Official 2011-2012 Thread

[Leafs_Fan18]

Both Burkie and Carlyle like tough teams, and Burkie said it is a must they have to get bigger and more physical personnel in here to play Carlyle's type of hockey. He said he still think if 2 teams are equally as skilled the bigger team of the 2 will win, and that he wants to make this team more hostile. I know when he came here back in 2008 he said the same sh*t but this time he has the coach who likes the game played the same way he does so now he can bring in the right players to play that type of hockey.

When Wilson called the shots, he liked a fast, soft, skillful team, so even if Burke did bring any enforcers they most likely would not have played as we saw with guys like Dupuis getting more ice time for the first 30 games over guys like Orr and Rosehill.

Also Carlyle played Komisarek more then Franson even though Franson is the better defenceman and has more upside, he liked the physical, tough style that Komisarek played and said Franson has to get more bite to his game and become more aggressive. So hopefully he can get Franson to use his size to his advantage more and play a more physical game.

Burke also mentioned he likes to dictate the game and not have it dictated for him. He was upset about how the Leafs got pushed around so badly by the Bruins the times they met and wants to add more size overall to the forward group and more strength.

I for one have high hopes we can have a much tougher team going into next year. I think we have some good assets to be able to bring in that toughness via trade as Burke has fleeced some teams before so hopefully he can do it again.

Guys like Carkner, Vandermeer, Jackman, Prust, Hordichuk, Moen, Gaustad, Parros and Winchester etc are all UFA's this summer so maybe we can get some of them for the 3rd and 4th lines or just depth players instead of these soft players like Dupuis and Zigomanis, Finger etc.

Not sure if we are going to have a good team next year capable of making the playoffs but I do have faith in that fact that we will ice a tough team, hopefully if not the toughest in the league then one of the toughest.

[Fireball_IV]

Bring back Orr

[I_am_Belak_2]

Other than wanting to see Orr back, I have nothing to say at the moment.

[sheady]

this is honestly the most dissapointed I have been since becoming a leafs fan. No heart, no skill, no grit.

[Leafs_Fan18]

I agree, I want to see Orr back. Hopefully he plays regularly under Carlyle next season.

[Cat Smasher]

I actually want him to trade the first round pick and get something for now, not 3-5 more years from now.

[grits207]

Originally Posted by Cat Smasher

I actually want him to trade the first round pick and get something for now, not 3-5 more years from now.

Why? If this season showed us anything it is that this team is a long way away from being able to compete for anything so what's the point of trading away our future just to try and sneak into the playoffs?

Realistically the Leafs aren't going to be contenders until they get add a #1 center, a #1 goalie, another top pairing defenseman and some more size & grit on all lines. They don't have the assets or the cap space to fill all of those holes via trades or free agency so if they ever want to finally rise above mediocrity they need to build through the draft like Burke should have been doing for the past three years.

Honestly the best thing that could happen to this franchise would be if they tanked for Nathan MacKinnon next season, but we all know that will never happen because of Burke's stubbornness.

[I_am_Belak_2]

Or get Nash from Columbus and their 2013 1st for the 5th overall this year and hope Columbus tanks next year. Columbus would be happy. They'd get two top 5 picks this year, plus Toronto would get 2 next year.

[leafs_fan77]

Good to see Orr rocking the 'A' on his jersey with the Marlies.

[grits207]

According to Elliotte Friedman on HNIC last night Francois Allaire may retire this summer so he can focus on running his goalie school. If he does end up retiring then I'd bet any money that he is just using it as a way to end up reuniting with Patrick Roy in Montreal, assuming Roy ends up getting hired as the Habs coach or GM.

[Cat Smasher]

Originally Posted by grits207

Why? If this season showed us anything it is that this team is a long way away from being able to compete for anything so what's the point of trading away our future just to try and sneak into the playoffs?

Realistically the Leafs aren't going to be contenders until they get add a #1 center, a #1 goalie, another top pairing defenseman and some more size & grit on all lines. They don't have the assets or the cap space to fill all of those holes via trades or free agency so if they ever want to finally rise above mediocrity they need to build through the draft like Burke should have been doing for the past three years.

Honestly the best thing that could happen to this franchise would be if they tanked for Nathan MacKinnon next season, but we all know that will never happen because of Burke's stubbornness.

I believe they have the assets in place to improve this team quite a bit. I just don't want to wait another 3-5 years. It is said this draft year is as weak as it gets. I still have faith, if Burke can turn Toskala and Blake and Stajan and Beauchemine into Lupul, Phaneuf, and so on, it is possible.

There is no doubt in my mind Nash is gone for sure now, and with Toronto being on that list of his, that #5 pick sure would make the deal sweeter.

Here were his key points in terms of his plans for the off-season:

1) “We need to address the size of the group and the compete level of the group. I like teams that go into buildings and dictate how games are played, not get dictated to. That’s going to change. I was very unhappy with [how we played in Boston].”

2) “Positionally, we have to look at the goaltending. It wasn’t good enough this year. I think that James Reimer is the real deal. I think we can still plan on him being a No. 1 guy, but we have to look at if we can bring in a guy that gives us more options and more performance right from the get-go next year.”

3) “There will be change. We think we have assets going into this period where we can address some of the positional needs that we have. We retained our assets to stay in good position to do that.”

4) “We’ve avoided doing those wonky contracts [in free agency] that I think are cap circumvention and it’s cost us a couple players. That’s not going to change. I intend to address the positional needs the old-fashioned way, which is through trades. Not through free agency. Looking at the pool, I can’t see a lot of impact [players] there.”

5) “I would say for us goaltending and a No. 1 centre would be the biggest positional needs.”

and an interesting little fact...

“My view was I was hopeful we could do it quicker. We haven’t. But I haven’t changed the plan... We have more first-round picks [in the organization] than any other team in the NHL... It’s a young group, we haven’t gone old, we haven’t tried to band-aid things, we’ve tried to build them. But yes, it’s frustrating. It’s very difficult.

“Pittsburgh model, my ass,” Burke said. “They won a god dammed lottery and they got the best player in the game. Is that available to me? Should we do that? Should we ask the league to have a lottery this year? And maybe we pick first.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...2397099/page2/

[Fireball_IV]

Man, we would have gotten wrecked these playoffs seeing how rough it is..

[Cat Smasher]

buahaha

There have been reports Luongo has a list of six to nine teams he would accept waiving his no-trade clause for, including Toronto (where his old goalie coach, Francois Allaire, is employed) and the two Florida teams, close to his wife's family.

http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/20...he-really-does

[grits207]

https://twitter.com/dchesnokov/statu...44965088530433

Leo Komarov will join the #Leafs this summer, according to his KHL team's official website

Komarov and Brown together on the 4th line next season could be fun, assuming Komarov is able to make the roster to start the season.