well yes. people do. people take less to work at their ideal careers all the time. they wanted to be paid, they wanted to be paid large, and there are expectations that go with that.

People at big 4 accounting firms, especially at Toronto, start with 50k incomes and often work over 70 hour weeks with no overtime payment.

Close to if not less than minimum wage for prestige and being able to list big 4 on your resume. It's exploitative and it's wrong but what can you do

 

[v4karuna]

That was a bit harsh considering there is a history of NHL players playing like shit after their first big pay day.

I'm confident Matthews and Marner will live up to their contracts, I mean they are playing bad and somehow still producing at a PPG pace..

I'm more concerned about the team effort rather than calling out individual players this early in the season.

 

[Gabriel426]

He’s not lying but all I’m saying is a little patience and I’m sure these guys will perform. The Maserati analogy sucks too because the Maserati is at its peak when you buy it and it depreciates from there. It’s a horrible comparison. I also don’t like Button if you can’t tell.

what he meant was if you pay for a Maserati, you expected it to be a high performance car. And if it does not perform like one, then it is a bad deal. Button might not be pro Leafs or the greatest Hockey pundits but what he said is very close to 100% spot on.
JT, Marner and Matthews are being paid top 10 salaries in the League, have they been Top 10 players in the league game in and game out? Heck, sometime they are not even a top 10 players on both teams in a game.
If you want a huge contract, you better bring it every day. Productions are great but what’s point of having 5 pts if your team loses 6-5. You can blame your team for not performing but are those guys getting 5pts a game and being a dominant player every shift?

 

[Gabriel426]

That was a bit harsh considering there is a history of NHL players playing like **** after their first big pay day.

I'm confident Matthews and Marner will live up to their contracts, I mean they are playing bad and somehow still producing at a PPG pace..

I'm more concerned about the team effort rather than calling out individual players this early in the season.

Well, they are the leaders of the Leafs, whether due to their contracts or the letter on their jersey. Leaders lead. If Matthews or Marner start showing more in giving a F*** and stand up for everyone, other players will follow. Kind of like what William Wallace said to Robert the Bruce. Men don’t follow titles, they follow courage.
Funny how Courage is one of the words on their jersey but none of these leaders are showing it.

 

[Cobra777]

Getting points or goals is important and nice but mostly that just pads your own stats, example AM scoring the 4th goal against SJ, 4 to 1 victory. Excellent players play hard shift in and out and even if not getting points they still help the team win by doing all the other hockey tangibles and fundamentals instead of just coasting around and popping in the odd goal here and assist there and putting half effort in everything else will not win games. Your not going to score every game so help the team win in other area's like be hard on the puck, win those puck battles, be in on the fore check, grab the puck and make a smart play, make sure to make nice crisp passes, hustle on the back check to help out your D, read the play and anticipate and make the other team really work hard to get anything. If the whole team bye's into a process like this especially with the fire power we will be successful. I know we are not tough but tenacity in all the other fundamentals is just missing also.

 

[CincoHolio]

no. its' not but i mean quite frankly, it's not like they said "oh yah you know i know i'm worth this, but i'll take a bit less to help the team out." and before anyone goes "no one ever takes less in regular life." well yes. people do. people take less to work at their ideal careers all the time. they wanted to be paid, they wanted to be paid large, and there are expectations that go with that.

Especially in sports. Stars, in particular, for like ever, have been taking a little bit less than another team might be willing to pay them, in order to help their current team maintain a competitive roster.

Paraphrasing here but when Shanny came out and said that players that want to be here, need to take a little less, I thought to myself, the message is spot on for the correct mentality these young stars need to adopt. However, I also thought to myself, this has a very high chance of backfiring. Our stars, seem to carry an air of entitlement and hearing those words from the president, I think they either individually or collectively decided, 'nope, we're going to dig in here and get all that we can. Who is this guy to tell us how we should manage our futures?'.

 

[CincoHolio]

JT really has his work cut out for him as the C for this team. What this team needs is a vet like JT to grab these young punks by the scruff of their necks and get them to play with some sense of pride. That is the captain this team needs right now. As misaligned as Pheneuf 's tenure here was, I think he would have been a good captain for THIS group. This team NEEDS a vocal leader in the dressing room who backs it up with his effort on the ice. JT possesses one half of that equation, I pray for the immediate future of this team that he can muster the other half.

Most likely what will happen though is, this team will stink up the joint for a while until the media and fan pressure finally gets to them and then they will likely call a 'players only' and hopefully that will be enough to right the ship.

 

[CincoHolio]

He’s not lying but all I’m saying is a little patience and I’m sure these guys will perform. The Maserati analogy sucks too because the Maserati is at its peak when you buy it and it depreciates from there. It’s a horrible comparison. I also don’t like Button if you can’t tell.

It doesn't suck though because our Maserati(s) have barely rolled over 25,000 clicks yet, which is the point he was trying to make. That car better damn well start at the price I've paid and you can be sure the dealership would be getting a pretty loud earful if it doesn't.

 

[thewave]

Not disagreeing or agreeing but food for thought said two players were invisible most games and did not dominate in last seasons month of Feb. as well as the Boston series, they were just ok or less than.

Can't argue with that! We got Purrari not Ferrari.

 

[Mugzy97]

It doesn't suck though because our Maserati(s) have barely rolled over 25,000 clicks yet, which is the point he was trying to make. That car better damn well start at the price I've paid and you can be sure the dealership would be getting a pretty loud earful if it doesn't.

But the thing is, with these new RFA contracts, we’re paying for potential. Matthews and Marner aren’t starting the contract in their primes. They will continue to get better throughout these contracts. They are not in their primes yet.

 

[Mugzy97]

what he meant was if you pay for a Maserati, you expected it to be a high performance car. And if it does not perform like one, then it is a bad deal. Button might not be pro Leafs or the greatest Hockey pundits but what he said is very close to 100% spot on.
JT, Marner and Matthews are being paid top 10 salaries in the League, have they been Top 10 players in the league game in and game out? Heck, sometime they are not even a top 10 players on both teams in a game.
If you want a huge contract, you better bring it every day. Productions are great but what’s point of having 5 pts if your team loses 6-5. You can blame your team for not performing but are those guys getting 5pts a game and being a dominant player every shift?

I agree with it, I’m just saying patience will show that these players are going to perform. 13 games into a 5 year contract and were deciding they aren’t going to perform for the duration? I know the ship will right itself and these guys will start clicking.

 

[ottomaddox]

I bought used Toyota Corolla pretty cheap. It starts every time and never seems to quit.

 

[Daisy Jane]

Especially in sports. Stars, in particular, for like ever, have been taking a little bit less than another team might be willing to pay them, in order to help their current team maintain a competitive roster.

Paraphrasing here but when Shanny came out and said that players that want to be here, need to take a little less, I thought to myself, the message is spot on for the correct mentality these young stars need to adopt. However, I also thought to myself, this has a very high chance of backfiring. Our stars, seem to carry an air of entitlement and hearing those words from the president, I think they either individually or collectively decided, 'nope, we're going to dig in here and get all that we can. Who is this guy to tell us how we should manage our futures?'.

well that's what bothers me.
people can (and do) argue when the examples are made that Crosby, etc etc took "Less" because then they'll go (But the cap hit). but it doesn't change the fact that their numbers were relatively "Lower" than what they could have rightfully demanded. Nylander, Matthews and Marner are very well in their rights to demand what they want for what they provide and what their statuses are in the league, but the dynamic would have totally changed had they all taken a bit less (in dollars) or a bit more (In years). and I think there would be a lot more patience with them because of that bone they gave the team.

but the didn't. what all wanted theirs, and Dubas decided to bend over three times and allow them to get theirs, and we're going to have to face those consequences. - and truthfully I honestly think some of those consequences is no longer giving those three some leeway/benefit of the doubt.

 

[Cobra777]

I think what boils down to is Mathews when he wants to can be a dominant force, but you get just snippets of that, some nights when the other team plays tough, you see a different player that is not willing to work hard through the stiff competition and gives half effort, but his shot is lethal and when given opportunity he scores and it looks good for people to argue " what are you talking about he is top 10 in the league". His rookie year and the season after he was brilliant and looked so promising until last season we started to see him coast after the Trouba hit and injury and gradually became more apparent as time went on. Could you imagine if he played with the heart like a Wendel Clark with his size, skating ability, and puck control and shot what we would have here also laying out bone crushing hits with a ^%$ you attitude to the opposition. Clark wept on t.v when he found out he was being traded from the leafs, he bled blue and white, I totally respect and love players like him. I don't see this same mentality in the young players we have, they hold out and demand big dollars, handy cap this team money wise and then give half efforts and shy away from physical play. Sorry none of the 3 Imho deserve the pay they were given because of half effort reasons.

 

[MattySnipes]

Button is an idiot at times, but he knows his stuff. He delivers his hot takes strategically to garner attention in this market. Nevertheless, I agree with what he's said about the stars.

I didn't like the whole "F as big as CN tower" bit, but they definitely need to be better. Everyone sees that. Leafs fan or not.

 

[Gabriel426]

I agree with it, I’m just saying patience will show that these players are going to perform. 13 games into a 5 year contract and were deciding they aren’t going to perform for the duration? I know the ship will right itself and these guys will start clicking.

Yes, 13 games is too small a simple size but the problem that Button pointed out is that Matthews and Marner are not engaging in games. Points production is one thing but the top paying Leafs are not playing hard shift in and shift out. That’s a mental problem. In short, they are becoming Phil and JVR.

 

[Mugzy97]

Yes, 13 games is too small a simple size but the problem that Button pointed out is that Matthews and Marner are not engaging in games. Points production is one thing but the top paying Leafs are not playing hard shift in and shift out. That’s a mental problem. In short, they are becoming Phil and JVR.

These guys are MILES ahead of JVR.. and Marner had more points on his ELC than Phil will ever have in his career. Very bad comparison.

I've seen Marner bust his ass many times in the defensive zone, effort through the roof. I haven't seen it yet this year but why wouldn't it return?

 

[Gabriel426]

These guys are MILES ahead of JVR.. and Marner had more points on his ELC than Phil will ever have in his career. Very bad comparison.

I've seen Marner bust his ass many times in the defensive zone, effort through the roof. I haven't seen it yet this year but why wouldn't it return?

that’s the question all of us is asking. Matthews was a much better 200ft player when he broke into the league than now. Wish I know the answer to that.