Maple Leafs 2017-2018 Season Thread
- Thread starter smuddan
- Start date
I'm a pragmatist but when it comes the teachers I couldn't agree more. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan has assets worth $189 billion. Steve Stavro was already in trouble trouble when he took over the Leafs in 1992. His goose was cooked when the Westons bought Fortinos. To make a long story short the OTPP benefited handsomely from Knob Hill farms bankruptcy. And under the Liberals the teachers became fat cats, it's immoral that that the Ontario tax payer is still has to contribute to them.
And what they did to the Leafs and Raptors was obscene, I don't blame Vince Carter for wanting to leave.
...51 years without the Cup...and we're still counting. Soon, I will run out of time to wait! LOL
It's not just about the skills. It's the brain. Hockey sense. Reading the play. Making the right decisions. Carlyle knew what was up.
Lamoriello said at the trade deadline that he " liked " his defence and didn't make any move to improve it except by getting Pleckanic. I didn't buy that he really felt the defence was good enough to compete in the playoffs, rather, it was a case where he didn't want to pay the price for what he'd consider an upgrade.
Gardiner will be unrestricted at the end of next season and even with his shortcomings he'll probably garner a lot of interests from teams looking for "puck moving" d men. It's so painfully obvious that this defence was just not good enough
with Gardiner being an integral part of it and I just don't see the Leafs will want to commit another 5-6 years for 6-7 miles per in resigning him. I'd say there's a good chance that he'll be packaged for some major deal(s).
Demott looks to be ready to assume a bigger role and I have no doubt that he'll be an upgrade in replacing Gardiner. Hall did well the short time he was up but Babcock didn't seem to have much confidence in him. Liljegren may not be ready for another year and Borgman will get another crack before he does.
There are also uncertainties in management. Will Lamriello be back as GM or in some advisory capacity with either Dubas or Hunter promoted as GM ? Will they risk to lose either one of Dubas or Hunter if the other is promoted ? With the upcoming contract extensions of Matthews, Marner and Nylander, and the necessity of making improvements on defence, I'd be more confident in Lou making the decisions. He probably feels that his project to create a perennial contender in this team is incomplete and may want to come back for another year.
Gardiner will be unrestricted at the end of next season and even with his shortcomings he'll probably garner a lot of interests from teams looking for "puck moving" d men. It's so painfully obvious that this defence was just not good enough
with Gardiner being an integral part of it and I just don't see the Leafs will want to commit another 5-6 years for 6-7 miles per in resigning him. I'd say there's a good chance that he'll be packaged for some major deal(s).
Demott looks to be ready to assume a bigger role and I have no doubt that he'll be an upgrade in replacing Gardiner. Hall did well the short time he was up but Babcock didn't seem to have much confidence in him. Liljegren may not be ready for another year and Borgman will get another crack before he does.
There are also uncertainties in management. Will Lamriello be back as GM or in some advisory capacity with either Dubas or Hunter promoted as GM ? Will they risk to lose either one of Dubas or Hunter if the other is promoted ? With the upcoming contract extensions of Matthews, Marner and Nylander, and the necessity of making improvements on defence, I'd be more confident in Lou making the decisions. He probably feels that his project to create a perennial contender in this team is incomplete and may want to come back for another year.
Gardener, Dermott, Zaitsev and Polak were all pretty bad. With the FA of Bozak JVR, and Komarov, maybe they should try the Gary Leeman experiment and make Gardiner a winger and see if he can score some goals. He certainly can’t play defence.
Sounds simple but it won't be easy when you have to do things against the cap! Will LV get the cup before Toronto this year? That would be wild!
Leafs are looking for a new GM!
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/lou-lamoriello-wont-return-gm-maple-leafs/
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/lou-lamoriello-wont-return-gm-maple-leafs/
I didn't expect Lou to stay on as a GM, that he stayed on as a Senior Advisor surprises me. Shany is a silver tonged devil, but then the Leafs can afford it.
Apparently Lou agreed to the conditions of 3 yrs as GM and 4 yrs as Sr. Advisor before signing on.
Let's see if it will be Dubas or Hunter or neither.
Just exactly what are the roles of "Senior Advisor" ? Wasn't Cliff Fletcher also a SA ? How much say would he have in important decisions like resigning Matthews/Marner/Nylander ? Is he there to give advice to Shanahan when facing difficult decisions like firing the GM or coach ? Act as interim when the GM is removed ? Or is it equivalent to the "Robida Island" with players ?
Lou will assume the role that Wayne Embry plays for the Raptors. He's there to stabilize the front office and evaluate talent. Every other team wants Kyle Dubas, foremost the Minnesota Wild.
I did some back checking on the Shany - Lou relationship. Shany was sent to the Blues by the NHL as compensation for Lou signing RFA Scott Stevens.
I also looked into the notoriety of the name Greg Hubick, he wasn't drafted ahead of Mike Bossy in the 77 Draft. He was obtained by the Leafs in a Sam Pollock steal. The Canadiens got from the Leafs Doug Jarvis.
I did some back checking on the Shany - Lou relationship. Shany was sent to the Blues by the NHL as compensation for Lou signing RFA Scott Stevens.
I also looked into the notoriety of the name Greg Hubick, he wasn't drafted ahead of Mike Bossy in the 77 Draft. He was obtained by the Leafs in a Sam Pollock steal. The Canadiens got from the Leafs Doug Jarvis.
While I had questions about some of Lamoreillo's moves, notably the moves and non moves at the past trade deadline, I think overall he has done a great job in guiding the Leafs to the right path. I'd feel much more comfortable having Lou handling contract extension negotiations for the young core as neither Dubas or Hunter have any experience in handing negotiations of such magnitude.
It looks like Dubas will get the job as allegedly they blocked an attempt by another team to acquire him. There have been speculations of how much influence Babcock has in player movements. It appeared that Lou had been able to deal with him without much controversies, but how will a young guy like Dubas stand up to Babcock if they ever get into disagreement?
We should find out shortly how things play out when the Marlies' run is over.
It looks like Dubas will get the job as allegedly they blocked an attempt by another team to acquire him. There have been speculations of how much influence Babcock has in player movements. It appeared that Lou had been able to deal with him without much controversies, but how will a young guy like Dubas stand up to Babcock if they ever get into disagreement?
We should find out shortly how things play out when the Marlies' run is over.
