The huge problem with this team is most of the cap is spent on a core four forwards who have very little battle level when it's needed in the very physical playoffs.

i would rather lose a marner trade then let him walk for nothing

Ask the Oilers if they think a coaching change makes a difference. I believe it was the same roster Knoblauch inherited that was 3-9-1 and then finished 2nd in their division and won the western conference finals and lost the stanley cup by 1 game.

This roster looks amazing to me, honestly. The bottom 6 leaves something to be desired, surely, but the 4th line isn't meant to put up massive numbers. They should pressure and physically acost their opponents, and crash and bang, and our 4th line is suited for that. Our defenseman have improved DRAMATICALLY, Brodie, Giordano gone for Tanev and OEL. I LOVE our defensive pairings, and they're deep. We have about 8 serviceable d-men with Haakinpaa, Timmons (not a great player, but serviceable), Liljegren, Benoit, not to mention our top 4 D-men in Reilly-Tanev, and McCabe-OEL. McCabe has an astoundingly good cap hit for what he brings. Benoit at 1.35M. We look good, considering out top 6 and the most prolific goal scorer of our era (not to mention Willy, Marner who are ALWAYS gonna linger around 100 pts per season), a very decent decidedly improved D-core and goaltending that will either be tremendous, with Woll having a breakout, career year as the designated starter, and Stolarz as a 1B, or Woll gets injured and we're suddenly below NHL average in net. It's a risk, but they believe in Woll and I think Leafs nation are very hopeful that this guy will be our next Freddie Andersen. Consistent, solid, and able to put your team in a position to win every night! I absolutely love this off-season so far! Sorry for the incredbly long message lol ;) I know Leafs fans can be fanatic and incredibly passionate, but I do think we expect too much from GMs, coaches, and leadership. I don't understand the very, very high levels of skepticism. The Leafs make the playoffs every single year. They always score tons of goals, they always crack 100 pts a season. This will happen again in 2024-2025. I understand this fanbase needs playoff results, but in order to succeed in playoffs we need to play 82 games, and this roster is better than the one Keefe started with last season. We will be better, and as we push for playoff positions, we can add and build at trade deadline for the playoff run. TLDR: the team looks good, we look better than last year. We're gonna finish high in the ATL, and playoffs are happening. Big questions will be: Can Matthews push for 70-80G? Can Nylander reach an even higher level and get 110-120 pts? Will Marner do the same? And will Woll ascend to being one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, with a GAA of .920%? Big question, we'll find out! Lastly, off-loading a JT or Marner would have been a game changer and would have enabled us to dramatically re-vamp the roster. It would have made a tremendous difference, but despite that not happening, I'm very happy with what Treliving has done! Go Leafs Goooooo!!!!

Paying these guys more $ doesn’t make them better players.

You can debate this until the cows come home, however the biggest issue with this team is the fact that the big three (Matthews, Marner and Nylander) are "me first" guys when it comes to money and the salary cap! This was solidified when Dubas and Shanahan caved in during the first round of contract negotiations basically giving them each what they wanted with little to no concessions and the current dye was set! As a result, in the salary cap era, their allocation ratios are all screwed up with too much money tied up in 4 forwards which causes them to be thin in terms of depth. Also, trading away all the picks to dump bad contracts and bolster the line up for another 1st round exit has absolutely caught up to them, as well! Basically, bad management has doomed this franchise once again! It will be another book for Gord Stellick chronicling how the Leafs screwed up again....and the cup drought continues!

Maybe the Leafs not being able score enough goals is a good problem to have during the regular season. Hopefully that triggers them to finding ways to scoring meaningful goals that could translate to something during playoffs

The Leafs have a real coach, overhauled D and very promising goaltending. The team is improved, plain and simple - I don’t get the panic.

Bunkis is such a fan

JD's brain literally stops functioning when it comes to Nick Robertson.

Complain, complain, overreact, overreact!!! THATS JD!!

This is the definition of insanity

I would have really preferred a 29 year old D in Pesci or Zadorov over a 34 year old D in Tanev

Good show thanks. Surprisingly honest assessment of the Leafs.

Our goalie had a .890 last year and we've replaced Brodie with Tanev. OEL can move the puck better than Boosh and Edmundson, obviously. Just those things are huge improvements but probably not good enough to win.

Offensive will improve because OEL and Tanev will be better at getting the puck moved up ice than guys like Edmunston and Lybuskin. Lilly will.benefit from learning d from Tanev and being paired with an experienced fellow Swede like OEL.

I am a Habs fan but why are the Leafs not doing the same things other Canadian teams are doing ? They are supposed to get Better . You can't be saying it's because of John Tavares contract there are more people who are getting paid like that !! They are the ones who offered him it !! I would say that I think that he would take about 3-4 Million a year and that is a good and a drop of 7 or8 Million a year . The rest of the players should also take a drop till they Win 2 rounds of the playoffs ! Then they would get the money back that they p

these guys are sooooo depressing omg

If Marner has no intention of waiving then I'm OK with letting him walk him and Tavares. It would be bad asset management to sign them. if he has no value like Mirtle thinks. Then he can lose a year in free agency and play for 7-8 mil somewhere else. And take Shanahan with him. So if negotiating is so easy with the leafs. What was Treliving brought in here to do again?🤔

I believe lilligren is a liability on the ice your gonna pay a guy this much money to ride the bench.

Is this the best defence of the mathews era?

Bunkis has perfected hand wringing. OEL had a solid bounce back year avg 18 mins a game, and played important mins when Ekblad was hurt, and won a cup. There was no perfect answer this offseason.

Won’t be as much offence as last season. Matthews probably only gets max 60 goals next year, Tavares probably only gets 55 points, lose 21 goals of Bertuzi without replacement. Hopefully the defence mitigates the Offence reduction.

Leaf followers always undervalue Leaf players. I'd like to see the Leafs take Robertson, Minten and someone else and offer it to Anaheim for Zegras. I've watched videos of Zegras with team USA and just drool thinking about his perfect set-ups being served to Matthews. Matthews would get 70 every year. He's exceptionally cool under pressure and made many American Jrs look good. If he started in New York or Boston instead of Anaheim he would be untouchable right now.

You tie the turnover of captaincy with early contract ext with Toronto $4 mil (O Rielly comparable) x 5 years for JT, exchanges C for new deal, acknowledge changing era.

2nd year Knies...Macmann...more goals

Tavares agreed. 3x8yr. I'de sign it this summer. Then give the C to Matthews. Mitch can see up close the team is moving forward. Tell him with the team. Not early. He might sign a fair contract this summer. Or, he'll be asking for a move at the Trade Deadline.

"So many holes" There are not many holes. If Hakanpaa is cleared, they can trade Liljegren for a 3rd line center or use his cap space to get one. If he isn't, moving Kampf, Jarnkrok & Reaves to free cap space is another way they might go. It is premature to judge a work in progress.

Rolling the dice this year but I think their strategy is waiting for next year when marner and tavares come off the books. They can balance the team off properly next year..hopefully

JD tells it like it is - full credit unlike most of the other podcasters and Leaf-focused media. I will now subscribe.

If the players don't get the big contract the Owners would get it !! What should be done is lower Ticket prices ? So we all could go !but

Bunkis has a very appropriate last name. He sounds like a total bunkis sometimes when he talks out his ying Yang. What centres made sense there buddy? At this point a trade like mirtle suggests seems like a likely and appropriate option and those take time

They needed to address their defense FIRST. Then, goaltending. Then, forwards. With 61% of the salary going to 5 players they couldnt go after too many big fish. The 2024 free agency had a lot of defensemen available. The 2025 free agency will have a lot of forwards.

Sorry about that I was not finish ,, the money they are Worth !! The players that take less money so they can get other good players to play on the same team and better chances to win and players that do this are really great players what's to Win !!! Thank you for your time and video! Thanks again Jim Go Habs Go!!!🤔

This idea of stripping Tavares of the captaincy is pure lunacy. And no way Matthews should be a captain if he's not gonna sign long term with the club

It would be crazy to trade Robertson right now.

No need to add any more forwards… Robertson, Cowan, or Minton can fill the 12th forward spot at a low cap hit and we’ll be fine.

Did Marner give four teams he'd take a trade to? I heard Chicago, Dallas, Vegas and Nashville were acceptable?

i'm surprised at your level of pessimism on things. I think you have to see them play to see that maybe this mix could work. I am actually excited about the goaltending and so we are set there. We are set on D, for now. We still have Mitch. I think we are in a good spot for now. Remember in 4 years the cap will be higher.

Why the assumptioin that just matching the dollars is enough to get the likes of Roy or Skjei? There's no reason to believe that either wanted to play here. If, like O'Reilly, they preferred to play elsewhere, then Treliving could only go with whoever was willing to come. The UFA centers available were not the answer at the asking price. So, barring the unlikely event of a Marner trade, a significant upgrade at center will probably have to wait until there's a good option available, either via deadline trade, or next years' UFAs, when the dollars can be freed up--letting Marner walk if need be.

Tanev is a solid defenseman. He has been his entire career. OEL on the other hand is more of a liability and you're not going to get what you think you are. He only plays when he feels like it.

the biggest mistake of the matthews era comes off the books next year...captain robot.

Look where the team is ffs!! Can’t sign anyone because of these brutal contracts. If Marner won’t agree to a trade, let his a$$ walk!

They needed to improve the defence. So the idea is to reduce goals against. We have enough goal scoring. The thing that gets forgotten is the lack of production from the defence last year. There should be better puck movement from the D as well. What they are lacking up front is size.

Move Marner to centre, creates new talk. Berube says he wants to see step up by Marner in playoffs or goodbye.

I would have really preferred a 29 year old RD in Pesci or Zadorov over a 34 year old RD in Tanev

Other than Bertuzzi who else did they lose up front?

What about Nylander at Centre ?

Boy, J.D. sure likes to complain about the Leafs, something's always really wrong. I think Tre's done a good job so far with what he has. Our D has definitely gotten better and our goalie situation hopefully will be more stable and better and we'll see what else he has up his sleeve. I think there are some that will complain no matter what unless Mitch get's traded in some "big splash" deal.

Draisaitl had 3 points in the final, would you trade him? TKacuk had 3 points in the final, would you trade him?

I think that they don't have enough toghness, and playing with rielly Will wear down tanev, I think they should ask rielly to move his no trade and use him in a package for ekblad, this defence needs a top guy, he's available, also another mid level defencman

The Leafs D is now solid as I would rather have OEL over Brodie as Brodie was lost and I’m sure OEL is gonna allow Timothy L to play be much better playing with OEL

No taxes in Florida that's why they were able to resign reinhart for less. If the NHL wanted to make it more fair for teams that have crazy amount of income taxes compared to teams that don't have taxes they wouldn't count the taxes or a certain percentage of the contract toward the salary cap. But that won't happen cause it makes to much sense.

What about this trade. Marner to Vegas. Pietrangelo + 2/4 depth players ?

I can’t believe how happy everyone is in these comments. This offseason was exactly like every other one. Let’s build around these 4 players like guys it’s been 8 years and one playoff win is pathetic.They rly needed to trade marner to shake this team up just to get off the money. I don’t care if they loose the trade bcuz Ik it can’t work with him making 8 mill plus. I understand he is a great player with all the points but this is only in the regular season. Once playoff any starts this guy is actually one of the worst players on the team just terrible it’s baffling how bad. Ofcourse it’s not not all mariners fault tho but somethings gotta change.

Trade---Nike Robertson and lilligren to Winnipeg for Rutger McGroarty!!!!

Marner, Robertson, 1st rd pick for Ehlers and Mcgroarty

They dont have many options now. They have to see the year through. Tavares is still a great second line center. OEL was 18 mins a night last year..hard to say how it looks. Tjs defense is underatted and hasnt been acknowledged by anyone in this towns media. Tanevs perfect for Reilly..ROR was a major miss for their depth.

So is it 100% now the Leafs don’t trade Marner!?

WAKE UP LEAF FANS!!!!!!….. we signed a bunch of old farts !!!!… so they think their gonna win a cup in the next few years?. LMFAO!…. Two Dallas players that have no knees and injury prone! Way to go Leaf Management!👍👍👍👍👍

When He plays his Brother's Team

They scored 303 goals 2nd most in the league, but can't score in the playoffs

If the Leafs d are all healthy i would try Liligram on forward.

The NHL Trade lol what a conundrum. When player is new or having a down year its " his value is low can't trade him " when he's an established or having a good year its " his value is to high can't trade him " .There's never a good time to trade, That's why you're trading to address a need rather then trading for future higher value or trying to one over the other GM. Nylander and Madness Value was never higher and the right time to shake things up. And thanks to Shanahan that ship sailed due to over Valuing his players instead of addressing other area's of weakness. So now this team is looking at 4- 8 years of first round exits because of greed and ego. Shanahan was brought in to change the culture of this team, Turns out its just more of the same.

Former Athletic Shapiro writer says Tanev would have payed more in Taxes in Texas than home in Canada

Glass half full guy…maybe team building isn’t over yet. I’ll bet there will be more…

10 years and a rebuild away from having a team that could win. 1 win in the 2nd round will be this groups Stanley cup. A shame.

I guess JD's schtick is to be a panicked pessimist no matter what. Like complaining about the forward group and specifically center when you have Matthews, JT, Kampf, Holmberg, Domi if you need him and Nylander if you need him, plus Minten coming up... How many centers do we need?

I'd give the kids a shot... Minten or Holmberg in that 3 C.... but let them settle into it.... none of this two games it's done crap sheldon did... ride it until december and correct the mistakes...

The Leafs season will hinge on Woll's health. If he stays healthy, I honestly think you guys will have a better season than you're all expecting. If Woll gets injured again... it could get messy.

Bro you have locked nmc contracts, minimal cap space and no prospects wtf do expect to be different this year? Next year when marner and tavares are gone then you can have some pieces move

Leafs are willing to extend and pay Marner, Millions of Dollars; but are not willing to pay Roy, 2 Million Dollars more than Larsson?

It's obvious to me that the Leafs have changed their perspective on how a team should be constructed. Mirtle seems to have an adult view as to the difficulty of implementing it. Bunkis is reflecting a very immature reaction. Fixing this team will take time.

Move Marner to D

Why are you always looking at the negatives

Might just have to settle for draft picks for kampf, jarnkrok, Robertson liljagren, Reeves Which would allow leafs to build a better bottom six

Liljgren at $3M is better than Lybushkin at $3M in my book.

Stanley Cup?? How about showing up and making a deep run.

What I’m most frustrated with is the Hakenpaa signing. No announced yet. Then Rat Simmons comes out and says what he said about Hakenpaa. Man is he a negative Nelly. And a wonder why people don’t like the dude.

Blaming our forwards for that one trick pony, dump and chase Keefe. stop talking Marner trade, he is one of the best players in the league and bleeds blue.

They’re going to be worse unless guys like Robertson knies minten Mcmann etc make a difference.

Bunkis talkin like it's easy peasy to change the majority of the team and sign anyone u want within a couple weeks. Very annoying to listen to

At 7.5 million rielly can't play the pp and he gets off the hook without any heat. He needs to go

This was depressing :'(

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Snillen spekulerar

Classic Leaves overspend come the first second of free agency.

Speed up the middle is gonna be a problem for the leafs their too slow.

They can’t do anything until JT is gone and marner is decided. They can’t make real moves.

These two sure are fun. Just the saddest two lamenting the team they "cheer" for. bleh.

I love the Toronto way: point out the flaws, the errors, mistakes (which are often many with the Leafs), but never ever offer proper actual solutions or good idea, alternatives, because if you try to do that, you end up looking like like a know-nothing fraud...

The Leafs could have gone out and got a top 3 goalie at half value, 3 big right shot D that can easily play in the top 4 at half value and you STILL wouldn't be happy because the only thing you care about is the fact the top 4 are all still here. You been crying for how many years about how bad the Leafs D is/was? Do you honestly think that has ZERO effect on offense?! Do you honestly believe the forwards spending over 1min in the D-Zone just trying to help get the puck out because the Defense suck and somehow still have enough energy to drive offense?! All you see is the stats in the playoffs and pin the blame all on the forwards for not getting it done offensively.. at least try and see the root problem/big picture.

whoever Bunkis takes hair advice from should be blocked for life

TJ Brodie signs 2 yrs for $3.75 milllion per yr with Chicago black hawks he joins Bertuzzi.

Marner is overpaid by at least a factor of two, and he does not deserve to have a no movement clause. If he will not waive his NMC, the team should dress him for every game but not play him at all.

there are none so blind as those who will not see: RIELLY is the problem: lazy, sloppy, entitled!

Don’t be less than honest, tanev great but the term was bad. Lilly contract bad. Domi contract little high but great. Hakanpaa contactmaybw ok but heard some injury is there, may not play. Oel bad term and little high. Bert gone. I think if you stop and look at what is going on with the leafs they got older, slower but bigger maybe. The team is a little and maybe a lot less of than last year. Marner not gone yet is wrong , the only way they can change up the team, which is what management said, so you decide- better or worse , you know my choose .

The Leafs are not making to playoffs. They have actually gotten weaker. Thank you core 4 for leaving nothing behind to build a real solid team. Costume dressing at its best.

Reilly, Tavares, are horrible at what they do but I know they always need elite talent to bail them out , both soft and horrible passers, selfish etc etc. I would also lose Kampf and Jarnkrok. Knies-Minten-Cowan would have won us the cup last year but next season, they will be the most exciting line, it's a young mans league stop hiring grandpas. Retire Brodie, trade Liljgren.Force Tavares out of town. Send Reilly to Vancouver. Rember kids, Reilly and Tavares= Early playoff exit. Btw if Berube is also like Babs, Keefe and employs dump and chase we are not going anywhere our elite players don't and have noit buyig into it and I don't blame them.

Dawg. Oel played first pair while montour and ekblad were hurt. You two are bafoons