The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a bad start at training camp.
Is what a pessimist would say.
There is no excuse to not have William Nylander on the team right now. Anything under $8 million on eight year deal will eventually provide value when the cap goes up and Nylander has a hall of fame career.
But a team must be frugal. The Leafs have a plan and they are sticking to it. In order to keep their core together, they’ve got to get a slight discount to do and still fill out the rest of the roster.
It’s a disaster that Nylander is not in camp.
It’s totally fine. It barely matters at this point.
The pessimist might note that Ron Hainsey and Morgan Rielly are back together to start camp and that Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnson are starting out on the fourth line.
Someone else might then point out that the Leafs have split their camp into several groups, and that while there are 70-something players in camp, the coaches are probably looking at fringe players more than they are thinking about opening night lines.
One thing worth noting: very few teams who ever finish bottom-five in shots against return with the exact same top four defenseman the following year.
Patience is important. But also, this team clearly does not have a defense that can win a Stanley Cup. Or maybe they do..
Maybe, since the coaching staff thinks that Zaitsev is a legitimate top four defenseman, the advancement of the careers of Dermott and Carrick, and the possibility that Timothy Liljegren forces his way onto the team means that any move for a defenseman would be jumping the gun.
But Zaitsev is terrible.
Or Zaitsev is a great skater and puck mover whose strength is breaking the puck out of the defensive zone and could be a 50 points defensively competent player based on the fact he had such a strong rookie season and was injured last year.
For every single opinion, there is an equal and opposite opinion. Most of them can be reasonably justified. Some, (like those who don’t like Jake Gardiner) don’t even make sense at all, but for the most part, we can all see that there is a way to spin everything, and that there are very few universal truths (the Karlsson trade is universally considered bad, but those are rare).
As we start the hockey season though, we should keep in mind that someone doesn’t have to be a complete idiot to disagree with you. The biggest problem our society faces is that we use the internet to confirm our worldviews by looking at only what we agree with. As hockey fans, we can do better. Keep an open mind, remember that whatever your opinion is, in reality you should dial it back about 24%.
50% if your names starts with a T and ends with an R.
The Leafs are a good team and there are a lot of interesting storylines, but most of them will get blown out of proportion – in reality, the Leafs have time to continue building their team, they will eventually move on from the Hainsey’s and Marleaus, but there is no rush. They will eventually sign all their players, and they will even play some games and give us something real to talk about.
OH MAN
Auston Matthews didn’t get a letter!!!!
Who cares? If he didn’t get one it’s cause he’s 20 and if he’s mad about then that’s a pretty good sign the team was right not to give it to him.
Most likely he does not care and while it would have been nice, this will just serve to motivate him to score 110 goals. Who the captain of the Leafs is less important than what socks I am currently wearing – white with a grey heel by the way.
OMG Babcock will never change. (eight exclamation points).
Babcock will definitely change. He’s always portrayed as this old-school no-non-sense kind of guy, but in reality, no one gets the level of respect Babcock has earned without being smart enough to listen to other people’s ideas and incorporate them into his thinking.
The Leafs might start off looking a lot like last year’s team, but they’ll change strategies, line-combos and defensive pairings. Some players will surprise and force their way onto or off the team. A trade may or may not occur. William Nylander will sign any minute now.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the cusp of what should be a good stretch of contending years. If they aren’t legitimately the best team in the NHL right now, they’re on their way. They’ve got depth, they’ve got unparalleled centre depth, and they’ve got the cap space and assets to improve.
Everything gets blown out of proportion, but then again, if it didn’t, what would we talk about? Training camp is off to such a great start that all the storylines are pretty lame.
That’s a good thing.