Babcock New Leafs Coach

[SKscout]

LOL.

 

I will give it this though, if the Leafs were going to return to respectability AND you were going to break the sense of entitlement and culture of that dressing room now is the time.

 

The way I see it Shanny cleaned house completely and is bringing in "his" guys.  He appears to have a blank slate on what he can and cannot do with the team (hint: looks like his his way or the highway) which hasn't been the case in TO's management in a LONG time.

 

He's bringing in people who demand respect from the outset.  If I am in that dressing room I have to be thinking that if this coach wants me gone because I am not walking his talk then I am going to be gone. 

 

I think that the fans and the market are finally primed for this to happen and the ownership group seems to have finally pulled it's collective head out of its checking from behind as well.   If Babs sits Dion or Phil for a couple or even 10 games I don't think you will have anyone but them complaining about it.  

 

Good news is it's an eastern team that is poised to become more competitive and an upside of that might be the shedding of some talent that doesn't fit the new model.   I wouldn't take Dion back even if TO offered to pay the entire Flames salary unless it included a stipulation that we didn't' even have to dress him, or allow him into the locker room.  And this coming from the guy who owns a Phaneuf Jersey, in fact it was the first player Jersey I have ever bought for any team.  The sad fact is we got about 2.5 good years out of Dion, they were his best years and he was a beast but his attitude simply destroyed everything he might have been.  I still wear that Jersey but it's more out of mourning for what should have been but never was.

 

That being said I I might take a floater on Kessel.  I think he's in an unhappy situation on a very broken team and isn't the guy to try and "fix" it so he basically says "screw it".   On Calgary I think he could make one hell of a punch on our second line, maybe first if this years chemistry doesn't hold over to next season.  The issue there is what we would have to give up.  If we could do say Bouma and picks (say 1st and 3rd at most) then hell yeah, maybe throw Jooris into the mix with their second coming back to "seal the deal" but I am not sure if TO is going for the year 1 of a rebuild stocking the cupboards (in which case that might be attractive) or if they want the rebuild while being competitive in which case the return on Kessel (assuming he is a problem) would be way too low.

 

Going to be a very interesting first 6 weeks of next season though, I think that is where you are going to see who sticks and who gets the boot.  If Shanny can say pry Blake or Futa out of LA I think it could get very interesting very quickly.  The team would be pretty much loaded with compitant management who have all achieved far more success than any 5 leafs combined

[JonnyMacAwesome]

Hey Everyone,

 

Lifetime Leafs fan here. This is a good thread...thanks for the respect and constructive responses guys, I know a lot of fans of teams that aren't the Leafs tend to just bash the Leafs, or their fan base(we have some real nitwits in there).

 

Anyway, I think Babcock made a great quote about the status of this team. "I got a big picture in mind ... and that's where we're going. But if you think there is no pain coming, there is pain coming." There's plenty of pain in the Leafs future, but so far I've liked what I have seen from Shanahan. Here's what I know he has done (and forgive me if I leave a few things out)

 

- Fired most of the scouting staff (look at our draft record, that should explain itself)

- Fired Dave Nonis (Locking us into some of those long term contracts are killer, and it's not like he really made any good trades except getting rid of Clarkson for Horton...even if Horton doesn't play again, the Leafs can afford to have him sit with the fans.)

- Fired Carlyle & Horrorchek (These guys are solid coaches, but the team wasn't listening to them at all. Which is another issue)

- Hired Mike Babcock - We now have another solid coach, but he hasn't had a chance to right this ship of bums.

- Hired Mark Hunter - Fantastic for our scouting department as well as drafting as he has drafted a lot of these guys at the junior level and is very up to date on their abilities and potential. I see this being a big positive for years to come.

 

What do we still need to do?

 

- Destroy our roster and get rid of the cancer. (This would be moving Kessel #1 for me. Like his skills, but he's a floater, sets a horrible example for young players, doesn't know how to spell let alone play defence, etc).

- Babcock is a Phaneuf fan, so I bet he stays, at least for now. Phaneuf would be 10x better than he is if he didn't have the "C"(I haven't witnessed him do anything to earn it or retain it as part of his title) and if he was a 2nd pairing d-man, where he should be.

 

This part that's left is the most important part of a rebuild, and it takes time...but Shanahan has straightened out the front office, now they just need the time and patience from us fans to allow them to fix this team and makes us a contender again. 

 

I joined these boards because even though I am a Leafs fan through and through, I live and work in Calgary (and was born here, but not raised here) and I love watching the Flames play. They are an exciting team, and I can't wait to see them a few years from now when their rebuild is in it's final stages. 

 

Have a great day everyone.

 

-JonnyMacAwesome

[conundrumed]

Hey jonny, welcome to the board.

There's a hockey foundation in toronto now with Shanny, Hunter and Babcock. You just know each has solid hockey guys around them as well.

Maybe the leafs start being about hockey now.

I've gotta admit, it's hard to watch, like the Oilers.

Babcock'll have to step up the hair dye program for awhile!

[Flyerfan52]

Hi Jonny.

@ least the Leafs put a front office in place rather than draft high for a lot of years & then replace the people in charge of turning a bunch of disconnected parts into a team.

If the new Leafs management doesn't value every current player as highly as some fans (that 4th last team is loaded with superstars) they could make some hockey trades. The kind where you don't get the best player but end up with a better team. The fanboys/puck bunnies will hate those.

 

You now have most of the top people in place but have a bit of patience as they sort out who buys into their concept of a team & which can't concieve of playing for anyone but themselves.

The new front end is a good start.

 

A lot of my eastern Canada family are Leafs fans so good luck.

[JonnyMacAwesome]

Hey jonny, welcome to the board.

There's a hockey foundation in toronto now with Shanny, Hunter and Babcock. You just know each has solid hockey guys around them as well.

Maybe the leafs start being about hockey now.

I've gotta admit, it's hard to watch, like the Oilers.

Babcock'll have to step up the hair dye program for awhile!

Don't forget Kyle Dubas... he may be a very young Assistant GM, but he has a lot of hockey knowledge and did wonders in the Soo.

 

I think management has finally been straightened out...and it doesn't bother me even slightly the Leafs decided to shell out so much money for Babcock. He knows the next few years will be painful - but the front loaded salary he's getting should help him sleep at night.

 

I don't expect much out of them for the next few seasons...but if they can stick to the game plan, 3 or so years from now the Leafs should be exciting to watch again...and come on now, the Leafs may be bad, but they are no Oilers. lol

 

 

Hi Jonny.

@ least the Leafs put a front office in place rather than draft high for a lot of years & then replace the people in charge of turning a bunch of disconnected parts into a team.

If the new Leafs management doesn't value every current player as highly as some fans (that 4th last team is loaded with superstars) they could make some hockey trades. The kind where you don't get the best player but end up with a better team. The fanboys/puck bunnies will hate those.

 

You now have most of the top people in place but have a bit of patience as they sort out who buys into their concept of a team & which can't concieve of playing for anyone but themselves.

The new front end is a good start.

 

A lot of my eastern Canada family are Leafs fans so good luck.

The Oilers have a current draft dynasty thing going for them. I really do hope they turn things around too, because you can get #1 4 out of 6 times and if you still have nothing to show for it, you're clearly doing something wrong.

 

I'm thinking we will see some roster moves on draft day(at least I hope so). Especially since management is seeking more draft picks. I wouldn't mind eating a few bad contracts to ice a team for the next few seasons, to give the young guys a chance to develop in the AHL. 

 

Personally I'd be shopping Kessel to Carolina as much as I could....if we could get the 5th overall to go with the 4th, we'd have a helluva duo there, in a combination of Marner, Strome or Hanifin. It will be tough to get any sort of deal like that in place, but I have confidence we won't be blindly overpaying for picks in this draft...

[Invin]

Saw this comic today.

 

[4thStanleyCup]

Will be interesting to see if he can turn this team around.

[cross16]

Regardless of who Toronto hires, there problems have not been at the hockey ops level its been higher. Yes their scouting isn't good, Nonis wasn't a great GM etc etc, but the real problems lies at ownership level and the flat our refusal to recognize that there is a process to building a team. The Leafs have been run like a video game for basically 20 years now. Sign this free agent, trade for this guy just get talented players but not following a blueprint or a plan. Who cares about the draft because the reality is we'll deal the pick or player in a heart beat because we want to be good now, we don't' care about being better or great in 3-5 years time. The Leafs scouting isn't actually that horrible, the problem is they never really wait for these guys to develop or the end up dumping them in an effort to get just a little bit better.  They need a plan, a blueprint and the mandate to follow it and if they do that then I think they can have success with the people they have hired, but it doesn't matter who you hire if you don't have a plan.

 

They are saying all the right things right now, but the key will come over the next two season IMO. If the Leafs avoid the temptation to go after the big FA fish that doesn't make sense for them (ala Komisarek, Clarkson for example) then they'll be sticking to their word and then at that point then I think they might have a shot at some success.

[JonnyMacAwesome]

Regardless of who Toronto hires, there problems have not been at the hockey ops level its been higher. Yes their scouting isn't good, Nonis wasn't a great GM etc etc, but the real problems lies at ownership level and the flat our refusal to recognize that there is a process to building a team. The Leafs have been run like a video game for basically 20 years now. Sign this free agent, trade for this guy just get talented players but not following a blueprint or a plan. Who cares about the draft because the reality is we'll deal the pick or player in a heart beat because we want to be good now, we don't' care about being better or great in 3-5 years time. The Leafs scouting isn't actually that horrible, the problem is they never really wait for these guys to develop or the end up dumping them in an effort to get just a little bit better.  They need a plan, a blueprint and the mandate to follow it and if they do that then I think they can have success with the people they have hired, but it doesn't matter who you hire if you don't have a plan.

 

They are saying all the right things right now, but the key will come over the next two season IMO. If the Leafs avoid the temptation to go after the big FA fish that doesn't make sense for them (ala Komisarek, Clarkson for example) then they'll be sticking to their word and then at that point then I think they might have a shot at some success.

 

I agree the biggest problem the Leafs have had has been at the highest level. However, I believe with last season's collapse, Shanny was able to get the entire board to buy into the plan. Shanny has said many time that coming up with a plan is easy - sticking to it is not. But he has been emphasizing at every interview their plan for patience, developing from within, etc... He has been saying all the right things, and I think with the new staff members they have implemented...their off ice product is close to being where it needs to be. After that, it's the on ice product to worry about, and that will most certainly take some time to deal with.

 

I'm looking forward to the next few seasons. They will be painful to watch as a Leafs fan, but hey, I've already been disappointed with my team almost every year of my life. They've never won a cup in my time, but they have been competitive, and that's all I expect from them. It's certainly diffficult to win a cup in a league with 30 teams.