Who do you blame for the series loss to the Habs?

[Ciao]

I blame God.

I think He's a Habs fan.

 

[Beyonder91]

I've been reading a lot of different takes across different media outlets and writers.

One big takeaway for me is that Dubas went way overboard on trying to get some "grit" and veteran depth on the leafs which ultimately did not pay off in the least.

Offseason Signings - Thornton, Simmonds

Deadline Aquisitions - Foligno, Nash, Hutton & Rittich

That's six names that did absolutely nothing to help us in the playoffs and really altered the team identity from a skill approach to a failed veteran grit approach.
With Marner/Matthews being neutralized, and Tavares going down, this team flaw was really exposed.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Honestly, as a Habs fan who isn’t trying to troll your forum or cause any problems on your turf by making this post, I felt like Matthews was shutdown by Price in this series. He was honestly dangerous many times and our goalie wasn’t allowing it. And we were suffocating him. A few bounces the other way and it’s different. Marner is a bit of a different story. He looked and played frustrated IMO.

Price was very good but his best 10 beller saves were on Zach and Spezz and a couple on Mitch .. he made 1 on Matty in game 5 in front of net which was outstanding but all rest of Matty's shots were from fairly far out of kill zone .. you guys played him very well give you so much credit da high low trap on Matty works every time and your coach figured it out perfectly with Danault and Weber .. and brilliant use of neutral zone trap to stop entry to your end and then limiting kill zone chances .. it was a very well designed strategy and it won .. my issue is this same strategy and approach has worked 5 years in a row with our core .. and it will work for next 5 years against Boston Florida and Tampa too .. good luck beating Peg I think it will be a close series with better tender deciding it

 

[koyvoo]

The people defending Matthews need to gone their head a shake. So, he was marginally better, put in a marginally related acceptable effort.

Big deal. Of course he’ll look ok comparing him to Marner. Why not compare him to even a halfway playoff warrior?

We’ll never win with these two faker losers leading us, but it's not only one of them. Both are the epitome of pretenders.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Well, If you don't like Dubas, you'll blame him. (and then. Shanahan for hiring him)
If you don't like Shanahan you point at him.
If you don't like Keefe you blame them.

Note i said my piece on all of them so that's moot.
but that's what we were saying about Babcock and Lou. a lot of the vitriol people are spewing on Dubas/Keefe are the exact same things people said (maybe with a tweak here or two), about Babcock/Lou.

People are blaming analytics. (like okay)
but i mean. let's just call a spade a spade here.

The people to blame are the people on the ice. Because, the organization has bent over backwards to make sure they got everything they needed/wanted to perform better. They didn't like how rigid Lou was - okay, and ooh look we can grow our hair long and have beards and crazy tattoos, wooohooo. They didn't like Babcock. they got rid of them. They wanted to play together and have more minutes. they got that. they wanted their way. They wanted the big mega bucks because they were superstars, they got the big mega bucks.

Nylander gets crapped on for years but every playoffs he gets better and better.

How exactly are the other two, Matthews and Marner paying off all of that that management gave them? exactly?
5th in NHL scoring and the Rocket? Wooo. Thanks boys.

I give zero craps about Matthew winning the Rocket. that is sprinkles. What I care about is that other people find aways to evolve their games when it matters (ie: in the playoffs), so you can win the cup. That's the goal. That's the point.. Danault and Gallagher are stumping him how he usually plays - find a different way to get through. Marner gets time and space in the regular season - after five years you can't figure out that's not happening in the playoffs? You guys can't adapt? you can't figure out something else? you just do the same stuff, and then go. "yeah well. what can i say?" "We didn't start on time." WHY?! WHY CAN'T YOU? You are on the ice for 18 minutes warming up, the coach (several of them now), are telling you what the game plans are, and so you are telling me between when you leave the locker room, and the national anthem, you forget? Like you just hatched out of an egg and have no idea how to hockey? you are amazed that every playoffs, there is no time and space,, and the crap you do in the regular season, is different in the playoffs?

I don't know how Dubas is going to do it but he has to trade one of them. Most likely Marner because he's the winger, and you don't get rid of the centre, and if it makes Matthews mad, well then be mad, and grow up and be better. those two looked more motivated trying to get #40 for Matthews, than winning games 5 , 6 or 7. They couldn't beat Columbus and Montreal. What are you going to do when Boston, Florida and Tampa come back into your division?. This was your best chance, and it's basically "meh. we're disappointed."

The most annoying thing is that if one of them shows up, we win the series. not even both, but one.

For the life of me i don't even see the point of watching this team until they make it to he 2nd round. I'll tell you what will happen.
They will do really well in their division. it will be tight. but they have the firepower to compensate for a lot of things. Then they'll get Boston and Tampa, and then they will lose. again. there i saved you several months of time, find something else to do. Watch WandaVision or something.

well said.

These 2 have been given everything they have wanted and "needed" for far too long. I am no longer interested in making things Ideal for them. And if I'm being completely honest, I really don't think Mitch and Auston would feel they are entitled to further opinions at this point. I think they finally recognize that they are failing to meet their end of the bargain.

We have Auston under contract for 3 more years, and I really truly believe that will be the end of his Maple Leaf career unfortunately.

we are at a crossroads with this core. We have to plan as if we only have 3 more seasons with Auston on the team, More realistically 2 because we cannot carry a talent like Auston into his final year of his deal without an extension. He will either have to be dealt the summer of 2023 or extended. But again, plan for the worst case scenario (Auston leaving) and adjust as needed. SO in theory we could attempt the same thing for 2 more years with Mitch and Auston and hope they finally figure their shit out. Or we can shift gears and go in a different direction. Any deal for Mitch would likely have to make sense for the next 2 years, as that is all that we are guaranteed to have with Auston. It will be hard to get an equally or superior talented player than Mitch in a return. Unless we get Jack Eichel. So would KD take a futures heavy return?? I don't know to be honest. In a round about way It would be a direct contradiction to signing JT and a complete waste of Auston's remaining years on his current deal potentially. It's a really tough thing to predict at this point. All I know is that something will have to change from a core personnel perspective. It is not the right formula. They are extremely talented players, but have proven to fail when the hockey is not as easy. Hard to believe management would want to enter next season with the same formula that has failed 5 straight years.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Keefe didn't have a good series by any stretch. But lets be real here for a second, Dominic Ducharme could f***ing tattoo Phillip Danault on Auston Matthews and thats still a matchup that SHOULD favor the Leafs. Thats not taking anything away from Philip Danault, he is a strong defending forward. But c'mon f***, If Matthews can't shake Danault than that's on Matthews not Keefe. I agree, Keefe could have made it easier on Matthews by giving him better matchups on the last change. But f*** how many times did he put that top line out after an icing when PD wasn't even on the ice, and Matthews loses the draw and completely neuter's any potential threat. We need to get away from making excuses for their poor play. Matthews knows that Phillip Danault should not neutralize him. If he does, than we have the wrong f***ing guy. Like is Matthews just unlucky to have had to face Bergeron, PLD, and PD in his playoff career or is he just not playing to his abilities? every f***ing team has a shutdown Centre capable of shutting down Auston if he plays the way he did in this series. Keefe certainly is not free of criticism by any stretch. The PP was terrible for way too long. Manny Malhotra was a f***ing disaster. He needed to relieve him 2 months ago. And his coaches challenge in game 6 cost them the game. But Phillip Danault cannot, and i repeat CANNOT be the reason AM34 couldn't tuck more than a single f***ing time this series.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

if you are too blind to see multiple weak goals almost every single game then you are out to lunch. This guy sucks.

Weak goals doesn't mean bad goalie.
We scored 1G in a meaningless point of Game 7, so that stinker was the GWG.
Game 5 and 6, we showed up for 10-15 minutes, not campbells fault he had to go 5v0 with a couple scrubs in front of him for a majority of the game. The weak goals don’t matter cuz we didn’t score and start playing until we were down. Not all weak goals are back breakers, the game 7, one might be because it’s game 7, but a 2-0 and a deflection of a dman is unfair to have expectations for the goalie to save the shot. I’d give Campbell another kick at the can next year as the starter

 

[Bouboumaster]

Habs fan here:

It's squarely on Keefe (and Playoffs Price)

Your PP was terrible, like straight up garbage, and if you had been able to convert a couple of times, you'd be against the Jets, not us. This alone cost you the playoffs.
On 5 on 5, Ducharme asked Danault to f*** with Matthews as much as he could, which is exactly Danault bread and butter. Danault suck at putting numbers, but he's top 5 at making great players looking like trash (he's the heir of Bergeron on that aspect). Keefe had to separate Matthews and Marner or at least, do something to not let Matthews go on ice with Danault.
He did none of it.

Campbell was great and should not be blame. While flawed, Dubas gave you the best team in the North... They should not be blamed, or at least, not to the same extant.

It's Keefe, all the way.

 

[HespelerGreenFlash]

I blame God.

I think He's a Habs fan.

Why wouldnt He be? lol

 

[81Leafs50]

if Andy was letting in all those muffins no one would be blaming Marner today

the first goal last night was brutal and i counted 3 goals in the series he let in that his was on the ice swimming like a mofo , not to mention a few goals where he wasn't squared up properly

good guy but just a b/u

everyone gets graded separately. Everyone has a game to play and play well. Just cause Mitch is useless doesnt mean Campbell was good.

This fanbase is so one sided.

Campbell 1.81 GAA .934
Freddy (last year) 1.84 .936

Its not Campbells fault. But Freddy is a loser.

You cannot have it both ways. If Freddy is done, then Campbell did no better.

Its not like Freddy got any offense against Columbus.

 

[SakuKoivu11]

I can see both point of views

The turning point wasn’t Caufield or Kotkaniemi as Keefe said. That was stupid.

I think the turning points were JT getting injuries and the Nylander/Galchenyuk interview that gave Montreal fuel. When Nylander said he was born with confidence and Galchenyuk attitude he thought he was back. Only later to know he’s the same player a turnover machine blind passes. When the game got going Galchenyuk disappear appeared again.

 

[The Shrike]

SV%

Goalie - Game 5 - Game 6 - Game 7

Price ------ .914 - .953 - .968
Campbell - .867 - .903 - .909

Tale of the tape when the series was on the line.

Number one priority in the off season should be a number 1 goalie.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

SV%

Goalie - Game 5 - Game 6 - Game 7

Price ------ .914 - .953 - .968
Campbell - .867 - .903 - .909

What the ?

Price 9 AAV
Campbell 1.5 AAV

 

[The Shrike]

What the ?

Price 9 AAV
Campbell 1.5 AAV

Campbell's salary is fine for a back up goalie.

 

[seanlinden]

I've been reading a lot of different takes across different media outlets and writers.

One big takeaway for me is that Dubas went way overboard on trying to get some "grit" and veteran depth on the leafs which ultimately did not pay off in the least.

Offseason Signings - Thornton, Simmonds

Deadline Aquisitions - Foligno, Nash, Hutton & Rittich

That's six names that did absolutely nothing to help us in the playoffs and really altered the team identity from a skill approach to a failed veteran grit approach.
With Marner/Matthews being neutralized, and Tavares going down, this team flaw was really exposed.

Dubas deserves criticisms for spending all of the draft capital he spent at the deadline on getting "grit" / depth... when all they got out of the 4 were 6 games played, and 1 assist from Foligno.

Ultimately, I think the bigger problem comes down to roster construction / approach up front. This team for years has succeeded based on controlling the puck in space, and "scoring from distance". Adding Nick Foligno wasn't going to change that. All he was ever going to do is give the Leafs another Zach Hyman. You change that by breaking up M&M -- and force them to learn to score with versatility.

 

[Coatsy79]

If Tavares doesn't get injured, then Matthews has even 1 or 2 more goals, it's over in 5 imho

Habs got somewhat lucky with the Tavares injury it's a different series with him in I think

 

[ZEBROA]

Keefe need to be able to get more out of his players. His job is to help players that are stuck. He did nothing until game 7, and it was to little to late. He should stay but he need to be braver and act faster.