Throughout the Matthews era, a lot of blame has been put on the goalies, so I was just wondering from the fan standpoint, who was the best and who was the worst between Anderson, Soupy and Sammy. Also who should we be looking for in the summer to play with Woll? (assuming Sammy is gone)

It’s been a fun year. Thanks for putting up with my Wake Up! posts this season. I wish I was still doing them, but c’est la vie. Enjoy your off season, Leafs fans. I expect you all to report to training camp in tip top condition!

/RantOn

I don't understand why fans anywhere, but ESPECIALLY here in Toronto think winning a cup is easy. Just because you get a really strong roster put together, does not guarantee a championship.

We haven't had a proper top tier goalie in... seriously since CUJO?!? Every goalie we've had in the last 10 years has just been meh level good. Same with our defense, always been one or two quality guys short of a full deck yet every year when the team basically relies only on its forwards to win everything, then when they inevitably don't, fans piss and moan like it's the end of the world.

Oh haven't won a cup in the 4ish years or so this iteration of maple leafs have been together? BLOW IT TF UP THESE GUYS ARE BUMS!

People here complain about the media being shit so players don't want to play here, but cripes some of the fans are even worse.

Leafs should have dumped Sheldon at least years ago, we should be focused on landing a top tier goaltender, or at least a solid reliable one, way before we think about blowing this entire team up, and starting a new 3-5 year plan that inevitably won't work out, and fans will piss and moan that THAT new crew needs to be blown up. Dumping an under 30 yo player that puts 90+ points a year up is a terrible idea, what's gonna replace that??

Every year the same thing, fairweather fans only support the team when things go perfectly well. Even after losing 1 game fans were already throwing the towel in.

You can't just put winning everything on forwards, half a strong defense, a barely average goaltender, and expect to get anywhere near the cup. Winning is not easy, or guaranteed just based on the roster. A whole lot of things have to go right to win the cup. I'm really starting to hate our fans who despite living in hockey mania central, don't seem to understand how hard it is to win it all.

Stick with the team, cheer as loud and LOYAL as you can. Win or lose either support the players/team or go cheer for Montreal ffs.

/RantOff

Posted this mid week and a mod took it down after politely informing me Shitposts are only allowed on Sunday. This being a Leafs group I understand why. Probably would be overwhelmed with Shitposts otherwise. Anyhow, on to the original post.

In 1967 I was 13 and a huge Blackhawk fan. They were the best team in the regular season but got beat by the Leafs in the semis who then went on to win the Cup. I immediately put a curse on them while watching on TV in front of my family (who were all Leaf fans) by stating out loud, "The Leafs will never win another Cup in my lifetime."

So far, so good. They might win again, but you're gonna have to kill me first.

Please use this thread to post ANYTHING you want! Memes, photoshops, anything that would normally be removed for breaking the low-effort content rule, is totally, 100% welcome here!

This will now also be the dedicated thread for Armchair GM posts as we noticed that those posts were bleeding into this thread regardless. Is there a free agent you want to see on this team? Is there a player that's rumoured to be on the move that you think GMBT should go after? Are there players on this team you want to trade away? Feel free to post about it here!

Normal moderation will occur, such as watching for personal insults, racism, and things of that nature.

Otherwise, feel free to use this thread to share things like your new jersey, a photoshop of a Habs logo on fire, or a reaction gif to something going on in Leafs Nation right now!

Downvotes are discouraged for the most part, everyone's opinion is fair game in this thread.

Get out there and have fun!

​

Looking for the latest Armchair GM Thread? Check here.

Now that we have nothing to do for the next few months let's talk about one of the most promising and exciting young players on the Leafs, Matthew Knies. We all saw what he did in the Boston series, and he clearly is one of the few players on the team that excels in playoff style hockey.

Strengths and Playstyle

Knies is a big, strong winger (6'3", 210 lbs) who excels in tight areas and uses his size effectively to separate opponents from the puck. He has an NHL-ready shot and has improved his playmaking abilities this season. Knies is praised for his strong transition game, consistently rated among the best forwards in the NCAA at transitioning the puck up ice. He's tenacious on the forecheck, going hard to the net and leveraging his body to win puck battles.

Comparable Players

In terms of comparables, Knies doesn't project as a superstar like Timo Meier, but rather as a very good complementary winger who can thrive alongside skilled linemates. His combination of size, strength, scoring touch, and transition ability reminds me of players like:

• Blake Wheeler: A big, physical winger who can play a power game but also has excellent vision and playmaking ability. Wheeler has been a consistent 20+ goal, 60+ point producer in his prime.
• James van Riemsdyk: Another big-bodied winger with a great shot and net-front presence. JVR has been a reliable 25-30 goal scorer when healthy.
• Brendan Gallagher: While smaller, Gallagher's tenacity, competitiveness, and ability to thrive in tight areas despite his size are traits Knies seems to share.
• ​

Anyone else have any ideas on where they see him ultimately slotting in the lineup or his ceiling?

​

Please respond

Mostly the only changes from the 110 point teams to 100ish this year were his free agent signings.

Their WAR %iles

Bertz 84

Dmi 30

Kling 12

Benoit 11

Kampf (ext) 13

So one solid signing 4 others quite bad, even for low money deals. Minor note but the jfresh model overvalues defense so kling is more like 30th, but still bad. Naturally this is par for the course with a non analytical gm.

In a rough PDO year this team could easily be down around 90 points.

So. Yeah. Yikes.

Kinda scared to see who he signs this summer

Easton Cowan and the Knights are on TSN3 tonight at 7PM. Good opportunity to see him live. Looks like London might be on their way to the Memorial Cup round-Robin in Saginaw.

I think we can all agree on the finger trap thing on how each failure winds the situation tighter and tighter.

But maybe the solution follows that metaphor through fully?

At this point, I think the entire explanation for these struggles is some of the most extreme pressure put on young athletes in human history.

Since 67 is one thing but amplified by the deranged toronto media and a huge intense fan base is another level.

The two key stars having this placed on them as teenagers in their rookie seasons.

Two pretty sensitive people as far as elite pro athletes go. Matthews appreciates the virtues of women's antiperspirant (my implication being he is more human that most sport jocks, I love women's products too) and the anxiety of competition clearly gets to Marner. Maybe someone like Draisaitl who never seems fazed by anything would fare better. But maturing in a smaller market in the shadow of McDavid does wonders too so who knows.

So I'm suggesting that if media and fans just stopped the proverbial pot from boiling things would get better.

Obviously this will never happen, but maybe this input can help in some way, idk.

Idk

I was listening to the Steve Dangle podcast yesterday and Adam Wylde said something that was really true

I’m paraphrasing, but it was along the line of the leafs under Keefe not only change how they play in the playoffs, but playing into the other teams game instead of imposing themselves and dictating their style of play. Take a look at our opponents under Keefe:

CBJ- Defensive team- Low scoring series MTL- Defensive team- relatively low scoring series TB 2022- well rounded team- low scoring series TB 2023- this was arguably the least defensive team we’ve played, as TB was a shell of its former self and their more free flowing style of play allowed us to play at a similar tempo, which is our strength Florida 2023- hard forechecking and defensive team- low scoring series BOS 2024- defensive team- low scoring series

Dom Lusczyn from the athletic published an article that supports this idea of us trying too hard to become a defensive team/matching the team we’re playing by showing how Matthews and Marner both see their offensive value cut in half but their defensive value almost doubled- in Bergeron territory effectively.

It’s funny, because the only time we’ve seemingly see the leafs play to their offensive potential (outside of TB 2023) is when we’re losing by a few goals. Think of game 4 in CBJ with that crazy comeback, the multiple two goal comebacks against Montreal, the 4-1 comeback against TB. This team can dictate the game offensively if the want, they’re just playing a different game.

We’re a team built on offensive talent and while that doesn’t mean we can’t be good defensively, we have to play to our identity and not try to be something we’re not. Hopefully when Berube gets hired he allows us to play in such a way where we’re dictating the style, not the other team.

Please use this thread to post ANYTHING you want! Memes, photoshops, anything that would normally be removed for breaking the low-effort content rule, is totally, 100% welcome here!

This will now also be the dedicated thread for Armchair GM posts as we noticed that those posts were bleeding into this thread regardless. Is there a free agent you want to see on this team? Is there a player that's rumoured to be on the move that you think GMBT should go after? Are there players on this team you want to trade away? Feel free to post about it here!

Normal moderation will occur, such as watching for personal insults, racism, and things of that nature.

Otherwise, feel free to use this thread to share things like your new jersey, a photoshop of a Habs logo on fire, or a reaction gif to something going on in Leafs Nation right now!

Downvotes are discouraged for the most part, everyone's opinion is fair game in this thread.

Get out there and have fun!

​

Looking for the latest Armchair GM Thread? Check here.

IF, I said IF Marner came out and took a 6x6 year contract, openly admits he needs to figure out his game (post season) and added some professionalism to his off ice media interactions would YOU get back in his corner?

While this would never happen, especially based on who his agent is and what happened at the last contract negotiation I am curious if this is enough to forgive the most hated man in Toronto sports?

Dare I say "would you go back to treating him like a GOD"

Sincerely, Just another angry, delusional Leafs fan who will go back to cheering blindly for them before next season even starts.

For anyone who missed out on the 78 dollar Drew House jerseys that were being sold on the Adidas website, I came across this tonight. Not as good of a sale, but still 50% off

https://www.teamtownsports.com/en_CA/fan-zone/nhl/adidas/mens-toronto-maple-leafs-authentic-third-wordmark-jersey/9042112.html

I was pretty against trading Marner. He has a lot of skill that's valuable and he's very good on the penalty kill. He's fun to watch when he has a chance to be creative and he's improved in a lot of ways since he started with us. Also he's obviously well liked by his teammates and wants to be here.

What's changed my mind is thinking about Montreal and PK Subban. I think it's hard to trade someone like that and it looked like a questionable move at best. In the end though, Montreal got a lot more stability in the back end and it obviously served them well. Maybe Marner is just not the guy we need. Maybe we would be better off iff we got a solid defenceman that would give us stability in our own end and someone who could quarterback the pp. Unlike a lot of this sub, I'd be sad to see him go, but maybe we need someone with a different skillset. Someone with more deep playoff experience would probably make a big difference if we ended up playing the panthers next year.

I'm watching oilers vs canucks and oilers are just converting on every other power play and their PP just looks so much more controlled than the leafs. If our PP was like that, boston would be golfing.

https://preview.redd.it/6ru05q2y9pzc1.jpg?width=857&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee9c96c8eb6d6e5783ff0485c7da3dce25f47db8

You guys watching this shit? 🤦‍♂️

Seeing a lot of misinformation out there about Berube's record. My significant other is a Blues fan and I saw all of their playoff games in 2019 and a bunch of others over the last 6-7 years.

Myth: He won a fluke Cup with a hot goalie.

Reality: Binnington was very good but not Swayman or Bob-level elite. He had a .914 save percentage in the playoffs in 2019. O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe and Pietrangelo was the other main candidate. Binnington did not carry the team himself. The Blues won because they rolled 4 strong lines (Robert Thomas, Maroon and Bozak on line 3 and Steen and Barbashev on line 4), they had a huge and talented defence (Petro, Bouwmeester, Parayko, Dunn) and Berube had them forechecking and backchecking like fucking maniacs. The Blues were underdogs in all 4 series that year and Berube had to bring them back from last place to even make the playoffs. If he had done that in Toronto he'd already have a statue built.

Myth: Berube never did anything after his Cup run

Reality: In 2020 the Blues were contending for the President's Trophy and were playing their best hockey of the season when 1) Bouwmeester collapsed on the bench with a cardiac issue and 2) COVID shut the league down a week later. When the playoffs started 2 months later they had no momentum, missed Bouwmeester terribly, and lost. They got dealt the worst hand of any team trying to repeat.

Berube's GM then let Pietrangelo walk for nothing. Same with Vince Dunn. While the Blues were a .500 team and a first round loser in 2021, they came roaring back in 2022. Berube led them to 109 points and they gave the Avs absolute hell in round 2 -- until old friend Naz Kadri was pushed into Binnington and knocked him out of the playoffs. The Blues had to start human sieve Ville Husso and lost. Losing to the eventual Cup champions in round 2 with a 109 point team is no small accomplishment.

Myth: Berube is responsible for the Blues being lousy in 2023/24

Reality: GM Doug Armstrong let Pietrangelo, Dunn, Perron, Tarasenko, O'Reilly, Jaden Schwartz all walk or traded them for futures. He traded Jake Walman and a high 2nd for Nick Leddy (LOL). He replaced these losses with sub-par players like Faulk, Krug and Kevin Hayes (his one good move was acquiring Buchnevich). The GM dismantled a Cup winning roster and left Berube with a bunch of players who could not play defence or play Berube's preferred heavy style.

The roster was so depleted by 2023, they had to claim Kasperi fucking Kapanen off waivers and play him in the top 6. It was so thin, O'Reilly had Josh Leivo as his winger for awhile. No wonder people thought O'Reilly was washed! The Blues did manage to get their hands on one Berube-type player, a bruising middle sixer and former Leaf named Dakota Joshua. Of course, they let him go too after a couple dozen games. He's now playing the postseason hero in Vancouver.

Berube's winning % in his first 4 seasons (before his roster was torn apart):

.651

.662

.563

.665

I don't wait to put 100% of the blame on Doug Armstrong. Five years is a long time to coach in today's league, and the team may have needed a new voice in the room. But I never got the impression from Blues fans that coaching was the problem. I got the impression they were sad to see him go.

Myth: Berube is a caveman motivator

Reality: He's an underrated tactician. Berube and Jim Montgomery led their team to 109 points despite not having a true superstar (or even high level goaltending or defence) because they adapted their system on the fly, moving away from a forecheck/cycle game to a rush-based attack that focused on scoring chance quality not shot quantity. The result was NINE different 20 goal scorers. We've all seen the video of Berube screaming F bombs before game 7 of the Cup final, firing up his boys like they were preparing to go over the trench wall in World War One to charge a machine gun nest. But he doles that kind of stuff out in small doses and he's been very flexible schematically.

Ask Blues fans: Berube rarely got outcoached. He's not an overcomplicated Xs and Os guy like Dan Bylsma. He plays a smart fundamental system and his teams don't often beat themselves. Most of his players loved him. He gets them to buy in and they play hard. He's not Torts and he doesn't play mind games. He's a direct, zero bullshit communicator. If there is one guy who I think can finally get Marner and company to compete like crazy in the playoffs (and granted, maybe that's impossible), it's Berube.

This is a man who has doubled down, triple-downed on his core year after year, even assuring the core last season they were safe. And all of a sudden, after all these years, he has a change of heart?

I think either Pelley or someone from the media relations team told him he'd get skewered by media/fans if he tells them they're running it back, so he's forced to bite his tongue and state that everything is on the table. He looked so dejected at the table having to admit to that.

Brad, however, looked excited and eager to make changes. The question is how much control does he really have to do so?

Let’s be honest, Defense and Goaltending are the real problem areas (aside from revising the core)