Yes
- Zezel

For the regular season, I agree

For the regular season, I agree
- Byfuglien Ate Me

Your judging the quality of the team mix based on a best of five series? I'm pissed too, but Tavares is sooooo much better than Kadri. Spezza is better than Boyle and costs less - and the best thing is he really wants to be here. There will be some changes, and they'll be much better next year.

Nah, trade Marner
Marner for Doughty

Your judging the quality of the team mix based on a best of five series? I'm pissed too, but Tavares is sooooo much better than Kadri. Spezza is better than Boyle and costs less - and the best thing is he really wants to be here. There will be some changes, and they'll be much better next year.

- winsix

Good points. Yes, I’m still very frustrated tbh. Didn’t see us losing to CLB.

Nah, trade Marner
Marner for Doughty
- HenryHockey

Oh no its the Michigan doppelganger of UG

For the regular season, I agree
- Byfuglien Ate Me

has buff stopped eating?

has buff stopped eating?
- Tumbleweed

No Guy.

If Steen has to play - there are players to throw overboard starting with Andersen, Johnsson and Kerfoot.

You have to look at that lineup to see which players need to be thrown overboard by the Blues to sign Pietrangelo (which I am pretty sure they will)

Jake Allen and Perron are possible I guess, but 36 year old Steen seems the most likely. They have to sign Dunn which won't be much but they gave Faulk $6.5 Million, how much do they pay Pietrangelo (hard to imagine it will be less than $8 million)
- winsix

👍

Yes
- Zezel

Seconded

- Scabeh

Kids great. Hated that trade the second it happened.

Same here. Didn’t think I’d ever root for the Habs and Canucks.

But Leafs.
- Byfuglien Ate Me

What’s your take on the Canucks effort against the Blues in this series?

I like Tavares. But is the current centre mix better than that one?
- Byfuglien Ate Me

A lot.

Keep Kapanen. He's a guy that can bring some offense, can PK, isn't afraid to go on the forecheck, and still youngish. Leafs need more Fins and less Swedes anyways.

Kapanen for Seth Jones and Boone Jenner.

Should of kept Kadri and got rid of Nylander. He is playing like a beast for Colorado exactly what Toronto needs few players with grit.

Keep Kapanen. He's a guy that can bring some offense, can PK, isn't afraid to go on the forecheck, and still youngish. Leafs need more Fins and less Swedes anyways.
- MaximusAurelius

Fins:


Finns:

Keep Kapanen. He's a guy that can bring some offense, can PK, isn't afraid to go on the forecheck, and still youngish. Leafs need more Fins and less Swedes anyways.
- MaximusAurelius

There is some truth to what you say about what Kap brings. Except that he's very inconsistent (like too many Leafs) - awesome some nights, completely invisible others. He was BRUTAL in the series vs. Columbus.

The part re. Swedes vs. Finn's is utter nonsense. Keep your nationalism in Europe, ok? We don't want it here in Toronto.

There is some truth to what you say about what Kap brings. Except that he's very inconsistent (like too many Leafs) - awesome some nights, completely invisible others. He was BRUTAL in the series vs. Columbus.

The part re. Swedes vs. Finn's is utter nonsense. Keep your nationalism in Europe, ok? We don't want it here in Toronto.
- fifty__missions

I thought he made some nice passes early in the series and the receiver couldn’t bury the biscuit.

Anyone who has the athletic Mirtle and Siegel put on great final report card on every leaf.

Good read.

Anyone who has the athletic Mirtle and Siegel put on great final report card on every leaf.

Good read.
- Santo_44

Care to share the highlights...?

Anyone who has the athletic Mirtle and Siegel put on great final report card on every leaf.

Good read.
- Santo_44

Martin Marincin

Siegel: What more can you really ask from a spare part earning $700,000? Marincin did Marincin things well enough, even surviving (sort of) in the playoffs. Grade: B

Mirtle: We all bow before our Corsi overlord. Grade: A+

A (frank)ing +.

Ok Mirtle.

Care to share the highlights...?
- 21peter

Here's their opinion of Dubas/Keefe.


General Manager

Kyle Dubas

Siegel: It was a tough year for Dubas, no doubt. For the most part, last offseason’s tinkering didn’t pay off, with the Jason Spezza and Ilya Mikheyev signings among the few exceptions. The Nazem Kadri for Tyson Barrie trade failed to bolster the blue line, and Dubas’ inability to adequately address the backup goaltender position earlier in the year also hurt them. Dubas managed to sign Mitch Marner before the season started, but by not signing him earlier, a lot earlier, it resulted in awarding him a slightly above-market contract. The hiring of Sheldon Keefe brought new methods behind the bench, but ultimately, firing Mike Babcock midseason didn’t meaningfully alter the Leafs’ inconsistencies, or 2019-20 fortunes. Grade: C

Mirtle: I think some of the Dubas criticism in this market is overblown given how few critics there were last summer. A lot of this is based on people simply hating analytics and a numbers-based approach. And is this all hindsight second-guessing because they lost a tight five-game series in which they were outscored by a single goal (minus the empty netters)? Still, there’s no doubt mistakes were made. The backup situation was a disaster and Tyson Barrie had a very poor year. Hard to score well given those misses, but Dubas deserves more time to redefine this team given how much of last summer was spent cleaning up the mess that came before. Grade: C
Head coach

Sheldon Keefe

Siegel: Keefe’s willingness to experiment was a positive development. It showed an ability to discover upside that wouldn’t have been apparent otherwise. It may have gone too far in the playoffs, but it bodes well for the future. Keefe also unleashed the offence to new heights, though not so much in the playoffs. He struggled, meanwhile, to stamp out long-standing problems such as the team’s inconsistency night-to-night. Maybe it was unfair to expect he could after a late November takeover. Grade: B

Mirtle: Coaching wasn’t this team’s problem, at least from mid-November on. Given the situation he was thrown into, 23 games into what looked like a lost season, I thought Keefe performed remarkably well, getting buy-in very quickly and implementing a lot of dramatic changes on the fly. It was a very promising first 50-odd games for him, in my opinion, even if some players let him down. Grade: A-

Care to share the highlights...?
- 21peter

Defence

Justin Holl

Siegel: At this time last year, it seemed possible Holl wouldn’t even make the team after a 71-game healthy scratch season. He was bested for an opening night lineup spot this season by report cards winner Martin Marincin, but he ended the year as a solid, unflashy complement to Jake Muzzin on the Leafs’ top pair. He’s currently the only sure thing on the right side entering next season — an overlooked Dubas win. Grade: A-

Mirtle: Holl was making almost nothing and had barely played in the NHL before this season. How can you criticize what was the season’s biggest revelation? The front office needs more Holls in the months to come. Grade: A

Jake Muzzin

Siegel: Losing Muzzin for the final three games against Columbus wasn’t the reason the Leafs lost the series – the lack of scoring claims that prize – but his absence undoubtedly stung, particularly in Game 3 when the Leafs let that 3-0 lead, and arguably, the series, slip away. Muzzin chewed up the toughest minutes from December onward, and still, the Leafs outperformed teams when he was out there. His swagger, muscle, and experience proved irreplaceable once injuries struck. Grade: A

Mirtle: He’s very quickly become the backbone of this team, defensively and from a leadership perspective. Without him, they struggle to have two competent pairs, which is a scary thought. Grade: A

Morgan Rielly

Siegel: Because he was playing hurt for most, if not all, of the regular season, it’s tough to truly evaluate his season. It was striking though to see his wheels and full range of movement return in the playoffs. Even during the games when he was hurt, Rielly kept Cody Ceci’s head just above water and stood about even with Barrie in 5-on-5 point production per 60 minutes — just inside the top-30 among NHL D. The hobbled version of him was diminished though, and the Leafs suffered for it. Grade: B-

Mirtle: Whatever the injury was early in the year, it was definitely significant, and he played through it without complaint. So much of Rielly’s value is in his mobility and he didn’t have that while hurt. But it’s hard to downgrade a player for something so out of their control. He could be in line for a big bounce-back season next year. Grade: B

Care to share the highlights...?
- 21peter

Tyson Barrie

Siegel: It never felt like the Leafs got close to the best version of Barrie. Even after the coaching change, when his opportunity ticked up, you rarely got the impression Barrie was this overwhelming offensive force — not like his production in past years would suggest. Even his contributions on the power play felt minimal. That really stung given how little resistance he brought on the defensive end. Part of this was miscasting, but part of it was Barrie struggling to find his way with a new team. Grade: C-

Mirtle: Just a complete disaster, right from the beginning. How many highlight-reel plays did Barrie even end up making as a Leaf? I will say that it was clear his teammates loved him and loved playing with him, so this wasn’t a matter of him stinking up the dressing room. He was simply a poor fit, on Day 1, and seemed to lose his confidence when Babcock soured on him early in the year. Grade: F

Cody Ceci

Siegel: Ceci somewhat performed to expectations, didn’t he? Arriving from Ottawa, he was thought to be miscast for a prominent role and showed, well, exactly that. At his price-tag — $4.5 million on the cap — that’s not insignificant though. Maybe the results would have improved had Ceci been sheltered all year. But with injuries and the miscasting of Barrie, the Leafs didn’t have that choice for the most part. Grade: C

Mirtle: I know the fan base and a lot of the media hated the guy, but given his billing entering the season, as an analytics trainwreck, he was fine. Every time Ceci played against weaker competition on a more sheltered pairing, he was a cromulent option; A No. 5 or 6 D that keeps getting cast into a top-pair shutdown role. Also, like Barrie, a very popular member of the team, for what it’s worth. Grade: C

Travis Dermott

Siegel: Development is rarely a straight line upward, and for Dermott, this season was a zig-zag — down, up, and around. A late start, following offseason shoulder surgery, left him racing to catch up, and it wasn’t until late in the year, when the Leafs needed him on the top pair (with Muzzin and Rielly both out) that he really thrived. Dermott also quietly offered a boost on the penalty kill. The allure of a future in the top-4 remains. Grade: C

Mirtle: There were flashes of what he can be, but they weren’t really sustained. Dermott’s played nearly 200 games for the Leafs and I still don’t know what the hell he is. But I think they’ve got to hang onto him with the hopes he figures things out and ends up in the top four in the next couple of years. Grade: C+

Rasmus Sandin

Siegel: He only played 28 games, and was generally in over his head – particularly when injuries forced him into bigger minutes. That shouldn’t be all that surprising for a 19-year-old, NHL first-timer. We still saw flashes of what Sandin might become — a defender capable of excelling in all situations for the Leafs. Grade: B

Mirtle: He was a teenager most of the season and put up a big year in the AHL when he was down there. The struggles in the NHL don’t really concern me given how young he is. Sandin looks like a player to me. Grade: B

Martin Marincin

Siegel: What more can you really ask from a spare part earning $700,000? Marincin did Marincin things well enough, even surviving (sort of) in the playoffs. Grade: B

Mirtle: We all bow before our Corsi overlord. Grade: A+

Timothy Liljegren

Siegel: The Leafs were hammered when he was on the ice — outscored 8-3 in just over 100 5-on-5 minutes, with a 37 percent expected goals mark. And that was with sheltered third pair assignments. He was only 20 (he turned 21 in April) and playing his first NHL games, so making any firm declarations on his future feels unwise. But the question mark sitting beside his name definitely got a little bigger this season. Grade: C

Mirtle: His audition with the Leafs was pretty much a mess. At this point, I can’t see him becoming much more than a third-pair depth D, but that’s not that out of line with previous expectations, to be honest. Grade: Incomplete