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Marner is gone, and there's plenty of blame to go around for the way this went down (including the meager return). Overall talent in the group is obviously lower now, I don't see how anyone could argue against that. However, this could now be a better TEAM depending on how things play out, and...

Well, now that you mention it...

I don't think he has it in him, unfortunately. Similar to McMann and Matthews in that regard.

Hooray - we can finally move on now. Will be interesting to see what the return is...getting someone like Roy would be pretty good compared to nothing at all.

Excellent deal for the Leafs...let's hope they can continue the momentum into free agency (and with Knies of course).

Unless Matthews returns to form, I doubt they'll win the division next year, so I suppose that's a step back. Depending on how things go they could even be in a battle to earn a playoff spot, which might not be a bad thing for a team that has pretty much coasted into the playoffs almost every...

No doubt Hyman was a black hole on offense for his first few years, but if you didn't see the improvement occurring near the end of his time with the Leafs you must be blind. The guy was driving a third line. And in his last 2 playoff series with the Leafs, in one of them he had just come back...

Wrong combination of players (and their families/agents) at the wrong time (covid cap, rookie gm in Dubas, other management factors). You are correct - huge missed opportunity. Now I think Treliving gets 1, maybe 2 shots to make something of it - this offseason and next. Build around the...

In theory, yes. Robertson is one of the Leafs most aggressive forwards when it comes to forechecking. Problem is, he's not very effective at winning puck battles and spends too much time on the ice...either by getting knocked over or just falling on his own. He and Marchand are listed on...

Plus you don't know what options might open up if you go to teams and say "I'm looking to move Marner (or Nylander)." Even if the return is a "step back" in terms of overall talent, it could still make the team better. Or maybe the pieces returned are used in another deal that addresses needs...

Leafs management (I'm mainly talking about Dubas and Shanahan) overall has been about as timid as the core players in elimination games. Afraid of the big moment, afraid to take a risk. Well, now they have to deal with the consequences. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't, which kind of fits...

Knies does look like a future captain to me. Hopefully he can keep the injury bug under control and doesn't become complacent when he signs that big contract. Kapanen used to have physical outbursts even when he was with the Leafs, he even fought a few times. Always liked him as a player, was...

Worsefasstholes? Or just Worseholes? Having to scrap and claw to get into the playoffs might be a good thing for this group. Even missing for a year might be good, though I would have preferred that to happen several years ago. Would hate to waste the last cheap Stolarz season, plus that old...

Personally, I'm quite excited to see what they do with the Marner money off the books. If they use that money wisely, and get a little (or maybe a lot) lucky, the team could wind up being much more suited to the playoff-style that Berube wants. As the article (and you) noted - get some players...

I feel like I've been through this process twice. I grew up in the NYC area and my dad was a lifelong Ranger fan. I watched him suffer as their Cup drought swelled past 50 years, only to be broken when they imported a bunch of ex-Oilers who knew what it took to win. Of course, they also had a...

Just saw that. Perfect Bennett-style head shot. Why couldn't any Leafs figure that out?

They (Berube and Treliving) never really sorted out the bottom-6. It was pretty much just a collection of spare parts thrown together in various combinations, hoping something would take. They need to figure out what those 2 lines are supposed to be, and adjust the personnel accordingly. Do they...

That's certainly one way to go and probably the easiest and safest. Assuming Marner would come back (I don't think that's likely), you just throw however many dollars at him it takes, tinker around the edges and run it back. Pretty much a certainty that team would make the playoffs which means...

Does Marner even want to be here - he may have already made the decision to leave. I'm open to anything and everything. Any of the core 5 (M&M, Willie, JT, Rielly) can go. More than one can go. The team can certainly be better if the $13 million that Marner would get is distributed to the...

The Leaf stars score too, but not in the big games (5-7, elimination type games). I've said it before, they are not good enough when it matters to command the amount of salary they've been given. And it ripples down through the lineup (well, maybe more like a tidal wave).