Speculation: What Role is the Centenial Anniverary Likely to Have on the Direction of the Team?

[AINEC*]

Hopefully it plays none, but knowing this organization it will probably play a big role.

Good ol' "accelerated rebuild"

 

[Pyrophorus]

Thank you for not mentioning McDavid. Getting awful tired of that particular pipe dream.

Any of those 3 would be great too.

McDavid isn't that far fetched.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I honestly think that whatever trades are done until the trade deadline, in the offseason and depending on the free agent market, only then I think we will start to get a much more clear picture of what the Leafs plan will be for their 100th anniversary season.

 

[MR4]

Maybe we can get some help through Bettman, like how Argo's got their QB for pennies

 

[Pucker77]

If the Leafs offload players now, I think the team could be competitive by the 2016-2017 Centennial season.

Rielly would have 2 more seasons of development, same with Gardiner and Kadri. possibly a sophomore Nylander, possibly a rookie or sophomore Strome/Marner/Hanifin/McDavid.

Not to mention if the offers for Kessel are true possibly Seth Jones, and what ever we get for Phaneuf, Franson, Santorelli, Winnik, Bozak and hopefully Lupul and Clarkson (hopefully).

It would probably be a very young team (I'm not going to guess on any free agents) But I think it has a chance to be a competitive young team.

 

[rdawg1234]

That's 2 seasons from now, if we build properly, we may not be a super competitive team, but the team very well could be trending upwards similar to Calgary this year.

Imagine we trade kessel for Seth Jones, get Mcdavid from the lottery(unlikely but 10% possible) and whoever else we draft/get from our other trades, this team would look like it has a very bright future!!

Alot better than this half hearted but fairly skilled team we have now, management knows this core is done, they aren't delusional, we can easily rebuild and have a decent team by 2017 if we add great pieces to some good young ones we already have(kadri, jvr, Rielly, Bernier etc.)

 

[rdawg1234]

If the Leafs offload players now, I think the team could be competitive by the 2016-2017 Centennial season.

Rielly would have 2 more seasons of development, same with Gardiner and Kadri. possibly a sophomore Nylander, possibly a rookie or sophomore Strome/Marner/Hanifin/McDavid.

Not to mention if the offers for Kessel are true possibly Seth Jones, and what ever we get for Phaneuf, Franson, Santorelli, Winnik, Bozak and hopefully Lupul and Clarkson (hopefully).

It would probably be a very young team (I'm not going to guess on any free agents) But I think it has a chance to be a competitive young team.

Agreed with this,

I think best case scenario from trades/draft:

Top 10 prospect in 2016


XXXX-McDavid/Strome(lottery results)-Nylander
JVR-Kadri-Connor Brown
Leivo-Gauthier/Holland-XXXX
XXXX-Carrick-XXXX(who cares about 4th line)

Seth Jones-Rielly
XXXX(trade)-Percy
Polak-Gardiner

this is based on what we have and some rumours, we'll definitely get some other players through trades and whoever we draft with extra picks.

Essentially my point is this team would have so much more potential, while we already know the core we have now is one-dimensional and lazy.

 

[Banana Squid]

They would be remiss not to rebuild and try and sell the future during the 100th anniversary. Can you imagine the black eye this team would have if they took an unexpected nose dive like this year in their centennial year?

Outdoor classic? Watch exciting /up and coming stars like Rielly, Nylander, and our top pick this year.

Draft? What's more exciting then seeing the leafs pick top ten at the acc?

All star game? Fan voting will ensure the leafs are all represented.

Simply, it makes more sense to torpedo this now then have a terrible team for the next two years that has zero compete. You want the centennial to embody the fan excitement of the first 50 years, not the last 50.

A ninth place finish with seething fans doesn't really accomplish anything.

 

[MR4]

Agreed with this,

I think best case scenario from trades/draft:

Top 10 prospect in 2016


XXXX-McDavid/Strome(lottery results)-Nylander
JVR-Kadri-Connor Brown
Leivo-Gauthier/Holland-XXXX
XXXX-Carrick-XXXX(who cares about 4th line)

Seth Jones-Rielly
XXXX(trade)-Percy
Polak-Gardiner

Not very confident in Brown translating his success to the NHL but most of the fanbase thinks he could, so this is what my lineup would probably be if we're looking at 2017

JVR-Kadri-______(Prospect/Young player from Phaneuf trade?)
Nylander (IIRC He prefers LW)-McStrome-Brown
Leivo-Gauthier/Holland-Komarov
_(Vet)_-Carrick-Clarkson

Rielly-Jones
Gardiner-Percy/Finn
Polak-_(Vet)_ / (Granberg, Nillson, etc)

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

If the Leafs offload players now, I think the team could be competitive by the 2016-2017 Centennial season.

Rielly would have 2 more seasons of development, same with Gardiner and Kadri. possibly a sophomore Nylander, possibly a rookie or sophomore Strome/Marner/Hanifin/McDavid.

Not to mention if the offers for Kessel are true possibly Seth Jones, and what ever we get for Phaneuf, Franson, Santorelli, Winnik, Bozak and hopefully Lupul and Clarkson (hopefully).

It would probably be a very young team (I'm not going to guess on any free agents) But I think it has a chance to be a competitive young team.

Isnt it the 2017-18 season that is the centennial season? I would love of we got the draft in 2017 (instead of 2018), then the Allstar game, winter classic etc during the 17/18 season.

If we blow this team up we then got 2 years to become somewhat competitive for the centennial season. It is doable but it will very much depend on how our young guys develop and if we can get lucky in a trade or through FA. And I think if we push to hard towards that "dead line" we will once again fail.

The most important thing must be to change direction and faces of the franchise. Do we really want Kessel and Phaneuf being the front figures of yet another epic collapse? These guys have proven year after year that they can not be THE guys on a team. Some of the most embarrassing moments in recent past is with those two as the main figures. From the collapses, the dry spells to "Salute gate".

I do think our staff is planning for the 100th years anniversary. Or I know they are. TL said so when he hired Shanahan that one of his main objectives was to plan for it. That means brining all the NHL events to Toronto and also have a likeable team who fans and management can be proud of.

And perhaps it is wrong of me thinking this but when Leafs turns 100 I would hope that our biggest stars are not some american wingers who thinks even the idea of them blocking a shot is insulting. If one would create a team who represent Leafs history we need some Canadian heart and soul guys and a couple of really talented Swedes on the team.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

I posted something similar a few weeks back.
I think this will play a big part in Leafs direction.

That is bad for the Tank, Non ?