Leafs 2024-2025 Season Thread

[mandrill]

I look at it more as a huge lost opportunity for the Leafs. Carolina is a relatively soft team by playoffs standards.
Their two best forwards are small and not really superstars. They have Andersen and we all know what he can look like in the playoffs. Carolina has lost their last 14 Conference Finals games. Leafs would have been the number 1 seed moving forward with all other Division winners out although the book makers would probably still have them as the worst odds cause they're the Leafs after all.

There are only so many prime years left for the core. Cupboards are minimal and they're missing their next three first round draft picks this year inclusive so near impossible to load up for playoffs at trade deadlines. Regardless of the missed opportunity in Game 3 OT to put a stranglehold on the series they had a one game winner take all on home ice.

What Berube has learned about this team is that they're weak "between the ears". Those are his words. Lacking the mental fortitude. He needed to see this first hand up close and personal. Now let's see what he can do about this moving forward. Or perhaps see what Treliving can do about it. This is the only year in the Matthew's era that Leafs traded two first round picks at trade deadline.

Another devastating beating delivered to Canes by Panthers yesterday. The Canes will be lucky to win 1 game to end the series in 5.

It's time folks woke up and realized that right now Panthers are perhaps the best playoff team of our generation and the Leafs did well to take it to 7 games. The talk about breaking up the Leafs is silly and sour grapes. No one is coming close to stopping the Panthers this year.

 

[superstar_88]

The last 6 years a team from Florida has made the Finals. This season inclusive.
The year prior Berube won the Cup against Boston.
It was Toronto that ended TB's 3 consecutive Finals streak in 2023.
Toronto has had a goalie injured the last 3 playoffs.
Last season Toronto lost to Boston in OT in game 7.
In effect 1 OT goal away from playing Florida in the second round 3 consecutive seasons.
With Florida making the Finals in those same 3 seasons.

 

[roddermac]

I mean Leaf fans should take some solace, the Panthers are steamrolling over Carolina 6-1.

Unlike the Leafs. Carolina bitch slapped their first 2 opponents. Toronto barely got by Ottawa and Carolina doesn't have a high priced core 4.

 

[Woozy]

View attachment 440401

Another devastating beating delivered to Canes by Panthers yesterday. The Canes will be lucky to win 1 game to end the series in 5.

It's time folks woke up and realized that right now Panthers are perhaps the best playoff team of our generation and the Leafs did well to take it to 7 games. The talk about breaking up the Leafs is silly and sour grapes. No one is coming close to stopping the Panthers this year.

If Edmonton gets the rematch against Florida, should be an an amazing series and can’t wait

 

[northofsixty]

Another devastating beating delivered to Canes by Panthers yesterday. The Canes will be lucky to win 1 game to end the series in 5.

It's time folks woke up and realized that right now Panthers are perhaps the best playoff team of our generation and the Leafs did well to take it to 7 games. The talk about breaking up the Leafs is silly and sour grapes. No one is coming close to stopping the Panthers this year.

As background I have never been a Leaf's fan - so take my comments from that perspective.

I agree that the Panthers are an amazing playoff team - not sure what generation you are part of - but there are a more than a few other teams that can lay claim to the mantle of "best of the generation".

As far as the Leaf's taking the Panthers to 7 games - that is an accomplishment - but being made to look like a minor league hockey team and getting outscored 12-2 in the games that truly mattered would seem to indicate to me that talk about breaking up the Leaf's Core 4 is a long ways from being silly. Not renewing Shanahan's contract is optics only and will do nothing to improve the team next year.

The consistent record of playoff futility during the Core 4 era should be proof enough - for even the most loyal of Leaf's fan - to acknowledge that it is time to move on from the Core 4 (to the extent that contracts will allow)

A top heavy, forward centric team (with "star" players whose game is not built for the playoffs) has proven season after season to be a failure when the metric for success is getting beyond the second round.

 

[mandrill]

As background I have never been a Leaf's fan - so take my comments from that perspective.

I agree that the Panthers are an amazing playoff team - not sure what generation you are part of - but there are a more than a few other teams that can lay claim to the mantle of "best of the generation".

As far as the Leaf's taking the Panthers to 7 games - that is an accomplishment - but being made to look like a minor league hockey team and getting outscored 12-2 in the games that truly mattered would seem to indicate to me that talk about breaking up the Leaf's Core 4 is a long ways from being silly. Not renewing Shanahan's contract is optics only and will do nothing to improve the team next year.

The consistent record of playoff futility during the Core 4 era should be proof enough - for even the most loyal of Leaf's fan - to acknowledge that it is time to move on from the Core 4 (to the extent that contracts will allow)

A top heavy, forward centric team (with "star" players whose game is not built for the playoffs) has proven season after season to be a failure when the metric for success is getting beyond the second round.

Except the Panthers are beating the Canes up even more badly. And that suggests that the Panthers are good, more than the Leafs are bad.

 

[superstar_88]

Game 6 was also a game that truly mattered. More important than game 5 in fact. So the only 2 games that truly mattered were games 6 & 7. Lose and they're out. In those 2 games they won one and lost one. Game 3 was probably more significant than game 5 under the circumstances.

Quite frankly I think the issue with the Leafs is mainly Game 7's. They've played plenty of them and haven't won a single one. Meaning they've had plenty of series that were tied 3 to 3. The two series they won were in 6. If it went to 7 we know what would have happened.

Against Montreal games 5 and 6 went to OT. They needed to win one of them. Muzzin was injured game 6 and once it went to game 7 it was all over.
Against Boston last year 2024 Leafs won game 6. A game that truly mattered. Woll injured at end of game 6 and couldn't play game 7 so it was all over.
Against TB 2022 Leafs had a 3 to 2 series lead with a lead in game 6. Bad penalties, one by Kerfoot and the game goes to OT. Once it got to game 7 it was all over.
Against Columbus Leafs win game 4 but Muzzin injured and out of the playoffs. In comes Marincin and once it got to game 5 of a 5 game series it was all over.
Against Boston 2018 Leafs win game 6 but once it got to game 7 you guessed it they lost.
Against Boston 2019 goes to game 7 again and you guessed it again they lost.

Against Florida this season they won 3 games but let's just say they were lucky to win those for convenience. Oh, and the one game that went to OT they lost. You don't have to win all 7 games to win a series. You just need to win 4.
Florida in last season's Finals lost one game by a score of 8 to 1 and another game 5 to 1. Combined 13 to 2.
Does that mean they suck? They won game 7 by 1 goal.

 

[mandrill]

Paul Bissonnette’s unexpected take on the Maple Leafs core four

He agrees with my monkey view of the Core 4.

 

[Woozy]

The fundamental flaw for the Leafs in the last 3 games was they couldn’t gain clean entry into the Florida zone. Florida totally bunged up the neutral zone and the only option was dump and chase. Which pretty much lead to nothing

None of the forwards curled back for shorter passes and nobody took ownership of carrying the puck. All the Leafs defenseman could do was fire a long pass and hope for a deflection into the Florida zone. By this time the Leafs 30 second shifts were up and they skated to the bench. Rinse and repeat all 3 games

The Leafs found opportunities in games 1 to 3. But Paul Maurice made the right adjustments in the later stages and Craig Berube had no answer.

I’m hoping they find players this off-season that can carry the puck. Plenty of shooters on this team but not enough guys that can gain zone entry and create opportunities.

 

[tml]

So far.........
Brendan Shanahan-----gone.
Lane Lambert----gone(hired by Seattle as their head coack).
Stay tuned.

 

[mellowjello]

The fundamental flaw for the Leafs in the last 3 games was they couldn’t gain clean entry into the Florida zone. Florida totally bunged up the neutral zone and the only option was dump and chase. Which pretty much lead to nothing

None of the forwards curled back for shorter passes and nobody took ownership of carrying the puck. All the Leafs defenseman could do was fire a long pass and hope for a deflection into the Florida zone. By this time the Leafs 30 second shifts were up and they skated to the bench. Rinse and repeat all 3 games

The Leafs found opportunities in games 1 to 3. But Paul Maurice made the right adjustments in the later stages and Craig Berube had no answer.

I’m hoping they find players this off-season that can carry the puck. Plenty of shooters on this team but not enough guys that can gain zone entry and create opportunities.

I think a big reason for them not being able to gain clean entry is Berube's structure kept the Leafs on their heels and just playing to survive.
For the most part, Leafs didn't forecheck, their D played to far back, rarely holding the Florida blueline, the whole team collapsing
too deep in their own defensive zone.
To your point, they relied on the long breakout pass, or a blocked shot catching Florida D flat footed.
To the players' credit, they were super disciplined in their structure, but the structure was a terrible strategy.
If Berube doesn't change the strategy and let them play real hockey, doesn't matter who else they bring in.
They were awful to watch, they were also outplayed by Ottawa, Stolarz was the only reason they advanced.
And all anyone can talk about is losing Game 7, and if only they had won Game 3.