I always new that 140 characters would never be enough…
I also knew people would misinterpret what I tweet…
I decided to write this blog…so I can clear up any confusion, on how I REALLY feel…
I warned everyone that this would happen.
Last year, the Toronto Maple Leafs were arguably 1 Centre & 1 or 2 Shutdown Defensemen away from being a potential playoff threat, that playoff appearance was because Brian Burke put all the pieces together, while at the same time leaving the Toronto Marlies stacked.
You know, the Toronto Marlies team that seems to always be in the playoffs…It took Brian Burke just over 4 years to build a Leafs playoff team, he promised he’d do it in 5. Guess he overachieved. His reward, MLSE fired him before he was able to be the GM in their first playoff appearance in almost a decade.
Dave Nonis took over for Burke and in his very short tenure…what did he do since he took over?
He overpaid for Trevor Smith & he signed Tim Leiweke’s son in law, Troy Bodie…overpaid him too
He arguably overpaid Tyler Bozak who is NOT a legit #1 centre on any team that can actually win more than 2 games in a row. He signed Dave Bolland who was amazing for a few games, suffered a horrific injury and since his return is not the same player.
He signed David Clarkson (a player who I have admired for ages) to the second biggest contract in Maple Leafs history at the time) David had yet to play 1 SINGLE Regular season game before he was suspended 10 games, He’s got 4 goals and six assists this season, along with 8 fights… Easily the biggest free agent BUST the Maple Leafs have ever signed. Did I mention, he’s already been suspended twice this season.
Colton Orr & Fraser McLaren serve no purpose, other than to take up roster sports…For the record, if you have “fighters” on your team…shouldn’t they FIGHT…but hey, Nonis gave them deals.
I am happy that Nonis brought in Peter Holland, but since Carlyle is a dumb ass, he buried Peter Holland, who incidentally is a force with the Toronto Marlies…7 games, 7 points with the Toronto Marlies…
Everyone knows that Carlyle has a track record of alienating players, Just ask Mikhail Grabovski or Clarke MacArthur what they think of Coach Carlyle. I cannot WAIT to hear the comments from guys like Nazem Kadri, James Reimer, Jake Gardiner, Joffrey Lupul when they are no longer here.
Morgan Rielly, the guy that the majority of Leafs fans have anointed as Bobby Orr V2 more often that not, was a scratch…and when the 18 year old finally got to play consistently, what a shock he’s becoming a good player, does he make mistakes still…yes…but he’s a teenager becoming a man very quickly, playing against men.
Paul Ranger, (been a fan of his for a few years) has been away from the NHL for about 3 years, and while most were calling for his head…finally found his groove after about 40 games, (I said all year it would take 30-35 for him to do so) Sadly Paul Ranger was destroyed on a cheap hit..Season, most likely over.
Jake Gardiner & Cody Franson who have been in and out of Carlyle’s dog house all season, have still continued to play well for the most part. Jake is finding his offence, and Cody Franson continues to be a hitting & blocking machine.
Carl Gunnarsson, solid unspectacular, you watch, he’ll be dealt this offseason…
It would be bad if I didn’t talk about Phil Kessel. I love his speed. I love his goal scoring ability. I hate to even say this, but Phil Kessel was evolving into a complete player under Ron Wilson, a guy I despise for his handling of Nazem Kadri & Jonas Gustavsson. Dave Nonis Rewarded Phil Kessel with the longest & most lucrative contract in Maple Leafs history. Up until 15 games ago, that looked like a bargain. Phil has what, 3 goals in his last 15 games & EVERY single game he’s giving up the puck with brutal turnovers that always seem to lead to a goal being scored on James Reimer or Jonathan Bernier. To make matters worse, when Kessel coughs up the puck, he’s not chasing the puck down…Phil Kessel, looks to be regressing under Carlyle.
Ahhh, let’s talk about Mr. Bernier. You know, the one that all the bandwagon fans like to praise and worship. They tell everyone how high his ceiling and potential are…lovely…
Last year, the Maple Leafs did something that no team had ever done in NHL history, they blew a 3 goal lead in the 3rd period in the final 10 minutes of a GAME 7. A timeout, or a goalie change might have changed history. However, Carlyle didn’t bother to call a timeout or make a goalie change, so we’ll never know what “might” have happened. The other sidebar to that is, if Phaneuf would actually play the body or his man..a lot of those goals…might not have happened…Anyways…it was clear that Nonis & Carlyle put all the blame on James Reimer, as opposed to the entire team.
Bernier, for the most part has played well. However, he never earned the #1 Spot. It was automatically given to him, such a great way to say thank you James Reimer for leading us to the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade and we decided to reward you for that, by making you Bernier’s bitch.
James Reimer has not played up to his past record with the Leafs, but hey no shock to me. When you get buried by your GM & Coach, it will mess with your psyche. Goalies are a different breed, they are wired differently. Just look at Gustavsson & Giguere who are both having excellent seasons away from the Toronto Goalie Graveyard.
Bernier was on a pretty good roll, and he got hurt…Reimer came into the game and got drilled on one play. I think Reimer suffered a concussion, regardless of what anyone thinks.
During the time that Reimer was the starter while Bernier was hurt, he didn’t win…but than again, the Maple Leafs were not scoring more than 2 goals a game..
I believe Bernier is STILL not fully healed from his groin injury and he’s yet to win a game since coming back from his layoff…he’s looked slower and his timing is off, but it was a groin injury, so timing and mobility will be an issue till he’s fully healed.
James Reimer has been pulled a lot this season, yet Bernier has given up the same amount of goals or more that Reimer has given up when yanked, but Bernier never gets yanked. I see this, other people see this, and I’m sure James Reimer notices as well.
My frustration with the Toronto Maple Leafs is not with Bernier or Reimer. They are both #1 Goalies.
The Toronto Maple Leafs play undisciplined hockey. They also give up more shorthanded goals than any team in the NHL. They also commit more turnovers than any team in the NHL. They are also in the bottom 3 for penalty killing, they also give up the most shots on average per game….36 shots per game. This is all COACHING.
This comment is for the ignoramuses who are clearly uneducated, if you blame Reimer or Bernier for the Maple Leafs failures, go pick another sport to watch. It all start with coaching, even if your roster is NOT strong or very talented, a hard working, smartly coached team can win games. The people who attacked James Reimer’s wife on Twitter. You don’t deserve to live.
Coaching and Defense are the Achilles heel of this team. How did Dave Nonis improve it. He lowballed Cody Franson who will likely leave this summer. He traded JML a veteran for an overpriced veteran named Tim Gleason. (Gleason for the most part hasn’t been horrible, just too much money)
Dion Phaneuf….shall I talk about him….he was scheduled to be a UFA this summer, his 6.5 million per year contract would FINALLY be off the books. Dave Nonis, LOVES Dion Phaneuf…so he rewards his…by giving him a 7 year 49 million dollar contract. If we don’t trade Phaneuf my next seasons end…he has a limited NTC. Lovely. I am well aware that Dion plays a ton, and I know he plays against the other teams best players, but…too much to be honest, shave 4 to 8 minutes off his TOI, I think he’d be a lot better. 7 million dollars a year to me is Shea Weber money. Dion is not Shea Weber.
Most nights, because he plays too much, you’ll see him make 3 or 4 glaring mistakes, which invariably mean some are in the net. He’s not physical for a guy who is 6’3 218 pounds.
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