2020-21 Maple Leafs Thread
- Thread starter gcostanza
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The Leafs (formerly the Rangers) now hold the record for longest Stanley Cup drought which also includes no Stanley Cup Finals appearances during the same period.
List of Stanley Cup champions - Wikipedia
List of Stanley Cup champions - Wikipedia
"The 2021 NHL free-agent period begins at noon ET on Wednesday, July 28. Despite the salary cap expected to remain at $81.5 million for 2021-22, players who are eligible to become unrestricted free agents will still hope to cash in."
2021 NHL Free Agents Tracker | Spotrac
2021 NHL Free Agents Tracker | Spotrac
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Yeah, he was first in line for a cuccumber facial, a mani-pedi and re-feathering of his hair at the salon.
Hey! I do pedicures too.Yeah, he was first in line for a cuccumber facial, a mani-pedi and re-feathering of his hair at the salon.
He's growing on me.
You're assuming Seattle has cap issues and they'll target the cheapest of either Kerfoot, Holl, or Dermott.
They'll target who has the best value and fit for their team and that's not necessarily the cheapest.
Seattle is not Leafs with half their salary on 4 players.
They'll target who has the best value and fit for their team and that's not necessarily the cheapest.
Seattle is not Leafs with half their salary on 4 players.
Should be interesting. From what I’ve been reading the Kraken will not be afraid to spend up to the cap in order to get a competitive team right off the bat.
I'm still not sure if I will watch the Leafs next season. Feel absolutely betrayed at the heartless effort they put in during the playoffs. I've bled blue all my life and this is the first time I've ever felt like turning my back on this team. We'll see what transpires in the off season but its going to take a lot for me to change course. Instead I will turn all my support to my 2nd favorite team the Colorado Avalanche.
I know how you feel.
I believed the hype when they signed Babcock.
I believed the hype when they signed UFA Tavares.
Then they caved to Nylander.
Then they signed RFA Matthews to a king's ransom.
Then they signed RFA Marner to a king's ransom.
In September 2019 I stopped drinking the kool-aid and started a "Will Leafs Make the
Playoffs" thread (no, they did not).
It all went downhill when they made an amateur like Dubas GM and let Lou go. Shanahan should be shown the door.
The Urinating Tree did a stirring soliloquy to The Cream Puffs.
William Nylander gets most of the vitriol but his playoff record isn't that bad. There's another player who's far worse but he's Canadian, it's time for...
...Ode to Mitch Marner.
William Nylander gets most of the vitriol but his playoff record isn't that bad. There's another player who's far worse but he's Canadian, it's time for...
...Ode to Mitch Marner.
I think I was the first critic of Marner on the Board in September 2019. (Yes, the noisy trio went apeshit, because they are lousy judges of hockey talent.)
"There's another player who's far worse but he's Canadian, it's time for...
...Ode to Mitch Marner." (Quote: Insidious von)
The following are comments from an intelligent and knowledgeable hockey player, observer and fan.
"Part 1 Although I wasn't gifted, I've played a fair bit of hockey. I found it was dramatically easier to pass to a goal scorer than score myself. More hockey players fall into my category than ones that can score. The degree of difficulty in scoring is considerably higher than assisting on a goal. There were also 1.88 assists awarded for every Leaf goal. Soccer and basketball both recognize scoring as being more valuable. Rantanen and Kane had one less point than Marner. Both were more effective in high traffic areas. Rantanen had 10 more goals. Without going further, Kane, Kucherov and Rantanen are better than Marner as right wingers. Marner should not have been on the first team all star. The F3 forward on the back check become the F1 forward on the forecheck. The F3 forward on the forecheck becomes the F1 forward on the back check. The F1 position is the closet to the net and F3 forward closest to the blue line. Marner is the F3 forward at both ends. The least physical area. He covers the least amount of ice. Which his centers have to compensate for. Yet many view him as a great 2 way player. How is that possible when he lives in the perimeter? Linemates for a goal scorer create space and quality scoring lanes. Marner did neither for Matthews in the playoffs. In addition he couldn't generate offense with limited defensive coverage on himself. Marners production is more dependent on his linemates than their production on him."
"Marners contract should have been in line with his RFA peers Aho, Point, Connor, Tkachuck and Rantanen. The $7M range. $6M if he was nice enough to give the Leafs a home discount. At that amount he would have been a keeper. At $10.9M he's over paid and a drain the the cap. Most logical to trade in fixing the salary cap and icing a more balanced and quality roster. He'll never have more value than now. The time is right to trade him."
"There's another player who's far worse but he's Canadian, it's time for...
...Ode to Mitch Marner." (Quote: Insidious von)
The following are comments from an intelligent and knowledgeable hockey player, observer and fan.
"Part 1 Although I wasn't gifted, I've played a fair bit of hockey. I found it was dramatically easier to pass to a goal scorer than score myself. More hockey players fall into my category than ones that can score. The degree of difficulty in scoring is considerably higher than assisting on a goal. There were also 1.88 assists awarded for every Leaf goal. Soccer and basketball both recognize scoring as being more valuable. Rantanen and Kane had one less point than Marner. Both were more effective in high traffic areas. Rantanen had 10 more goals. Without going further, Kane, Kucherov and Rantanen are better than Marner as right wingers. Marner should not have been on the first team all star. The F3 forward on the back check become the F1 forward on the forecheck. The F3 forward on the forecheck becomes the F1 forward on the back check. The F1 position is the closet to the net and F3 forward closest to the blue line. Marner is the F3 forward at both ends. The least physical area. He covers the least amount of ice. Which his centers have to compensate for. Yet many view him as a great 2 way player. How is that possible when he lives in the perimeter? Linemates for a goal scorer create space and quality scoring lanes. Marner did neither for Matthews in the playoffs. In addition he couldn't generate offense with limited defensive coverage on himself. Marners production is more dependent on his linemates than their production on him."
"Marners contract should have been in line with his RFA peers Aho, Point, Connor, Tkachuck and Rantanen. The $7M range. $6M if he was nice enough to give the Leafs a home discount. At that amount he would have been a keeper. At $10.9M he's over paid and a drain the the cap. Most logical to trade in fixing the salary cap and icing a more balanced and quality roster. He'll never have more value than now. The time is right to trade him."
Agree with some, not all.
The playoffs notwithstanding, he brings unique elements to the game. This is not a shot at Nylander, but when Marner was on the Tavares line, Tavares's stas went through the roof, had similar impact with Matthews.
Is he overpaid, yes, the whole core is, their payroll is out of whack. Some of us have been saying this from the beginning, others put blind faith in Pridham and management.
They have a week bottom six, mostly old and cast offs, having to pay cheap. Geez, when your starting goalie is making $ 5M, and you need to shave it down, you're in trouble.
Muzzin is not a $ 5.6M player, his relative importance is much higher for the Leafs because they had no one else to fill the roll.
And Dubas keeps drafting D under 6' and under 170 pounds. Take a look at the size of D core for the final 4 teams, that'll tell you something.
Marner is not THE singular problem, neither is Nylander, it's the whole make up of the team.
Yes, we agree much more than we do not.
Most, if not all, successful teams employ the "Montreal System" (I'll keep using that term until someone comes up with a better one). The Lightning did it to almost perfection. The Leafs built the current team bass ackwards (i.e. they started with the forwards and worked backwards).
You are absolutely correct about undersize D-men. The Montreal "Big 4" are all 6'3"-6'4".
The other factor(s) is lack of character and mental toughness. The Leafs seem to somehow always come up short in game 7's or game 5 in the case of Columbus. They can't close the deal (no killer instinct?). Shanny also said "bad luck". So, how do you teach a team character, mental toughness, killer instinct and avoiding bad luck?
I don’t buy the “bad luck” - bad luck happens but it does not happen year after year after year.
Shanny / Dubas - need to go.
Matthews will split for someplace warm in the next couple of years.
I like Marner in that he “dogs the puck” but they should flip him while he has value.
McDavid needs to get the hell out of Edmonton and Toronto would be a fantastic landing place for him. Add some BIG D men (with killer instinct) and build from there. They never should have let Lou go.
Shanny / Dubas - need to go.
Matthews will split for someplace warm in the next couple of years.
I like Marner in that he “dogs the puck” but they should flip him while he has value.
McDavid needs to get the hell out of Edmonton and Toronto would be a fantastic landing place for him. Add some BIG D men (with killer instinct) and build from there. They never should have let Lou go.
Those huge contracts are like the proverbial albatross around the neck. Marner will be hard to trade because of the $10.9mm cap hit, even though he got most or almost most of the cash upfront.
When both Marner and Aho were RFA's, I wasn't surprised the Habs made an offer to Aho. Somehow, I doubt they made an offer to Marner.
3 of the top 5 are Leafs
Top Eight Highest-Paid Forwards Against the Salary Cap
When both Marner and Aho were RFA's, I wasn't surprised the Habs made an offer to Aho. Somehow, I doubt they made an offer to Marner.
3 of the top 5 are Leafs
Top Eight Highest-Paid Forwards Against the Salary Cap
| Rank | Player (Team) | Salary-Cap Hit |
| 1st | Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) | $12,500,000 |
| 2nd | Artemi Panarin (New York Rangers) | $11,642,857 |
| 3rd | Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) | $11,640,250 |
| 4th | John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs) | $11,000,000 |
| 5th | Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs) | $10,903,000 |
| 6th | Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) | $10,500,000 |
| 7th | Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) | $10,500,000 |
