Toronto Maple Leafs 2013/14 Season

[maurice93]

That doesn't change anything. We know they can make money now without a winner. A winner increases profits big time.


Being incompetent is totally different than not being motivated. Your original comment of the financial safety net infers they are not motivated which I say is very wrong.

I sort of agree with Shack's take. The Leafs are definitely trying to win to increase revenue not only from playoffs, but via price increases for other revenue streams.

If anything, the Leafs may be guilty of never fully committing to a rebuild when they should have. They spend money to be better sooner. Even in the last 5 years under the Burke regime they made moves to speed up the process to get to the playoffs (unsuccessfully).

And perhaps those teams pre-strike did not focus enough on player development and made moves more to try win at that time. Those were revenue oriented moves -- maybe too short term.

Incompetence and lack of a well defined plan to building are the issues.

Luck / getting hot in short series is also a factor in making the Cup Finals. The Leafs have had 10 teams with over 90 points the last 30 years. That In itself is poor - but it is reasonable to expect one of those teams to once have made the Finals.

 

[bigdik]

The Montreal Canadiens have made the finals 3 times after the great teams of the late seventies. The two teams that won the Cup (86.93) were no better than the Leafs have been a number of times since 1980. (The 1989 Habs team that lost in the SCF was great)

Obviously they were. They WON THE CUP!!!!!!
I hate the Habs more than anyone (Bruins Fan) but good god man, they did win those cups. That makes them the best team of the season, no?

 

[bigdik]

Luck / getting hot in short series is also a factor in making the Cup Finals.

You need to win 4 best of 7 series. That's not just getting hot, it's a confluence of events that cannot happen without first being a very good, very deep team.

 

[maurice93]

Obviously they were. They WON THE CUP!!!!!!
I hate the Habs more than anyone (Bruins Fan) but good god man, they did win those cups. That makes them the best team of the season, no?

First off, I am a Habs fan, and no I do not think the 1986 or 1993 teams were the best in the league.

The Stanley Cup Champion is not always the best team. You don't need to be the "best" team to deserve to win or earn the championship. That is the nature of sports.

Its the same as playoffs in any sports - the better you are the more likely you will win, and the winner will often arguably be the best team. But sometimes, odd things happen in a 7 game series that open up the door for somebody that is maybe not the best team.


The 1993 Canadiens were certainly not better than the Penguins... the 86 team was certainly not better than the Oilers. But that is the playoffs - anything can happen. You give yourself as many shots as possible with good teams - the Canadiens have had 21 teams over 90 points since 1980, so they have set themselves up enough times to be good enough to take advantage of a few breaks.

 

[maurice93]

You need to win 4 best of 7 series. That's not just getting hot, it's a confluence of events that cannot happen without first being a very good, very deep team.

OK - where did I say they were not very good teams?

And if you don't think getting hot in ONE series, or having a few bad breaks in one series, does not influence the playoffs very often, I am not sure what you have been watching.

 

[bigdik]

OK - where did I say they were not very good teams?

And if you don't think getting hot in ONE series, or having a few bad breaks in one series, does not influence the playoffs very often, I am not sure what you have been watching.

No question these things influence the playoffs. Sometimes potential obstacles are removed before they need be confronted by odd occurences. Where I was going with this I guess is that the last 2 habs winners may not have been the "best" teams in terms of talent, but they were the "last man standing". That makes them the BEST TEAM!

The marathon required weeds out the one round flukes. Yes, getting hot at the right time, or riding a hot goaltender happens, but in the end it takes contributions from 20 plus players, great moves by the coaches, and yes, some breaks. Winning the cup is not a fluke.

 

[Polaris]

It will be a strange off season.

The bottom half of the forward roster won't be back. Changes on defense too.

This team had potential, but in the end just was not good enough. They could not even make the playoffs. They could not play defense, and it cost them.

Canada's philosposer/goalie said that to have a good team, your scorers must score and your bangers must bang.

Not enough bang in the bottom six forwards.

Boooooooo!

:deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse:

 

[smuddan]

Who'd have thought at the beginning of the season that the Raptors could finish as high as 3rd in the Conference and the Leafs would lose 10 out of 12 games to finish out of the playoff race and in a "no man's land" ? Team chemistry is such an elusive thing that a GM can try all he wants in signing free agents and making trades but gets nowhere, while a bold move (trading Rudy Gay) could make a dreadful team like the Raptors were to become the Cinderella team of the year ?

Perhaps Leafs' Phaneuf is the Rudy Gay of Basketball that trading him could have have a major positive impact ?

 

[lovelatinas]

He is what I would do if I was Tim Lieweke. I would have to take a huge step back and leave the team as is a let the long term contracts run out before getting rid of Phanuef, Clarkson, Kessel. Finish near the bottom of the league for 4 to 5 years and build from the draft. However, the Leafs can not rush the prospects, the prospect need 2-3 years in the minors, a year in Juniors in need be. Follow the Detroit plan of player development. Never again sign a player to a long term contract, 2 or 3 year contracts the most. Yes, time for rebuilding because this core is not going to get it done.

 

[maurice93]

No question these things influence the playoffs. Sometimes potential obstacles are removed before they need be confronted by odd occurences. Where I was going with this I guess is that the last 2 habs winners may not have been the "best" teams in terms of talent, but they were the "last man standing". That makes them the BEST TEAM!

The marathon required weeds out the one round flukes. Yes, getting hot at the right time, or riding a hot goaltender happens, but in the end it takes contributions from 20 plus players, great moves by the coaches, and yes, some breaks. Winning the cup is not a fluke.

I think we are just spinning our wheels on this, Neither one of us will change our perspective.

To me winning the Stanley Cup playoffs makes you a deserving "CHAMPION", but that can be mutually exclusive from best team in my view.

 

[Bargnani_]

Who'd have thought at the beginning of the season that the Raptors could finish as high as 3rd in the Conference and the Leafs would lose 10 out of 12 games to finish out of the playoff race and in a "no man's land" ? Team chemistry is such an elusive thing that a GM can try all he wants in signing free agents and making trades but gets nowhere, while a bold move (trading Rudy Gay) could make a dreadful team like the Raptors were to become the Cinderella team of the year ?

Perhaps Leafs' Phaneuf is the Rudy Gay of Basketball that trading him could have have a major positive impact ?

So who is Bargnani of this Leaf roster that you can trade ?

 

[shack]

But they have reached the finals 3 times in their history (albeit 2 times sort of fluky teams)... 3 times more than the Leafs over that span.

True enough. But we all know even if the Leafs had made 3 cup finals, no one would change their mind about their futility. They would still be mocked, rightfully. The same should go for the Nucks.

 

[shack]

So you'd rather pin your hopes on the Leafs?

Not what I said. I said using the Canucks as an example of a team with potential to win it all doesn't make sense. Their level of futility is not much different than that of the Leafs'.

 

[SkyRider]

Toronto Maple Leafs 2013-2014. Rest in Peace.

Time to move on.

 

[mynameisearl11]

The Leafs will wait for your pain to go away then...they will INCREASE tickets price for next season! Oh wait, I think they've already instituted a new increased pricing system for next year! Not sure when we will ever see the Cup in Leafs land but one thing is certain that the price of admission will always go up!

 

[superstar_88]

If they sign Bolland to a big long term contract it will be a big mistake. This team is nowhere near being a good team and Bolland alone won't put them over the top. He's a 3rd line center albeit a very good one. Although with his injury he might never be the player he once was. That in itself is a huge risk. They already screwed up with long term contracts to Clarkson and the way Phaneuf has played lately him too. Kessel can always be traded for a big package if needed but I believe he's a keeper. Just need to build a big solid team around him. Leafs need a speedy sniper like him. Can't be all pluggers.

 

[smuddan]

So who is Bargnani of this Leaf roster that you can trade ?

The Leafs don't have any own first overall pick to compare to Bargnani, the closest are probably Kadri and Gardiner.

Kadri despite all criticism has had a decent year stats-wise, but he's also a big contributor to the team's overall poor defence. The best hope is maturity will eventually turn him into a solid two way second line centre.

Gardiner has great skating and puck handling abilities but his defensive blunders have caused more goals scored on the team than goals for he created. It seems to be he's a prefect candidate for a trial switch to a forward. He probably doesn't have the IQ to be a centre, but putting him on the wing might minimize his damage on defence.

 

[Bargnani_]

The Toronto Maple Leafs maybe adding another Mimico High School Boy to the Fold !! Whispers Brendan Shanahan coming to a MLSE office near you !!

 

[lovelatinas]

So who is Bargnani of this Leaf roster that you can trade ?

No NHL team wants these losers, we are stuck with this group. The only player other teams want are Kessel. All other players you will be lucky to get a bag of pucks and $1 in return.

 

[lovelatinas]

The Toronto Maple Leafs maybe adding another Mimico High School Boy to the Fold !! Whispers Brendan Shanahan coming to a MLSE office near you !!

These Mimico guys have failed the Leafs thus far, sure let's add another to our misery. MLSE needs the Bowman's from Chicago, Scott and Stan.