Bunting will almost certainly be signed by the Leafs. Toronto boy and his GF works for the Leafs. Ideally he’ll be on the 2nd or 3rd line. Models his game after Marchand.

Bunting-Matthews-Marner vs Meier-Matthews-Reinhart
- Steven_Seagull

Meier's QO is *checks numbers again* 10M.

Still, I like the kid for 2 years @ 6M.

Point v Marner

Regular Season
Point 351GP 310Pts
Marner 355GP 358Pts ....

Post Season
Point 59GP 66Pts
Marner 32GP 24Pts ....

There is no secret ...Matty and Marner need to find their inner Kuch and Point.

And you gotta like Goodrow-Gourde-Coleman a lot more than Mikky-Engv-Simmonds

Roll with the big 4 ..ok, but that 3rd line has to be much better.
- The Law

Can’t afford a better 3rd line, though. Or a better top-4 D. Can’t really do anything except swap meh players with other meh players…

Meier's QO is *checks numbers again* 10M.

Still, I like the kid for 2 years @ 6M.
- mjones242

Still cheaper than Marner

Point v Marner

Regular Season
Point 351GP 310Pts
Marner 355GP 358Pts ....

Post Season
Point 59GP 66Pts
Marner 32GP 24Pts ....

There is no secret ...Matty and Marner need to find their inner Kuch and Point.

And you gotta like Goodrow-Gourde-Coleman a lot more than Mikky-Engv-Simmonds

Roll with the big 4 ..ok, but that 3rd line has to be much better.
- The Law

That's why I've advocated for the Leafs to have a sledgehammer line. It makes everyone else's job easier. But if you're paying 4 players 40 mil. Add the 3 5 mil defenseman and it's 7 making 55 mil. This leaves 26.5 mil for 15 players. Tough to add quality depth to your roster and sign a good goalie.

3-0 Tampa

17-5 shots

Still have 4:23 in the 1st
- Steven_Seagull

Ken Holland always said this. There's not much separating teams. You just have to get in (the Playoffs) and you can go on a run and win it (The Cup). It's partially true. Looking at what Montreal is doing. You make your own breaks. You're more "lucky" if you're playing hard.

But if Tampa wins the Cup again is it because of talent or luck? Even the 98 Cup winning Red Wings needed Esa Tikkanen to miss a wide open net in game 2 to win that game.
- gergeswillems

I don't quite buy the whole plucky team creating their own luck argument. The Habs have been absolutely fortuitous in their luck with gifts from the hockey gods:

1st round: No Tavares. Braindead plays by Chucky and Dermott.
2nd round: Scheifele suspended
3rd round: Fleury braindead play in OT.

Ultimately though, the great equalizer for a lot of these Cinderella teams is simply the difference in how games are managed in the playoffs by the officials. You don't need a "sledgehammer" line in the regular season but, for some reason, you do in the post-season.

That's why I've advocated for the Leafs to have a sledgehammer line. It makes everyone else's job easier. But if you're paying 4 players 40 mil. Add the 3 5 mil defenseman and it's 7 making 55 mil. This leaves 26.5 mil for 15 players. Tough to add quality depth to your roster and sign a good goalie.
- gergeswillems

So the return of Colton Orr and McLarren?

So the return of Colton Orr and McLarren?
- PrinceLH

But better

Agreed. And they've found ways to cheat circumvent the cap.

Masterful.
- mjones242

Same rules for everybody. Medical records go to the League offices. Good luck finding a outside doctor to talk Gary into overriding the player/team doctor and telling a player go play and take a chance on reinjury.

I don't quite buy the whole plucky team creating their own luck argument. The Habs have been absolutely fortuitous in their luck:

1st round: No Tavares
2nd round: Scheifele suspended
3rd round: Fleury braindead play in OT.

Ultimately though, the great equalizer for a lot of these Cinderella teams is simply the difference in how games are managed in the playoffs by the officials.
- mjones242

There's no clear cut recipe for winning the Cup. You must adapt or die. Detroit had to completely change its approach after choking 4 years in a row in the playoffs. Hudson Bay rules were the enemy. No one cared or felt sorry for Detroit when Devils players were water skiing Fedorov and Yzerman.

They adapted by changing their roster. Less skill and more will. Leafs must do this now. Dubas' unwillingness to adapt will lead to his firing if he doesn't smarten up. Hudson Bay playoff rules aren't going away. Gary loves parity.

There's no clear cut recipe for winning the Cup. You must adapt or die. Detroit had to completely change its approach after choking 4 years in a row in the playoffs. Hudson Bay rules were the enemy. No one cared or felt sorry for Detroit when Devils players were water skiing Fedorov and Yzerman.

They adapted by changing their roster. Less skill and more will. Leafs must do this now. Dubas' unwillingness to adapt will lead to his firing if he doesn't smarten up.
- gergeswillems

I think he has started to. Plus he wasn’t wrong in the lots of skill can be moved to bring in grit too. Its more just getting the right guys that is the big trick here.

Can’t afford a better 3rd line, though. Or a better top-4 D. Can’t really do anything except swap meh players with other meh players…
- Steven_Seagull

I'm ok with the blue line.

Slot in Robertson and move Kefoot's $$.

They'd have ~ 11M to sign Hyman (or his replacement) and a pair of good 3rd liners.

I think he has started to. Plus he wasn’t wrong in the lots of skill can be moved to bring in grit too. Its more just getting the right guys that is the big trick here.
- Roadrunner75

The most important thing for the Leafs is for Matthews, Marner (especially), Tavares to be tougher to play against. Willie is Willie. There's no changing him and he actually had a good playoff.

So the return of Colton Orr and McLarren?
- PrinceLH

a cheaper version of Wilson from the Caps. ????
a Wendel Clark type player

There's no clear cut recipe for winning the Cup. You must adapt or die. Detroit had to completely change its approach after choking 4 years in a row in the playoffs. Hudson Bay rules were the enemy. No one cared or felt sorry for Detroit when Devils players were water skiing Fedorov and Yzerman.

They adapted by changing their roster. Less skill and more will. Leafs must do this now. Dubas' unwillingness to adapt will lead to his firing if he doesn't smarten up. Hudson Bay playoff rules aren't going away. Gary loves parity.
- gergeswillems

And yet there is a clear cut recipe to failure in the playoffs: soft play.

A key ingredient to winning in the playoffs is the ability to play physical and hard every shift. Not every team is built the same way, not every team has the benefit of a hot goalie carrying the team, not every team can roll 4 competitive lines.

But they all have that key ingredient.

The most important thing for the Leafs is for Matthews, Marner, Tavares to be tougher to play against. Willie is Willie. There's no changing him and he actually had a good playoff.
- gergeswillems

yup. I said the same last year ...this team wins when those 3-4 guys figure out how to win in the playoffs.

I think you need the supporting cast to help them though. You play bigger/better when you've got the bottom 6 playing bigger/better.

Simmonds, Thornton, Mikky, Engvall, Brook/Nash .....meh. Vintage, two years in a row, brought something positive but he was the only one.

You missed the point Joel. I’m not talking about being content. All we heard for months was how the “big boys” of the other divisions would walk all over the Leafs if/when they got out of the North. I didn’t watch a lot of other Division games this season but from what I’ve seen I don’t think the gap is really that great. Sorry if that’s not the issue you’re getting into a huff over.

Whether I find Isles boring is completely separate. I find Carolina boring but they win lots of games.
- Canada Cup

Apologies if my take on it made you believe it was a 'huff'

You really got to ease up on the drama, Bill. Bad for the blood pressure.

The most important thing for the Leafs is for Matthews, Marner (especially), Tavares to be tougher to play against. Willie is Willie. There's no changing him and he actually had a good playoff.
- gergeswillems

I think it will help being back in the Atlantic or whatever it’s called. They need to sort out and adjust in season

a cheaper version of Wilson from the Caps. ????
a Wendel Clark type player
- dmnted

There's about 5 in the whole league - hard and expensive to find.

Marner for Tkachuk (either one) ...yes I would.

Same rules for everybody. Medical records go to the League offices. Good luck finding a outside doctor to talk Gary into overriding the player/team doctor and telling a player go play and take a chance on reinjury.
- Canada Cup

And yet we all know that the Bolts are cheating (frank)s. But the league is desperately uninterested in opening up that particular can of worms. The ensuing controversy over an investigation would be embarrassing AF.

Didn’t Leafs invent Robidas Island. Hard to complain about any other teams’ cap circumvention.

I'm ok with the blue line.

Slot in Robertson and move Kefoot's $$.

They'd have ~ 11M to sign Hyman (or his replacement) and a pair of good 3rd liners.
- The Law

You shouldn’t be, it’s not good enough.

Robertson is unlikely to play next year. Maybe 4th line with Spezza.

Apologies if my take on it made you believe it was a 'huff'

You really got to ease up on the drama, Bill. Bad for the blood pressure.
- joel878

I told you what I thought. You prefer to make a thing out of it instead of responding. I can see why you and AA were so tight. There are enough people on here capable of carrying on an adult conversation.

yup. I said the same last year ...this team wins when those 3-4 guys figure out how to win in the playoffs.

I think you need the supporting cast to help them though. You play bigger/better when you've got the bottom 6 playing bigger/better.

Simmonds, Thornton, Mikky, Engvall, Brook/Nash .....meh. Vintage, two years in a row, brought something positive but he was the only one.
- The Law

There is a distinct possibility that the Core 4 will never be able to put it together. At some point, you have to consider making a change.

Dubas has hitched his reputation to these guys being able to succeed and here we are, another embarrassing early exit.

You would think that locking up half of your cap into 4 players might cause issues when one of those guys is lost to a freak injury. How do you replace a player making 11M when the rest of your roster has to be filled with lesser players to make room for albatross contracts. 🤦

There's about 5 in the whole league - hard and expensive to find.

Marner for Tkachuk (either one) ...yes I would.
- The Law

Leafs would. Flames wouldn't.