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Play-in Round: Toronto Maple Leafs (8) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (9)

leaffan2005 said:
Are you saying the timeline to win didn't change with the Tavares signing?
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Tbh, the timeline only really changed for me after they ditched babcock and got a real coach.

But even then, after only half season and in the first playoffs under a new coach, they've got leeway still.
 
All we need is a coach to play the style the team is built for and play the best lineup., Babcock's coaching was so moronic. Keefe doesn't even have to do any great coaching. Just do the obvious.
I'm enjoying hearing the "Experts" say Torts' experience is a big edge. Babcock's "Experience" got us nowhere. He was Cassidy's bitch.
 
JackBurton said:
All we need is a coach to play the style the team is built for and play the best lineup., Babcock's coaching was so moronic. Keefe doesn't even have to do any great coaching. Just do the obvious.
I'm enjoying hearing the "Experts" say Torts' experience is a big edge. Babcock's "Experience" got us nowhere. He was Cassidy's bitch.
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Yeah oh boy us leafs fans are really missing all that coaching experience.
 
zeke said:
Well, nothing less than the cup is ok.

But if they get beat badly by a crap team in the 3rd round that's worse to me than being edged out by a great team in the 1st round.
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I wholeheartedly disagree with this take. Winning rounds to me at least shows progression, it gives valuable battle testing experience to the young guys and prepares them for future runs. Continuously losing in the 1st round, especially in this noisy market with all the talking heads/distractions doesn't help in any way advance this team's development. Now I get that they have faced elite teams in the 1st round because of this ridiculous format, but eventually you have beat one of these teams if you consider yourself a contender.
 
Honestly taking them to game 7 last year in a coin flip series already proved to me that they were contenders. I was tremendously disappointed with their inconsistent play this year though. I'm far more annoyed with their regular season Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shit than any single one of their playoff series.
 
Honestly, this should be an easy round for the Leafs. You guys lucked out facing these turds.
 
leaffan2005 said:
I wholeheartedly disagree with this take. Winning rounds to me at least shows progression, it gives valuable battle testing experience to the young guys and prepares them for future runs. Continuously losing in the 1st round, especially in this noisy market with all the talking heads/distractions doesn't help in any way advance this team's development. Now I get that they have faced elite teams in the 1st round because of this ridiculous format, but eventually you have beat one of these teams if you consider yourself a contender.
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Well we disagree then.

We have flat out been the underdog in every series, and if everyone was being honest they'd admit that the leafs did better in those series than their personal evaluations would have predicted. There should be no question about their heart and will.

The first time I see this team roll over in a series (like the raps used to), that's when you'll see me itching for change.
 
CH1 said:
Honestly, this should be an easy round for the Leafs. You guys lucked out facing these turds.
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The only wild card for me is goaltending. If Freddie plays like shit while one of Korpisalo/Merzlikins goes on an epic hot streak like they did at various points during the season, that could be the perfect storm.

Otherwise, yeah, the Leafs should stomp these guys.
 
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zeke said:
Meanwhile, Boston is contending led by a 42, 34, 33, and 32 yr old.
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cool? first of all you leave out Pastrnak for some weird reason. why would you do that?

Secondly, Marchand and Chara are pretty clear outliers to the norm of when most players produce their best. Chara is simply a generational freak, and Marchand's development curve is pretty rare.

for most teams, best years for offensive stars is right where the Leafs young guys are entering. For the next few seasons, this is likely the best numbers we're going to get out of them.

It's important not to keep wasting those years with round 1 flameouts, no matter how you might personally be satisfied by them. The plane needs to get off the ground here. we've already burned through our star's entry deals and our big move to take advantage of having that was getting Patrick fucking Marleau.

I would like nothing better than for the Leafs to come out and obliterate them. Some of the narratives out there are unfair and just plain inaccurate...but one that isn't is that we're still in some kind of honeymoon phase where losing is ok as long as we played a good team. That is loser rationalizing excuse making and we need to expunge it.
 
zeke said:
Yeah oh boy us leafs fans are really missing all that coaching experience.
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Yeah line-matching and allowing the oppositions' coach to run the show and dumping the puck on every shift and keeping a generational 5 on 5 goal scorer at 18 minutes ina game 7.
 
Volcanologist said:
cool? first of all you leave out Pastrnak for some weird reason. why would you do that?

Secondly, Marchand and Chara are pretty clear outliers to the norm of when most players produce their best. Chara is simply a generational freak, and Marchand's development curve is pretty rare.

for most teams, best years for offensive stars is right where the Leafs young guys are entering. For the next few seasons, this is likely the best numbers we're going to get out of them.

It's important not to keep wasting those years with round 1 flameouts, no matter how you might personally be satisfied by them. The plane needs to get off the ground here. we've already burned through our star's entry deals and our big move to take advantage of having that was getting Patrick fucking Marleau.

I would like nothing better than for the Leafs to come out and obliterate them. Some of the narratives out there are unfair and just plain inaccurate...but one that isn't is that we're still in some kind of honeymoon phase where losing is ok as long as we played a good team. That is loser rationalizing excuse making and we need to expunge it.
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Mmm. The idea that a core led by sub 25yr olds only has a few years to win is......wrong.
 
CH1 said:
Honestly, this should be an easy round for the Leafs. You guys lucked out facing these turds.
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Eh i don't think luck has anything to do with it - facing the habs isles panthers etc would have been at least as easy.
 
The Leafs are a -155 favorite, which in the betting world is very minuscule. They are telling the public that it is basically a toss up with the Leafs as a slight favorite.
 
I just looked at the SN picks. Leafs get more votes there. But they seem to not be including some that work for them who's Blue Jackets picks I heard.
 
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