-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Official NHL Offseason Thread of LOL Leafs and other loser teams in memory of Manics
- Thread starter R_GILL
- Start date
- Status
leafs are going to be crazy good in 2 years
bozak, kadri, kessel, grabovski, kulemin, stalberg, mitchell, hagman, hanson, tlusty (if he ever gets his NHL game settled down)
mind you a couple of those might be gone - but these are almost all developing players besides hagman
if the leafs can keep working on these players, and they keep improving... you might see a powerhouse offensive team emerge - though the leafs will get slammed into the wall with cap troubles in a few years.. but the team definitely has HUGE potential up front
bozak, kadri, kessel, grabovski, kulemin, stalberg, mitchell, hagman, hanson, tlusty (if he ever gets his NHL game settled down)
mind you a couple of those might be gone - but these are almost all developing players besides hagman
if the leafs can keep working on these players, and they keep improving... you might see a powerhouse offensive team emerge - though the leafs will get slammed into the wall with cap troubles in a few years.. but the team definitely has HUGE potential up front
KernelPanic
Member
Manics said:
I keep hearing that every single year I swear .... prolly since .... oh ... 1967 :lol
Dr.Guru of Peru
played the long game
That's a great point, because the Leafs have finished in the bottom 10 every year since 1967.KernelPanic said:
Robert-GCA
Member
Van has at least their top line playing which includes the twins. SJ rarely puts in their 2nd line which is their best line tonight. I was expecting Van to win, but this is pretty sad.Fixed1979 said:
DevelopmentArrested
Banned
leafs aren't winning shit in the next 5 years.. why throw away your top picks. stupid. i can't wait for the mouthbreathers to call into leafs talk this season: it's gonna be hilarious as always.
KernelPanic
Member
Dr.Guru of Peru said:
No but every year I hear I hear the Leafs are going to make the playoffs and take the Cup(even when the team is the last as last year's or worse).
Mike Works
Member
he must love it too considering he wasn't playingFixed1979 said:
"hey, free points!"
KernelPanic
Member
OnPoint said:
Yeah that's true. We'll have to see what happens, will definately be an interesting season.
Mike Works
Member
this is kind of a "no shit, mike" reply, but the earliest is tomorrow's gameSocreges said:
his back has been improving on schedule, and he'd said that he was targeting tomorrow's saturday game at the beginning of the week, so hopefully we seem him in action tomorrow
so stoked about shirokov though
ForzaItalia
Banned
OnPoint said:
That's the thing. Just look at their roster at the end of last season versus what it is now. It's like night and day.
Love or hate the Leafs, there's no denying that Burke has certainly started to steer them in the right direction.
CrazedArabMan
Member
Going to the Detroit vs Buffalo pre-season game tonight at the Joe, should be fun, Go Wings!
Dr.Guru of Peru
played the long game
That's bullshit.KernelPanic said:
This team is easily better than last years squad. Coming into last season every leaf fan was expecting the team to finish dead last and drafting tavares. There's no way any of those picks are to 10.
Kessel trade makes sense for both teams I think. Boston couldn't keep Kessel (and he didn't really want to stay according to some Boston newspapers) but 2 first rounders alone is almost unheard of these days, so 3 picks for him is not that bad at all. I doubt the Leafs will be truly awful to the point of getting in the lottery but there are unlikely to be a playoff team at least one of the next two years so Boston having mid-first round picks helps them tremendously. There is nothing more helpful to an elite team looking to make a trade deadline move with a non-contending team for a good rental player; if the Bruins need a dman or something late in the year they can dangle an extra first rounder to get nearly any upcoming FA on the market. Most 'rental' guys at the trade deadline going to playoff teams are traded for 2nd rounders or worse.
Toronto gives up picks to get a highly skilled young sniper. Leafs have all the money in the world and plenty of cap space and use it to slightly overpay Kessel but have him locked up for 5 years and could improve greatly as a team in the next couple of years.
Toronto gives up picks to get a highly skilled young sniper. Leafs have all the money in the world and plenty of cap space and use it to slightly overpay Kessel but have him locked up for 5 years and could improve greatly as a team in the next couple of years.
funkmastergeneral
Banned
Great trade for the Bruins. There was no way this Kessel situation was going to work out with them keeping him, so to get 2 first rounders and a 2nd is fantastic. I can't wait to see Lucic blow him up in their first meeting.
Provided Bergeron returns to form (word is he's looking great at training camp) and Blake Wheeler can keep improving, the loss of Kessel is not that big.
Edit: Hopefully he Leafs don't continue their trend of failing just enough to miss the playoffs, but not enough to get an impact player in the draft. I want a top 10 pick next year!
Provided Bergeron returns to form (word is he's looking great at training camp) and Blake Wheeler can keep improving, the loss of Kessel is not that big.
Edit: Hopefully he Leafs don't continue their trend of failing just enough to miss the playoffs, but not enough to get an impact player in the draft. I want a top 10 pick next year!
Toronto might make the playoffs this year.
There are a lot of crappy teams in the East (Islanders, Panthers, Thrashers) and a few teams who lost more than they gained this summer (Devils, Sens) and a few teams who had huge turnover and MIGHT improve (Leafs, Habs). It's gonna be tight. The Caps, Flyers, Bruins, and Pens are gonna murder the rest of the conference.
There are a lot of crappy teams in the East (Islanders, Panthers, Thrashers) and a few teams who lost more than they gained this summer (Devils, Sens) and a few teams who had huge turnover and MIGHT improve (Leafs, Habs). It's gonna be tight. The Caps, Flyers, Bruins, and Pens are gonna murder the rest of the conference.
yankeeforever2
Member
So how bout them Rangers..................really I don't follow off season hockey, they good sucks same?
KernelPanic
Member
Pochacco said:
Sorry but Sens are a better team this year.
I too think that Toronto can make the playoffs this season, but I feel that they're gonna rely too heavily on Kessel for the goal scoring, he's like the only guy on the team that can score on a somewhat consistent basis.
All we really know is that 2 first rounders is a pretty big price to pay so the Leafs basically have to make the playoffs. Imagine if the Leafs came dead last, Hall on Boston would be insane :lol
It depends on if Gaborik can stay healthy, which I doubt since the closest the guy has come to playing a full season was 81 games 6 years ago.
edit:
In goaltending yes, their defence is basically the same IMO and probably will stay like that until Karlsson, Weircioch and Cowen are ready for prime time duties. In the offence, well losing Heatley's gonna hurt but a lot depends on how well Kovalev and Michalek play and gel in with Spezza and Alfie. If the preseason is anything to go by, I think Spezza's gonna have a big year because he's skating way faster than he has ever skated.
All we really know is that 2 first rounders is a pretty big price to pay so the Leafs basically have to make the playoffs. Imagine if the Leafs came dead last, Hall on Boston would be insane :lol
yankeeforever2 said:
It depends on if Gaborik can stay healthy, which I doubt since the closest the guy has come to playing a full season was 81 games 6 years ago.
edit:
KernelPanic said:
In goaltending yes, their defence is basically the same IMO and probably will stay like that until Karlsson, Weircioch and Cowen are ready for prime time duties. In the offence, well losing Heatley's gonna hurt but a lot depends on how well Kovalev and Michalek play and gel in with Spezza and Alfie. If the preseason is anything to go by, I think Spezza's gonna have a big year because he's skating way faster than he has ever skated.
KernelPanic
Member
GSG Flash said:
Yeah we're definately better in the net.
Defense is the only problem, we'll prolly trade for a defenseman during the year depending on how things go. Karlsson will probably make the team, he's looking good. Cowen looked good for his 1st NHL game after not playing since Feb. and coming off a big injury.
Going by last year's numbers, Kovy and Michalek will make up for Dany Heatless' goalcount. Cheechoo is the dark horse but I think he can do way better than last year, he won't be playing on a checking line here either.
Spezza looked real good last night, I barely recognized him.
KingHenrik30
Member
yankeeforever2 said:
Havn't won a preseason game yet but Lundy looks sharp and Gilroy looks impressive
Manics said:
Boston already has a strong team... The loss of Kessel hurts them, but I think they can replace him. I doubt they hold onto those picks... They will deal them at the deadline for a big time player...
Just food for conversation for Pens fans... would you have taken the deal Toronto offered up for Jordan Staal?
I honestly don't know... it would have been very tempting.
EDIT: before i get grilled, let me paraphase by saying I think Kessel may be a better player then Staal? (but how much does that locker room stuff factor into things?)
I don't know where this talk about our scoring problems is coming from. The Leafs may not have had a top level scorer last year, but we finished tenth in the league in goals scored last year @ 244. The problem was that we finished dead fucking last in GA @ 286 which equates to a 3.43 GAA, yuck... <_<
But now that Burke has solidified our toughness and D-core this off-season, hopefully we don't have a repeat of that dreadful performance this season. We're also obviously hoping that Vesa rebounds or DA MONSTAH steps in and impresses. But it obviously remains to be seen if either of those things will happen.
But now that Burke has solidified our toughness and D-core this off-season, hopefully we don't have a repeat of that dreadful performance this season. We're also obviously hoping that Vesa rebounds or DA MONSTAH steps in and impresses. But it obviously remains to be seen if either of those things will happen.
Mike Works
Member
i love how leaf fans think that adding a pair of acceptable defensemen will somehow negate all of those Goals Against
they have a crew of soft, lazily irresponsible (moreso now with kessel) forwards that definitely contributed to that terrible GAA last season, and will once again do so this year.
then you have the same bad goaltending unless the rookie goalie who just had surgery to correct a heart issue becomes a demigod.
leafs are finishing 9th because that's all the leafs ever finish.
they have a crew of soft, lazily irresponsible (moreso now with kessel) forwards that definitely contributed to that terrible GAA last season, and will once again do so this year.
then you have the same bad goaltending unless the rookie goalie who just had surgery to correct a heart issue becomes a demigod.
leafs are finishing 9th because that's all the leafs ever finish.
vatstep
This poster pulses with an appeal so broad the typical restraints of our societies fall by the wayside.
Not to mention Sturm being back to 100% and ready to go for this season. The guy is a consistent 25+ goal scorer, and the Bruins still finished 2nd in the league in scoring without him for almost all of last year. If he stays healthy, we'll have no problem being in the top five scoring teams against this season.funkmastergeneral said:
ForzaItalia
Banned
Very interesting from Damien Cox.
Preach it.
Leafs win this trade. They got the best player in the trade.
SuperSonic1305
Member
Toronto couldn't even finish bottom 5 with Toskala gone for over a month, fucking Gerber/Joseph/Pogge in net, and with Kubina giving up pucks like chocolate on Halloween. Unless half the team dies in a horrible accident they wouldn't finish low enough to get anything amazing in the draft. Picking a player in the first round isn't going to guarantee a superstar. Just look at Alex Steen and Carlo for proof of that.
- Status