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GDT DEC 6 - CGY @ TOR 7:30 SN

Yeah I don't understand why criticising Babcock has become so taboo around here.

He's a good coach. But he has the "I'm the smartest guy in the room" mentality and loves his plugs more than most coaches I have seen in the NHL. He has done a poor job of getting the most out of the talent we have this year thus far. This all may be part of a master plan, but many if his decisions are illogical and are downright detrimental to some of our most important players, and the team as a whole.

And he's gotten away with it because our goalie has been Carey Price over the last 1.5 months. Once Anderson plays back to his normal career averages, he doesn't cover up the fact that 2/3 of our forward group is playing below their capabilities.
 
I don't see how you can say Babcock has done a poor job getting the most out of the talent we have. There is nothing to actually support that claim. The Leafs are one of the best teams in the league, having one of their best seasons ever, and basically every player on the team has had career years under Babcock.

You can't overreact to slumps/hot streaks. Every team in the league has streches where they rely on one player or another, while others struggle. Thats just an 82 game season of hockey. Now you say its all Anderson, but October was all the offense and Andersen was garbage.
 
The other thing is the mentality of a Leafs fan.

I get the whole "we are just happy to be here" mentality that many of the fans had last year. We just came off a terrible season and there were no expectations. This year is different. I don't expect them to be world beaters every night and dominate everybody, but we have to come to the realization that this is one of the more talented teams in the NHL, irrespective of their age and lack of experience.

Because of this, it can be frustrating when these talents aren't being used the way they can. If we had a bunch of plugs up and down the lineup, nobody would be griping about Babcock. But you can't look at this roster and see how many high end players are struggling (and not just for a week or two) and claim that the coach is not at least partially to blame.
 
leafman101 said:
I don't see how you can say Babcock has done a poor job getting the most out of the talent we have. There is nothing to actually support that claim. The Leafs are one of the best teams in the league, having one of their best seasons ever, and basically every player on the team has had career years under Babcock.

You can't overreact to slumps/hot streaks. Every team in the league has streches where they rely on one player or another, while others struggle. Thats just an 82 game season of hockey. Now you say its all Anderson, but October was all the offense and Andersen was garbage.
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Sorry every player on the team is having a career year? May want to double check your own claims before questioning others.

This is not a slump. A slump is a week or two here and there. This is 1.5 months of our top offensive players struggling and playing well below their capabilities. A lot of their gross point totals on the season are buoyed by the beginning of the year, when Babcock wasn't as focused on giving lessons to the team (or should I say just to the young guys).

Mitch Marner has 2 goals on the season. Matthews has struggled for a while now and continues to play with 3rd line talent. Nylander has been our most dangerous player for a bunch of games now and continues to get rewarded by playing with Matt Martin and Dominic Moore.

The Leafs have been one of the best teams in the league because of goaltending. We give the Habs just as much shit for this, calling for their demise every time Price doesn't bail them out. It has been the same thing here. And the annoying thing is that it shouldn't be because we have so many top end players who are not being used properly.
 
It really is a big hoopla about nothing. At the end of the day we're talking about making the young players learn, and also a balanced offense vs. Stacked lines. And Babs has made in game line adjustments too when he needed more offense. Team has been winning too so why not let the coach keep doing what he's been doing??
 
number17 said:
It really is a big hoopla about nothing. At the end of the day we're talking about making the young players learn, and also a balanced offense vs. Stacked lines. And Babs has made in game line adjustments too when he needed more offense. Team has been winning too so why not let the coach keep doing what he's been doing??
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It's interesting that you say that.

He's had to make so many in-game adjustments because he starts the game with stupid lines. And when the team inevitably struggles, he comes to his senses and puts people where they should be. And the team instantly looks better, who woulda think it?

He speaks about the team "starting on time". Maybe he should start taking his own advice.
 
Over the last 1.5 months (since the beginning of November) the Leafs have scored 2.64 ES goals/60, good for 8th in the NHL. On the season they are 3rd in the NHL with 3.36 goals/60.

Matthews, Kadri, JVR, Nylander, Reilly. Brown, Hyman are all on pace to match/beat their career highs. Marleau is on pace to match what he did last year. Gardiner is just slightly off his career best pace. Marner and Bozak are really the only one that is way off. Both had great years last year under Babcock.

And I don't see how you could put all the credit for the success of this team on their record from half of the season so far. Through the first month Andersen was literally garbage and the Leafs still won, largely because of the offense. What is the reasonable argument for completely ignoring that portion of the season. How can you say the Leafs have been one of the best teams in the league solely because of goaltending, when they had some of the worst goaltending in the league for about 40% of the season to date?

You are literally complaining about a team that is in 2nd place in the East, and 6th overall. The coaching is so bad. Everyone is struggling. Its all our goaltender. There is no evidence to support this.

What is your solution? Fire Babcock? Bring back Carlyle, or Wilson, or Maurice? Thats the difference between this team being a legit contender and whatever you think they are now?
 
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2017-18 Leafs Paces
1. Matthews - 43 goals, 85 points
2. Kadri - 37 goals, 65 points
3. JVR - 37 gls, 59 pts
4. Nylander - 14 gls, 58 pts
5. Rielly - 11 gls, 54 pts
6. Marleau - 28 gls, 48 pts
7. Marner - 6 gls, 45 pts
8. Hyman - 14 gls, 40 pts
9. Brown - 22 gls, 37 pts
10. Gardiner - 6 gls, 37 pts
11. Moore - 16 gls, 37 pts
12. Hainsey - 6 gls, 36 pts
13. Bozak - 11 gls, 32 pts
14. Zaitsev - 10 gls, 28 pts
15. Martin - 6 gls, 24 pts
16. Borgman - 6 gls, 21 pts
17. Komarov - 6 gls, 20 pts

Andesen .922

Record: 51 wins, 28 losses, 3 OTL, 105 points

#struggling
 
Are you still actually arguing that it’s cool to have Nylander on the fourth line for an extended period, after he’s taken his game up a notch? That’s how this all started, remember?
 
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Would be nice if he was on pace for 80 points, like he probably should be, and not finishing with less than last year.

But hey, what could’ve been done? Kid needs to play on the fourth line clearly.
 
leaffan2005 said:
Yeah I don't understand why criticising Babcock has become so taboo around here.

He's a good coach. But he has the "I'm the smartest guy in the room" mentality and loves his plugs more than most coaches I have seen in the NHL. He has done a poor job of getting the most out of the talent we have this year thus far. This all may be part of a master plan, but many if his decisions are illogical and are downright detrimental to some of our most important players, and the team as a whole.

And he's gotten away with it because our goalie has been Carey Price over the last 1.5 months. Once Anderson plays back to his normal career averages, he doesn't cover up the fact that 2/3 of our forward group is playing below their capabilities.
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Infidel!
 
I'm not saying Babs is perfect but I do think he's definitely worth bearing with. You'll never agree with every move a coach makes (who btw has behind the scene info we don't). He does a lot more good for this organization than bad - why focus so much on the negative? And why focus so much on the negative with the team when we're one of the youngest teams in the league and in the top 10 overall? Sure we can always improve but there's plenty of time.
 
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