Trades and Potential Trades

Let me see, last year at this time lupul was challenging somebody on twitter to a fight. Hmm, and making them shut up is a bad thing?

 

Rafalski retired, kovalchuk was offered more money to play back home, gomez was a good move. Wow, there's turnover, and you're relating it directly toward lou when there's no proof. Shanny who played under him and would know this better than anyone wouldn't have brought him in if it were an issue. Sure I get it, times have changed and he may be a little extreme, but what went on last year uncle lou is just what the doctor ordered. I can tell you at his age he won't even be here more than three years, so by the time they actually have a team, he'll be gone or in the senate with cliff.

 

i haven't read all of the posts regarding the Leafs here but Id be optimistic w/ all the moves that Toronto has made because they've jumped off of the treadmill of suck. agreed that it isn't just going to be better next year and when I posted that they just have to win the Matthews lottery and sign Stamkos, i was saying that sarcastically. would be huge if they could do either but but unlikely.
skinny you and I have respectfully gone back and forth about the Leafs for many years. what Toronto is doing now is exactly what Ive been saying they should have done the day Burke stepped in. Instead he signed a terrible goalie, traded his best assets for Kessel, and proclaimed that their 3 NCAA FA signings were like 1st round picks. To Burke's credit Bozak has had a nice career so far.

 

Kovalchuk's departure was directly related to quality of life. He lost player after player to FA and couldn't attract anybody without gross overpayment the last decade. The only argument that he wasn't a problem in that area would be to suggest that it was his loyalty to older players that kept him from accepting new players and philosophical adjustments.

I agree he'll be gone when they start winning. Weren't you among those that were saying they'll start winning within that time frame? His hire is part of the reason I keep saying this is going to take so long and it's going to be painful (because they're not going to risk shortcuts, and that's a good thing in my opinion)

I don't know what to say if you think Lou won't deter many or most players with a NTC. No facial hair, no social media, number restrictions (nobody was allowed a number over 40 in NJ unless they were an elite vet), high school schedule discipline, etc. Stuff gets out about how he controls his players.

This is why I don't think they're going to let him bring in expensive vets to build or keep around. Not only do they know that he'll alienate them eventually, his philosophy works best on Non arb eligible players and players that would be willing to chew through concrete to get to the NHL.

 

Bozak has been a very good player.

If Burke was willing to sign Richard's instead of taking an idealistic stance, that whole roster of forwards would have been slotted better and likely developed more effectively. Regardless, Bozak has been a good player, mostly slotted wrong. If he was in the right spot he probably gets a cheaper extension.

I think he still nets a nice return if he's shopped soon, I think he turns 30 this year though.

Lupuss is one of 57 NHL players with 200 goals, approaching Boyes on that list.

 

When does Lou bring in his first "character guy" anyway?

I've been waiting Zubrus or somebody like that to turn up in Toronto.

 

I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying. They have to get the players that would be listened to out of there because they could challenge the new culture they're bringing in there. There is a consensus on the big reasons Phil and Dion are gone.

For example to what I was talking about, if Phil and Dion speak, it gets attention and Lou hates his players getting attention historically. (team, not individuals as a religious doctrine). It's not what they say, it's the media storm that follows their statements and it creates issues Lou does not tolerate well.

If he has a roster of non-arb eligible kids and guys fighting to keep a job, nobody steps out of line in contract slot 1 all the way through the 50th and the culture is changed faster and relatively seamlessly.

 

Sounds like its Lou's way or the highway. They started something that now they have to finish... no erasing what has already been done. The removal of Kessel and Fanoof shows the rest of the team and sends a message that no one is gauranteed anything.

The 'unholy trilogy' remind of a group of cowboys that are going to shoot the place up and leave no one standing. They dont want to continue down the path their on (losing) and are kinda just winging it in my opinion to shake things up.

Im not exactly crazy about the way they are doing things and feel the pain of Leafs Nation. But, the way things look to me the higher ups want a quick fix and thats not just possible or a reality. Is Toronto the next Edmonton?

 

i think they're totally different. Toronto is just starting what Edmonton did many years ago. What Edmonton has done since has been pretty terrible but they kept the same recycled FO in place for so long that the suck just kept recycling.

I like Toronto's FO and the plan they've put in place so far.

 

I don't think that's possible.

Besides, it looks like they're taking a very, very, long approach to this thing. That should minimize the chances of Edmontonization. All the staff hires and moves seem to project far into the future with Lou as the emperor over all the young front office minions who will carry the torch out of the darkness.

The Babcock hire is the only thing that really leaves me scratching my head. Why have Babs there for a rebuild? Why have a coach bigger than all controlling Lou? That's never happened before.

Overall, I can't see them entering the doom loop of suckage like WPG or EDM. They should be too far down this path within the next 5 months to suddenly change course.

We know they're going to shop just about everybody, should be interesting. Reimer, Bernier, Kadri, Bozak, and Gardiner's names seldom pop up btw. Seems Lou's cloud of darkness over the media is slowly spreading, good leaks are fewer and farther between.

 

Who does Edmonton move?

RNH seemed like the most likely of their better players, but he's broken.

Ference, Purcell, Gryba, Kassian, Hendricks, Pouliot...lots of bad and bad cap hits over there.

 

Lou says he has 'a 5 year plan that changes every day'. I understand they are going to claim patients and pump the media with the idea that this is not a quick fix and will take time, I just question the whole scheme of things taking so long.

It seems to me the longer a transitional period takes in todays NHL, the more risk becomes involved and they will still get passed up by teams that dont do the blow things up and start over trick. I like the idea of changing on the fly and a rebuild from within without tearing down the core of a team.

I guess im just skeptical of a move that is planned out to take so much time and involved blowing up the core instead of the support class. It seems to me adjustments of the support players surrounding the core would have been not only effecient but a lot less time consuming.

Just my thoughts over coffee on a F'n cold ass morning.

 

thats valid.


just assuming that they're hedging their bets that Babs can help w/ the player progression more than most??...while being grossly overpaid to do that.
I will say in all seriousness that Babs gives them a distinct swagger and confidence. The Leafs seem legit and serious for the first time in a while and Babs does play a part in that.

does that goalie tandem work? i mean i see the Leafs quite a bit and the 2 of them are individually pretty good but are they a tandem? I think one should be moved and the G prospect Bibeau should be extremely marinated before jumping up. Some pretty good players in this draft and I wouldn't be afraid of Chychrun if Im a Leafs fan. You've already got Kapanen, Nylander and Marner in waiting.
and actually trade Kadri. just seems like a dark cloud around that guy w/in that organization. Chaulk him up to not working out to the Truculent one and move on.

this is what I like most about the new start for the Leafs, they're not a circus anymore.

 

Schultz? what would he bring back and is he damaged goods?
would be hilarious if Kassian gets moved again this season. he'd be giving Clendeing a run.
Pouliot has been putting up some points lately, he could be a decent pick up.
Gryba ?..and or Fayne even. Fayne has 2 more years $3.625 per after this one. PC should try to shed that pig of a deal.
Purcell would be an expensive gamble but could help down the stretch. his deal expires after this season so i guess its not that expensive.
if someone picks up Hendricks they're a sucker.


[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5hDYg0uAuE[/video]

 

i think you're right on the whole and almost every other team, at every other time, that's true. most FO and coaches would be fired well before 5 years.
However, for the current Leafs I'd think most fans are looking for a stable plan moving forward. Burke came in and sold the exact opposite and most of the fans and lennie ate that shit up at the time. it was all garbage and always was. the team didn't have an identity or backbone.
Lou saying 5 years seems like he's giving himself a lot of leeway. Ive always kind of liked the Leafs, not so much in the Burke era, but overall Ive always liked the Leafs. Im happy that they're saying they're going to slow play it. I like the aspect of Babs that he likes more developed kids???..or is it just a Holland/Detroit thing and Im giving Babs credit for it?

 

I think they see what happened in Detroit, NJ, SJ where they commit time and time again to the same core with no real chance of improvement.

I think they see what happened in PHI (Carter-Richards) or CAR when they just try to add/swap/replace comparable talent and it just blows up on them.

I think they see what happened in STL and LA where a team went down to nothing and built under a coherent plan towards another coherent for many consecutive seasons. When they start winning, they take the FO approach of Chicago or NYR more than anybody else, a very dynamic approach.

 

I completely disagree. I think the team had so much identity and backbone (see Brown, McLaren, Orr) that it completely overwhelmed any skating, skill, or hockey sense that was trying to emerge from within the organization.

 

lol, if you're saying too much suck then I'm not going to disagree.

 

Babs was hired for 8 years, why not have him there right from day 1 and have him see it through to the end? First of all he was available when he was, so if you want him you don't have a choice you can't just expect him to be there in three or four years time. Better he's there when they finally turn the corner as his footprint will be well entrenched. I would rather have him there in year 4 already well familiar as its his baby.
Only regret I have is that they didn't take noah instead of marner, the backend is so important as the oilers are finding out, and you need two or three like the blues have.

 

Burke was lying through his teeth when he said he wasn't just building a team to make the playoffs rather a championship that will mow through every round. I know so many fans that would call in on the radio shows and see through the b.s, and that's what bothered me most about burke. When the leafs would be out of the playoffs in the last week or two or even when they got knocked out that one time, everyone knew it wasn't good enough. You'll never be able to beat those teams that have those elite players, four or five in the top 50 overall. How do you get these players when nobody's letting them go? You draft high, how do you draft high? You have to finish at the bottom and go through years of pain. Does it still guarantee you a championship? Hell no, but it's the only way to do it, and tearing down is the easy part, but you have to do it.