JoeSchmoe

Beer is like pizza. Even the low quality stuff is still good. I'll drink any beer and enjoy it, whether it be cheap-swill North America macro, high hop craft beer, Euro pilsner... It's all good. That said, a grapefruit radler is the Hawaiian Pizza of beer. Again, I'll still drink it, but it would be much better without the grapefruit, just as the pizza would be better off without the pineapple.

The issue is that the difference between a good face-off team and a bad one is pretty small. The very BEST teams in the league will win about 1 more face-off out of 10 vs the very WORST teams. If there was a way to win 100% of face-offs you could really make a difference. But the reality is A VERY GOOD FACE-OFF TEAM WILL WIN ABOUT 3 MORE FACE-OFFS OUT OF 100 VS AN AVERAGE FACE-OFF TEAM. The advantages of this is pretty negligible compared to going out and getting better players that score more.

He sets up goals though. Many of our goals over the last couple of seasons don't get scored without him on the ice. Losing him means less goals scored by our goal scorers.

I'll summarize what I said in the posts I made above. 1- Trade picks and prospects to get a guy who can replace Mittelstadt's production. 2- Stay out of the bargain bin, and spend the necessary $$$$ to pick up legitimate NHL players to replace Girgensons, Robertson, Jost, KO, & VO. If they do both of these, they will get more goals next season. Adams said he's in win now mode. Let's see if he puts his money where his mouth is.

Maybe, but first you have to get them agree to come here, and history has shown that high priced free agents underperform their contracts more than they live up to them. If there's a guy at the right price, then sure. If it's me though, I'm trading our overabundance of picks and prospects for the Mittelstadt replacement, then using FA as the Girgensons, Robertson, Jost, KO, & VO replacement. We can upgrade from them without breaking the bank.

All this need to happen, especially the bolded. That said, the elephant in the room is replacing Mittelstadt. Without him we're worse offensively going into next season. Hopefully we get a legit scorer in exchange for picks/prospects. If we don't replace Mittelstadt's production, I'm predicting even less goals next year.

Can we all agree that the IIHF website is dog 💩 ?

You trade for Matthews and his $13.25 million contract, every future contract negotiation on the team will be benchmarked against that, instead of the $7 or so million we're paying Thompson. On the Leafs, the Tavares contract set the stage for their overpayments thereafter. We'd be handcuffed by the cap just like the Laffs are.

This is 100% correct. Anything without the plural sounds try- hard / trendy.

Sabres training camp, where he ups his value and we package him for an NHL ready contributor.

Again... Though highly favoured, the Leafs lost this series. Contrast and compare with real leadership. At $13+ million, AM is not worth it.

1G 4A in 7 games vs MTL in 2021. Vintage Matthews in this clip (fast forward to about 1:50). Vintage series loss to MTL. Same went for Gretzky.

Not at his cap hit.

Now 'splain this guy as a leader in our locker room.

Bravo! 👏 Now 'splain us about his contract.

Or his contract and lack of playoff intensity.

My 16 year old put it perfectly. While watching the games so far this postseason, he said playoff hockey is almost like a different sport than regular season hockey. If teams could play with that intensity all season, they would barely lose. Matthews playoff mode is no different than his regular season mode. When everyone else goes up a level, he's still the same guy. Hard pass.

If the Leafs could trade him for legit prospects and picks, and use the $ they'd free up on a couple legit players through FA, I think they're better off as a team.

He's got zero heart. Wouldn't want him or his contract.

NFL or NHL- Draft talk is dumb.

And terribly obnoxious media.

Sabres fans live in mud huts, and we'll throw sticks, stones, or whatever else makes us feel better! Leafs suck!

You're right, it's not good there. It also is fast losing its character. It used to have some pretty cool neighbourhoods to visit. I find they're all a shadow of what they used to be. The tear down everything to build condos has killed the city badly. Replacing what few legacy restaurants and ma & pa stores that are left with chain stores and rando crap restaurants that won't stay open more than a year or two also doesn't help. The other thing I often think about is almost every city has some food and cultural thing they're famous for. Toronto has nothing to call their own. Buffalo on the other hand is known worldwide for their wings, and on a lesser basis, beef on weck. Some will say Toronto has hockey, but I think hockey is much more ingrained in Montreal culture. Other than that, you have a city that's trying super hard to be important on a world stage, but through all the pretentiousness, fails to establish a real identity.

And another thing... There's no shortage of players around the league that hate Toronto as much as some of us do. It's a real thing... Join the team! https://torontosun.com/2014/07/01/josh-gorges-trade-the-ultimate-insult-to-maple-leafs PS- this Toronto sportswriter called Buffalo the "armpit" of America. As someone who lives about halfway between the two I can confirm the body odour is not coming from the Queen City, but rather from the other side.

If you're a Sabres fan and don't take enjoyment out of seeing the Leafs lose, I'm telling you... you're doing it wrong!!! When the self-proclaimed "centre of the hockey universe" crashes and burns, it's pure entertainment. So if you're sitting up there on your moral high ground, try sinking down a level or two... It's great. Would I rather see the Sabres in the playoffs- sure... but Toronto losing is all the sloppy seconds we've got until next season.