higgyfan Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Wonder what they will be saying when the Leafs start they're annual nose dive just before spring break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaBamba Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 11 minutes ago, DeNiro said: Being close to a team that wins the cup isn't winning the cup. I could care less if we're farther away than them, all I care about is that we build a complete team the right way with no shortcuts. Like LE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salacious Crumb Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 27 minutes ago, CanadianRugby said: http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/ed-willes-leafs-reno-on-pace-while-canucks-lagging-behind#comments For an early December game between a pair of 12th-placed teams, the Saturday night special between the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks served up any number of ready-made storylines. There was revenge factor, which led to a bruising heavyweight fight between the Canucks’ Erik Gudbrandson and the Leafs’ Matt Martin, the kind of scrap that used to be an integral part of the game but is no more, even if it can bring 18,000 fans to their feet. There was a sublime goaltending performance by the Canucks’ Ryan Miller, who turned aside 38 of 40 shots as the Canucks squeaked out a 3-2 shootout win. There was even the predictable drama created by the legion of Leafs’ fans in attendance, full-throated and fully invested, creating a charged atmosphere in a building which is usually flatter than pee on a plate. So you can take your choice of those topics as you contemplate the events in and around a noteworthy night at The Rog. But if you were looking for something not quite as obvious; something subtler but more meaningful, we call your attention to the two lineups and what that says about the direction of the Leafs, the Canucks, and the NHL for that matter. It’s like this. Between the two teams, there were 10 players aged 22 or under and three more aged 23. These included the dazzling Auston Matthews, the Leafs’ 19-year-old superstar in the making who scored the tying goal, 19-year-old Mitch Marner, who dominated the game for stretches, and the Canucks’ 21-year-old Bo Horvat, who scored the shootout winner while logging 20:40 of ice time. Gudbrandson, by way of comparison, is just 24, but in this brave new world, he sometimes feels like Grampa Simpson. “The game has changed and it’s happened really quickly,” Gudbrandson said. “I’ve seen huge changes since I came into the league and it’s only been six years.” Horvat, who’s in his third year, was asked if he’s now a grizzled veteran. “It feels like it,” he said, before adding, “Every team has some young skilled guys who are going to be around the league for a long time. This is just the beginning. They’re going to be the stars. They already seem to be the stars now.” But where does that leave the Canucks? That’s just one of the questions that’s going to be answered this season as they continue their makeover, but the images from Saturday night were telling. There were long stretches in the nationally televised tilt in which the Canucks were simply overmatched. True, they had things under control for the first half of the game, opening a 2-0 lead with some tidy work. But after the Leafs’ James van Riemsdyk scored on a power play midway through the second frame, the ice was tilted to an illogical degree. Over the third period and overtime the Canucks were outshot 18-5. Matthews had five shots, including the tying goal. Marner had four. JVR had six. And there were another 20 shots that missed the net. “We had lots of open nets,” said Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. “We just didn’t shoot it in.” Oh. “We have a lot of good young players who are starting to come,” Babcock continued. “We have eight rookies. That’s a lot of rookies. We’re trying to hold them accountable, catching them doing it right and make sure they know they right way to do it.” The Leafs, moreover, are just a couple of years down this path, but already look to be far ahead of the Canucks. OK, this year’s draft lottery helped their rebuild immeasurably, and you’re invited to contemplate the role blind luck plays in these endeavours. The Leafs’ went into the lotto with a 20 per cent chance of drawing the first pick. The Canucks were 11.5 for first overall and 11.4 for second. Put Matthews or Patrik Laine in their lineup today and it changes everything for this franchise. But it’s the Leafs with the Golden Child while the Canucks try to hammer away at their renovation; hoping they can make incremental gains throughout the lineup, hoping they can get get lucky with a couple of big things. It’s possible, one supposes, and there are some encouraging signs this year. Troy Stecher has been a revelation. Nikita Tryamkin has solidified his place in the lineup. Those two players change the entire look of the blueline, which isn’t a bad place to start. But it’s not enough, not based on what we saw on Saturday night, not based on what’s going on in so many cities around the NHL. After a half century, it finally looks like the Leafs’ day is coming. In Vancouver, we wait. You mean reading the first 2 pages of the Province means a thread with what kind of relevance? Yeah. Exactly none. Get over yourself CR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 3 minutes ago, LaBamba said: Like LE? He's hardly going to keep us from drafting high. More like a stop gap so that we don't have to force Virtanen onto the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaBamba Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 8 minutes ago, DeNiro said: He's hardly going to keep us from drafting high. More like a stop gap so that we don't have to force Virtanen onto the roster. A 6x6 stop gap?! Hahah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6YPE Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 By all accounts the Leafs should be miles ahead of the Canucks, since they've been sitting at the bottom of the pile since, well... forever. To compare them makes no sense, the leafs have been at their "rebuild" stage for much, much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Hmmm....6-3-1 in the last 10 games while Tanev, Rodin, Edler, and Hansen are injured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOgRook Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 39 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said: Well, to be fair, Nylander certainly knows how to jump out of the way of a moving puck We're 1 point behind the Leaves, with superior D and goalie prospects. Yes we need top 6 help, which can come from the draft in the 1st round, later round draft luck/skilled scouting (like Benn e.g.,), trades and free agency. Only one option requires tanking. You have to be really good to have something named after you! "The double flamingo" will be eternally know as the "Nylander" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckels Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 How can ed willes possibly compare the leafs to the Canucks in rebuilding? We just started and the leafs have been crap for years. How many top picks have they had. So don't compare to two when you already know this is francises at two different stages ugh. Get it together willes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 1 hour ago, Alflives said: Oh I agree. The Leafs have some very skilled offence minded forwards, but their defence is horrible. They are building backwards. I like how JB has established an excellent you d d corpse for us first. "D corpse" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Maybe they would have been far ahead if they didn't sell the farm to get Kessel? Hamilton and Seguin would look pretty good right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toews Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 43 minutes ago, Salacious Crumb said: You mean reading the first 2 pages of the Province means a thread with what kind of relevance? Yeah. Exactly none. Get over yourself CR. The article has a good point. Does anyone see any difference between the 6-3 loss vs the 3-2 win against Toronto aside from Ryan Miller stopping more pucks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Hey, Toronto...plan the parade. Again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebreh Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 the leafs were 'rebuilding' when we were making runs at the Cup from 2009-2012.... they are still rebuilding and if they hadn't sucked enough to get the top pick, their best player would be Marner.... and despite getting the next Messiah, they are only 1 point ahead of the rebuilding Canucks team thats 'lagging' behind. what a joke. i keep hearing that we don't have any future.. add Demko, Joulevi, Boeser and Lockwood to our already young group of Tryamkin, Stetcher, Hutton, Granlund, Beartschi, Horvat you can't tell me we dont have a future. And IF we are lucky enough to get the lottery pick, add Liljeren or Patrick to that core it will speed up our rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blömqvist Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 1 hour ago, S'all Good Man said: Well, to be fair, Nylander certainly knows how to jump out of the way of a moving puck We're 1 point behind the Leaves, with superior D and goalie prospects. Yes we need top 6 help, which can come from the draft in the 1st round, later round draft luck/skilled scouting (like Benn e.g.,), trades and free agency. Only one option requires tanking. I'm not too worried about our offense. We can fill the wings quite easily with UFAs. The one position we do need however is a #1C, which we will very likely only be able to get at the draft. I do believe that Horvat can develop into that #1C role, but we should draft for it anyways so that if Horvat does develop into a #1C we can have an excellent one-two punch down the middle with Sutter taking care of shutdown responsibilities on the third line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 What a powerhouse they are with their 10 wins. WITH the number one pick who scores 4 goals and they still lose. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 What a piece of crap article. The leafs have been either rebuilding or tearing it down so they can "rebuild properly" for at least a decade. Now they'll have to unload a couple of their gem forwards for good young D, they'll have a "lockerroom cancer", Matthews will demand a trade and then they'll just go tear it all down again and rebuild. Pffft. Toronto. How lame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logic Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 What success to the leafs have to prove that their rebuild is ahead of pace..? Typical laffs counting their chickens before they hatch. Remember when Kadri and Schenn were the next all stars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solinar Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 We've been 'retooling' for a few years now, trying to be competitive and tough to play against. Basically, 3 years into a rebuild. Toronto had to reset their rebuild to do it again, and they're the ones better than us. Who would have thought, you lose for as many years as the oilers, but because you have all the media behind the Shanaplan, your way is right and we're wrong because we aren't ahead of them with almost a decade less to stockpile young talent from the draft. Oh, and didn't we have our top pairing on the shelf, and a few forwards injured to top it all off? Good job, Leafs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 A bit of a stretch here but the Leafs have been rebuilding my entire lifetime, we needn't to worry until around 2050. Thankyou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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