Down at the Crossroads, A Question is Posed

I hope the people saying “no” to the Sedins were the same ones pushing for Schenn to go back to Kelowna and for Tlusty to remain in the A.

That would be me, for those of you playing at home, though I’m warming up to the Sedins.

This season there are four teams left – one is a franchise of long-standing organizational excellence; two teams that stunk out the joint for a few years and then loaded up on top 10 draft picks; and the fourth team seems to exemplify the term “random walk.” Are any of these a legitimate model for a Leafs rebuild?

I’d say the clear answer is to begin being excellent organizationally and let that plan pay off down the line. While the team currently loses it front loads future excellent drafting with some high picks.

1. I don’t watch hockey anymore, but anything that means I don’t have to hear that dumb song whenever the Hawks score would be OK with me.

2 & 5: Sure, look at detroit back in the late 80’s/early 90’s. That’s about where we are, but without a Stevie Y – yet. With the players we have right now, I don’t think we have the option of letting them develop for 3, 4 years before playing them, because then we’d have to sign stop-gap veterans that would know they had no future on the team. But it’s a balancing act and some players will definitely need to be in the AHL that we’d probably like to see up on the big club. I trust Ronnie and Burkie to make the decision.

4. Yes, I’d buy an NHL team. Then I’d find the smartest person I know and hire them to run it while I sit in my luxury box and watch as much hockey as I can. Again, kinda like Mike Ilitch.

the only resistance I have towards the Sedins is the price they will comand. I’d love to have em at 5 mill a season each, but more than likely they’ll fetch 6+

I’ll get to this in detail later today… but I’d say the Leafs should look at the San Jose Sharks of ohhhh about 6 years ago, and the Boston Bruins more recently.

Unfortunately, they aren’t going to sign Zdeno Chara, and they aren’t going to suddenly find themselves with the best goaltending depth in the NHL because the guy that coached the hell out of Nabokov, Kiprusoff, and Toskala is dead.

Be that as it may, I think those two teams came from reasonably “average” depths to reach the pinnacles of this year’s regular season – for a reason. That reason didn’t include being complete garbage year after year.

Detroit is nice to emulate, but you have to be good before you can convince players to wait in your minor league system, and you have to be REALLY good before you can convince them to sign long term on front loaded contracts like the Wings have been recently. That took them 15 years of excellence. When the Leafs get there I can see it happening, but that’s a ways off.

Well I’ve been writing about that a bunch recently, so I think people know where I stand.

To be fair though, I was also a person promoting leaving Schenn in Kelowna and who was fine with Tlusty suiting up in the AHL. I don’t think insisting on tanking makes any sense, but I want the players to develop the right way just the same.

1. Why doesn’t the NHL have an equivalent to MLB’s at bat music?
1. Player Music? I love that idea. Each player can choose their own song at the start of their season

2. WWDD? The difference is Detroit had the luxury of having star players to ice which is why their other players took so long to get a shot at playing. If the Leafs had those kind of starts you better believe Schenn would be riding the bus in Kelowna.

3. Why no Sedins? Two reasons. First, the cap hit. Too much money to spend on two players. Second, the timing. If the goal is to slowly build this team up through prospects and the draft plugging in two big name free agents is same of the old method that didn’t work.

4. Would you buy an NHL team? Only if I could move them to a market where I thought they could make money. There is no way I’d buy Atlanta or Tampa Bay if I was forced to keep it there. Those cities (and I use the word city loosely in Tampa Bay’s case) are deathbeds for sports franchises and a money pit for franchise owners in any sport.

5. Who is this year’s model? As much as I hate it the Leafs have to be looking at Pittsburgh as to what temporary suffering will bring you. In reality though we’ll probably be the Carolina model. A few draft pics, a few free agents, squeaking into the playoffs and a lucky run.

1 – ‘At bat’ music. Great idea, and anything that lessens the amount of times I have to hear the damn fog horn, the better.

2. As I have said before, Detroit is the class of the league, top to bottom organizationally. If we want long term (and continuous) success, Detroit is pretty much the only model out there… besides New Jersey, but who the hell wants to trap… and who the hell wants to play in Jersey?

3. See my previous opinion.

4. Only if it was the Toronto Maple Leafs.

5. I have an issue with ‘This year’s model.’ Not only does it sound like we are talking about cars, it implies that it is more of a ‘flavour’ than a sustainable infrastructure. I’d rather shoot for ‘every year’ not just one year or a stretch of a few years.

   1: player music? that would be kinda nifty.
   2:The thing I see with Detroit is that there isn’t only one or two superstars and a bunch of grinders—there’s a high level of ability is pretty evenly spread out, which is really good in case of injuries. As for the youth question, I say DEFINITELY keep Tlusty in the A for next year (barring some freakish rash of injuries or something on the big team.) I’m all for polishing up youth and smoothing them out.
    3:My resistance to the Sedins is purely selfish and silly—I just want to see what happens if you separate them. Are they still point a game players?
   4:Ah hell no, I wouldn’t buy a team, because I know I’d just run it into the ground.
    5: I think that if the Leafs were to model themselves after either Pittsburgh or Detroit, that would be a good direction. Either draft high and get some superstars, or get some sharp eyed scouts to keep the talent levels even.

1. Big Poppa!
2. They have a great development system and the guys are all drilled in the same system.
3. I want the Sedins because they will still be great when the rest of the team peaks. I also wanted Schenn in the NHL and Tlusty in the A.
4. In a heartbeat. I’d then unilaterally try to move the team to Canada by way of a stoking a nationalistic furor.
5. Detroit – a commitment to guiding principles throughout the organization, a commitment to getting good people into positions to succeed and letting them do their job, and Stanley Cups!

also, theme music?

SLAYER!!!

Who’s going to start making the Leaf player ‘Soundtrack’

1. Black Dog…the Zep
2. the kids should learn to play together with the Marlies. Get a new coach. Dump all the kids down there, and let them become a team. Schenn and the rest of the vets can stay. Sending vets down, hinders the kids.
3. I have no issue with the Sedins, actually in hockey terms they are effective. Give them a winger with hands and he’ll score 30 plus a season. I’m just not sure that parachuting them in right now is something that puts the team over the top or just ekes us into another series of making the playoffs but not going too deep.
4. Yes, and I’d be smart and hire Burke too.
5. Here’s the 4 options for the model:
a) Detroit, draft and sign lots of young foreign players and run a solid organization from top to bottom.
b) Pittsburgh & Chicago: Suck so bad you draft elite players (seems a popular choice already and we do it wrong anyway)
c) Carolina: Ride a hot goalie and a team of mostly middling talent to upset to teams and shock the world by making the conference finals.
I vote a! And it should be Detroit until some other team does it better (go Leafs go!)

Through the Summer, maybe the folks at PPP could feature a different player and ask for suggestions. Then we could vote.

Does anyone know the ACC sound man???

3. The Sedins- do not want. If we’re going to go after two brothers, trade to Pittsburgh and Carolina for the Staals- dangle Kaberle to either, to play with HIS brother, or fill in that critical puck-moving D for Pittsburgh. (long, drooling missives of having two Schenns and two Staals begin)
4. If I purchased a team, it would be the Sens. I would immediately hire JFJ as GM and Milbury as coach and move the team to Puerto Rico. I would then force them to stay at the bottom of the cap req. 4EVER.

1. Great idea. Long overdue. It brings some personality to the game. And anything to change up the music at the ACC is a good thing.

2. You’re right, Tlusty shouldn’t have played an NHL game yet. That being said, he proved himself in the minors last year, no? So I’d be open to him being in the NHL next year. Actually, I’m excited about it. He needs to become a top-6 forward on this team. That being said, perhaps another year of AHL seasoning would be wise. Much like Jammies, I was hoping for Schenn to be returned to junior as well, but now that he’s here, he’s not going anywhere. But perhaps it is wise to look at how the best team in the league does business. It’s clearly working.

3. The resistance to the Sedins is ape-shit crazy. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if the twins were from Alberta. It’s ridiculous. If Burke somehow lands the two of them…BONERS!!1

4. I’d buy one of those struggling teams. I want to be like Ted Leonsis. I think there would be a tremendous sense of satisfaction to make a team work in a market where you’ve been told it can’t work, and eventually win a Stanley Cup. It would be a monumental challenge. Oh, and in addition to being the owner, I’d also make myself the GM. Because, you know, I want to build a team, not just own it.

5. I’m beginning to realize we will never be Detroit. There’s only one Detroit. Might as well go the route of the tankage. Although I’m all for the “random walk.” Make the playoffs, and anything can happen baby.

PLAYOFFS!!!!1

4. Tampa. Because I love my goalie so much. Plus my winning personality would punch up that circus of a franchise.

1. The Senators do this already…at least for some guys, they always play “It’s a Beautiful Day” when Alfredsson scores (really I don’t know why), and “The Heat is On” when Heatley scores (that one makes more sense). So if we don’t want to copy the Sens we don’t do this. That said, it would be an amazing CD to burn :)

2. You mean other teams don’t have these wristbands already? Pittsburgh probably asked this question, and didn’t like the answer (steal Marian Hossa!).

3. I heard they want to double their salary (which would make it about $7 million/year/twin). In that case, absolutely not (it may just be a ploy to get out of Vancouver). $6 million/year/twin would be reasonable and anything less than that would be amazing.

4. I’d buy the Leafs. Or I’d buy the Habs (or Sens) and move them to Abu Dhabi (or Siberia).

5. Think about it…20+ years ago, Detroit WAS Pittsburgh/Chicago…in that they were terrible and getting those high picks. So the answer should be obvious…be like Pittsburgh/Chicago first…then be like Detroit. (Don’t be like Carolina.)