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People read the intention to attempt into the quote he gave at the press conference before Shanny walked away. The line was “perhaps the path needs to shift slightly and needs to be adapted slightly” and he then added, “You get in between persistence and full belief versus being a little too...

I think it’s really weird that he was so stubbornly stuck on holding homegrown talent when he was brought into DET via a trade.

The loss extended Carolina’s losing streak in Eastern Conference final games with Rod Brind’Amour as captain or coach to 14 games after the Canes were swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023. Still a lot of ECF appearances tho…

A good run down of how things went awry after early promise from MLHS. One thing that stands out, besides recounting all the consequences of trying to accelerate things amid mismanaged drafts and with too quickly spent draft capital, is how misguided they were in insulating the young stars with...

In most of these cases, the players had a lot more early career playoff success or their AAVs were a lot lower. There are exceptions, I'm sure, but in general the Leafs contract AAVs + playoff records + NMCs make their RFA contracts outliers. I think if we made a table with the data points...

And I said you can see from his reactions to the mildest forms of criticism and any on-ice adversity that there’s no level he can take. And that predates the golf balls and trash on the lawn. It’s who he is.

Who else got them as RFAs?

You don’t think he has a problem being criticized because he’s been targeted by some pretty over the line forms of harassment? I don’t see how one follows the other. You can hear him talk to the media, see how he responds to being benched, see how coaches have to walk back the mildest of...

It seems to me that he feels entitled to maximize his earnings, have fun, win, and not be criticized. Those things don’t go together, and I don’t think he has the emotional maturity to give on any one of them. So it’s not going to work in Toronto.

But also, a lot of kids these days spoiled-brat head cases. I doubt it's all that different for sports prodigies. It just comes out differently.

Y'know it could also be an indictment of the kid's parents.

Well, you can sign a FA like Tavares, be honest with and about him, know that he's coming in early in the process, and then simply choose not to go down "a false road of trading assets every deadline." Nothing about signing Tavares necessitates all the other mistakes that weakened the supporting...

That's where I am on it. If the Leafs top players aren't outscoring the opposition's top players, but just battling them to a draw, then it's going to be the depth that determines outcomes. If you're paying the premium for the stars, they have to not only come out ahead of the other teams'...

Are we all on the same page that depth wins Cups? Of course, you need your stars to come through, but, even if they're among the half dozen who can truly take over a game, you need depth to win multiple series?

If the Leafs have the 1st, 6th, 8th, and 9th highest paid forwards in the league, they really should have at least a couple of the top 10 playoff scoring leaders over the last several seasons. They're at 19, 22, 24... and I stopped scrolling.

I think that's what goes on the headstone for this team. Probably something should've been after the Montreal series, but standing pat while Marner's NMC kicked in is the truly egregious mismanagement. I know people with the team and even around here have said 'well how would they get better??'...

Yeah. That one hurts. I mean it was the absolute, very last moment they could've done anything to move the needle -- and you wish they'd have had the sense to call it somewhat sooner or at least refused to spend all those picks, as if they were really one Nick Foligno from the Cup -- but if you...

Marchand with the last GA of the Core 4 Era is at least somehow kinda fitting.

The Leafs have a ton of it this year -- probably about $15m after signing the RFAs -- but not so much after that. As for things to spend this short-term cap space on, some have speculated on a massive one-year Tavares deal (unlikely given fears of freak injuries) or a big contract for Thorton...

Looking ahead a few years, I see the Leafs current roster as including a core of players under contract for the next 3+ years or are almost certain to be signed long term, guys who'll definitely be gone, players that are replaceable and likely won't be here after their current contract is up...