ya well no one asked you ok? so just take a hike

Just Kiddingggggggggggg....you bet your ass it's awesome....no one, except the President (he's a troll) can say it's a bad move. JFJ simply likes to rile feathers.

if it was a 3 year deal, yes, could be bad. But they went 8 as that's how long it may take to become a contender unfortuanately.
- clark_griswold

i did not expect some of the answers he gave to the whole process taking a long time and to get ready for some pain... well we are used to pain..so easy peasy

Great day for the Leafs..they just keep building methodically

Go to Allen's on the Danforth. Nice little pub - great patio out back. And a terrific scotch menu - you can sit at the bar and work your way around the menu.

(Or at least you could a few years ago - I confess I haven't been there in a while).
- Atomic Wedgie

sounds like a bad idea

you're making scotch sound gay. stop it.
- DoubleDown

It's fabulous

Highland park 15 or Glenfiddich's 14(don't see it too often) are my top choices. A few people have told me to try oban, haven't gotten around to it yet.
- Feeling Glucky?

MacAllan Amber, typically around $60 a bottle out here... very tasty

Anybody else hearing murmoring of Kessel to the Habs?

Glad you wrote this.

Whether the leafs big purchase works out or not, it's the fans who are going to pay. Some fans will laugh at this saying MLSE has more than enough money to pay for babcocks heavy contract. But MLSE doesn't actually pay for anything. The fans will bare this load. What will be the payroll of the leaf's management team (and with a GM yet to be paid) after this signing?

Will this new expenditure ensure that ticket prices continue to climb and make it unaffordable for average fan to see their team live? Will even more revenue need to be generated to offset the increased operational cost?

Sure fans want this but at what cost?
- bloatedmosquito

News flash for you, Chachi: working from memory here, but ticket prices have gone up once in 10 years.

Glad you wrote this.

Whether the leafs big purchase works out or not, it's the fans who are going to pay. Some fans will laugh at this saying MLSE has more than enough money to pay for babcocks heavy contract. But MLSE doesn't actually pay for anything. The fans will bare this load. What will be the payroll of the leaf's management team (and with a GM yet to be paid) after this signing?

Will this new expenditure ensure that ticket prices continue to climb and make it unaffordable for average fan to see their team live? Will even more revenue need to be generated to offset the increased operational cost?

Sure fans want this but at what cost?
- bloatedmosquito

It is already largely out of reach for most fans. There is a huge portion of the fan base that *could* afford it, but chooses to spend their money on something else instead.

I don't see an impact to 99% of the fan base at all. Even if there is, it is supply and demand, like everything else and the people *impacted* probably won't notice.

OVERRATED!!!! i could have won gold with Team Canada!!!
- DoubleDown

and the Ducks 2007 team

Glad you wrote this.

Whether the leafs big purchase works out or not, it's the fans who are going to pay. Some fans will laugh at this saying MLSE has more than enough money to pay for babcocks heavy contract. But MLSE doesn't actually pay for anything. The fans will bare this load. What will be the payroll of the leaf's management team (and with a GM yet to be paid) after this signing?

Will this new expenditure ensure that ticket prices continue to climb and make it unaffordable for average fan to see their team live? Will even more revenue need to be generated to offset the increased operational cost?

Sure fans want this but at what cost?
- bloatedmosquito

oh man are people really trying to stretch to put a negative spin on this

sad and transparent

It is already largely out of reach for most fans. There is a huge portion of the fan base that *could* afford it, but chooses to spend their money on something else instead.

I don't see an impact to 99% of the fan base at all. Even if there is, it is supply and demand, like everything else and the people *impacted* probably won't notice.
- Aetherial

like food. mortgage. heating. diapers. gasoline.

News flash for you, Chachi: working from memory here, but ticket prices have gone up once in 10 years.
- Atomic Wedgie

the year they made the playoffs?

like food. mortgage. heating. diapers. gasoline.
- DoubleDown

so (frank)ing sad

News flash for you, Chachi: working from memory here, but ticket prices have gone up once in 10 years.
- Atomic Wedgie

Doesn't matter. We all have a choice to purchase or not. It is not different than anything else that may rise in price.

I don't see this creating a hardship on the Leafs fan base.

i did not expect some of the answers he gave to the whole process taking a long time and to get ready for some pain... well we are used to pain..so easy peasy

Great day for the Leafs..they just keep building methodically
- senstroll

this is so basic it's not funny. ppl can expect a 1 year rebuild, or a 7. there' s no right or wrong. just don't say you weren't warned, you know by the President and coach.

Doesn't matter. We all have a choice to purchase or not. It is not different than anything else that may rise in price.

I don't see this creating a hardship on the Leafs fan base.
- Aetherial

companies buy most of the tickets anyway

What the heck is NSFW? Not suitable for Women?
- Jeropotato

sure...

like food. mortgage. heating. diapers. gasoline.
- DoubleDown

... or just making a TFSA contribution this month and hopefully leaving my kid some kind of inheritance one day

companies buy most of the tickets anyway
- Symba007

I actually don't know what the breakout of private season's tickets vs. corporate season tickets

Wedgie, any idea?

I'd like to think you are better than this, Bloatsie.

We bought Babcock to help us earn respectability.

What happened to you?

You used to be so good at this. Battling Uggie, crapping on the Leafs' logo, making fun of Mayor Ford.

You were like a Komarov, except you had talent and actually did stuff.

Now you just serve up this? Luke-warm meh pie?

Are you trolling in the Habs or Philly threads, and just coming by here every so often out of courtesy?

Your nothing but a Hockeybuzz whore, Bloatsie.

And it hurts us.

It hurts us bad.
- Atomic Wedgie

You answer my question and then scold me for asking it? I think it has merit and shouldn’t be classified as trolling. Everyone’s so busy high-fiving each other and waving the leaf flag they might not be able to see the whole picture. I’m here to bring views back into perspective.

Accept it as a courtesy.

Glad you wrote this.

Whether the leafs big purchase works out or not, it's the fans who are going to pay. Some fans will laugh at this saying MLSE has more than enough money to pay for babcocks heavy contract. But MLSE doesn't actually pay for anything. The fans will bare this load. What will be the payroll of the leaf's management team (and with a GM yet to be paid) after this signing?

Will this new expenditure ensure that ticket prices continue to climb and make it unaffordable for average fan to see their team live? Will even more revenue need to be generated to offset the increased operational cost?

Sure fans want this but at what cost?
- bloatedmosquito

It is already largely out of reach for most fans. There is a huge portion of the fan base that *could* afford it, but chooses to spend their money on something else instead.

I don't see an impact to 99% of the fan base at all. Even if there is, it is supply and demand, like everything else and the people *impacted* probably won't notice.
- Aetherial

It's starting to get a little weird when for the price of four tickets, with food and drinks and cab to and fro, you could buy a 60 inch tv instead and watch the game in HD.

It will be interesting to see what happens to crowds at sporting events in the coming years. One thing is for sure: they have to make it more tablet-friendly.

As an aside, I went to a game at the GM Arena (or whatever it was called when it first opened in Vancouver). so this would be in about 1995 or 1996. IIRC, every seat was wired for fibre-optic cable (maybe just the lower bowl?). They were planning to use it so you could order drinks and food right to your seat, etc.

Great plan. I don't think anything ever became of it, though.

Wait. So we are gonna be real bad this year. I get that. So we jettison the big 4 and our core becomes Kadri, JVR, Rielly, Gardiner and Bernier. Plus whatever we recoup in the trades, some Marlies, depth guys like Leo, Polak, Robidas, etc. And whatever FA depth or "show me" signings take place. Fine, I get it.

Next year we will likely add at least Nylander, hopefully Brown and Leipsic as well plus whatever off-season moves happen (Stammer!!), but then apparently we will still be bad. I guess I can accept this too

The year after THAT, we will be adding the off-season moves plus whoever we draft high this year (Strome/Marner/Hanifin) and maybe even whoever we get with the Nashville pick, but we are still going to be bad? Seems less likely.

Eventually adding these good players is going to result in us not being that bad anymore. I don't get the logic behind 5-7 years before we see any improvement. I think within 3 we are at least at Calgary/Ottawa/Winnipeg levels (ie. where they are this year).

There is a lot of really good US Beer. I think only the real mainstream redneck stuff tastes like crap
- Aetherial

There's a place outside of ATL called "Growlers" that has a 12 foot blackboard wall where they chalk in names descriptions and prices for the local crafts they have that week. You can request unlimited samples of anything before you buy it, which consists of getting a growler filled from a tap. It's (frank)ing awesome.

the Maple Leafs are trying to get back in playoffs starting 2017-2018 season.
that's a MAX two year rebuild (not counting last year).
plan will be to get 1st/2nd round picks this draft and next draft (Lupul, Phaneuf, maybe one of the goalies, some other non-role players).
sign some good UFAs to not become a second Buffalo/Edmonton .
More than two rebuild seasons are unacceptable, especially after these 10y of suffering.
Leafs should be able to do a quicker rebuild than most of the other teams in the league because of the financial means (example: Clarkson).
I can't believe some of the guys around here that say they are willing to accept 5 tank seasons

Why doesn't Shanahan just call the GM search a day, and just become GM himself? I mean he basically makes all the decisions anyway. Anybody that comes in to GM anyway is just going to be a puppet in between Shanahan and Babcock, just cut out the middle man.