Certainly, the Leafs cannot control the lips of 29 franchises.
Some franchises might actually appreciate leaks if it draws attention to the team.
"Did you hear our team is interested in Kessel?"
Phoenix resident, "We have a team?"
Leafs can't stop dealing with other teams for fear there might be a leak.
Remember the Phaneuf deal, where it was reported other teams didn't know he was being shopped, and some suggested they would have offered more? (be nice if there was a radio repository with search capabilities. Public Big Data can't come quick enough.)
What I will appreciate is honest communication, facts, and not a bunch of hot air chest thumping.
And as Mess says, (hopefully) it won't be silence from reporters, it will be focusing on (hopefully) a building success.
When the franchise is one of the bigger jokes on the ice, what exactly do you expect reporters to focus on?
What do we read here about the Oilers, that 22nd. overall pick, 1990 born Eberle is a .8 PPG player, that 23 year old Hall is a .88 PPG player, or that 22 year old Hopkins has never had less than 52 points (full season) since he was drafted?
No. Mostly it is about team failure. People love to throw dirt, and the population here is no exception.
It would be nice to read pieces about the positive growth of the Leafs franchise.
There might be some who don't want to read or hear anything about the team, but it is unlikely they'd be here on this board.
The silent era should be with regard to inane speculation, not a total lockdown of information.
First step is to bring respect back to the franchise, give media something other than failure to discuss.
I think Babcock has already set the tone, with the pain is coming comments.
How does the media twist that?
Almost a complete opposite of, "Maybe because of my age, maybe just because I know it doesn't have to be five years..."
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