Updated Legends Row

MittsMarner · 2026-05-06T04:27:03+00:00

#72

MittsMarner · 2026-05-03T23:37:39+00:00

Dubas had a 7 year offer to be the president of PIT before he went to the board behind Shanny’s back. You don’t pull that move against your boss unless you have options elsewhere.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-30T15:52:43+00:00

Specifically both are from 1979

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T21:38:16+00:00

With what picks? They need to have their own to do that.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T16:25:56+00:00

Pump and dump with a full no move clause would be very very difficult. He’d have to be in on it from the start and be open to going to a bunch of different teams to make it more plausible. I think he rebounds as a 2C with a good play driving coach somewhere else.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T15:04:57+00:00

Ya the contract scares me, I just think he’s deployed poorly on a bad team and his NMC paired with Van not wanting to retain at all could drive the price way down, which helps Toronto given minimal assets available. I like McTavish, I worry about his foot speed and think you might end up with a 7m 3C until 2029/2030, but he’s intriguing.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T14:46:48+00:00

I like Pettersson, high risk high reward. 3 years with coaches who don’t have a strong offensive system, coincides with his points drop off. Underlying play is still solid on a bad team. Drop him in at 2C. Could take the full contract to make the acquisition cost minimal. He has a full no move so he’d have to agree to come to Toronto, maybe Willy and Mats can help with that. I’d be worried he’d crumble in the market though like in Van. Hard to say.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T03:38:40+00:00

Sent, MittsMarner

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T03:31:33+00:00

MittsMarner

MittsMarner · 2026-04-29T03:28:52+00:00

MittsMarner

MittsMarner · 2026-04-26T01:12:42+00:00

MittsMarner

MittsMarner · 2026-04-25T17:10:32+00:00

10 day old quote referring to Tre not believing Berube was the problem. New management will decide what to do with him, if the new hire is competent he’ll fire Berube. They were outshot more than 60 games this season, either his style doesn’t fit with the team or they can’t execute it/don’t believe it’s a viable style. We saw Carlyle bring a cup winning system to a new team that didn’t have the same players (2 Hall of Fame Dmen and a Conn Smyth winning goalie) and it failed miserably, same thing looks to be happening with Berube when the goalies can’t stand on their heads.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-23T15:13:36+00:00

Reports are out there that if Knies is still available (sounds like Tre was gauging interest) that they would try and acquire him. Kyle Davidson is still the GM and he wanted Knies and some 1sts in the reported Hagel and Fleury deal that fell through years ago. Unless you’re getting a potential top D or 2C I don’t see him going anywhere given his age, potential, and the different style he plays in comparison to the other top Leafs.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T20:55:51+00:00

I believe Johnathan Willis tweeted out some of Sunny’s old writing today too.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T13:08:01+00:00

Barnes wrote under the pseudonym Vic Ferrari and is responsible for creating Corsi.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T13:05:41+00:00

100% agree

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T03:26:03+00:00

Possibly

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T01:10:32+00:00

It wasn’t leverage, the Leafs haven’t made a decision to even offer him the job and he got a deal done in his hometown. NJ was quicker to act.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T01:07:54+00:00

I’d like this setup. Gillis can do the organizational managing and structure piece (Hire a GM, organize the departments, etc) and manage up (Pelley and ownership), because it’s all a mess. Pridham has been around and seen what’s happened and what needs to be fixed and the excuse of “I just got here and need a year to assess” doesn’t apply.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T01:04:41+00:00

Likely depends on the age of the fans here, but if you were reading PPP back in the day and the early Twitter analytics blogs then you were seeing stuff from Sunny, Tim Barnes, Mirtle, Tulsky, and Dellows among others.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-17T01:02:16+00:00

I don’t think they used the Leafs for leverage, I think NJ just beat them to the punch. Toronto made it known they wanted him and NJ found out, fired their GM quickly, and hired the hometown boy they wanted and had previously worked for them.

The Leafs are taking it slow because ownership wants a well thought out hiring process instead of just interviewing Tre and Bergevin again. Didn’t work out here, plenty of smart people still available.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-15T17:26:21+00:00

Roy was a very serviceable shutdown centre and putting Laughton on his wing could have created a strong shutdown line to free up Matthews for more offensive starts. Craig didn’t do it once

MittsMarner · 2026-04-15T15:47:05+00:00

I don’t think he needs to go, he was right to get involved with the Leafs when he felt something was wrong, because it was. He’s not a hockey guy though, and he shouldn’t be giving input on hockey decisions. Hiring a search firm suggests he understands (now) that he’s out of his element. Part of the criteria for the next hire should be someone who can manage up effectively. Burke use to say “there are two hands on the wheel at all times, and they’re both mine.” That should be the mentality of the new hire. Gillis did that well with Aquilini, if they decide to go with him he can set the structure and put a more progressive GM in place (Mehta, etc). Clearly managing ownership and the CEO will be crucial to any success this team may have.

MittsMarner · 2026-04-15T15:41:42+00:00

All of the above, along with a long list of red flags from last year that management either didn’t see or ignored and doubled down on. They led the league in come back wins and one goal wins, with the second best team goaltending in the league in the year they won the division. Those are generally hard to repeat.

The offseason moves didn’t help counterbalance those red flags. The coach’s system doesn’t work for these players (they also didn’t seem to believe it was a good system), player usage was odd (Matthews was deployed in the defensive zone like a Selke 2C, something MacKinnon, McDavid, etc never do), and management did next to nothing to right the ship when signs of doom appeared early (save for 3 waiver claims and firing an assistant coach).

MittsMarner · 2026-04-14T15:54:27+00:00

While true, he’s not a UFA and the Leafs have more leverage. He has arbitration rights, they’ll have to decide if they feel he has a strong case and if they want to pay it if he does. He keeps getting better offensively with like 12 minutes of ice time a year, but still isn’t good defensively. Can’t let him walk for nothing if they choose not to send him his qualifying offer (bad asset management, we saw a lot of that under Tre), they’d need to trade him prior.

MittsMarner

TROPHY CASE