The Official LEAFS NATION Hockey thread

[lgna69xxx]

Cody Franson commits to Swedish League for full season

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=406514

This opens the door for Paul Ranger, who at 6'3 220lbs (with great passing skills and speed) has "Randy Carlyle type of player" written all over him. Good luck Cody.

Edit.... There is an opt out in his contract that allows him to come back to the NHL if the lockout ends this season and he can come to a new deal with Toronto.

 

[gohabsgo]

Don Cherry rips Leafs for treatment of Kadri

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...-leafs-for-treatment-of-kadri/article4582674/

“I have never in my life seen a kid treated like Nazem Kadri by the Leafs,” Cherry wrote on his @CoachsCornerCBC account. “It started in his first training camp where he led the team in scoring but was blasted for his defensive faults.

“They don't blast Kulemin who scored seven goals. They give him $5-million dollars. Now the Marlie coach comes out and rips Kadri in the newspaper saying he doesn't eat properly. Imagine headlines saying he’s chubby and fatso.

“If anyone wants to get a blue print on how to destroy someone, just follow the Toronto Maple Leafs.”



Cherry has also been in fairly high profile disagreements with former Leafs coach Ron Wilson and current GM Brian Burke over much of the past three years as the franchise has continue to sit in the NHL’s basement.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The problem with the Leafs is:

TOO MANY AMERICANS!!!!

Time to give Canadians its team back & replace Americans with good ol' Canadian boys. And it should start with the general manager, who's been a tremendous disappointment since his arrival in Toronto. He committed his first major mistake when he traded all those top draft picks (the future!) for the One-Ball Man. He then made some decent transactions to cover up some of his mistakes, but the day his gay son died, he was never the same man.

Time to let a good Canadian man take control of the team & lead it back to victory!

Here's hoping that the lockout remains for at least another year or two. This way, Burke's contract might run out by the time there's hockey again!

 

[joelcairo]

The problem with the Leafs is:

TOO MANY AMERICANS!!!!

And it should start with the general manager, who's been a tremendous disappointment since his arrival in Toronto.

In the interests of keeping our mods happy I only quoted a part of your post, but I wholeheartedly agree with everything you wrote (not surprisingly, since I've been saying all these same things for years). Well done Doc!

 

[lgna69xxx]

uh oh, i see it is that time of the month again lol. Go see the marlies my man, it will get you thru this.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Brian Burke must go!

Brian Burke simply hasn't done the job. He had four years to do it and failed miserably. As some Republicans might say about President Obama, after four years of failure, it's time to go! It's time to find someone who'll stir the ship differently. Someone with new ideas. Someone younger. Someone less cranky and unwilling to lick Gary Bettman's arse everytime he has the chance to. Someone who has a vision to put the Leafs back into the playoffs after nearly a decade of ineptitude. Someone with a team-first mentality who won't let his personal views & feelings get in the way of success.

Time to find another GM.....hopefully a Canadian one!

p.s. I'm not eating another fucking hotdog until Burke is gone!

 

[joelcairo]

Brian Burke must go!

Brian Burke simply hasn't done the job. He had four years to do it and failed miserably.

Once again Doctor you have provided an excellent analysis of the situation. I am profoundly impressed by your current understanding of the Leafs and their GM.

 

[Doc Holliday]

On Burke & the Leafs

Comments deleted by Mod 13:

The comments made in this post by the originator have since been retracted due to the fact they were made under duress. Mr. Holliday wishes to inform everyone that he remains a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan & is convinced that Mr. Brian Burke has done a fantastic job for the organization. He is further convinced that Mr. Burke will lead the Leafs to the success promised when he got hired.

Mod 13

 

[JLB]

On Burke & the Leafs

I don't see things improving much in the near future. Disappointing!

An excellent commentary on a once proud franchise by a disillusioned fan.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs

The Phil Kessel trade in reality is a disaster for the organization. Not only did they lose out on Tyler Seguin, but they also lost out on Doug Hamilton, among others. Once Kessel's contract expires in a year or two, i'm not even certain that he'll be re-signed or that he'll want to re-sign with the Leafs. Meanwhile, Seguin & Hamilton will be stars in a Boston Bruins uniform.

Hearty agreement!

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs


His biggest free agent flop was one of his first moves: signing former Hab Mike Komisarek. He's been nothing short of a disaster!

Yes and it should not have been a surprise: Komi was always unbearbly slow and defensively untalented (as well as offensively no-talented!) His only value as a Hab was as a thug...and after Lucic demolished him the first time he wasn't even useful as a thug - it's hard to be a successful thug when the whole league knows you're a coward! What in hell's name was Burke thinking?

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs



The fact he didn't seriously address the goaltending situation also hurt the organization.

Maybe Burke thinks goalies are unimportant in hockey - you know, like quarterbacks are unimportant in football and pitchers in baseball?

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs


But the biggest mistake was sticking with Ron Wilson as the team's head coach, even though everyone wanted him out. He fired his two assistant coaches instead.

Sorry but I can't argue with you on this point.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs

And let's face it: the Colton Orr expirement was a major bust. He wound up spending the most part of the season with the Marlies & didn't even play regular minutes.

What can I say? You're right again!

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs

He then finally replaced Wilson when it was too late to do so, with Randy Carlyle, another old-school type of coach. He's defensive-minded, and this means that Leafs fans should expect to be bored to death on most nights.

Yes this seems like an excellent prediction.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs


As i mentionned earlier, he's been very crabby, he's fought with everyone in the media, and his trademark crafty moves as a GM have been non-existent. It's once again a zoo-like atmosphere around the organization, and not surprisingly, this atmosphere hasn't made it easy to attract big-name free agents.

Yep, that's Brian Burke for you.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs

And then there's the case of Roberto Luongo, who's never been the savior they've paid him to be in Vancouver & the current owner of one of the worse contracts in NHL history. Even though it's rumored that Roberto Luongo might be the Leafs next goalie, don't kid yourself into thinking that he really wants to be in Toronto. He actually hates the idea that Toronto might be the only team in the NHL who is willing (and able to pay him) to acquire him & give him a starting goalie's job.

Makes sense: Roberto's not the goalie he once was - but he's also not a total idiot.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs

The owners share most of the blame for the current mess, but the players also share a part of the blame. People blame Bettman & Fehr, but the both of them are doing what they're paid for: represent their employers' interests to the best of their abilities. Bettman is doing a great job for the owners, and Fehr appears to be doing the same for the players. Fehr's job is to represent his employers (the players), not to care about hockey or its fans. That's what he's paid to do. What's misleading with Bettman is his job title, but in reality, he's nothing but the owners' whipping boy.

Exactly right on all counts.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs


The Leafs will likely miss the playoffs again, it'll be the same b.s. from both Burke & the media all over again, and everyone will once again play the blame-game. It will only take a hockey genius to turn things around, and i doubt Randy Carlyle is that person.

You should buy lottery tickets Doc because your predictions are amazingly correct.

 

[joelcairo]

On Burke & the Leafs


And finally, Burke should stop participating in gay parades & stop going to Afghanistan for photo-ops on the same day free agency begins. He should go back to concentrating on his job & improve his team in order to make the playoffs.

Yes - if any normal worker ignored his duties like Burke does he'd be fired immediately. (Shoe store owner to salesperson: Why didn't you sell any shoes yesterday? Salesperson: Oh sorry Boss but I had to take part in a Gay Pride parade.)