Ozzie
Active member
Everything i touch has orange powder finger prints. But hopefully I can parlay my knowledge into a job with MLSE head office.
2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Arn
Well-known member
I would say that hockey is different in that luck can play a bit more of a part - hot goalie, puck bouncing off dodgy dashers, shot hitting post and bouncing either in or out, pucks deflecting in off skates or asses, forward getting on a shooting % heater where everything goes in for 2 weeks etc
Most other sports I feel are more “controllable”.
Not sure I can prove it, but that’s how I feel from watching a fairly wide range of sports regularly.
I also don't care what some ridiculously wealthy corporation wants to pay players. However, if you are going to give 4 players (all very similar offensive forwards) 50% of the salary cap, that severely restricts your ability to flesh out the rest of the lineup. And if those 4 players aren't the types who will elevate their game and go through a wall to score those elimination game goals, you wind up where the Leafs are with a bunch of first round playoff losses. So it's definitely a hindrance.
The Leafs are in the position they are in partly because of bad luck and partly because of their own impatience. They just happened to draft 3 generational talents at the time when (1) the paradigm was shifting to a mode where payers got paid early in their careers, yet (2) the salary cap was frozen due to covid. They compounded the problem by (probably) over-paying on those initial contracts, and also by rushing forward with the Tavares signing and the jettisoning of draft picks for deadline players when the team wasn't really ready to take advantage. Now they don't have draft picks or good young players either entering the lineup (except for Knies) or ready to come up from the Marlies. So they fiddle around the edges, look for value in damaged goods (Hakanpaa, now maybe Klingberg again, etc) and hope hope hope that the core guys will take that next step.
In100% recognize that Draisaitl’s playoff numbers, overall, are crazy. I also recognize that he was injured in the finals. So that’s my disclaimer.
So to tack on to this post, if it’s ok to judge Marner and Matthews on single game 7 results I don’t see why Draisaitl’s 0 goals and 3 assist in the finals cannot be criticized.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
McDavid has 2 pts in 4 game 7's, both in 1 game and in last year's finals he had 0pts in GMs 6 and 7
Draisaitl has 2 apples in 4 game 7's and in last year's final he had 1pt in GMs 6 and 7
I was specifically referring to Draisaitl and specifically the finals. He had 0 points and was -1 in game 7.
Look, I don’t believe he deserves criticism, I’m just pointing out that one can look at these kind of microstats of a single game and make all kinds of great players look bad. I think I checked once and Stamkos, for example, has no goals in any game 7s.
Anyway I hope people get where I was going with this.
The Oilers have won 6 playoff rounds in the last 3 years, including a trip to the finals. Leafs - have won 1 round in that same period. Oilers have $36.25 million invested in their top 4 players (2 offense, 2 defense). Leafs have 46.25, all in forwards. Those forwards need to really perform in order for that to ever have a chance to work.