I think it will happen. The Leafs look set to be steamrolled in the east. Just my opinion, though.
- triggermartin

You are right, If they were in the west it wouldn't be so bad because there is no Juggernauts in the West. The East has 4 teams that could be considered juggernauts, Rangers, Bruins, Penguins, Flyers.

Then you have teams like the Capitals and then the teams the Leafs always have problems with like the Lightning, Panthers, Islanders. and then the rest of there division that they usually play .500 against.

I think the Leafs will be lucky to win 20 games this year.

The Kings will want too much & there in lies the problem. Over paying for an unproven goalie.
- GCHonda

So we sell them on Komi... If he can hit comething as small as JvR's foot, how could he ever fail to hit the 4x6????

His best day may or may not be done,, but he is still an elite goaltender and will be for some time. Signing Lu would have the same effect on the team as signing Belfour did.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

And what is that, exactly? Masking serious, systemic personnel flaws, putting us in the position to barely squeak into the playoffs, and ensuring that we draft in the low teens? Why bother?

His best day may or may not be done,, but he is still an elite goaltender and will be for some time. Signing Lu would have the same effect on the team as signing Belfour did.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Belfour was on Leaf teams that were more veteran and lets face it had a better leader than this Leaf team does.

Keep throwing darts, eventually you'll hit the bull. Having an extra guy like Bernier is never bad, as long as we don't give up too much.
- lumlums

I just dont see why we dont roll with what we have and see what happens. We can always add a goalie later, it just makes more sense to establish what you have and what you dont have before trading away assets.

I just dont see why we dont roll with what we have and see what happens. We can always add a goalie later, it just makes more sense to establish what you have and what you dont have before trading away assets.
- systemtool

Thank you.

I think it will happen. The Leafs look set to be steamrolled in the east. Just my opinion, though.
- triggermartin

Well I seriously doubt Montreal, Washington, Tampa, Carolina & Buffalo will all be as bad as next year. So it will be a daunting task for the Leafs to make the playoffs. I\However, if the Leafs are up for the task, they could be competitive if not they will sink faster than the titanic.

You are right, If they were in the west it wouldn't be so bad because there is no Juggernauts in the West. The East has 4 teams that could be considered juggernauts, Rangers, Bruins, Penguins, Flyers.

Then you have teams like the Capitals and then the teams the Leafs always have problems with like the Lightning, Panthers, Islanders. and then the rest of there division that they usually play .500 against.

I think the Leafs will be lucky to win 20 games this year.
- Leafsfan9329

If anyone is wondering why the fired Burke, the Leafs embarrassed the franchise last year, and Burke responded by trading Schenn for JVR and signing a guy named McClemment.

That's all he did.

His best day may or may not be done,, but he is still an elite goaltender and will be for some time. Signing Lu would have the same effect on the team as signing Belfour did.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Not at all the same. There wasnt a cap then. There is now. We were a good team then. We arent now. One was signed. The other has to be traded for. One didnt have 10 years on a contract. The other does.

The Kings will want too much & there in lies the problem. Over paying for an unproven goalie.
- GCHonda

The other problem with Bernier is this... He is a RFA at end of season.

If he has a good year then he will cost us lots to sign a goalie who has only proven himself for one year. He could regress the following year and were back to square one.

And what is that, exactly? Masking serious, systemic personnel flaws, putting us in the position to barely squeak into the playoffs, and ensuring that we draft in the low teens? Why bother?
- triggermartin

Because it would be a pitiful attempt to push this mediocre team of misfits into 8th. Who doesn't want that?

If anyone is wondering why the fired Burke, the Leafs embarrassed the franchise last year, and Burke responded by trading Schenn for JVR and signing a guy named McClemment.

That's all he did.
- Atomic Wedgie

I thought it's cause Burke baked bread in Hazel's oven?

I just dont see why we dont roll with what we have and see what happens. We can always add a goalie later, it just makes more sense to establish what you have and what you dont have before trading away assets.
- systemtool

I'm also good with this. With only $2.5m tied up in cap on the goalies, if any of them can post over .900 and below 2.6. GAA then we have a good deal. We scored last year at about 2.75 goals per game, so any less than that is where we need to be.

And what is that, exactly? Masking serious, systemic personnel flaws, putting us in the position to barely squeak into the playoffs, and ensuring that we draft in the low teens? Why bother?
- triggermartin

Ok.. you pointed out my flaw, now ill do the same.

You only see the negative in everything. You don't look for positives. Now the contract aside, would Luongo help this team win games right now? Or would they lose more because of him? Solid goaltending is crucial when you are trying to develop you players, especially defensemen. Lets throw Rielly out there in front of Reimer and see how well that goes.

If anyone is wondering why the fired Burke, the Leafs embarrassed the franchise last year, and Burke responded by trading Schenn for JVR and signing a guy named McClemment.

That's all he did.
- Atomic Wedgie

Thats all he should have done...

Bob McKenzie on TSN: The Maple Leafs are kicking the tires on LA Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier. #MapleLeafs #NHL
- jbold

Cool

Well I seriously doubt Montreal, Washington, Tampa, Carolina & Buffalo will all be as bad as next year. So it will be a daunting task for the Leafs to make the playoffs. I\However, if the Leafs are up for the task, they could be competitive if not they will sink faster than the titanic.
- GCHonda

I think it will be a nosedive from the beginning.

If anyone is wondering why the fired Burke, the Leafs embarrassed the franchise last year, and Burke responded by trading Schenn for JVR and signing a guy named McClemment.

That's all he did.
- Atomic Wedgie

Go back a few pages and see the big write up from Billyberg.

If anyone is wondering why the fired Burke, the Leafs embarrassed the franchise last year, and Burke responded by trading Schenn for JVR and signing a guy named McClemment.

That's all he did.
- Atomic Wedgie

Less is more sometimes. I don't think many GM's were willing to help Burke out on deals. Sutter did and he got fired

Ok.. you pointed out my flaw, now ill do the same.

You only see the negative in everything. You don't look for positives. Now the contract aside, would Luongo help this team win games right now? Or would they lose more because of him? Solid goaltending is crucial when you are trying to develop you players, especially defensemen. Lets throw Rielly out there in front of Reimer and see how well that goes.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Does it matter whether this team loses or wins more? I think when you're 5th worse, a few more losses gets you a potential franchise player. When you're 5th worst, a few more wins probably gets you to 10th or 14th worst.

Id go for option A.

Ok.. you pointed out my flaw, now ill do the same.

You only see the negative in everything. You don't look for positives. Now the contract aside, would Luongo help this team win games right now? Or would they lose more because of him? Solid goaltending is crucial when you are trying to develop you players, especially defensemen. Lets throw Rielly out there in front of Reimer and see how well that goes.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

I don't think Luongo would help this team this much. Lets face it our goaltenders failed the last couple years yes. However our Penalty Killing hasn't been higher than 27th in the last 3 years.

Can Luongo himself change that? I highly doubt it. The Leafs have more problems than just goaltending.

Ok.. you pointed out my flaw, now ill do the same.

You only see the negative in everything. You don't look for positives. Now the contract aside, would Luongo help this team win games right now? Or would they lose more because of him? Solid goaltending is crucial when you are trying to develop you players, especially defensemen. Lets throw Rielly out there in front of Reimer and see how well that goes.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Winning a few more games 'right now' is not enough positive to take on a 33 year old goaltender, clearly on the downside of his career, for 10 more years. You've got to look big picture. It isn't pretty.

I think it will be a nosedive from the beginning.
- triggermartin

Leafs had a GLORIOUS gift last year with sooooooooo many teams having off years in the East. Leafs had a playoff spot gift wrapped up. Than came the worst collapse in Leaf histury. Leafs won't have that gift this year, It will be tougher this season for the Leafs.

I don't think Luongo would help this team this much. Lets face it our goaltenders failed the last couple years yes. However our Penalty Killing hasn't been higher than 27th in the last 3 years.

Can Luongo himself change that? I highly doubt it. The Leafs have more problems than just goaltending.
- Leafsfan9329

It's a start though.. Carlyle said he doesn't yet have the players he needs to play his defensive system. The PK can't possibly get any worse.

Leafs had a GLORIOUS gift last year with sooooooooo many teams having off years in the East. Leafs had a playoff spot gift wrapped up. Than came the worst collapse in Leaf histury. Leafs won't have that gift this year, It will be tougher this season for the Leafs.
- GCHonda

That wasn't the worst collapse in leafs history. It was just a flashback of a couple times in the 1980s when they did the same thing. Only difference was a couple times in the 80s they squeaked into the playoffs because the old Norris division sucked.