Will Leafs Make the Playoffs?

[Insidious Von]

Hard to say, the better question is, do you want the Leafs to make the playoffs?

The Leafs future is dependent on two items. Will the NHL's deal with Las Vegas bookmakers raise the salary cap? Will Barstool Sports make hockey cool to Millenials?

Paul Bissonnette is doing his best.

 

[Darts]

Will the NHL's deal with Las Vegas bookmakers raise the salary cap?

In 2020,

5 Leaf defensemen will be UFA's and one (Dermott) will be a RFA.

Hutchison will be an UFA.

 

[K Douglas]

Right now the Leafs sit 7th in the Eastern Conference. The only team below them I can realistically see jumping them in the standings is Tampa Bay. I've always maintained that they will make the playoffs. I just don't see them doing anything once in the playoffs. They aren't built for a strong playoff run I'm afraid.

 

[shack]

Right now the Leafs sit 7th in the Eastern Conference. The only team below them I can realistically see jumping them in the standings is Tampa Bay. I've always maintained that they will make the playoffs. I just don't see them doing anything once in the playoffs. They aren't built for a strong playoff run I'm afraid.

I'm not making any predictions but they are still learning Keefe's system and Keefe is still learning about what the team overall and as inidividuals are capable of. There is over half a season for them to keep improving. And if Dubas can get creative ($$$), maybe he can add a piece that Keefe can exploit (in a good way).

I think there is still lots of reason for optimism.

 

[glamphotographer]

Right now the Leafs sit 7th in the Eastern Conference. The only team below them I can realistically see jumping them in the standings is Tampa Bay. I've always maintained that they will make the playoffs. I just don't see them doing anything once in the playoffs. They aren't built for a strong playoff run I'm afraid.

I can see a TB vs Leafs first round. Will be high scoring end to end action. Leafs match up well against Tampa.

 

[glamphotographer]

I'm not making any predictions but they are still learning Keefe's system and Keefe is still learning about what the team overall and as inidividuals are capable of. There is over half a season for them to keep improving. And if Dubas can get creative ($$$), maybe he can add a piece that Keefe can exploit (in a good way).

I think there is still lots of reason for optimism.

Leafs are 12-4 under Keefe. I don't care for individual awards but Keefe could be in the convo for Coach of the year.

 

[shack]

Leafs are 12-4 under Keefe. I don't care for individual awards but Keefe could be in the convo for Coach of the year.

So far, so good for Keefe's Leafs (I like the sound of that). It may also be at least partly the case that the players hated playing for Babcock so much that anybody (barring Punch Imlach's reincarnation) would have seen positive results.

Regardless, it's nice to see them playing closer to their talent level.

 

[glamphotographer]

We all know Darts is a secret Habs fan he would love the Leafs to not make the playoffs, hence the reason for this thread.

 

[superstar_88]

We all know Darts is a secret Habs fan he would love the Leafs to not make the playoffs, hence the reason for this thread.

Hence all the trolling that Dart does.

 

[Darts]

Right now the Leafs sit 7th in the Eastern Conference. The only team below them I can realistically see jumping them in the standings is Tampa Bay. I've always maintained that they will make the playoffs. I just don't see them doing anything once in the playoffs. They aren't built for a strong playoff run I'm afraid.

Despite the recent surge I still think the Leafs are a borderline playoff team. Just like former NHL coach Mike Keenan, Keefe also doesn't believe in "load management". He wants his star players to get lots of ice time. Players are not machines and this could be short term gain and long term pain.

 

[shack]

Just like former NHL coach Mike Keenan, Keefe also doesn't believe in "load management".

Mike Keenan?

Retired as 4th in all-time wins as a coach
Was coach of the Rangers for that historical Cup in '94
His teams never missed the playoffs until his 14th year as head coach
Took 4 teams to the Cup final

That Mike Keenan?

You know more than he did about how much ice times his players should get? I sure hope Keefe has as good a record as coach as Keenan had.

 

[shack]

No reply from Darts. I wanted to see how Keenan's style of coaching produced bad results.

 

[Darts]

No reply from Darts. I wanted to see how Keenan's style of coaching produced bad results.

No intelligent, knowledgeable and rational Leaf fan would ever want Keenan or someone like him to coach the Leafs. He left or more likely was fired from every team he ever coached, under acrimonious circumstances. The guy is toxic. It got so bad that no NHL team has offered him a job in the past ten years. He is currently coaching a team in Siberia (ok bad joke, maybe not exactly Siberia).

What I noticed is that Keefe (like Keenan) tends to give his stars a lot of ice time (maybe too much) because players are humans and not machines and it's a long season plus playoffs and wear and tear and fatigue will eventually set in.

https://www.si.com/vault/1997/10/13...ept-him-from-getting-another-nhl-coaching-job

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Keenan

 

[shack]

I understand the point, however using a guy with a successful history like Keenan's (regardless of his personality) as an example of poor coaching technique, is not a good starting point. Again, you are saying that you know more than a guy like him as to how much ice time his players should get.

You saw the accomplishments of his that I listed. Where does that show that his players got worn out?

 

[shack]

No intelligent, knowledgeable and rational fan]

Coming from someone who thinks that eliminating field goals is a rational suggestion.

 

[shack]

No intelligent, knowledgeable and rational Leaf fan would ever want Keenan or someone like him to coach the Leafs. He left or more likely was fired from every team he ever coached, under acrimonious circumstances. The guy is toxic. It got so bad that no NHL team has offered him a job in the past ten years. He is currently coaching a team in Siberia (ok bad joke, maybe not exactly Siberia).

Seeing how many times Billy Martin got fired, you are saying that he was a bad manager? His record was bad?

 

[Darts]

Here are the individual stats 1/2 way to the playoffs. Not only does Matthews have great offensive numbers, he is also +15. I don't have pre-Keefe and post-Babcock numbers but I think the TOI numbers for the stars are significantly up under Keefe who might be leaning too much on his stars.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/stats/_/name/tor/toronto-maple-leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs Skating Stats 2019-20

Skating
Goaltending

Team leaders
Points
A. Matthews
A. MatthewsC
48
Goals
A. Matthews
A. MatthewsC
27
Assists
M. Marner
M. MarnerC
27
Penalty Minutes
J. Muzzin
J. MuzzinD
34
Plus/Minus
A. Matthews
A. MatthewsC
15
Player Skating Stats - All Splits
Name
A. Matthews C
M. Marner C
J. Tavares C
W. Nylander RW
M. Rielly D
I. Mikheyev RW
T. Barrie D
K. Kapanen RW
A. Johnsson LW
A. Kerfoot C
J. Spezza C
Z. Hyman C
J. Muzzin D
J. Holl D
P. Engvall LW
D. Timashov LW
F. Gauthier C
T. Dermott D
C. Ceci D
T. Moore LW
N. Shore C *
N. Petan C
R. Sandin D
P. Aberg LW
K. Gravel D
M. Marincin D
A. Brooks C
Total
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G PPG PPA SHG SHA S SPCT
41 27 21 48 15 6 20:00 7 7 0 0 148 18.2
30 10 27 37 2 10 20:41 4 9 0 1 77 13.0
34 16 19 35 0 10 19:28 3 8 0 0 110 14.5
41 17 18 35 5 8 17:49 4 6 0 0 111 15.3
41 3 22 25 7 22 24:22 0 7 0 0 110 2.7
39 8 15 23 7 4 15:34 0 0 1 0 98 8.2
41 4 17 21 -3 10 21:02 1 3 0 0 108 3.7
41 9 12 21 -2 6 16:22 0 3 2 0 71 12.7
30 6 10 16 2 14 16:58 4 1 0 0 66 9.1
36 7 8 15 1 22 14:39 1 2 0 0 54 13.0
29 5 10 15 -4 12 10:35 1 4 0 0 34 14.7
22 9 6 15 8 8 18:18 2 1 1 0 51 17.6

 

[gcostanza]

.... Keefe ... might be leaning too much on his stars.

If you had an ounce (or a few grams) of common sense and hockey knowledge, you'd be dangerous.
Any numbers you provide, without referencing to other teams in the league (ideally, elite teams) is useless.

But, I'll give you a clue: The Maple Leafs use their top players at roughly the same rate as other teams in the NHL.

 

[superstar_88]

Be careful or else Dart will label you a BFF.

 

[Darts]

The Maple Leafs use their top players at roughly the same rate as other teams in the NHL.

The valid comparison is TOI before Keefe and TOI with Keefe and I'm almost positive the number is higher under Keefe. So, the risk of burnout is higher under Keefe. Doesn't matter what other teams do.