That's fine and dandy. However Dave Nonis isn't thinking about the off season until the season is officially over for the Leafs and it's not.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2013/14 Season
- Thread starter Ironhead
- Start date
That's fine and dandy. However Dave Nonis isn't thinking about the off season until the season is officially over for the Leafs and it's not.
As expected Leafs lost to the Blues. Not expected was how badly they were dominated. It could have been 6-1 in the first period if not for great saves by Bernier. The Leafs got close when the Blues took their feet off the pedal, but they never had any real chance of winning. Bernier was great in making the saves he did, but I thought he could have done better with the last couple of goals he gave up.
What I've found really troubling is how awful Phaneuf has been in this losing skid. I defended him before when he was unfairly dumped on, but as captain of the team he's letting his team and fans down . He has absolutely no excuse for playing even worse than the rookie defence men on the team.
The team hasn't looked ready to start the game, and Carlyle has to be held accountable. Judgement will be reserved for the off season. The good news is the next three games are winnable, and if Bernier can play like he did without softies, 5 out 6 points are well within grab and things can all of a sudden look a lot positive.
What I've found really troubling is how awful Phaneuf has been in this losing skid. I defended him before when he was unfairly dumped on, but as captain of the team he's letting his team and fans down . He has absolutely no excuse for playing even worse than the rookie defence men on the team.
The team hasn't looked ready to start the game, and Carlyle has to be held accountable. Judgement will be reserved for the off season. The good news is the next three games are winnable, and if Bernier can play like he did without softies, 5 out 6 points are well within grab and things can all of a sudden look a lot positive.
I never agree with Ironhead but it's the job of the coach and players to think about the present but the job off the GM is to be thinking ahead ie draft , free agency ( scouting and free agents and trades ) ... This team isn't Stanley Cup
ready ( they could make a magical run ) team and so your GM's is always thinking on ways to improve ..
The term " tuned out the coach " I keep hearing from people who follow this team ... If this is true then this core has now tuned out two consecutive coaches ...
Of course he is thinking and working towards the offseason right now.
Do you think he just sits and watches leafs games after the deadline?
Amateur scouting is in full force right now (draft and collegiate players). He is also considering what / if to offer contracts to certain players currently on the leafs. Both the leafs and marlies.
He is scouting free agents from other teams right now. He is assessing the leafs strengths and weaknesses and us always considering trade options.
Nonis and his staff are doing many things right now that will be finalized in June July. It is his job.
Not so fast,my friend!
The Leafs new boss,Tim Leiweke could be licking his chops right now from looking at the Leafs late season collapsed. This is a perfect storm for Leiweke to clean house with the Leafs. Bring in his own people to run the show! Sofar, I like what he's done with the TFC this season.
Oh,one more thing if the Leafs don't make the playoffs this Spring, no one's job is safe...except if the guy is Leiweke's son in-law
If the Leafs don't make the playoffs (and they might not), they should consider trading Kessel to a top contender (Kessel deserves to play for a contender). Kessel's trade value will never be higher and should fetch maybe two or at least one 1st round draft choices which the leafs could use to draft another Luke Schenn and/or Nazem Kadri.
Trades become difficult when players have no trade clauses in their contracts. Kessel Lupul Clarkson Van Reimsdyk Bozak and Gleason all have no trade clauses..
IMHO if you trade Kessel for Luke Schenn and Kadri you just got screwed. There better be a lot more coming back then two middle of the players.
Leafs Remaining Schedule:
3/28/14 Fri @Philadelphia W 4-3 3/8/14 L/O
3/29/14 Sat Detroit L 2-3 3/18/14 W/U
4/1/14 Tue Calgary W 4-2 10/30/13 W/O
4/3/14 Thu Boston W 4-3 1/14/14 W/O
4/5/14 Sat Winnipeg L 4-5 1/25/14 W/O
4/8/14 Tue @Tampa Bay L 3-5 3/19/14 L/O
4/10/14 Thu @Florida L 1-4 2/4/14 L/U
4/12/14 Sat @Ottawa W 6-3 2/1/14 W/O
...I could see them go 0-3 for the last 3 games on the road... At least there will be playoff games playing at the AC this spring...we will be cheering on the Raps!
3/28/14 Fri @Philadelphia W 4-3 3/8/14 L/O
3/29/14 Sat Detroit L 2-3 3/18/14 W/U
4/1/14 Tue Calgary W 4-2 10/30/13 W/O
4/3/14 Thu Boston W 4-3 1/14/14 W/O
4/5/14 Sat Winnipeg L 4-5 1/25/14 W/O
4/8/14 Tue @Tampa Bay L 3-5 3/19/14 L/O
4/10/14 Thu @Florida L 1-4 2/4/14 L/U
4/12/14 Sat @Ottawa W 6-3 2/1/14 W/O
...I could see them go 0-3 for the last 3 games on the road... At least there will be playoff games playing at the AC this spring...we will be cheering on the Raps!
That would be Brodie.Oh,one more thing if the Leafs don't make the playoffs this Spring, no one's job is safe...except if the guy is Leiweke's son in-law
Doesn't mean he can't fire Nonis, just that He'll have to give Nonis a nice severance package.
I see 5 or 6 game that are winnable games for the Leafs but right now they just don't look like a confident group. I hope I am wrong.Leafs Remaining Schedule:
3/28/14 Fri @Philadelphia W 4-3 3/8/14 L/O
3/29/14 Sat Detroit L 2-3 3/18/14 W/U
4/1/14 Tue Calgary W 4-2 10/30/13 W/O
4/3/14 Thu Boston W 4-3 1/14/14 W/O
4/5/14 Sat Winnipeg L 4-5 1/25/14 W/O
4/8/14 Tue @Tampa Bay L 3-5 3/19/14 L/O
4/10/14 Thu @Florida L 1-4 2/4/14 L/U
4/12/14 Sat @Ottawa W 6-3 2/1/14 W/O
...I could see them go 0-3 for the last 3 games on the road... At least there will be playoff games playing at the AC this spring...we will be cheering on the Raps!
They should win against Detroit, Calgary, Winnipeg, Florida, Ottawa and maybe TB.
That would be going backwards and rebuilding again, that's 3-4 years of setback because those number one picks need time to develop. There aren't many number picks that are NHL ready these days. And if your drafted by the Leafs you are going to need 2-3 years in minors to develop.
I agree with you Kessel would fetch at least 3 first rounders and roster player. At least that's my price if I was GM. But that would be setting back the team to rebuilding.
What The Leafs need to do to win against the Flyers. Any ideas?
I'll start.
1. Play a north-south game. That means get the puck up the ice, use short quick passes instead of long passes, dump it in and cycle, limit the long cross ice passes that leads to turnovers. The south game is simple back check help out the D. Other NHL teams are picking up on the Leafs tendencies to make those stretch passes and are getting sticks in the passing lanes, thus leading to turn overs.
I'll start.
1. Play a north-south game. That means get the puck up the ice, use short quick passes instead of long passes, dump it in and cycle, limit the long cross ice passes that leads to turnovers. The south game is simple back check help out the D. Other NHL teams are picking up on the Leafs tendencies to make those stretch passes and are getting sticks in the passing lanes, thus leading to turn overs.
Here's why I think how Bernier MAY be able to lead the Leafs to the playoffs :
To begin I want to say that I have always liked Reimer, even after last season's game 7 collapse. I thought he deserved another chance to prove he could be a legit starting goalie; while some think he has been mistreated, I think he did get fair chances, but failed. Whether he was mistreated or not is not something I wish to debate on, as its totally subjective.
With Reimer in goal for the majority of games in this losing streak, this is essentially the same team and there are a lot of similarities between this streak and the final collapse of game 7 in Boston. The flood gate just seems to have been busted open and from coaching to players they seem clueless and lost as to how to stop the downward spiral.
Reimer was/is not the only problem, but he was/is part of the problem, as is the coaching staff and all players. As you can't change the whole team to correct the problem, you have to start looking at the most crucial parts of the team. On top of that list would be goaltending, that's exactly the reason Nonis brought in Bernier.
Bernier may not be able to play the role of a saviour, but he has demonstrated he can give the team the best possible chances to win games. He was not part of the game 7 collapse, and neither was he in goal when the Leafs lost to crap teams like Washington, Detroit etc. in this losing streak. This is the chance for Bernier to prove once and for all that he is the goalie for the future. Reimer has proven that he is not. Bernier will need a lot of help from every player and your captain has to prove his worth or he longer deserves to be one. They don't need to win pretty, but for a young team with fragile mentality, a couple of lucky bounces may steer them back in the right direction.
The next 8 games will likely determine if they are on the right course, or if they need to clean house for next season.
To begin I want to say that I have always liked Reimer, even after last season's game 7 collapse. I thought he deserved another chance to prove he could be a legit starting goalie; while some think he has been mistreated, I think he did get fair chances, but failed. Whether he was mistreated or not is not something I wish to debate on, as its totally subjective.
With Reimer in goal for the majority of games in this losing streak, this is essentially the same team and there are a lot of similarities between this streak and the final collapse of game 7 in Boston. The flood gate just seems to have been busted open and from coaching to players they seem clueless and lost as to how to stop the downward spiral.
Reimer was/is not the only problem, but he was/is part of the problem, as is the coaching staff and all players. As you can't change the whole team to correct the problem, you have to start looking at the most crucial parts of the team. On top of that list would be goaltending, that's exactly the reason Nonis brought in Bernier.
Bernier may not be able to play the role of a saviour, but he has demonstrated he can give the team the best possible chances to win games. He was not part of the game 7 collapse, and neither was he in goal when the Leafs lost to crap teams like Washington, Detroit etc. in this losing streak. This is the chance for Bernier to prove once and for all that he is the goalie for the future. Reimer has proven that he is not. Bernier will need a lot of help from every player and your captain has to prove his worth or he longer deserves to be one. They don't need to win pretty, but for a young team with fragile mentality, a couple of lucky bounces may steer them back in the right direction.
The next 8 games will likely determine if they are on the right course, or if they need to clean house for next season.
Give Bernier an illegal bigger goal pads and make his goal smaller than the other. Bernier will receive more shots than other goalies he faced from here to end of season. Kidding aside,its very simple formula for the Leafs to win games is that Bernier needs to outplay the opposition goalies. Starting with outplaying Mason of the flyers on Friday.
I think they will be lucky to go .500 the last 8 games. LUCKY.... to go .500. jmho.
Your right. The overall team defense is terrible, you matter who is net. It could be Carey Price in the Leaf net, it wouldn't matter.
