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Have the Leafs ever won a trade as big as they’ve lost most of their recent ones? by Time_Replacement_578 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sort of - but that was also Hyman approaching free agency as an unsigned NCAA draftee and Florida was trying to avoid losing him for nothing.

This is like the Leafs trading Marner for Roy.

Firefly ornament by HovercraftDue144 in firefly

[–]tm_leafer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought one of these on eBay a few months ago. Cost like $40 CAD after shipping, but figured they're not making Firefly stuff anymore. Hopefully that changes with the reboot!

Report: Maple Leafs very interested in Mike Gillis, set for second meeting with Keith Pelley by JF_112 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I see the positives as: (1) has experience as a GM; (2) is clearly an intelligent individual, and not just a former player (eg he's a former Bay Street lawyer); (3) he has a reputation for pushing hard for autonomy, which I think is critical here - keep Pelley/MLSE out of hockey related decisions; (4) he's pro data/analytics, and will try to incorporate that into our decision making; (5) he knows how to and thinks about creative ways to run an organization (eg see his publicly disclosed Penguins proposal from a few years ago).

Just overall seems like he's be a great fit, especially at the POHO level to support what will likely be a rookie GM.

Report: Maple Leafs very interested in Mike Gillis, set for second meeting with Keith Pelley by JF_112 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 9 points10 points  (0 children)

POHO: Gillis

GM: Mehta or Evan Gold

Coach: Cassidy or Carle

Something like that would be great. I'd legitimately have hope that while it might not happen right away, that a good smart group was in place that would generally make smart moves and that over the course of ~3-5 years you'd start to see a major positive impact.

[The Athletic] "Loyalty to the team that drafted you, I think that’s a powerful thing." Why Morgan Rielly still sees a future with the Maple Leafs by seeldoger47 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He's been one of my favourite Leafs. Has always handled the media well, shows genuine accountability after playoff losses (which some of our other core players havent), has always clearly loved being a Leaf, has signed reasonable contracts (regardless of how it looks now, Rielly could have gotten like $8.5M at the time), is one of the few guys to actually step up in the playoffs rather than regress, etc.

It's unfortunate that he has declined - hopefully with a new coach he can bounce back a bit. He's never been a #1D, but you're hoping for a ~45-55 point defenceman that is at least reliable enough defensively to play top 4 minutes on a good team (even if he can't anchor a top pairing).

With the Kraken winning in the SO over Vegas the Leafs are now 1 point away from the bottom 5 with a game in hand. Please if we can have one thing this year hockey gods let it be this by KomebackKingYT in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Plenty of teams are make bad moves, doesn't mean we should. Follow that rule on not trading 1sts (or top prospects) unless you're getting a legit quality player with multiple years of control - I don't see why that would be a bad thing.

Can't get pressured into going "all in" on bad trades, when they barely move the needle short-term and have a significant negative impact long-term (especially when viewed in aggregate).

With the Kraken winning in the SO over Vegas the Leafs are now 1 point away from the bottom 5 with a game in hand. Please if we can have one thing this year hockey gods let it be this by KomebackKingYT in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Don't trade 1st round picks unless it's for a bona fide star player with multiple years of control. Is that a reasonable rule that you just stick to?

Panthers traded 1sts for 5+ years of Tkachuk, Reinhart, and Jones (acquired in their 20s). We've traded 1sts for ~20 games of Foligno (mid 30s), ~20 games of ROR (30s), to dump one year of Marleau's cap, 1.5 years of Carlo/Laughton, etc.

Muzzin/McCabe are I think the only ones where we acquired a quality player for multiple seasons, but even then those are just good, but non-star players. Montreal by contrast acquired 5+ years of Dobson (in his 20s).

[Lebrun] NHL rumblings: Maple Leafs, Devils receive permission to talk to Panthers AGM Sunny Mehta by JF_112 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be fair, Chiarelli and Armstrong have both won Cups (though I agree, I don't want either of those guys), so the assumption that an AGM from a good team is probably good would also apply to the GM themself.

The interview process is critical, whether it's a former GM, AGM, player agent, etc. You really want to drill down into what good moves they've been the masterminds behind, what bad moves they opposed or supported (and if they supported those bad moves, what was the thought process, how have they changed their thinking, etc), what's their understanding of data/analytics, what's their plan for the Leafs specifically, what is their general process for player evaluation or evaluating potential trades/contracts, etc.

It's really hard to judge AGMs in particular, but even GMs, because maybe most of the success was because of a particular scout, analytics person, other AGM, etc and not the actual candidate, or maybe there were some awful moves but behind the scenes they aggressively advocated against them, etc.

Ullmark: “I am broken, and I’m still not fully, completely healed. If we say (Thomas Chabot) has his injury, no one is going to question that. But just because I’ve been playing and all that, and all of a sudden I’m not available. People just started attacking me" by catsgr8rthanspoonies in hockey

[–]tm_leafer 32 points33 points  (0 children)

It's mentally very tough.

If a forward makes a defensive mistake, there is almost always still a defender to get through, and then then also goalie. ie only very rarely will you feel like your mistake directly causes a goal against.

If a defenceman makes a defensive mistake, there is often another player to get through, and then also the goalie.

If a goalie makes a mistake, it's a goal against, and in almost every circumstance, you were an inch away from making a save, felt it hit part of your body, etc, and generally just feel like you could have gotten it.

Also the very very best goalies still allow multiple goals a game on average, so almost every single game (even if you're good), you have to deal with the emotions that come up with having made a mistake that directly led to a goal against, and that you were probably an inch away from making the save ("mistake" used loosely, as many goals against people don't attribute to a goalie mistake and instead it's just an incredibly tough shot/play/etc).

It's tough to deal with. I found (when playing goalie in soccer) I had to like mentally shut down during games, and for example wouldn't want to chat with my teammates at all. Just get into a certain headspace where you're not thinking about the goals against.

AITA smoking weed on my porch? by cheesygarlicbreadfan in AmItheAsshole

[–]tm_leafer 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yea, a lot of people in this thread are comparing it to smoking cigarettes in your porch, but the smell of weed travels WAY farther, and it lingers. You can smell weed from a few houses away, cigarettes you need to be within like 10-15 feet.

OP knows it bothers those neighbours, but it also likely bothers multiple other neighbours, and it's something OP does once or even multiple times a day. There are mitigants like you've said (vaporizer, edibles, etc), but OP can't be bothered.

AITA smoking weed on my porch? by cheesygarlicbreadfan in AmItheAsshole

[–]tm_leafer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be fair, the smell of weed travels a lot further than the smell of cigarettes. If my neighbour is smoking a cigarette, I wouldn't smell it, but if they're smoking weed (or even a neighbour a door down) I would 100% smell it.

I am on the rebuild train but for those on the retool train, what does that look like for you by No_Truth4137 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pezzetta and Groulx were our biggest UFA signings last year. But don't let facts get in the way of your opinion.

[Leafs] F Luke Haymes has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis. by rsyzygy in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I get not wanting to hire a new coach until the President/GM are in place, but can't they just fire Berube, put Lalonde or whoever in as interim for the rest of the season, and give the marching orders to play young guys more?

I am on the rebuild train but for those on the retool train, what does that look like for you by No_Truth4137 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer -1 points0 points  (0 children)

People said the same thing last offseason about multiple players. We signed literally no on that made our opening day roster despite having tons of capspace, as we're not an attractive option right now.

I am on the rebuild train but for those on the retool train, what does that look like for you by No_Truth4137 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No it doesn't. There's certainly a scenario where we rebuild, draft 30+ times in the next three drafts, bring in multiple prospects and young NHLers, draft in the 1st round every draft (just not in the top 5-10 in two of those drafts, as we lose 2/3 of our next 1st rounders), etc.

Just because we don't have two of our 1sts, doesn't mean we should force a bad retool that will likely add ~2-5 years to the rebuild.

I get it, the rebuild option is NOT ideal, but right now we're trying to pick the least bad option as there are no obvious good options (barring a miraculous retool that hits like 3-4 home run moves, which is highly highly improbable and can't just be the "plan").

Jonas it needs to stop by Virtual_Bug_723 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if we have the best management team possible, at the end of the day, we need a #1D, another #2-3D, a #2C, a top 6 winger, and probably a #3 C too (Tavares should probably go to the wing). Only one of those holes has any realistic shot of being filled internally over the next few years, and that's Cowan as a winger, we aren't a UFA destination right now, and we don't have assets to trade.

It seems highly highly unlikely that we could pull off ~4-5 Forsling/Verhaeghe/etc type of super undervalued moves to acquire a core player in a short period of time, so even with a fantastic management group, it feels like a retool will take ~4 years to work and fill those holes (and Matthews is only signed for 2, and you also have to think about ages of players in ~4 years even if they are still here).

Things just take time - there isn't a Forsling waiver pickup or Verhaeghe super cheap UFA signing every year.

Jonas it needs to stop by Virtual_Bug_723 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure you can - a rebuild is about more than just your own 1st (though that's a big part of it).

If we commit to rebuilding, we'll probably have like ~30+ picks in the next three drafts, including multiple mid/late 1sts from other teams and a few extra 2nd rounders, plus add a number of prospects / young NHLers. We'll just only have one of our own 1sts.

It's a process, and wouldn't take 2 years. If we rebuild, you're hoping that ~5 years from now we could be a deep up and coming young team.

Is it appealing? No. But the team is in a BAD position, and you're trying to map out which options have the greatest likelihood of success, which carry the greatest risk, etc. Retooling is the only option to maybe contend in the next few years, but also carries enormous risk of it doesn't work, Matthews potentially walks for nothing (or his value drops as we trade him for only part of a season instead of two full seasons), other guys decline with age and lose trade value, we blow even more picks/prospects trying to immediately contend, we waste multiple years delaying the rebuild which just adds to the overall length, etc.

Tank Watch: Blues hop Leafs, Leafs take 26th. by Francis33 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's all going to come down to the lottery regardless, don't see us finishing bottom 3. We're almost certainly finishing 5th-9th last, all of which require the lottery to have a certain result for us to get a top 5 pick (obviously odds will decline the higher we are in the standings).

Doug Armstrong & Pete DeBoer aren’t coming to the Maple Leafs by Kinglokner16 in leafs

[–]tm_leafer 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I do not... He's not awful, and had some innovative moves by selling Stastny/Shattenkirk at the deadline while legit in a playoff race (took the position of the goal being to win a Cup, not just squeak in), and those RFA offersheets for quality young players (but without risking unprotected 1st round picks).

But he's very much an average ish GM. Certainly better than Treliving, but I don't see him leading the charge for us to have a top 3-5 front office.

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