Ah, but it keeps getting better and better …
Leaf Nation, get used to your team finishing 16th instead of the usual 15th place in the Eastern conference standings.
No finish. No defence. No goalkeeping. No playoffs.
Coach decided to go with the more highly paid veterans. Big mistake.
Still too many passengers and the special teams play is horrid.
Leafs Lose - By mid-season that phrase will have a very familiar ring to it.
I begin by thanking CBC for the nationwide broadcast of the hapless Leafs - truth in advertising would have resulted in changing the name of the broadcast since whatever the Leafs were playing, it wasn't hockey.
I also thank The Burke for assembling such a gritty and tough team with special upgrades on defence. The proof is in the pudding, isn't it.
I also want to thank Wilson the ranter whose histrionics and high volume blather have already been discounted by this veteran group of, of, well, veterans.
Finally I thank the Leaf Nation for their blind and mindless loyalty to the cash cow that is MLSE. Boo birds notwithstanding (and there were several tonight at the ACC) these fans are solidly behind The Burke and believe every contradictory word he utters.
The Charlestown Chiefs vs.The Pittsburgh Penguins.The Burke-Wilson era will be responsible for turning these sad sacks into the Harlem Globetrotters of the NHL.Who is Ron going to blame tonight? Take a peek in the mirror Ronnie. You have been outcoached in every game so far.I'm looking foward to the big, fat turkey you will be serving the Rangers on Monday.Joey Mac in goal Monday.
You look at this team and they have absolutely nothing on offense. When I heard before the start of the year that the first line was supposed to be Stajan, Blake and Hagman, I figured it had to be a joke.
But none of these guys are worth anything. How many times did you see Stajan on his butt tonight?
All I can say is can you imagine paying 500 bucks for two seats to watch this team play? Where can I find these suckers? Even the ice at the ACC is in pitiful condition. IT looked like the paint was coming right through.
What sad shape this franchise is in. Not even the arena they play in is condusive to hockey.
I was a huge leaf fan for 25 yrs but I figured out that Haley's Comet will come again before the leafs win another cup. I honestly don't know why they would suffer and sweat for so many decades.
The Leafs looked horrible. Offense was terrible.
I hope the CBC stops broadcasting this hopeless team and shows us other Canadian teams. The Leafs can fight but little else. I'm not interested in seeing a bunch of goons, I want to see skilled hockey on Saturday nights.
So what's a Leaf Nation fan to do? Blame it all on bad penalty calls all season long? Wait for The Burke to use his high draft picks to build the base (Oh wait, he doesn't have those any more).
Okay, that was painful. I was at the game tonight and it was clear to me that this team has no belief in itself. It is a team without a soul. Yeah, they've got fighters, but they don't have a guy who will win them games.
we'll be lucky to get 3 wins this month
Well its seems we are going to have to get used to the Leafs new game plan. Get the goons out and let the other team know we plan to beat you in the alley. Someone needs to tell Burke and Wilson that game is won on the ice by scoring more goals than the other guy which becomes hard when you spend a lot of time on the penalty kill.
Well, at least if we keep playing this way, we will get the 1st draft pick next year......oh wait, we gave that to Boston.
We dress 3 forwards who can fight - Orr, Rosehill and Mayers and meanwhile we don't seem to have any forwards capable of scoring on even a semi-regular basis.
Of course everyone is waiting for saviour Kessel to finally dress. Well I got news for you, Matt Stajan is not a Marc Savard clone and Kessel will learn that very fast. Stajan will turn Kessel back into a 20 goal scorer.
The Maple Laughs suck. The fact that their high priced GM has mortgaged the team's future in the hope that they could solidify the team, now makes the situation ten times worse. This will be a looonnnng season and I can't see it improving.
I never thought I would say this, but maybe the Leaves should have kept Gerber around.
For a city that is supposedly the mecca of hockey, it really doesn't know much about running a team.
you are delusional if you believe this Leaf team can compete in the NHL. All of them think 'truculence' is a dessert served after a turkey of a game they have played. They are looking forward to a double helping after tonight's effort.
Gerber showed he could block well - in Toronto. No one offered him a contract, so he went to Europe for $200k. Add to that the idiotic decision to start Gus too soon; and in front of the home crowd. The downside was even worse than losing a game.
The present contingent of Leafs are reminiscent of a bunch of hired mercenaries playing hockey.
Burke's credo is to create mayhem on ice. Using Burke's law will only see the Leafs continue to wallow proudly in its own mediocrity.
If burke doesn't trade away any more 1st round picks, the leaves may get to 500 hockey in about 5 years...that is if they can pick a couple of good 1st rounders in 2014/2015 seasons. If I was burke I'd be looking for a way outta my contract...cause the future is gonna stink in toranna for years to come.
now your draft picks are gone(and it looks like those are going to be some valuable picks.) it`s painful to watch...for everyone(and thanks to the sadistic HNIC that`s the case.) that Burke`s first order of business was to go out and get some fighters must have been the first clue. Scrappers ae supposed to be the afterthought, a dime a dozen. Then he picked up a oddball collection of castoff defencemen, not a few key guys but a whole bunch of mediocre guys.
whatta joke..i never thought i'd say this but burkie might actually break up leaf nation..does anyone buy their kid a leaf jersey any more?..they'd get beat up at the playground ..if u wear a leaf jersey in public your a fool
and btw, no rebuilding team trades away draft picks like that. that`s final piece of the puzzle stuff.
these clowns on ice are off to another disasterous season
It appears from an outsider that the Leafs greatest talents are exhibited after the whistle blows. That may have worked in the 1970's, but I doubt it will be successful today. Speed and skill are required now in addition to fisticuffs and the desire to intimidate.
The Burke has gambled on a Bertuzzi-like goon squad of big bruisers who can drop their gloves after each goal they allow, leading to about five or more fights per night based on recent trends. Problem is, you can't hit what you can't catch and you can't stop speedier and more talented players without incurring a penalty for tripping, hooking, and/or interference. Add to the mix a high octane screamer coach with a focus on negativity as motivation and you have the toxic mix that is the current Leafs debacle.
the natives are getting restless....comeon give The Burke and Rompin Ronnie a chance to weave their magic...I mean look at The Burke's signings so far......the much sought after Colton Orr ( should have been 1st star tonight ), Komisarek ( invisible tonight, only because he didn't get a penalty )Francois Beauchemin ( the defensive saviour ?, where did he play before ?) It is early, only 78 more games to go.....ouch that is a painful thought
Burke decided to build from the front lines back, instead of the real weakness in goal. Had he recruited a truly-talented goalie and worked out, things would be different. Toskala is like Red-Light Raycroft, Belfour, and back and back to Curtis Joseph, the last goalie with some ability. How could the team resign Stempniak, Mayers, Blake, and the other never will be's. Kaberle is becoming a liability, too. We can wait for Kessel, but at his price of two first round draft picks, the way this team is playing, it has mortgaged the future again. The ghosts of Cliff Fletcher and Ken Dryden have supplanted Imlach and Ballard. Woe, Leafs, woe.
Prepare for futility because this team is not good at all.
Amazing how the whole Toronto media swallowed all of Burke's flimflam since last season ended. Now, what? Surprised that 29 other teams are not intimidated by all that growl and scowl, all that talk about "truculence".
Like Pat Quinn's "good, old boys" mentality," Burke's like-minded, hand-picked cronies don't seem to yet realize that their style of game has passed them by.
I blame Burke....
He is making every single mistake every single past GM has made since Punch Imlach brought the 1967 Stanley Cup to Toronto. Traded away all of the first round draft picks for quick fixes, unfortunately what he picked up were other teams problems.
Sad, Sad, Sad,,,,,
It looks like Burke traded the number 2 pick over all in 2010 and the number 1 pick overall in 2011 for Kessel. Bahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha .............
Does Wilson know how to coach? Burke's Goon Squad is doing their job tho - putting warm bodies in Leaf jerseys so the plebes pay $200 a ticket to watch.
I would rather have Kubina back then Komisarek et al.
This is what happens when you build a team of fighters not players. Leafs are a bunch of ego-driven "tough-guys" with no idea on how to play together as a team.
Let the Marlies join the NHL and send the Leafs to the OHL. I've been a Leafs fan since I was born. For the first time in my life: Go Habs!
