Results 11 to 20 of 25
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03-03-2012, 02:53 AM #11
Amen brother!!!!!
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03-03-2012, 11:04 AM #12
Maybe Wilson needs to learn some french. Lol just jokes habs fans.
Collecting:Leafs Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Conacher, Horner, Broda, Bower, Clark, Gilmour and others.
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03-03-2012, 11:22 AM #13Hockey Manager
No thanks. We already have enough of your old and discarded garbage on our team.
Habs fan and collector! Current PC's: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hutson...., and of course...
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03-03-2012, 12:39 PM #14
And enough of your own as well!
We can be basement buddies for the next 3 years, it'll be gre...... terrible. :(
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03-03-2012, 12:40 PM #15
For the record, I am one of those who feels Dallas Eakins was a far better choice as replacement. The right move, the wrong hiring. I expect much of the same from a mean older coach who doesn't show emotion towards his players and can't develop younger talent. To replace Wilson with Kitty makes no sense and isn't what we need going forward.
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03-03-2012, 12:57 PM #16Hockey Manager
And enough of your own as well!
We can be basement buddies for the next 3 years, it'll be gre...... terrible. :(
Heh no. We're going to have a Flyers of 07-08 like resurrection next year. No more of this lottery pick malarkey....I hope.
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03-03-2012, 01:02 PM #17
I think this is a smart move for the Maple Leafs. The style of play they were playing with Wilson simply didn't fit the abilities of the talented players. Plus, it's not "Mister Nobody" they're hiring - it's a Stanley Cup champion and former Leafs player!
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03-03-2012, 07:37 PM #18
So many on here say the Leafs don't have any players. I would disagree.
Good Coaching is three things:
1. Motivating the group of men to play as a Team
2. Motivating the Journeymen to play like Stars (on occasion or when required)
3. Putting the correct players out onto the ice in answer to the opposition players (to be at their utmost effectiveness)
As George "Punch" Imlach used to say. Give me a bunch of Bums, I will teach them to outshoot the other team by 2-1. I will also teach them to back-check.
After all, when you outshoot your opposition by 2-1 and back-check, you will win 99 games out of 100. I never saw a Leaf team outshoot anyone, since Punch, nor have I observed them back-checking under Wilson.Last edited by centrehice; 03-03-2012 at 07:40 PM.
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03-03-2012, 07:40 PM #19
Wilson's defensive strategy was pretty much "stand at the blueline and let Schenn or Phaneuf do it all.
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03-04-2012, 01:59 AM #20Hockey Advisor
What gets me is this.
Leaf fans are upset becuase this team has fallen so far in the standings (after a very good start to the season). I suppose that is fair - but I think the pre-season expectations were very off. I know I tend to over exagerate when it comes to how void their roster is of talent....but consider this:
Who is ahead of the Leafs in the Eastern Standings?
Boston, New York Rangers, Philly, Pittsburgh. Anyone who thinks the Leafs should be doing better than those clubs would be out of their mind (becuase they have simply WAY more talent than the Leafs do). I realize nobody is making that argument - but I have to start somewhere.
Florida, Ottawa, Winnipeg and New Jersey all have superior goaltending compared to the Leafs (and anyone could have predicted that before the season started) and they also have a better group of high end players than the Leafs do. Coaching may have a lot to do with why they're doing as well as they are, getting the most out of 'jouneymen' types.
Washington, and Tampa Bay also have superior high end talent, and the fact that they're as low as they are in the standings should be considered a bigger (league wide) dissapointment than how the Leafs are doing. Not many people would have predicted that these would be their 3rd and 4th place teams in their own divsion, or outside the playoff bracket this late in the season.
I'm not going to suggest that all these teams should be ahead of the Leafs - but I can't for the life of me see how anyone could have rationaly thought that Toronto would be in a comfortable playoff position this late in the season. Yes, the 10 out of 11 loses during Wilson's final stretch really set them back - and is such a horrible strech that it defies all odds - but this was really the counter balance to what was a flukey good start to the season, and a great January.
Coaching can only go so far. Motivation is a big part of their job - and it seemed as though the players had quit on Wilson (I have a hard time believing that a group of professional athletes every truely quit - but they certainly get into a state where they lack confidence and/or motivation.... and this has very likely been the case with Toronto as of late).
It probably was time for Wilson to go. The team clearly needed a change, but the change will not change their furtunes enough to get them into a top eight seed this year - and without a significant overhaul of the roster, they won't be in a top eight seed next year either.
The Leafs have what may be the worst goaltending dual in the entire league. Both of these goalies are capable of playing a good game on occasion (The Monster played exceptionally well tonight, after a couple of gaffs in the first period) but both lack the ability to play with any kind of consistancy. Maybe that is due to a lack of experience, maybe it's becuase the team in front of them is so bad, but has either done a thing in their time in the NHL to suggest that they are capable of being a 'top 20' goalie in the NHL? I would say no. They have only proven over, and over again that they are not.
The defense corps in Toronto has some very good names on it, but it lacks big time in skill. Phaneuf was NEVER a particularly great defensman. What he was good at was letting a booming shot go from the point, and delivering bone crushing hits. Two great skills - but his foot speed, passing ability, and positional play have always been weaknesses. He looked great in Calgary until Robyn Regher lost a step. When his partner could cover for him being out of position - he was fine. When Regher started to show his age, not so much.
Komisarek has been a huge bust. Schenn looked very promising early one - and may still turn out to be a great second pairing / shutdown type - but he's not ready to play the leading role the Leafs were counting on him for. Gardiner has been a pleasant surprise, but falls victim to the typical mistakes of a first year NHL dman. Liles has been good, but he's been good with the puck. That's what he's known for, and was never really a great player away from it. Franson has been a dissapointment, but he was a big body that played small in Nashville - so why would anyone expect otherwise?
The forwards are a complete mess. I don't know if you can attribute it finally getting it after 10 year, or a great coaching job, but Lupul was one of the few bright spots this year - going from a guy that Randy Carlyle wanted out of town in Anahime, to being a top 10 scorer on the Leafs. Kessel has put up great numbers again. After that? They've got the worst group of centres in the NHL (please, name a team that has a group poorer than Connoly, Bozak, Grabovski, and Steckel) and no depth at wing either. After their two all-stars, they have almost nothing. Clarke MacArthur is an okay piece (he'll hit 20 goals again, and 40 points) but after that? The talent drop off is huge. The pluggers they continue to employ are simply not capable of playing better than they already are.
A coach needs to be able to get the most out of his players. The real problem in Toronto was not that Ron Wilson was a bad coach, but that HE WAS getting the most out of his players. A brutal February aside, they were playing above what should have been reasonable expectations.
How long before the fire Burke chants start? This will be the fourth year under his watch that they've missed the post season, and a similar roster next year will make it 5. He's a poor evaluator of talent, and has much more to do with the dismal state of hockey in Toronto than Ron Wilson ever did.
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Originally Posted by centrehice 
