I agree, they were given everything they wanted without much of a push back. When low character people are granted everything they want, they are never satisfied and must move on to the next stimulant. Insatiable is the term. Hope some of these guys aren't getting into the blow.Hard not to blame Dubas and Keefe.
the entitled brats were given everything they asked for. Their mean coach was fired, they were given the linemates they wanted, and they were given more ice time that they asked for. Then the new young coach came in and proclaimed "you guys are so skilled! We need you to play to your god given talent".... their heads went from watermelons to beachballs!
Little by little the defensive play, disipline and work ethic dissolved from their games and more and more the shinny moves continue to grow and evolve. Instead of buckling down, limiting mistakes, making simple plays and matching the oppositions work ethic or "gasp" exceeding it... they relied more and more on their "god given talent"... they do spin orama passes and shots...they try to deke through 4 players alone. Shocking that they suck...it really is.
It’s too easy to score on their defence.
Sandin, Barrie, and Dermott are too small or too weak to handle opposing forwards.
Holl playing top two is a recipe for disaster.
Marincin is .. never mind
And Andersen fails consistently in crunch time.
That is what deflates a team,in my view.
Marner is soft, Tavares is a robot, Nylander is strong on the puck but isn't exactly physical. I have noticed Matthews throwing his body around more often which is nice to see. The Leafs may be the only team that doesn't finish their hits on a player despite seeing the other team do it to them constantly.
His job prospectives are looking better and better with each game. He kept his mouth shut during drama surrounding his firing, even apologized for the marner thing....ill admit im beginning to think he was the final semblence of a leader remaining on his roster. Again... i agree probably a narcissist, but the one thing even people who hate him will even say... he works hard and always is prepared. His main fault is he is unlikeable.. but i do think hes a good coach otherwise.Somewhere Babs is sitting with his wife, somewhere warm with a cold one in his hand with a huge smirk on his face and in his mind saying, "I told you so".
It is about physicality.Because the players are not willing to make the hard plays when necessary. And its not about physicality, I don't buy that. It is about being on the right side of the puck even though that means you may not get that fast break chance, it is about that extra push to win a race to the puck, even though it means you may have to take a hit, it is about making decisions that coincide with the game in that moment, even though that means you may not get anymore goals in that game.
Bottom line, these guys know exactly what it takes to give themselves the best chance to win but they are not willing (en masse) to do it. Which is why this group is so dislike-able. Its clearly the wrong mix in the dressing room that likely will not be fixed before next season.
You don't like Mizzin?The problem is most teams take on the identity of their best players. It's rare for a team to have a tough identity and then have a bunch of floaters as their top players.
You can bring in all the Clifford's you want, but they will get here and fall into the floater mentality of this core group. What's worse is that fans think a guy like Clifford or Muzzin is playing hard because they throw one hit every four games. Yes, that does stand out with our group because literally nobody hits, but it's not enough to survive with the teams built with real men that will ultimately succeed in may and June.
At this point, we have to get rid of half of the core and start again.
You don't like Mizzin?
Strange.
You WATCH right?
Or
Are you a #s guy.
We need way more Muzzin/Clifford.
Way less Kappanem/Johnsson/Kerfoot/Barrie/ etc...
Ya know.
It's still a physical game.
Despite what the new fans think.
Fair.Muzzin is the only guy who will throw the occasional hit, which I like. But he doesn't play with the same intensity shift in and shift out he did in LA.
I guarantee I watch more hockey games than most people here combined.
In LA he was surrounded by people who took the game seriously, so he knew it was expected he play like that every shift. In Toronto he's a completely different player from a compete level standpoint. But to fans who only watch the Leafs, they think he's this unicorn because they are used to garbage effort night in and night out. If he gives a strong effort every third game, the average Leafs fan thinks he's consistent.
From a skill perspective, he's never been great. He gained notoriety from the masses because he played with a prime Doughty and looked great. Once Doughty started to fall off, he no longer seemed as great. Expect to Dubas, who thought he was worth a first and two seconds. I don't think anyone else in the league had him at that value.
Seeing him literally up close and personal, I don't see an elite dman. Compared to our other dmen, sure he looks good, but I see a ton of flaws. Look no further than the game against Buffalo where a poor read and lack of foot speed caused him to take a dumb penalty which cost us the game. He was very good against Pittsburgh on Thursday, which is the type of effort you'd want game in and game out. Unfortunately he doesn't give you that every night. I personally wouldn't commit term to him, but that's me.
Clifford has been very meh to me.
Fair.
We can disagree.
He's your #3 on a Cup winner I think.
By far our best defenceman though.
We literally have zero physical defenceman except Muzzin.
Which is why 5.5x4 is more than fair.
He would get way more as UFA.
I'm not sure I would want to stay if I were him.
Unless they get a Real GM.
Clifford.
A man on an Island for now.
He needs some men to help up front.
Josh Anderson type.
Someone who isn't scared.
Muzzin is the only guy who will throw the occasional hit, which I like. But he doesn't play with the same intensity shift in and shift out he did in LA.
I guarantee I watch more hockey games than most people here combined.
In LA he was surrounded by people who took the game seriously, so he knew it was expected he play like that every shift. In Toronto he's a completely different player from a compete level standpoint. But to fans who only watch the Leafs, they think he's this unicorn because they are used to garbage effort night in and night out. If he gives a strong effort every third game, the average Leafs fan thinks he's consistent.
From a skill perspective, he's never been great. He gained notoriety from the masses because he played with a prime Doughty and looked great. Once Doughty started to fall off, he no longer seemed as great. Expect to Dubas, who thought he was worth a first and two seconds. I don't think anyone else in the league had him at that value.
Seeing him literally up close and personal, I don't see an elite dman. Compared to our other dmen, sure he looks good, but I see a ton of flaws. Look no further than the game against Buffalo where a poor read and lack of foot speed caused him to take a dumb penalty which cost us the game. He was very good against Pittsburgh on Thursday, which is the type of effort you'd want game in and game out. Unfortunately he doesn't give you that every night. I personally wouldn't commit term to him, but that's me.
Clifford has been very meh to me.
Dubas does not have the stones to trade Maraner.We could fill the bottom six with as many hard nosed players as you want. The boy band make up the leadership group in this team. As long as that's the case, we'll have the same problems.
This is my thought as well. Dubas was naive to buy into the league’s words that they will officiate the game properly. He built a team that should be well at the top of the league in power plays. It’s not a bad strategy.
but the league doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain. I think it’s totally a legit way to look at this team.
And they don’t want to win hockey games
I love Matthew's.I do feel, however, that Matthews is bringing it and for the first time in his career is using the body.
It's a contact sport played by men.
It is about physicality.
It's very obvious.
Muzzin/Clifford/Hyman are our only physical players.
Meanwhile.
Engvall/Kapanen/Johnsson/Kerfoot/Malgin/Timashov/Petan etc...
You watch the Leafs?
And you really believe physicality is not an issue.
You sound like Wonder Boy.
Which is why we're here.
If it weren’t for the crappy division they play in, this team wouldn’t be sniffing the playoffs. Let’s all hope they don’t make it, for all our sakes
Because it's a bunch of prissy trust-fund millenials playing shinny.
They all want to score highlight reel goals instead of hard-work goals. How many people do you see in front of the net? They want to pass it around with fancy passes instead of collapsing and driving the net.