Muzzin:
"That's unacceptable. WE have to find the urgency, the passion, the love of the game, the love to compete for each other, all that needs to come. I dont know why it's not there"

These kids eh.

Barrie was supposed to be the key.

In *theory* that was a great trade. Kerfoot was close to Kadri production and you get one of the best offensive D-men in the league at a low price, giving them a chance to let Sandin and Liljegren develop.

I thought it was a real good move by Dubas at the time.

It simply hasn't worked out. Let's face it, very little has worked as expected this year. It is starting to feel like this is just one of those seasons.

The greater concern is that there is no indication of where the turnaround is coming from. It is tough to imagine this group playing with the effort and heart necessary to be successful.
- Aetherial

Already had a Barrie in Rielly though. Should have tried to get another Muzzin-type player to shore up the back end. With D more stable the O could then do it's thing.

Muzzin:
"That's unacceptable. WE have to find the urgency, the passion, the love of the game, the love to compete for each other, all that needs to come. I dont know why it's not there"

These kids eh.
- Fakepartofme

Lucky for the Leafs that every other team in the Atlantic not named Boston or Tampa are also poopting the bed.

You guy will probably get in by default.

Lucky for the Leafs that every other team in the Atlantic not named Boston or Tampa are also poopting the bed.

You guy will probably get in by default.
- Scabeh

NEW BLOG

I dunno Monkey, How likely is it that the whole team is this stupid?

I suspect heart, not brains is the problem.
- Aetherial

I'm trying to be objective about it. These are professionals who have spent most of their lives hockeying, so they can definitely hockey. But a forward is told to play a certain way, and definitely some of them are expected to think certain ways to garner success at their position. It means that conditioned behaviours are expected to change and that takes time. How often does a forward ask themselves, "Wait. Am I the last man back?" So I do expect the 5-man unit to fall apart from time to time, and I do expect to see odd man rushes against as a result.

Now, that said, in yesterday's game - it was the PK that was particularly odious, and that's a completely different animal. The defense is caught not doing their jobs, their sticks aren't in intelligent lanes, the forwards are not applying pressure in any useful way, and they are picked apart - in seconds - by good players. Holl, Marincin and Marner were guys who I thought looked pretty poor in their PK roles.

Tavares for captain was a mistake.... nylander is soft as (frank) and you already have soft with marner and matthews....obviously you dont see the problem here which is THE TEAM IS TOO (frank)ING SOFT
- CarlitoBrigante

I don't think naming Tavares C was a mistake, who else would you have named? Matthews? Maybe until the whole pants down mooning thing. Reilly would have been my choice tbh but I am good with JT as the C.

Nylander is soft, yet has the 1st or 2nd most net front goals in the NHL? Yeah he doesn't play a physical game, but that doesn't mean he is ineffective as a player. I still think he is the guy to trade for the best return though.

I don't believe that Matthews or Marner are soft. I would like to see Matthews use his size and play a heavier game, and I think he's been doing it for some time now. But I would rather see him play the game he's playing and lead the league in scoring instead of trying to play heavier and be injured.

Marner is not a big guy, I'm not sure why you would want him to play a heavy game anyway. He's a pure skill guy.

Do the Leafs need some more grit? Maybe on the back end yes. They just traded for Clifford and he adds size and grit up front. Hyman and even Kapanen (sometimes) brings some. Maybe one more banger/crasher in the line up would be nice, but not at the expense of a high skilled guy.

You sound like blowing it up is the way to go, blowing up a team that currently sits in a playoff spot.

Do you want to go back to the days of Joey Crabb and Darryl Boyce on the top line?

I don't think naming Tavares C was a mistake, who else would you have named? Matthews? Maybe until the whole pants down mooning thing. Reilly would have been my choice tbh but I am good with JT as the C.

Nylander is soft, yet has the 1st or 2nd most net front goals in the NHL? Yeah he doesn't play a physical game, but that doesn't mean he is ineffective as a player. I still think he is the guy to trade for the best return though.

I don't believe that Matthews or Marner are soft. I would like to see Matthews use his size and play a heavier game, and I think he's been doing it for some time now. But I would rather see him play the game he's playing and lead the league in scoring instead of trying to play heavier and be injured.

Marner is not a big guy, I'm not sure why you would want him to play a heavy game anyway. He's a pure skill guy.

Do the Leafs need some more grit? Maybe on the back end yes. They just traded for Clifford and he adds size and grit up front. Hyman and even Kapanen (sometimes) brings some. Maybe one more banger/crasher in the line up would be nice, but not at the expense of a high skilled guy.

You sound like blowing it up is the way to go, blowing up a team that currently sits in a playoff spot.

Do you want to go back to the days of Joey Crabb and Darryl Boyce on the top line?
- Kinger34

you need defence first and that will mean trading nylander / tavares

you need defence first and that will mean trading nylander / tavares
- CarlitoBrigante

Sure. Trade Nylander for the right dman - if he's available.

You trade Tavares, our Captain, and who then becomes our #1/#2 centre?

What if Matthews gets injured? Kerfoot and Gauthier as #1 and #2?

Sure. Trade Nylander for the right dman - if he's available.

You trade Tavares, our Captain, and who then becomes our #1/#2 centre?

What if Matthews gets injured? Kerfoot and Gauthier as #1 and #2?
- Kinger34

Trading Tavares is a ridiculous suggestion.

Trade the entire team before Tavares, Matthews, Marner.

Fred didnt have a chance on any of them
- senstroll

Don’t watch, just get the newspaper in the morning. 🤓

new blog everyone