Exactly. Lots of skill, not enough muscle. Beating Boston is not going to be easy. They're going to have to step up their physical game.Originally Posted by moecurlythanu
Exactly. Lots of skill, not enough muscle. Beating Boston is not going to be easy. They're going to have to step up their physical game.
I get the impression that there is no sense of urgency in Toronto. They seem very complacent in just being one of the better teams, not the best. This core group of players will be dismantled soon as they will not be able to pay all this young talent. The time is now. If they cannot knock off the Bruins, there will have to be a few tough decisions made in the off season. I love Babcock but is the message really getting through? For how long does he get a free pass?
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
I wouldn't consider what Babcock is doing a free pass. He took the team from very last place in 2016, to being in the playoffs in 2017 and 2018, to never being out of a playoff spot in 2019. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will the Leafs be.
He's only halfway through his eight year contract and when I look at all that he's accomplished in the last four years, I'm still optimistic about the next four.
The cap is definitely a concern in keeping all the talent. I can't believe they paid Nylander what they did. The guy played 51 games and only has 26 points (of which only 6 are goals) - one point every two games. Then you have a guy like Mitch Marner who has the top points on the team. Tavares reached a career high last night with 87 points. 21-yr-old Marner has 92! Do the Leafs have enough money left to keep Marner? They sure as hell better. If they have to lose Marner because Nylander is overpaid, I'm going to be one pissed off fan.
I guess the timeline is shorter than I thought. It seems Babcock has been there for longer...However, 4 to 5 years is usually the window a team has before it starts to lose talent to free agency. Nylander was indeed overpaid, and that could come back to haunt the Leafs. They will be my team going forward, after the official elimination of the Habs this week.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
The Red Wings just gave coach Jeff Blashill a two year extension on his contract. This is being met with very mixed reviews here in the state. The Red Wings are still in rebuilding mode with a lot of good young talent coming up, but fans are getting frustrated with not making the playoffs the last few years (we were spoiled....). Personally I like Blashill, and hope he can succeed. He is from Michigan (playing college for the Ferris State Bulldogs), and was Western Michigan University's head coach here in Kalamazoo in 2010. He completely turned the program around into winners. He was also coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL (about 45 minutes north of me) and led them to a Calder Cup. I think the guy is a winner and am glad to see them give him a few more years to try to turn things around in Detroit.
Yves- you're welcome.
You got that right. Look at these stats:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970%E...coring_leaders 7 out of the top 11 scoring leaders.
They were done in the first round, thanks to Ken Dryden, who up to that point only had 6 NHL games under his belt.
Well, any question of which team is better, Boston or Columbus, was resoundingly answered last night.
I wish I could thank Esther's Leafs too though.... We're still where we were.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
We are gonna have a lot of Montreal fans on Friday
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Sorry man. It wasn't the way I wanted to see it end either.
So we have to rev it up again for tomorrow night, in Washington, and hope to get some help again. The playoffs are now. Whatever happens, I am glad to see the Habs have got plenty of fight in them. Last night's game was a superb effort. Sure the Bolts were just going through the motions for the most part, but it was still a must-win game and the whole team showed up.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
Give your boys a little more credit...with a win, Tampa had the chance to set a team record for regular season wins. Now they can't. I'm sure they were playing to win. And aren't you guys like 8-1 in your last 9 or something? That's some solid hockey when it really matters!
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
I think it's 7-1-1. But the one loss was that crushing one in Columbus that could have them in the driver's seat instead of on the outside looking in. Last night was big for sure in that, if the Habs do make it, they will have some confidence that they can skate with the Bolts. They lost a 6-5 or 5-4 game earlier this season in Tampa (iirc) where they played their asses off too.
You got 3 really hot teams gunning for 2 spots in the East. Whoever gets in could make a little bit of noise. Our problem is we currently do not own any tie-breakers with the other teams, and we have the toughest schedule. Caps tomorrow. They're still trying to wrap up first place in their division. Just one point could be huge in that one...
Been a fun run regardless of the outcome!
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
Wrong Yves, we have the advantage over Carolina in the tiebreaker scenario. To be honest Yves, nothing personal as we all have our opinions but I'm a little tired of your constant flip-flopping over the Canadiens and your comments. I understand some of what you're getting at but I think regardless of whether they make playoffs this year, not only have they accomplished a lot but also have a bright future in the next few years. They have quite a few guys who have had great years, even career years and have lost 16 of their games by a goal. It's not surprising to me that your "team going forward will be the Leafs". Let's not forget that there are 31 teams competing every year for the cup, not six.
We are the grandchildren of apes, not angels
But only we are gifted with the eyes to see
On days without FEAR, when our heads are clear
That angels, we could be
(Marillion 2016)
Not to derail Kanadian Kvetching! [emoji16][emoji3]
But can we get some moral support for the Red Wings tonight vs the Peguinos! "We" need Detroit's support to keep thr dream of a Cindyless playoff alive! [emoji6]
Yeah not likely i know
Last edited by MudShark22; 04-04-2019 at 05:45 PM.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
^ Not sure what all that's about, but...Go Pens!
Just having fun! And man, gifs are a pain to use with Tapatalk.
Totally scared of Pens! So while Isles may lose to CBJ or Canes, i like their chances better against those teams than Penguinos.
And given there's a small but still greater than zero chance that Penguinos dont make it, the Red Wings need to play their part ;-)
Coz even with home ice at the Coliseum, i don't think the Isles would win vs Pens.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
The Red Wings are actually playing some really good hockey lately. They are out of the playoffs, but have won their last 6 in a row, and 8 of their last 10. Give these young guys another year or two and they are going to be right back in the mix.
Did Birdy just make an appearance?!
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
I haven't had the chance to watch many Redwing games this year, but from what I've read they seem to be going in the right direction and most people in my hockey circle seem to like Blashill...good luck! Definitely had a nice run to end the season!
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Was hoping for a Habs win today as well as a few very hard knocks on Caps key players.
Rooting against Columbus tomorrow as I'd prefer the Bolts to meet Mtl first round but what are the chances now, about 20%?
It would have been nice not to have the Patriots of the NHL in the playoffs.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
Caps can still get Pens in round one.
I believe:
- Blueshirts beat Pens last day
- Canes win
- tied in pts at 99
- if i have tiebreaks right, Canes #3 Metro seed, Pens WC1 (ROW tiebreak)
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Well, Birdy, I have not been "flip flopping" over the Canadiens. I pretty much called it down the stretch. The Canadiens are where I expected them to be based on what was transpiring with them and the other teams in the race for the final playoff spots. I have constantly stated that regardless of how this played out, it was a great season (go back in my posts and you will see that). I am a cautious fan. I never blow my team's horn too loudly. There was no way I was going to boldly claim we'd make the playoffs simply because I willed it so. And as far as the Leafs being my team going forward, that was meant for this year's playoffs only. The Habs are still my #1 team. I am very optimistic about the leaps this team has made in comparison to last season. I fail to read anything derogatory about the Habs in your quote of me above. We did have the outside track to get in. We fell short.
Last edited by Yves; 04-05-2019 at 08:53 AM.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks