What would you prefer this year: 8th or 16th

[Mess]

16th in the east and hopefully dead last in the league. Lose the lottery and drop to 2nd as worst case scenario.

Next year there is a new draft lottery system where there are actually 3 separate draws to determine positions 30th, 29th and 28th.

The last place team could actually pick 4th right where we picked this year.

 

[Menzinger]

The worse you finish, the better the odds of winning one of the top spots though.

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

16th in the east and hopefully dead last in the league. Lose the lottery and drop to 2nd as worst case scenario.

Lets not forget that the bottom 3 picks are lotteried not guaranteed that we pick 2nd or even 3rd overall.

 

[Mess]

The worse you finish, the better the odds of winning one of the top spots though.

True, and you can also finishes higher in the standings and still pick in the top 3 with a little luck and 3 chances now to pick higher than the Leafs did last season.

I don't think its Leafs plans on finishing 30th overall and I don't expect them to either.

With Babcock the teams odds of improvement have increased significantly from last year.

 

[TasteLikeBurning]

Next year there is a new draft lottery system where there are actually 3 separate draws to determine positions 30th, 29th and 28th.

The last place team could actually pick 4th right where we picked this year.

Lets not forget that the bottom 3 picks are lotteried not guaranteed that we pick 2nd or even 3rd overall.

New system implemented to curve tanking? Last place team surely has better odds still, but Leafs never had much luck in lotteries to begin with I guess.

 

[Pookie]

The worse you finish, the better the odds of winning one of the top spots though.

And dead last drafts no worse than 4th overall.

Scary thing here is that some Leaf fans have short attention spans.

Scorched Earth was discussed in February. Here we are just 5 months later discussing playoffs. Kessel was traded, Babcock and Lou hired and all of a sudden scorched earth is a distant memory.

Hopefully the Board (or Shanahan) isn't so fickle but with Shanahan's contract set to expire before they would be good after a lengthy draft stocking plan, I have my doubts.

If we miss out on drafting high for the next few years, it will be a real shame.

 

[ACC1224]

And dead last drafts no worse than 4th overall.

Scary thing here is that some Leaf fans have short attention spans.

Scorched Earth was discussed in February. Here we are just 5 months later discussing playoffs. Kessel was traded, Babcock and Lou hired and all of a sudden scorched earth is a distant memory.

Hopefully the Board (or Shanahan) isn't so fickle but with Shanahan's contract set to expire before they would be good after a lengthy draft stocking plan, I have my doubts.

If we miss out on drafting high for the next few years, it will be a real shame.

Was Shanahan the 1st to mention "scorched earth"? Seems kind of a dramatic thing for him to say.

IMO, Shanahan/Babcock/Lou Lam, etc will all be absolutely delighted if they somehow finish in a playoff spot.

 

[maketrades]

If the Leafs manage to overcome the odds and make it to the playoffs I'll be cheering as loud as anyone.

But I do think one more year of pain, and getting a high pick would do a lot more for the team's future success than a series worth of playoff games would. How many guys on the leafs current will even be around in 3-4 seasons from now?

Lots of awful teams have overachieved and made the playoffs (ie the Leafs in 13', the Avs"). How much has that really impacted their teams development? Both the Leafs and the Avs are still awful. Getting the right team culture starts with getting the most skilled players and winning games with them. "Culture "isn't going to turn a 3rdliner into a top six player - bad players are still bad.

Well that's a bold statement considering players move from the third line to the second line all the time....

 

[BayStreetBully]

If we were guaranteed one of Matthews or Chychrun, I'd rather finish dead last. Like with McDavid/Eichel this year. But there is no magic wand and there is no guarantee, not even under the old system. It is hard to try and finish dead last because there are always a few other really bad teams out there too.

Now, add in the new lottery system where even if we do finish last, we still have a very good chance to pick 4th. And it is STILL hard to finish dead last. So if we finish third last, we have a great chance to draft 5th or 6th. To me, hoping to lose for an entire season is not worth drafting 4th or 5th or 6th. If that's what ends up happening, great. Who wouldn't love another 5th overall pick in their system? But during the season, I will hope for our current Leafs to improve, and by extension, win. The new league just isn't set up to tank anymore.

 

[TMLegend]

8th. People who are openly wanting to tank better be careful for what they wish for. Things can get out of hand in a real hurry and it could turn into an Edmonton fiasco if they finish bottoms in the league year after year.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

8th. People who are openly wanting to tank better be careful for what they wish for. Things can get out of hand in a real hurry and it could turn into an Edmonton fiasco if they finish bottoms in the league year after year.

Yea good thing we don't got MacTavish and Lowe/Tambellini running things over here.

 

[TMLegend]

Yea good thing we don't got MacTavish and Lowe running things over here.

Exactly what has management proved that their such great evaluators of talent? I'm waiting. Signing a half dozen depth players doesn't make them pioneers of a flawless management strategy.

It's moot anyway. Management isn't going to tank, anyone saying otherwise is spouting wishful thinking.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

8th. People who are openly wanting to tank better be careful for what they wish for. Things can get out of hand in a real hurry and it could turn into an Edmonton fiasco if they finish bottoms in the league year after year.

You think finishing poorly for one year means we're going to turn into Edmonton? Consider the management difference in Edm and who we have here

How has tread-milling and always trying to reach the 8th seed helped the Leafs for the past decade?

 

[Hunters Rule]

They will likely be around 10th to 12th at the trade deadline and will end the season between 14th and 16th depending on the qauntiity and quality of players they ship out at the deadline. This is a good thing. But I agree with a previous poster the sooner Lou deals the higher end talent we are looking to get rid of would be better.

 

[deletethis]

8th. I watch the team to win not lose. Last overall only guarantees a 4th overall pick anyways. I just don't want to see the team borrow from the future to gain the 8th spot. Actually I wouldn't be the least bit bothered if the team were sitting in 8th place and decided to trade away several impending FAs anyways because that would fit with a longer term plan. That would fit perfectly with the concept that the team is trying to become a perpetual winner.

 

[crump]

I rather we get a chance of getting Matthews and Chychrun before we start competing for the playoffs

This. One more season with a top 4 or 5 draft position and a chance at #1 before our current prospects start making the team in 16/17. When Marner and Nylander are both on the team, you want them to get into the playoffs and get some experience there.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Depends who is carrying the load. Phaneuf, Lupul, Matthias, and Bozak carrying us to first round playoff failure would be a futile exercise. If it's Kadri, Rielly and otherpieces of the future taking their games to another level, then making the playoffs would be a great accomplishment that would represent a bright future.

 

[kk87]

16th... A top 2 pick would be huge (assuming we don't end up with the 5th pick after the lotteries). Grabbing Chychrun or Matthews would give us another elite prospect to put us over the top.

Another reason I really want a high pick this year is because its possible an expansion team (or two) enter in 17/18 season which means the top 2 picks in 2017 could already be locked up for the teams entering the league. Leafs need another elite prospect before we start to improve IMO.

JVR - Marner - Nylander
xxxx - Kadri - Brown

Rielly - Chychrun

Bernier

Chychrun would really help to complete our core. Adding Matthews would also be nice, but I think that forces us to trade at least 1 of Marner, Nylander, and Kadri (I see at least 1 of them ending up a winger... Not sure who, but at this point I think if we keep all three, Nylander is most likely to be a winger).

Yeah that's a good point to mention, I hadn't even considered that. Makes it even more important to get a top 5 pick next year...

 

[Pi]

I'll never purposely say no to a playoff spot. Getting a playoff spot with this roster would give me a lot of hope in our coaching because they would have motivated a group of nobodies to work hard to make the playoffs.

Both are good, I prefer playoffs over 16th.

 

[Pilky01]

8th. People who are openly wanting to tank better be careful for what they wish for. Things can get out of hand in a real hurry and it could turn into an Edmonton fiasco if they finish bottoms in the league year after year.

Yeah, we better be careful what we wish for because we might end up with a Connor McDavid, an Emile Nurse, a Taylor Hall, a Nail Yakupov, etc, etc... we wouldn't want anything like that in Toronto.

 

[ACC1224]

Depends who is carrying the load. Phaneuf, Lupul, Matthias, and Bozak carrying us to first round playoff failure would be a futile exercise. If it's Kadri, Rielly and otherpieces of the future taking their games to another level, then making the playoffs would be a great accomplishment that would represent a bright future.

Honestly, what's the odd's of that?

 

[Joey Hoser]

Honestly, what's the odd's of that?

With our luck?

I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised that if during the first season we finally stop going for it and take the patient approach, we'll have the best year we've had in over a decade.

It wouldn't be that hard. The east still kinda sucks.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

Yeah, we better be careful what we wish for because we might end up with a Connor McDavid, an Emile Nurse, a Taylor Hall, a Nail Yakupov, etc, etc... we wouldn't want anything like that in Toronto.

Exactly, yes Edmonton's plan has not gone as scripted. However, people here act as though Edmonton is a complete disaster with no assets anymore and have completely screwed themselves for decades to come

 

[maketrades]

Exactly, yes Edmonton's plan has not gone as scripted. However, people here act as though Edmonton is a complete disaster with no assets anymore and have completely screwed themselves for decades to come

It's hilarious. Even if they didn't win the lottery they would still be in great shape drafting Hanifin, as all their forwards will continue to progress.

Would been deadly in the future without McDavid.

Dynasty with him.

 

[TML91]

I would rather be a bottom team and get another high end prospect before we start going for playoffs. I would like pick anywhere from 1 through 5 in the 2016 draft. My top picks if we don't get Matthews would be:

1.Chychrun
2.Jones/Tkachuk (both play a similar game)
3.Brown
4.Puljujärvi

If Brown has a big year and we miss out on Matthews and Chychrun I want Brown a big skilled Center who could be better than Strome. In the end we need one of Chychrun or Brown to solidify those to big important positions I know we have Morgan but adding another elite d man would be really nice. I live in Sarnia and watched this kid play live and he is filthy, elite skating, elite vision, elite passing, size he has it all that can change the game from the backend. With that in mind hope to see korostelev have a big year also.