Rask kept Thomas' seat warm in the playoffs.

Why no mention of superstar-in-waiting, Jared Knight?
- RogerRoeper

Instead of mentioning Knight you should mention Brandon Sàad. To complete the kessel deal they had to reaquire their own 2nd round pick( which Boston took knight). To reaquire this pick they traded a 2nd and another pick from the next year which happened to be Brandon saad.

Instead of mentioning Knight you should mention Brandon Sàad. To complete the kessel deal they had to reaquire their own 2nd round pick( which Boston took knight). To reaquire this pick they traded a 2nd and another pick from the next year which happened to be Brandon saad.
- jordan456789

So they could have kept Rask, drafted Hamilton, Saad & Seguin..........do I have that right?

Sens managed to win even though they tried to help the tank by keeping Ryan out for a stubbed toe or something

Leafs winning the Tank battle

Sens managed to win even though they tried to help the tank by keeping Ryan out for a stubbed toe or something

Leafs winning the Tank battle
- senstroll

From what I heard, he was coming down with something, perhaps the Flu??

From what I heard, he was coming down with something, perhaps the Flu??
- Doppleganger

officially it was cramps

must be around that time if the month for him

So they could have kept Rask, drafted Hamilton, Saad & Seguin..........do I have that right?
- Doppleganger

That is correct but why would you want to do that when you can have kessel?

That is correct but why would you want to do that when you can have kessel?
- jordan456789

that trade is now almost 7 years old... why cant people move on from it?

that trade is now almost 7 years old... why cant people move on from it?
- senstroll

No kidding eh? Especially coming from a Sens fan. They traded away some youngsters, and got an albatross of a contract in Bobby Ryan in return.

No kidding eh? Especially coming from a Sens fan. They traded away some youngsters, and got an albatross of a contract in Bobby Ryan in return.
- prock

worse imo is trading Bishop for a box of crackers

ZOMG lets bring it up in 7 yeeeers

No kidding eh? Especially coming from a Sens fan. They traded away some youngsters, and got an albatross of a contract in Bobby Ryan in return.
- prock

Really because the Ryan deal is nowhere as bad as the kessel. Bad contracts you are filled with them

that trade is now almost 7 years old... why cant people move on from it?
- senstroll

Well it is because it is the latest, in the long string of terrible leaf trades, and this one does not look like it going to help leafs to a Cup unless he's shipped out for prospects and players who will.

Reports in todays' papers, after a game where he was demoted to the fourth line, and was a minus 4 in a 5-4 loss to the Rangers..........he was the last one on the ice for practise (yesterday) and the first one off the ice at the end.........and was described as going through the motions during line rushes on the fourth line.

So unfortunately for Phil, he's becoming the touchstone for the leaf organization, and his peers at the All Star Game made fun of him because of the issues he brought upon himself, like not training in the off season, arriving at camp overweight, playing offence only, not talking to the media etc etc.

____________________________________________________

It’s that Kessel sets the tone for the entire room. He’s the only star, and as such the de facto alpha. His public numbskullery is a corrosive example to other incipient knuckleheads in the room. And like any locker room anywhere, there are plenty of those.

No one could summon anything resembling a genuine emotion for Carlyle. Twelve hours after he’d been torched, he’d already been forgotten.

Around the same time, Carlyle’s predecessor, Ron Wilson, was ripping Kessel in uncoded terms rarely used in hockey.

“Phil’s problem – and it’s pretty much the way Phil has been his whole career – he’s two weeks on, and two weeks off,” Wilson told TSN Radio. “You can’t rely on Phil … He gets emotional and he lets that affect his game, and his relationship with other players.”

Two weeks on, two weeks off. Wilson’s flame-job on his former star doubles as a description of the Leafs as a whole. To paraphrase one of the masters, I don’t believe in coincidences. I’ve heard of them. I’ve just never seen one.

We can march the effects of locker-room Kesselization right back to SaluteGate.

We don’t know whose idea it was to snub the fans. We don’t know if anyone spoke up against it. We don’t know who did what. All we know is that it happened – revealing a small and increasingly consequential lack of maturity in the team.

read it all at
http://www.theglobeandmai...-rebuild/article22324810/

Really because the Ryan deal is nowhere as bad as the kessel. Bad contracts you are filled with them
- jordan456789

Kessel is light years better than Ryan though. They basically got nothing in return, given the contract he's on. You don't give up picks and prospects for a $7M second liner.

Kessel is light years better than Ryan though. They basically got nothing in return, given the contract he's on. You don't give up picks and prospects for a $7M second liner.
- prock

But it's okay to give up to first rounders in Tyler Seguin (2nd in NHL points) & Dougie Hamilton plus a 2nd rounder for Kessel, who's a MINUS 19 and been demoted to the fourth line




And the day after the loss to the Rangers (he was a minus 4 that game ) he's the last one on the ice for practise, goes through the motions with his fellow fourth liners, and is the first player to bolt off the ice, and refused to speak with the media...........what great guy to pin your Stanley cup hopes on.






Toronto Maple Leafs’ Phil Kessel withers in face of adversity

Michael Traikos The National Post



A day after he was dropped to the fourth line, played less than 13 minutes and still managed to finish with a minus-4 for the game, Kessel arrived to practice as though it was a public skate.

Last one on the ice, he was also the first one off once the final whistle blew.

And because he once again refused a request to speak with reporters, others were left trying to come up with another excuse — “He’s dealing with some things injury-wise” said interim head coach Peter Horachek — for why the team’s highest-paid player does not have to put in the same amount of effort as everybody else.

“I mean, you never want to see everybody come right off,” Horachek said after Kessel bolted for the dressing room as soon as practice ended. “You want to see them working on their trade. I wasn’t very happy with him last night. I didn’t spend a lot of time today having meetings and video. I didn’t show him anything. I just told him we have to get back to work.

read it all at
http://news.nationalpost....d-message-to-phil-kessel/

Kessel is light years better than Ryan though. They basically got nothing in return, given the contract he's on. You don't give up picks and prospects for a $7M second liner.
- prock

Your simply are dumb. Everything about the leafs are better than the sens but yet the sens have been better for the last 10 years.

Ryan is a second line player but your own coach thinks kessel is a 4th liner lol. If that happened to Ryan you would go on about it for the next year aka the US Olympic team.

Well it is because it is the latest, in the long string of terrible leaf trades, and this one does not look like it going to help leafs to a Cup unless he's shipped out for prospects and players who will.

Reports in todays' papers, after a game where he was demoted to the fourth line, and was a minus 4 in a 5-4 loss to the Rangers..........he was the last one on the ice for practise (yesterday) and the first one off the ice at the end.........and was described as going through the motions during line rushes on the fourth line.

So unfortunately for Phil, he's becoming the touchstone for the leaf organization, and his peers at the All Star Game made fun of him because of the issues he brought upon himself, like not training in the off season, arriving at camp overweight, playing offence only, not talking to the media etc etc.

____________________________________________________

It’s that Kessel sets the tone for the entire room. He’s the only star, and as such the de facto alpha. His public numbskullery is a corrosive example to other incipient knuckleheads in the room. And like any locker room anywhere, there are plenty of those.

No one could summon anything resembling a genuine emotion for Carlyle. Twelve hours after he’d been torched, he’d already been forgotten.

Around the same time, Carlyle’s predecessor, Ron Wilson, was ripping Kessel in uncoded terms rarely used in hockey.

“Phil’s problem – and it’s pretty much the way Phil has been his whole career – he’s two weeks on, and two weeks off,” Wilson told TSN Radio. “You can’t rely on Phil … He gets emotional and he lets that affect his game, and his relationship with other players.”

Two weeks on, two weeks off. Wilson’s flame-job on his former star doubles as a description of the Leafs as a whole. To paraphrase one of the masters, I don’t believe in coincidences. I’ve heard of them. I’ve just never seen one.

We can march the effects of locker-room Kesselization right back to SaluteGate.

We don’t know whose idea it was to snub the fans. We don’t know if anyone spoke up against it. We don’t know who did what. All we know is that it happened – revealing a small and increasingly consequential lack of maturity in the team.

read it all at
http://www.theglobeandmai...-rebuild/article22324810/
- Doppleganger

honestly its sad how otften you need to bring this stuff up.. years later..

Your simply are dumb. Everything about the leafs are better than the sens but yet the sens have been better for the last 10 years.

Ryan is a second line player but your own coach thinks kessel is a 4th liner lol. If that happened to Ryan you would go on about it for the next year aka the US Olympic team.
- jordan456789

you really think PH actually thinks Kessel is a 4th liner?

calling someone dumb and then making a comment like that

honestly its sad how otften you need to bring this stuff up.. years later..
- senstroll

He cheers for the Sens. This is the only hockey related joy he gets.

He cheers for the Sens. This is the only hockey related joy he gets.
- Feeling Glucky?

from a leafs fan...............how many consecutive losses was that in a row? and what are they calling the new management approach in toronto now.............."scorched earth".

yup, tons of hockey related joy in toronto these days.

honestly its sad how otften you need to bring this stuff up.. years later..
- senstroll

Wouldn't the fact that Vlad Tarasenko was taken with a Sens pick, and they got virtually nothing in return for that, also be relevant, and more recent? Tarasenko would be the Sens best forward by a country mile. Arguably their best player.

Wouldn't the fact that Vlad Tarasenko was taken with a Sens pick, and they got virtually nothing in return for that, also be relevant, and more recent? Tarasenko would be the Sens best forward by a country mile. Arguably their best player.
- prock

poor prock............at least your trolling used to be funny, and somewhat relevant...........now it's just sad and weak.

poor prock............at least your trolling used to be funny, and somewhat relevant...........now it's just sad and weak.
- sensarmy_11

Trolling? How so? Are you saying Vlad Tarasenko wasn't taken with the Sens pick?

Tarasenko, one of the top young forwards in the league, was traded for Rundblad, who had promise, not looking good, who was then traded for Turris, a third line forward.

There isn't a GM in the league that would trade Tarasenko for Turris. Not remotely close. Tarasenko is already country miles better than Turris. In a few games he'll eclipse Turris' career high in points, and he plays a responsible game, on a stingy team.

from a leafs fan...............how many consecutive losses was that in a row? and what are they calling the new management approach in toronto now.............."scorched earth".

yup, tons of hockey related joy in toronto these days.
- sensarmy_11

First time in a long time this team has done a full rebuild. Gonna be exciting to see how it shakes out, especially with Hunter and Dubas around to mine the CHL for everything it's got, and our awesome Swedish scout doingn what he does.

from a leafs fan...............how many consecutive losses was that in a row? and what are they calling the new management approach in toronto now.............."scorched earth".

yup, tons of hockey related joy in toronto these days.
- sensarmy_11

Again, I pose the question, if a team can lose that many games in a row, what does that say about teams that STILL can't amass as many wins as them?

Again, I pose the question, if a team can lose that many games in a row, what does that say about teams that STILL can't amass as many wins as them?
- prock

all it says is that the leafs were lucky and won a few extra games early in the year that they had no business winning..........leafs are EASILY one of the 5 worst teams in the league.

First time in a long time this team has done a full rebuild. Gonna be exciting to see how it shakes out, especially with Hunter and Dubas around to mine the CHL for everything it's got, and our awesome Swedish scout doingn what he does.
- Feeling Glucky?

they haven't even started a full rebuild..........to do that, you have to unload a crap ton of guys who are not going to be easy to unload, unless you give them away for free..................the return for guys like phaneuf, lupul, gardiner, etc will be minimal based on their contracts, health issues, and poor performance.

the only assets you guys have to trade, who would bring anything of real value back, are kessel, kadri, jvr (assuming reilly and nylander are untouchable).....the rest are either untradable, worth nothing because of their contracts or worth nothing simply because they aren't really that good to begin with ....or a combination of both.

if they actually do go through a full rebuild (which i'll believe when i actually see) it's going to take years and years.............this team will be edmonton bad, and probably for just as long.