Pittsburgh has been ranked among the top ten cities in the US for years
- Canada Cup

By what? Pittsburgh magazine?

Marner is better than Matthews long term I (frank)ing guarantee it

I would rather keep him 100%
- Dozzer

I think Marner is incredibly overrated, you can see every time they step on the ice together who the better more skilled more complete hockey player is between him and Matthews, and Auston is playing the more difficult position.

Mitch lives in Austons shadow and rightfully so.

But that's just my two cents. 🤷🏻‍♂️

BECAUSE HE WAS NOT BORN IN THIS COUNTRY!!!

American players most typically get back to their own country
- Dozzer

In fairness, most American nhlers have historically not been from the sunbelt where no one knew what hockey was.

Pittsburgh has been ranked among the top ten cities in the US for years
- Canada Cup

Coming in at #50…

https://www.google.ca/amp...e-in-america-2016-3%3famp

who are these players?
what are the examples?

one name that comes to mind is Trouba? but he is not a superstar or even a star..but I cant think of others
- senstroll

and he was playing in the peg.....which Americans have sign extensions there.

By what? Pittsburgh magazine?
- Monkeypunk

LOL

I just feel Matthews is horribly over rated and nobody will convince me that I’m wrong

Great for a couple more years
Good for a couple more
Decent for a couple more
Then nothing more than joe Thornton but ten years earlier
- Dozzer

You may be right, time will tell. I don’t think he’ll age as well as Sundin did.

By what? Pittsburgh magazine?
- Monkeypunk

Top 10 cities that start with the letter “P”, and are in Pennsylvania..

AM is pretty much a Unicorn, not really any player like him.

i think his game last a long time, he is smart and doesnt totally rely on his speed/skating.

I take AM 100 times out of 100 over MM...its not even a debate for me.

imo, he will end up the all time best Leaf player.

You may be right, time will tell. I don’t think he’ll age as well as Sundin did.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

That's not fair.

Sundin's physical appearence has not changed since he turned 29 and shaved his head.

You may be right, time will tell. I don’t think he’ll age as well as Sundin did.
- Arctic_AARDVARK

Exactly.

23 years old and already blaming injuries on lowered talent.

Bye (frank)ing bye Matthews.

I just feel Matthews is horribly over rated and nobody will convince me that I’m wrong

Great for a couple more years
Good for a couple more
Decent for a couple more
Then nothing more than joe Thornton but ten years earlier
- Dozzer

All players eventually go downhill.
But I'd be surprised if AM takes huge steps back before he's 30. There is simply nothing right now to suggest that.

Unless...he gets reoccurring injuries

AM is pretty much a Unicorn, not really any player like him.

i think his game last a long time, he is smart and doesnt totally rely on his speed/skating.

I take AM 100 times out of 100 over MM...its not even a debate for me.

imo, he will end up the all time best Leaf player.
- senstroll

If he stays and wins a Cup, and has within 100pts of Marner, then probably yeah.

AM is pretty much a Unicorn, not really any player like him.

i think his game last a long time, he is smart and doesnt totally rely on his speed/skating.

I take AM 100 times out of 100 over MM...its not even a debate for me.

imo, he will end up the all time best Leaf player.
- senstroll

Your American question makes my point even stronger!!! There’s been none because they won’t sign here so stop getting horny over the idea AM will stay because he won’t.

MM is more than fine and as long as he’s kept beside talented C’s he’ll remain solid.

So dump guys like Matthews and replace him with younger talent

That's not fair.

Sundin's physical appearence has not changed since he turned 29 and shaved his head.
- Scabeh

That’s when he discovered cigarettes and Mia Khalifa.

Exactly.

23 years old and already blaming injuries on lowered talent.

Bye (frank)ing bye Matthews.
- Dozzer

Or he’s been injured.

who are these players?
what are the examples?

one name that comes to mind is Trouba? but he is not a superstar or even a star..but I cant think of others
- senstroll

Here some of the top producing American players over the past 5 years:

Kane
Wheeler
Gaudreau
Matthews
Carlson
Kessel
Eichel
Tkachuk
Guentzel
Miller

None of those guys have left a Canadian team to go "home", and Wheeler, Gaudreau, Kessel, Tkachuk and Miller have either been or are active are happily playing in a Canadian market.

Looking further down the list, names that might stand out: Pacioretty, JVR . . .I mean these guys didn't leave for America, per se. Patches was traded and JVR was offered a metric f*ckton of money to go the Flyers. We didn't even make an offer.

There are a number of Americans happily existing in a Canadian market - Boeser, Connor, Petry, Copp . . .

I'm with you. I don't know.

Exactly.

23 years old and already blaming injuries on lowered talent.

Bye (frank)ing bye Matthews.
- Dozzer

Or he’s been injured.

It isnt apples and oranges. You're deflecting and focusing on a single view point without looking at a larger picture. You have blinders on to make youre argument seem good.

If your argument is that no team, going for it or not, should let assets walk for nothing then who is going to trade for those expiring contracts? Why should another team pay anything if they will ultimately have to let the player walk? Why didn't the lightning trade Coleman and goodrow at the deadline? They literally lost 2/3rds of their 3rd line to free agency and by your logic they didn't know they would win this year so why should they have kept them? They got swept two years prior as THE cup favourite in the first round so there absolutely was no way to know they would win this year.
You made it general and not specific to the leafs and the context surrounding their team.

Context matters. Context of going for it or not matters here. You made it apples vs oranges when you decided to take that away and make it generalized to keep your viewpoint and/or hate the leafs and Dubas.

There are flaws in your logic and you are trying to deflect and say im wrong instead of actually debating with me or anyone else here without blinders on.
- Aaron_85

1. Love the Leafs.

2. Not a Dubas hater at all...not the way you're implying.

3. Tampa lost 3rd LINERS. We are losing 1st LINERS. Apples to oranges.

4. Tampa was pretty sure about their ability to win in the playoffs, not just the first round. Their 1st round loss was an anomaly and the list of their playoff success before and after has been posted many of times on these boards.

5. Tampa didn't let Hedman walk...not that I'm comparing Hedman/Rielly but he is our supposed #1D. So Coleman v Rielly = Apples v Oranges again.

6. DGAF about other teams and what they do or don't do, but letting top tier talent walk for nothing is not as common as some of you are trying to make it and usually the result of a cap management issue. 3rd tier, sure. 2nd tier sometimes. 1st tier not as common.

If you have managed your cap and prospects/picks properly you should always be able to afford you core talent and surround them with ELCs and other FA pieces...and that means forwards and DEFENSE and GOALIE.


Tampa: Apples because they are built for playoffs and have a balanced roster and all the KEY pieces to for Cup contention:

Stamkos - great deal
Kucherov - great deal
Point - fu3king amazing deal, both of them
+++ great, real NHL supporting players playing on the right level.

Hedman - great deal
Cernak - great deal
Sergachev - had to lose Drouin to get him and SMART FU3KING MOVE...trade Marner.
+++ great, real NHL support players playing the on the right level

Vas - REAL DEAL and expensive but didn't blow their load on 3 forwards and can afford him.

+Nice system of prospects.


Leafs: Oranges because they have 40% of the cap locked to 3 forwards and a litany of players playing in positions above their actual talent because the Leafs can only afford them, not built for Cup contention:

Matthews - #1C
Marner - very expensive winger
JT - very expensive #2C
Nylander - fair deal

Rielly - #2
Muzz - #2 - fair deal
Brodie - #2 - fair deal

Campell - #1b maybe a #1, maybe

*Amirov, amirite.

(you can go look at prospects for Tampa v Leafs but we not winning there either)


Like I said, Apples v Oranges.

Sometimes teams are better positioned to let players walk and sometimes they're not.

The Leafs, as they are built right now, are NOT contenders IMO and should NOT be letting any player walk for nothing.

If the Leafs can balance the forward and defense a little better and then are sure they have the #1G to get them all the way, sure let Rielly walk. They're not there yet.

Plain and simple. But that's just my opinion.

All players eventually go downhill.
But I'd be surprised if AM takes huge steps back before he's 30. There is simply nothing right now to suggest that.

Unless...he gets reoccurring injuries
- Fakepartofme

He’s already going downhill imo.

Let me toss this out there

He plays no more than 70 games this season

Or he’s been injured.
- .HOHO.

23 year olds don’t get to be injured in pro sports. If they are it means it will only increase moving forward.

Crosby, Malkin, Perry, Getzlaf, P.Kane, Toews, Matthews, Stamkos, Bergeron, Jamie Benn, Aho all signed for 5 years after their entry level.

Tavares, Pastrnak, Seguin, F.Forsberg, Barkov, Gaudreau all signed for 6 years after their entry level.

And there are plenty more high draft picks/high end players with comparable numbers that signed for 5 or 6 years after entry level deals.

This notion that because Matthews signed for 5 years he's doing it to get to UFA status as fast as possible to sign elsewhere is weird since he isn't this first to do this.

Is the AAV high on Matthews? Maybe, its lower % cap than Crosby and Malkin when they signed and only Malkin and Stamkos in that group have more goals but Matthews had almost 20 more 5v5 goals than either of them after their first three years in the league.

who are these players?
what are the examples?

one name that comes to mind is Trouba? but he is not a superstar or even a star..but I cant think of others
- senstroll

Here some of the top producing American players over the past 5 years:

Kane
Wheeler
Gaudreau
Matthews
Carlson
Kessel
Eichel
Tkachuk
Guentzel
Miller

None of those guys have left a Canadian team to go "home", and Wheeler, Gaudreau, Kessel, Tkachuk and Miller have either been or are active are happily playing in a Canadian market.

Looking further down the list, names that might stand out: Pacioretty, JVR . . .I mean these guys didn't leave for America, per se. Patches was traded and JVR was offered a metric f*ckton of money to go the Flyers. We didn't even make an offer.

There are a number of Americans happily existing in a Canadian market - Boeser, Connor, Petry, Copp . . .

I'm with you. I don't know.

He’s already going downhill imo.

Let me toss this out there

He plays no more than 70 games this season
- Dozzer

What's at the bottom of the hill? A consecutive Rocket Richard trophy?

Your American question makes my point even stronger!!! There’s been none because they won’t sign here so stop getting horny over the idea AM will stay because he won’t.

MM is more than fine and as long as he’s kept beside talented C’s he’ll remain solid.

So dump guys like Matthews and replace him with younger talent
- Dozzer

is it backwards day?
opposite day?

am I being punk'd?