One word of caution to Leafs Nation:

Sosh, Hyman, Brown, etc. may not be nearly as good as we thought they were from watching them play garbage minutes at the end of last season.

I fear the positive impressions they made on us (myself included) had more to do with hustling for a dead cause than actually demonstrating NHL talent.

I'm hoping for the best, but we do need to be careful here.
- Atomic Wedgie

Of course we do. Nothing is set in stone.

But while most of us know so few prospects become nhl regulars let alone impact players, the sheer number of prospects makes it less critical when some of them don't pan out.

Really?

Why?

We aren't going to win the Stanley Cup next year.

I'd much rather see a guy with a future get the ice time than a complete placeholder like PA franking Parenteau.
- Atomic Wedgie

If they're signing PAP that much is obvious.

One word of caution to Leafs Nation:

Sosh, Hyman, Brown, etc. may not be nearly as good as we thought they were from watching them play garbage minutes at the end of last season.

I fear the positive impressions they made on us (myself included) had more to do with hustling for a dead cause than actually demonstrating NHL talent.

I'm hoping for the best, but we do need to be careful here.
- Atomic Wedgie

poop. That, coupled with bust Matthews, not having the best player in the world anymore in Kessel, and Nylander being in everyone's trade proposals, somehow we're actually further away than before LL, Hunter, Shanny and Babs

One word of caution to Leafs Nation:

Sosh, Hyman, Brown, etc. may not be nearly as good as we thought they were from watching them play garbage minutes at the end of last season.

I fear the positive impressions they made on us (myself included) had more to do with hustling for a dead cause than actually demonstrating NHL talent.

I'm hoping for the best, but we do need to be careful here.
- Atomic Wedgie

I agree...

Thats why i kinda only want one to make it, Brown..

1) Winning again so thats nice.. Bullpen still bad tho
2) Hmmm
3)Underrated.. love the guy.
4) Au revoir and bonne chance!
5) Bought a case of Muskoka Craft Beer yesterday.. pretty good stuff..
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Jays are done .... I was told

This was really just a trick to get new beer recommendations. Excellent, ty.
- daeth

Really?

Why?

We aren't going to win the Stanley Cup next year.

I'd much rather see a guy with a future get the ice time than a complete placeholder like PA franking Parenteau.
- Atomic Wedgie

Face value, sure seems odd.

If they have some trades planned, then maybe it’ll make more sense once those occur.

The Overdrive guys mentioned this. We might not be seeing 6-7 rookie forwards as we first thought.

Could be as little as 3-4. Obviously the big guns (Marner, Matthews, Nylander) and then maybe one more spot, with Brown, Sosh, Hyman competing for it
- WingmanWillie

Didn't Lou do a interview near the end of the season where he said he figures the roster would change by up to 50%?

Gotta think maybe 5 rookies and a few ufas....

The Overdrive guys mentioned this. We might not be seeing 6-7 rookie forwards as we first thought.

Could be as little as 3-4. Obviously the big guns (Marner, Matthews, Nylander) and then maybe one more spot, with Brown, Sosh, Hyman competing for it
- WingmanWillie

As sad as it is to say, we might have to package a couple of these guys to address other needs. There just isn't enough space for all of them. A good problem to have I suppose. The trick is trying to figure out which ones will be true impactful NHLers. We don't want to have another Pogge/Rask situation.

The looming expansion draft will definitely help us in that regard. Teams will need to unload established exposable NHLers for younger talent on ELCs.

Jays are done .... I was told
- senstroll

2 days after i said i was getting ready to write them off they started winning every game

i should've said that in april

Jays are done .... I was told
- senstroll

not by me..

way too early to predict if they'll make it or not..

i love the addition of Travis tho

seems like we need a positive reinforcement hump day blog to cheer everyone up

seems like we need a positive reinforcement hump day blog to cheer everyone up
- Lucas.Neilson

Titter Tatter lets get at er...

I already sent a note and a ban to one poster, thinking you can insult people then add a emoticon afterwords thinking it is okay is not acceptable.

NO MORE INSULTS PEOPLE, hope the caps gets the point across.
- LeafMan

Please let it be Spatso...

And if they get lucky the 29th or 30th pick may be decent and/or used to move up in the draft.

In general, I am OK with the Shanaplan, hope it works, but I think we got fleeced on both Kessel deals, and I appreciate how good Kessel was for this team.

Hypothetically, if Matthews can be as good as Sundin and Marner can be as good as Mogilny ( both long shots), then we might have enough of a core to get back to being at least a contender as we were in those days.

Or similarly Matthews as good as Gilmour and Marner as effective as Wendel Clark
- Rang

Kessel had to go. We did not get value for him because his salary not because of his ability. Because of an anticipated rebuild of two to three years, it was believed Kessel's best years would be wasted on a non-contending team. The fact that he was a major piece from the Burke regime and he was one of the main culprits in the salute-gate deal made it more urgent to move him. There were few takers, did we get fair value? Not really - but it freed up salary and there are many good players coming including Matthews. And don't sell Matthews short - he will be the best Leaf anyone has seen for a long time. Better than Sundin/Gilmour - hard to say - I think so. The scoring that Marner did in the OHL this year was sensational. Over his junior career - he scored 1.69 points per game vs. 1.71 for McDavid. He won both MVP of playoffs and regular season. He scored more than McDavid in the playoffs, he was the top player on a championship team - unlike McDavid. Now - and I say this emphatically - Marner is not better than McDavid - but he is exceptional - and I fully expect him to be a star in the NHL on Matthews wing. Unless you remember the four cups in the sixties, you haven't seen anything like this - and I won't miss Kessel too much - there's plenty more talent on the way.

I expect him to be much better.

You can't all of a sudden become terrible. Had to be in his head.
- stormeyAlterEgo

David Clarkson says hi.

2 days after i said i was getting ready to write them off they started winning every game

i should've said that in april
- daeth

Well its a long season...they will be done again a few more times until the season is over

seems like we need a positive reinforcement hump day blog to cheer everyone up
- Lucas.Neilson

I think your next blog should be about team prospect rankings. Not individual players mind you, but teams organizational depth and rankings.

not by me..

way too early to predict if they'll make it or not..

i love the addition of Travis tho
- Arctic_AARDVARK

reading Wilner on twitter is great...if the jays are losing a game...its over..trade everyone

A few of us didn't think we'd see 7 or so rookies.

Some think it'll be a longer rebuild with the likes of Bozak, Greening, Michalek, Laich, PAP, Lupul still taking up roster spots
- walshyleafsfan

Probably makes more sense that way. Promote young guys in little batches of 3-4

July 1st: sign Stamkos.

Then we have to wait until July 15th for more Leafs news, when we sign Vesey.

Late August will also be interesting, when PK Subban informs the Habs he will sit out the season unless they trade him to Toronto.
- Atomic Wedgie

Isn't it August 15th when he becomes a UFA?

seems like we need a positive reinforcement hump day blog to cheer everyone up
- Lucas.Neilson

None better at that than the big dog!

Well its a long season...they will be done again a few more times until the season is over
- senstroll

i was just kidding when i said it but the timing was hilarious to me.

And he's even uglier than Laine

- winsix

Hopefully he at least got out of bed

I think your next blog should be about team proster rankings. Not individual players mind you, but teams organizational depth and rankings.
- systemtool