Leafs making the playoffs in 07/08?

hazatude · Post by **hazatude** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:12 am

What say you?

TheCheez · Post by **TheCheez** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:46 am

If Toskala can be #1 they have a decent chance of sneaking into 7 or 8 imo.

2R · Post by 2R » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:14 pm

Fav saying in the big TO was" Who is beating the leafs tonight "

Doc · Post by **Doc** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:19 pm

The Colts may repeat their Super Bowl win. Pigs may fly. The Leafs will blow in the wind. Again. But with the NFL just kicking off, I couldn't really GARA about hockey quite yet. On that note, I'm headed to YWG in a week to see the Loafs vs. the Ex-Jets. I will be cheering for the Leafs. I don't understand the "wood" people from the 'peg have for the Coyotes. They left you without an NHL team.....get over it!
GO BEARS!!!!

Brantford Beech Boy · Post by **Brantford Beech Boy** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 4:16 pm

I find it easy to identify the second week of any NHL season.
That's usually when the Leafs are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs!

BBB

WJflyer · Post by **WJflyer** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:12 pm

I've watched Toskala play before while he was with the Sharks; let's just say that with the piss poor excuse of a defense with the Leafs, he's going to get lit up like a Christmas tree.

The Leafs need to throw the towel in this season and rebuild. Start dealing away players for picks, and bring up the rookies up for ice time. You can't keep patching a ship that has holes everywhere; they need to scrap the team as it is, and start from scratch. At most, keep a couple vets around for leadership, but that's about it.

hazatude · Post by **hazatude** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:25 pm

They signed Antropov for 2 fucking years!

Floats · Post by **Floats** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:34 am

WJflyer wrote:I've watched Toskala play before while he was with the Sharks; let's just say that with the piss poor excuse of a defense with the Leafs, he's going to get lit up like a Christmas tree.

The Leafs need to throw the towel in this season and rebuild. Start dealing away players for picks, and bring up the rookies up for ice time. You can't keep patching a ship that has holes everywhere; they need to scrap the team as it is, and start from scratch. At most, keep a couple vets around for leadership, but that's about it.

I totally agree!

costermonger · Post by **costermonger** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:16 am

If the Leafs make the playoffs it will be thanks to a couple weak divisional rivals (I'm looking at you, Boston and Montreal). They'll lose the season series to the Sens, but I'm not sure how things will play out with the newly-mediocre Sabres. Best case scenario for the Leafs is second in the NE. If they manage that, they'll get into the playoffs, but under no circumstances will they run deep.

WJflyer · Post by **WJflyer** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:55 pm

And we have a promise to make the playoffs from Paul Maurice:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article. ... 44514_4624

"We'll make the playoffs"
September 13, 2007
Sportsnet.ca
The Leafs missed the playoffs last year by one point. (Getty)
TORONTO (CP) -- Here it is Leafs fans, direct from the mouth of the head coach.

"We'll make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup," says Paul Maurice.

The pledge was made on the opening day of training camp Thursday.

At his first Leafs camp one year ago, Maurice did not dare go out on such a limb, offering only that Toronto would be in a dogfight to make the playoffs. He was right. They missed, by only one point, for the second consecutive season -- hence the urgency instigating the new pledge.

"We all should feel the urgency," captain Mats Sundin said after undergoing his medical exam and participating in fitness tests.

Success is possible this season because general manager John Ferguson has "really strengthened our team," said Sundin.

Add-ons Vesa Toskala, the former San Jose backup who'll vie for the No. 1 goaltending job with incumbent Andrew Raycroft, and Jason Blake, who scored 40 goals last season for the New York Islanders, will make a difference, said Sundin.

"We're a stronger group and, knock on wood, if we can stay healthy we should be a playoff team," he said.

Maurice will supervise on-ice workouts Friday, the first exhibition game is Tuesday in Edmonton and the regular season begins at home against Ottawa on Oct. 3.

Ferguson and Maurice both say that decreasing goals against is the main improvement the Leafs must make in order to reach the promised land of the post-season.

"I'm comfortable with where our offensive game is," said Maurice. "Our team, offensively, was good enough to win the Stanley Cup (last season).

"We scored as many goals as Anaheim. We were in the top 10 and we'd like to get into the top five and become an elite offensive team. The challenge will be being a good defensive hockey team without losing any of our offence."

Maurice says he won't institute a neutral zone trap defensive system to try and hit the target of reducing goals against. He doesn't like it. It's too boring. He'll stick with the attack-first philosophy, while constantly reminding players of their checking responsibilities.

"We're going to try to do both, and that's the mark of a good team," Maurice said.

Continued improvement in the play of youngsters Alex Steen, Kyle Wellwood and Matt Stajan is another requirement if Maurice's pledge of a playoff berth is to become reality.

"On all good teams the younger players have to really start to show the older guys, `You know what, if you don't play good, we're going to take your spot,"' said Sundin. "That's a competition you need to have in any group.

"They should feel the urgency to be better this year and be more productive and be a bigger part of the team."

Steen says he's up to the challenge.

"Everybody is looking forward to this year," said Steen. "A lot of good things can happen with this team.

"We feel very confident that we have a team that can do some damage once we get in the playoffs, which obviously is a huge goal for us. If we stay healthy -- the last couple of years we'd had some problems with injuries -- we feel we're going to be a tough team to beat." .

While critics might knock Ferguson for bringing back the bulk of a lineup that missed the playoffs, Steen deduces that keeping the core group intact was a plus.

"The atmosphere we had in the dressing room last year was unbelievable and we can build off of that," he said.

Wellwood was felled by a sports hernia last season and got into only 48 games. Having not been in a real game since last April, camp couldn't open soon enough.

"Hearing the (clock) alarm go off, you can't hit the sleep button anymore," he said. "It's fun to get up and do something."

Ditto for veteran forward Darcy Tucker.

"We had a long summer to think about things," he said. "It's nice to get back and see some of the new guys."

Toronto will play eight of its first 10 regular-season games at home. It earned only 47 points in Air Canada Centre last season, and that was another factor in its demise.

"We need to get off to a quick start and make sure we're in the hunt right from the get-go," said Sundin.

Sundin's decision to sign a one-year contract during the off-season raised some eyebrows and will spark discussion about his future during the winter. The Swede hopes it doesn't become a distraction.

"It shouldn't be -- not for me anyway, and if it's not for me it shouldn't be for anyone else," he said. "There's no hidden agendas on why I signed a one-year deal. It was the thing that felt the best for me.

"My only desire is to be part of a championship team here. I want to end my career in Toronto."

He's 36 now so his career is winding down.

"It's not depressing," he said. "It's motivating.

"I feel I'm as good a player as I was five years ago. It's a good motivation thing to know my big goal is still to be part of a championship team in Toronto. We haven't achieved that and that's something that's going to help motivate me for this season."

The title is up for grabs, added Sundin.

"It's anybody's game at the start of the season. You look at the past couple of years. It's really tough to predict a Stanley Cup winner. So, yeah, we have as good a chance to win a championship as a lot of other teams this year. I'm very excited about that. I'm hungry to have some playoff success."

Maurice is confident his players will earn themselves a banquet.

"This will be the most talented hockey team I've ever coached," he said.

I think Paul Maurice has totally lost the plot... Again, your defence is crap, and if you need to play the neutral zone trap, so be it and play the neutral zone trap. Goaltending? Only two players out there can get your sorry ass of a team into the playoffs, and one is in New Jersey, the other in Vancouver, and I think both teams don't want to let them go for any price. No way Toskala will put up the kind of numbers and performance he had while playing behind a powerhouse team in San Jose either.

Leaf's problem is not putting the puck to the net; its keeping it out of their net is the problem.

Look who's a good (not going to say a sure bet) bet to actually make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference:
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tampa Bay Lightning
New York Rangers
Buffalo Sabres
Atlanta Thrashers
New Jersey Devils

For last spot, I would say it is a toss up between Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders.

Watch this team melt down and sink to the bottom leading up to the playoffs. And then watch John Ferguson Jr. get sacked along with Maurice. And that would be the best thing to happen to the Leafs for a long time.

2R · Post by 2R » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:32 am

If the canuckleheads where to have any chance of winning the cup it would be when meeting the leafs in the finals .
Oh look there is a leprichaun

TheCheez · Post by **TheCheez** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:40 am

Devils and Sabres are teams in self destruct mode and are definitely weak links for any other team hoping to get into the top 8.

Thrashers....I dunno?

groundpilot · Post by **groundpilot** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:46 am

Little David was in Grade 5 when his teacher asked all the kids what their fathers did for a living. The typical answers came up: doctor, fireman, policeman, salesman, etc. David was being uncharacteristically quiet so the teacher called on him to answer. "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay bar and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes, if the offer is really good, he''ll go out to the alley with some guy and make love with him for money." The teacher was so shaken by this that she quickly gave the kids colouring to do while taking David outside with her. "Is that really true about your father?" She asked. "No," David replid, "He plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids."

groundpilot · Post by **groundpilot** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:47 am

Three hockey fans were on their way to a game when one noticed a foot sticking out of the bushes by the side of the road. They stopped and discovered a nude female, drunk and passed out.

Out of respect for the lady, the Ottawa Senators fan took off his cap and placed it over her right breast. The Montreal Canadiens fan took off his cap and placed it over her left breast. Following their lead, the Toronto Maple Leafs fan took off his cap and placed it over her crotch.

The police were then called and when the officer arrived, he conducted his inspection. First, he lifted up the Senators cap, replaced it, and wrote down some notes. Next, he lifted the Montreal Canadiens cap, replaced it, and wrote down some more notes.

The officer then lifted the Maple Leafs cap, replaced it, then lifted it again and replaced it. Finally, he lifted it one more time, and replaced it.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs fan was getting upset and finally asked, "What are you, a pervert or something? Why do you keep lifting and looking, lifting and looking?"

"Well," said the officer, " I'm a little confused.
Normally, when I look under a Maple Leafs hat, I find an *sshole."

groundpilot · Post by **groundpilot** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:47 am

Why doesn't Hamilton have an NHL team?

Because then Toronto would want one too

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day, Satan was out for a walk through Hell, making sure things were running smoothly. When he got to the Lake of Fire, he saw a man sitting by the lake, relaxing in a lawn chair, and not sweating or looking uncomfortable at all. Perplexed, Satan approached the man and asked:

"Young man, are you not hot or bothered by this heat?" The man replied, "Oh no, not at all. I lived in downtown Ottawa and this weather is just like a typical July day in the city."

Satan thought that this was not a good sign, so he rushed back to his office and turned up the heat in Hell another 100 degrees. Satisfied with himself, he again returned to the Lake of Fire to check on the young man.

When he got there, the man was showing a few beads of sweat, but that was all. Again Satan asked the Ottawa native,

"Are you hot and uncomfortable yet?"

The young man looked up and said, "No, the temperature is just like a hot August day in Ottawa. I'm coping it just fine."

Satan decided that he had to do something drastic to make this man's stay in Hell unpleasant. He went back to his office, turned the heat all the way down, and then turned up the air conditioning. The temperature in Hell quickly dropped well below zero. As he approached the Lake of Fire, he noticed that it was now frozen over. He also saw the young man jumping up and down wildly, waving his arms and yelling into the air.

"This looks promising!" thought Satan. Coming closer, he finally made out what the man was shouting:

"The Leafs have won the Stanley Cup! The Leafs have won the Stanley Cup!"

groundpilot · Post by **groundpilot** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:48 am

A child stands in court before a judge. His parents are divorcing and the judge is asking him which parent he would like to live with. "Would you like to live with your mother?" the judge asks. "No! she beats me every night i dont want to live with her!". So the judge says "Ok, you can go live with your dad then." the child replies "No! he beats me every night as well! i dont want to live with him!" and the judge replies "Well if both your parents beat you then who do you want to live with?".

The boy replies "The Toronto Maple Leafs." The judge is puzzled. "why would you want to live with them?" he asks. The boy replies "Because they dont beat anyone!"

Leafs making the playoffs in 07/08?

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs?

Leafs making the playoffs in 07/08?