The added scenes in Redux are interesting and it's amazing with or without them, but I think the original is tighter.
- Zezel

Both great ….love the book 'heart of darkness' too.

@JeffMarek: "I think I am done playing in the NHL", Pavel Datsyuk to leave Detroit after playoffs freep.com/story/sports/c…



- burn

Bummer. He had a good run.

prob coach and GM related
- jimi james

The fat slob in Ottawa saying Murray stepping down and asst gm Pierre dorion taking over.

@JeffMarek: "I think I am done playing in the NHL", Pavel Datsyuk to leave Detroit after playoffs freep.com/story/sports/c…



- burn

He sounded like a guy who's was done at that interview last week.

Both great ….love the book 'heart of darkness' too.
- The Law

Yeah they're all great. Conrad in general is a great writer too.

It's a very flawed lottery

Being last place is now even more important that ever for a rebuilding team. To ensure a top 5 draft pick you NEED to be last or 2nd last. What a joke
- Santo_44

Point is to stop teams from trying to tank. It sucks that we're the ones who ranked the season this was implemented but whatever.

IMO they should add a rule that stops teams from participating in the top-3 lottery if they draft in one of those spots the previous year or so.

SabresBuzz ‏@SabresBuzz 2h2 hours ago
I hope the Leafs enjoy selecting 4th overall. Good luck winning three lotteries. 30th place in over rated


SabresBuzz ‏@SabresBuzz 2h2 hours ago
I hope the Leafs enjoy selecting 4th overall. Good luck winning three lotteries. 30th place in over rated




- nbboy

I wonder if he realizes they only have to win one lottery...

The fat slob in Ottawa saying Murray stepping down and asst gm Pierre dorion taking over.
- burn

Kudos to Murray for perservering this long especially with his health

Kudos to Murray for perservering this long especially with his health
- jimi james

Indeed.

I wonder if he realizes they only have to win one lottery...
- Feeling Glucky?

Sounds like a jaded loser.

Sounds like a jaded loser.
- burn

Doesnt just sound like one...

@JeffMarek: "I think I am done playing in the NHL", Pavel Datsyuk to leave Detroit after playoffs freep.com/story/sports/c…



- burn

it's sell known that he wanted to retire in russia. that's fair

Both great ….love the book 'heart of darkness' too.
- The Law

Its premature to know atm.. i dont think it would be a throw away year though.

i) babs doesnt coach to lose, except for lastnight. I guarentee he's pissed that his all time coaching record took a huge hit this season. He is a winner and wants to win and will not partake in another season like this one.

ii) the leafs brass know that they are actually quite a bit better than their record shows. To take a huge gamble and "tank" again doesnt help anyone. It burns a year of all contracts and that hurts especially for the young kids. They already (maybe foolishly) burned Nylanders first year so they aren't going to willingly do that again.

iii) this season was all about figuring out what they had with this team, and now they know. They know that Kadri can be a good #2C. They know Gards can handle a top 4 role. They know they need better goaltending. They learned their weaknesses and how to correct them.

iiii) they dont need another top 5 pick in next years draft. The Leafs already have one of the best prospect pools in the league. Sure it would be nice, but not at the expense of hindering the development of their young players. They have a team in place that have a proven record of drafting well so that'll be key going forward. They won't trade picks because thats how you keep the prospect pool strong.

iiiii) Im going to let you guys in on a secret. Most Leafs fans aren't as happy about losing as some in here. We all knew this season was going to be rough because of the changing of the guard. We knew we had to trade away the core and needed a good pick in this draft and for that reason we embraced the tank. But hardly anyone is saying "30th place? Thats was fun i cant wait to do that again" which makes me wonder exactly how many of you need a psych evaluation. Believe it or not the organization is in the business of making money. Strangly enough the tank probably helped business because it spurred investor confidence. People are excited about the direction of the club and want to buy jerseys and tickets now. Another year of tanking would turn people off.

No one knows who'll be a Leaf next year. I believe shanny and Co. want to sign Stamkos. But Stamkos isnt going to waste a year of his life and career losing. Sure he can still be a fan favourite if they suck, but thats not what he wants. To say we need one more year of losing is borderline moronic. There is little to gain and far too much to lose from tanking again. Im not saying they'll be contenders next season, or even make the playoffs. But they need to at least try. It would go against every moral fiber of being a Toronto Maple Leaf. They set the bar of expectations extremely low because that was the smart thing to do. But some fans took it far too literal (pain etc) and full on believe the Leafs will be bad for many more years to come. So in conclusion, the fans that enjoy losing and think by losing again next year is the right thing to do, may i suggest try to find the passion to want to win again. Because if you don't you shouldn't consider yourself a fan.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

OK, a few comments about your thought out post.

Bobcock is on board with what management wants to do. He understood that this team was not ready to compete this year. This was a year to dump as many bad contracts as necessary. Since one year ago, we've lost both Phil and Dion. We've gained allot of cap space and have stockpiled young talent and draft picks going forward. It's time to start moving up in the standings.

For the idea of liking to tank, I hated it. I personally didn't like cheering against my native team, the Leafs. I've been watching them since the 1960's and did see them win their last Cup. I've also watched them play some horrible hockey and mismanage the team over great stretches of the last 50 years. Their idea was to win as much of the time at whatever the cost to the future of the franchise. They took for-granted the fanbase, because they knew that they would always have a sellout. They foisted allot of garbage on the fanbase. It was 20 years overdue for them to burn it down to the foundation and build it properly. It was frustrating to see every dreg in the league either make the finals, win a Cup or get the next great superstar. We always had a middling team that was always short that, go to, star player that could get us to the next level. It's been tough being a loyal supporter. My closet is full of Leafs merchandise that I'm embarrassed to wear, most days. It's time to turn the page.

What needs to happen for this team to go forward? We need to fill the holes. We have some very good prospects and good skill level. We do lack that true number one centre, that eats up the situation minutes, like key faceoffs, powerplays, and penalty kills. The centre that scores the big goal and grinds the puck to kill the last 10 seconds of a one goal game. We haven't had one since Sundin. I think Nylander is talented, but not the prototypical number one that is required.....Something like an Eric Staal, in his prime, or a Ryan Getzlaf.

Defensively, we're not in a bad situation. Morgan Rielly is a good top pair defenseman. He needs a similar partner, with more size and defensive prowess. What is required is a right shooting minute eater that had similar offensive numbers, that can play 25 minutes. Maybe a Dougie Hamilton type. Gardiner is a good second pair defender and has shown that his game has rounded out. His skating ability is top drawer, but still needs to work on his own defensive play. Again, another right shooting defender, with good defensive skill is a prerequisite to helping him develop his game. They should be able to find the pieces via trade, maybe Kadri or JVR going the the other way.

Goaltending? We aren't that bad with Bernier. If there is an upgrade that can make us better, without giving up too many assets, it's something to explore. Bernier seemed to get better, once the defense improved. It also helps when the Leafs score more. Their goals for was abysmal, until the kids came up at the trade deadline.

Lastly, you're probably right that most Leafs fans are not happy with Tanking. The one's in here are mostly superfans of the team and not the watercooler guys who watch the games and forget about it, 48 hours later. The fans in here, on the most part, dissect the game and the players, more then the average fan. Most of the fans here realize what it takes for a team to improve long term. I'm pretty sure that most of the people here realized that Brian Burke was making a mistake, trying to rebuild too quickly, when patience was what need to happen. We were exonerated, when the team quickly fell apart and knew that a proper rebuild was in order. Most of us knew that Shanahan's plan was a good one, when he did the free build, with all of the UFA's and then trading them for picks and prospects. We are now at the next stage.....building from the foundation at the draft. The pipeline is now stocked and it's now a progression to acclimate and infuse the youth into the system of Mike Babcock. Next year is going to be fun.

What to expect next year? A team that will compete, most nights. What we saw, the last 20 games will be the normal next year. We'll be competing in the same area as Buffalo, Carolina, New Jersey. We may even pass teams like the Bruins and Habs. We'll probably be picking in the 10 to 15 range next year. The upside is, the sky's the limit going forward. No more aging veteran's, no more cap hell.....good times to come.

I wonder if he realizes they only have to win one lottery...
- Feeling Glucky?

Also the fact that 30th is really about being able to fall no further than 4th, with anything above that a bonus. It beats falling to 7th or something.

Beats the usual 11th place

Beats the usual 11th place
- Landsbergfan

Yeah 11th place is a drag.

OK, a few comments about your thought out post.

Bobcock is on board with what management wants to do. He understood that this team was not ready to compete this year. This was a year to dump as many bad contracts as necessary. Since one year ago, we've lost both Phil and Dion. We've gained allot of cap space and have stockpiled young talent and draft picks going forward. It's time to start moving up in the standings.

For the idea of liking to tank, I hated it. I personally didn't like cheering against my native team, the Leafs. I've been watching them since the 1960's and did see them win their last Cup. I've also watched them play some horrible hockey and mismanage the team over great stretches of the last 50 years. Their idea was to win as much of the time at whatever the cost to the future of the franchise. They took for-granted the fanbase, because they knew that they would always have a sellout. They foisted allot of garbage on the fanbase. It was 20 years overdue for them to burn it down to the foundation and build it properly. It was frustrating to see every dreg in the league either make the finals, win a Cup or get the next great superstar. We always had a middling team that was always short that, go to, star player that could get us to the next level. It's been tough being a loyal supporter. My closet is full of Leafs merchandise that I'm embarrassed to wear, most days. It's time to turn the page.

What needs to happen for this team to go forward? We need to fill the holes. We have some very good prospects and good skill level. We do lack that true number one centre, that eats up the situation minutes, like key faceoffs, powerplays, and penalty kills. The centre that scores the big goal and grinds the puck to kill the last 10 seconds of a one goal game. We haven't had one since Sundin. I think Nylander is talented, but not the prototypical number one that is required.....Something like an Eric Staal, in his prime, or a Ryan Getzlaf.

Defensively, we're not in a bad situation. Morgan Rielly is a good top pair defenseman. He needs a similar partner, with more size and defensive prowess. What is required is a right shooting minute eater that had similar offensive numbers, that can play 25 minutes. Maybe a Dougie Hamilton type. Gardiner is a good second pair defender and has shown that his game has rounded out. His skating ability is top drawer, but still needs to work on his own defensive play. Again, another right shooting defender, with good defensive skill is a prerequisite to helping him develop his game. They should be able to find the pieces via trade, maybe Kadri or JVR going the the other way.

Goaltending? We aren't that bad with Bernier. If there is an upgrade that can make us better, without giving up too many assets, it's something to explore. Bernier seemed to get better, once the defense improved. It also helps when the Leafs score more. Their goals for was abysmal, until the kids came up at the trade deadline.

Lastly, you're probably right that most Leafs fans are not happy with Tanking. The one's in here are mostly superfans of the team and not the watercooler guys who watch the games and forget about it, 48 hours later. The fans in here, on the most part, dissect the game and the players, more then the average fan. Most of the fans here realize what it takes for a team to improve long term. I'm pretty sure that most of the people here realized that Brian Burke was making a mistake, trying to rebuild too quickly, when patience was what need to happen. We were exonerated, when the team quickly fell apart and knew that a proper rebuild was in order. Most of us knew that Shanahan's plan was a good one, when he did the free build, with all of the UFA's and then trading them for picks and prospects. We are now at the next stage.....building from the foundation at the draft. The pipeline is now stocked and it's now a progression to acclimate and infuse the youth into the system of Mike Babcock. Next year is going to be fun.

What to expect next year? A team that will compete, most nights. What we saw, the last 20 games will be the normal next year. We'll be competing in the same area as Buffalo, Carolina, New Jersey. We may even pass teams like the Bruins and Habs. We'll probably be picking in the 10 to 15 range next year. The upside is, the sky's the limit going forward. No more aging veteran's, no more cap hell.....good times to come.
- PrinceLH

*cue slow clap*

Doesnt just sound like one...
- Feeling Glucky?

Not sure what you mean...

(Checks Garth's photo)



Oh, I get it

Not sure what you mean...

(Checks Garth's photo)



Oh, I get it now.

Edit: wtf?

This site frustrates the hell out of me
- Atomic Wedgie

The code has gotta all be on one line, Wedginald...

Ok. This simulation of the lottery simulator will determine the draw. No backsies, no do overs, this is legit.

Ok. This simulation of the lottery simulator will determine the draw. No backsies, no do overs, this is legit.
- weirdoh

Jets

Blue Jackets

Habs


(frank)

Ok. This simulation of the lottery simulator will determine the draw. No backsies, no do overs, this is legit.
- weirdoh

toronto, buffalo, calgary

Not sure what you mean...

(Checks Garth's photo)


- Atomic Wedgie[img]
http://cdn.hockeybuzz.com...es/bloggers/white40/6.jpg
[/img]

Oh, I get it now.

Edit: wtf?

This site frustrates the hell out of me

I still can't see on my screen if that's his hair or he's got shades on the top of his head.

toronto, buffalo, calgary


- daeth

Unfortunately you didn't back that claim up the way I did. So basically mine is etched in stone.