Montreal @ St Louis
1-3 (Tarasenko)

NYI @ CBJ
2-0 (Lee)

Vegas @ Pittsburgh
4-3 (Karlsson)

Boston @ Toronto
2-3 (Pasternak)

Dallas @ Philly
0-2 (Klingberg)

Colorado @ Tampa Bay
5-4 (Kucherov)

Ottawa @ Arizona
3-1 (Ryan)

Florida @ Nasville
0-4 (Forsberg)

Calgary @ LA
3-0 (Lucic)

Buffalo @ San Jose
3-1 (Eichel)

That Leafs game went from super fun to super poopy real fast. Maybe don’t give frigging Washington a 5 on 3 next time?

Ugh. Boston up next. Wooooooo

So how about those Canucks, on a four-game winning streak... I can definitely get behind that. Here's to hoping it'll continue into the weekend against the Devils (Saturday), and Rangers (Sunday).

MARNER WORTH EVERY PENNY

Apparently allowing 50 shots is the way to win this weekend.

Winnipeg outshot 53-19 against San Jose and they win.

Edmonton outshot 50something to way less this afternoon and they win 2-1 in OT.

Leafs are currently outshooting Philly 14-4 after the first so, uhhh....fuck.

Don Cherry got himself fired for anti immigrant remarks. Good bye, loser.

BABS IS AXED!!! All that high-end talent, squandered. The window's slammed shut. What now?

EDIT: Babcock's being replaced by the former coach of the Leafs' AHL team.  So maybe not quite closed.  He did help win the Marlies a Calder Cup.

Thank fucking god. Should have been done in April.

Hopefully we can salvage this season and get a wild card spot but I’m not holding my breath. If this fucking team wastes the last year of Barrie and Muzzin I’m going to flip out.

Zappy here. Yes, I follow the discussion.

For the Leafs fans: What happened with Babcock? They are only 2 points out of a play-off spot. Better chance to make a run with an AHL coach?

So, this weekend I make my much anticipated return to Canada. I will be attending back to back Rangers games in Montreal and Ottawa. This will be my first time at the Bell Centre.

If you want to find me I will be the guy hooked up to a Tim Hortons IV.

Wow. Enjoy yourself Zappy. You'll find that our A & Ws are much better places to eat than your A & Ws.

Nov 21, 2019 1:42:57 GMT Zappy said:

Zappy here. Yes, I follow the discussion.

For the Leafs fans: What happened with Babcock? They are only 2 points out of a play-off spot. Better chance to make a run with an AHL coach?

So, this weekend I make my much anticipated return to Canada. I will be attending back to back Rangers games in Montreal and Ottawa. This will be my first time at the Bell Centre.

If you want to find me I will be the guy hooked up to a Tim Hortons IV.

Awesome to hear. I’ve heard the Bell Centre is absolutely nuts. You should have a good time. I’m eager to hear a review of the Sens arena. It has a really bad rep.

As for Babcock.... I’ll try to keep this short.

He was stale and had lost the room. It’s been pretty obvious this year and some would say going back to last season. He’s stubborn and hates change, and once the younger players had got their money it almost seemed like they decided they were in a position to get rid of him and were just going through the motions (this is heavy speculation but it’s pretty widely accepted).

He was great in his role to turn the organization around and bring a new winning attitude to Toronto for the young picks and prospects the Leafs have picked up since 2015. He did his job, but needed to go for them to get to that next level.

Starting in January things weren’t right with the team. They’ve been a .500 team since then, and only finished 3rd because they racked up so many points in Oct - Dec.

3 first round exits in a row and 2 in a row to Boston. Babcock waited until the final 9 minutes of Game 7 to adjust his strategies, but Boston was up 4-1 and the game (and season) was over. He played Marleau and his 4th line more than Matthews, Marner and Nylander in that 9 minutes.

And this season was just an extension of that. Boring play, leaning on the bottom six, loose and lazy defending, power play struggling, no new strategies, Matthews playing 16 minutes a game...watch any of the last 10 Leafs games and look for the following:

-4th line playing too much
-defenceman missing assignments
-PP1 skating into the neutral zone, dropping the puck back, trying to gain the zone, losing the puck, not being able to set up, then changing for PP2.
-terrible PK
-only the Matthews/Nylander/Johnsson line being able to cycle the puck in their opponents zone and every other line struggling.

Same game plan, same lines, same everything every game. The rest of the league caught on last January and he hasn’t changed anything since.

They’re wasting the final years of Barrie and Muzzin’s contracts (Barrie has already requested a trade) and they’re wasting the absolutely insane talent they have in their top 6.

Blah. I’ll stop there. But there’s probably more to it. And the players shouldn’t be entirely off the hook. They’re shit and they got what they (apparently) wanted. They had better fucking murder Arizona tomorrow or there’s going to be a shit storm in the media.

The Leafs won in Sheldon Keefe's debut.

At least it didn't start on the wrong foot.

I'm using my phone otherwise I would be quoting CM Punk'd and RT either way I'm replying to you both.

CM:

I actually don't eat fast food. It has been almost 10 years. Minus my inside outside burger (in and out) experience in Arizona (first time I ever had the chance). However, Culver's is tempting because they butter the rolls.

RT:

I used to attend games way back when it was called the Corel Centre. Hopefully the experience is just as nice this time too.

Seems like Babcock was not playing to the Leafs strengths. Reminds me of the Sabres. Loads of talent, but no system that supports their strengths. Not surprised the got off to a good start this year with a new head coach.

Hey guys how about the Islanders? Are they allowed to lose a game?

The Islanders are freaky this year. I fully expect Toronto to eek into the playoffs, finally beat Boston, then get swept by the Islanders while John Tavares cries in the corner.

So Zappy is probably losing his mind right now. Great come back by NYR. Also thank you for beating a division rival.

Leafs went up 4-1 and then got creamed all game. Fortunately they held on. Undefeated under Chief Keefe.

I made it back in one piece boys. That game in Ottawa was probably their worst game this year. They really got shutout. It was a fluky goal by Trouba. They just were not engaged, and showed no effort. Did not expect that because of their huge win against Washington. Although Lundqvist allowed four he was spectacular especially on a 5-3 penalty kill. Very blessed to see that in person. This could have easily been another 9 goal game.

Now, the game in Montreal was their best win of the season. To start the game Kreider hit Tatar on a clean open ice hit then got mixed up after the whistle. Loved to see some fight and passion from the Rangers especially after their effort against Ottawa. Rangers had some good chances, and good puck movement in the offensive zone before Montreal started to light up the red light. So, despite the Rangers in a 4-0 hole I held onto the Rangers good play in the offensive zone. At least they were skating in the offensive zone to create some chances maybe get a goal or two to make it little closer. Did not expect three unanswered goals... twice. Six goals all together on Price in Montreal. Unbelievable. Kreider made an unbelievable reverse through the legs pass to Panarin. I think this was Kreiders best game as a Ranger. When he is not afraid to use his body as well as go into the dirty areas he is a force out there with his speed. Yes, just like Rick The Dick when he was younger. Incredible combination of speed, strength, and size. Now if Kreider is consistent he will see his true potential in this league.

Lemieux is becoming my favorite Ranger ever since he was traded here. A lunch pale grit guy with hands. Plays hard every game. He needs more ice time. There are already rumblings down here of giving him the C. First star of the game with his dad in the crowd what a great moment for their family.

Couple of notes from the trip:

- The Canadian Tire Centre is not a dump at all. Really no complaints. I will be back. Also if you get there early you can find free parking, but it goes quickly.

- A Molson Canadian apparently is a Coors Light. I know MC owns Coors, but down here a Coors Light is called a Coors Light. Beware.

- A lot of Ranger fans at both games. Very loud Rangers chants in Montreal. I was sad to see that the drumming that I have heard on TV is from staff not fans. Also there is staff in some sections that try to get the crowd going with 4th grade band instruments. Sorry, I don't need some random's to tell me what to do. I was surprised to see this in such a hockey mad city. I figured fans were loud on their own.

- Good job by Montreal to have kids next to players for both teams not just the home team for the anthem. Obviously gives more kids the opportunity to be on the ice.

Attachments:

Molson Canadian used to be pretty good. But yeah ever since they merged or whatever with Coors their beer has suffered. I’m 99% certain they just bottle the same beers in different bottles up here. Zappy

Glad you had a good time man.

...

So this Babcock/Marner story that broke yesterday is being picked up by all the major names, and Friedman reached out to Babcock via text. It’s getting really ugly.

If you don’t know the story, Babcock had “a rookie” in the 2015/16 season make a list ranking his teammates from hardest working from least hardest working. Babcock then shared the list with the people who were listed near the bottom. After the story broke it was confirmed by several sources that the rookie in the story was Mitch Marner.

Babcock said he was trying to motivate Marner to work harder and admitted it was dumb and apologized to Marner back when it happened. But holy fuck is that a stupid thing to do.

Apparently Marner’s agent had to convince him to stay in Toronto after that happened. I have to assume that it came up during Marner’s contract negotiations since Babcock was still there at the time. How much you want to bet Marner held out as long as he did because Babcock was still in town? “If you insist I keep playing for this guy then you better pay me the maximum you can.”

Fucking hell. The more stories that come out since his firing the more I dislike this guy. I was in the “good guy, wrong coach,” camp for a long time but now I’m just starting to think that he’s a big asshole and can fuck off forever.

I haven't been able to keep up with much of anything. How did things deteriorate with Babcock so quickly?

Nov 25, 2019 20:51:00 GMT Ed said:

I haven't been able to keep up with much of anything. How did things deteriorate with Babcock so quickly?

It feels quick from the outside looking in but this has been brewing since last season. A lot of people said he’d be fired if the Leafs lost to Boston two playoffs in a row. And while I think those people should have known better, he was definitely on a short leash heading in to this season.

Like my other post said, the Leafs hit a wall in January. They were a .500 team from January to April and only stayed in 3rd in the division because of how many points they got from Oct - Dec. They were pretty lucky Montreal didn’t catch them, tbh. They were garbage the second half of last season and everyone was screaming for Babcock to do something different and he waited until the final 8 minutes of Game 7 to make changes.

Then this season started and it was more of the same. Leafs are a .500 team, terrible defensively, terrible special teams, terrible morale, barely trying, Spezza gets fucking benched twice against Ottawa, the first being the home opener that he bought like 20 tickets to for his family...the list goes on. Fortunately the 6 game losing streak was the final straw.

October was hell month. The Leafs played more than any other team, had like 6 back to backs, injured players, etc. They were lucky to come out of October sitting where they were in the standings. Then November was supposed to be bounce back month to climb back to a respectable position and they actually got worse.

Now that Babs is fired all these other stories are coming out because the team can talk about them. So it feels like it’s all happening at once but this has been like 18 months in the making.

Bill Peters is being investigated amid allegations of racism.

Nov 26, 2019 18:31:40 GMT Ed said:

Bill Peters is being investigated amid allegations of racism.

It’s sounding like Calgary fired him too.

This shit is getting crazy. Daniel Carcillo just called Jeff Perry a sexual abuser on twitter, among other things.

I understand why the Toronto media gets all the flak they do but without them digging up dirt on Babcock in the past week none of this might have happened. I think they get a free pass next time they cover the Leafs too much.

It's ink to paper now. Bill Peters is gone. The culture in hockey has definitely taken a full 180.  First Don Cherry goes.  Then the story of Babcock and Marner.  And that in turn, leads to the Peters fiasco.

Nov 26, 2019 20:04:18 GMT RT said:

Nov 26, 2019 18:31:40 GMT Ed said:

Bill Peters is being investigated amid allegations of racism.

It’s sounding like Calgary fired him too.

This shit is getting crazy. Daniel Carcillo just called Jeff Perry a sexual abuser on twitter, among other things.

I understand why the Toronto media gets all the flak they do but without them digging up dirt on Babcock in the past week none of this might have happened. I think they get a free pass next time they cover the Leafs too much.

Both the akim aliu and Danny carcillo stories are important. I'm a little disappointed the carcillo hazing topic isn't getting more press. Rookie hazing at all levels of hockey is such a major issue.

So some craziness today courtesy of Nikita Zaitsev.

His ex posted a video on Instagram of several unidentified men grabbing her two daughters out of a car and running away with them. One man restrained her while the others took the girls. She said that she hasn’t seen them in 12 days and blames Zaitsev, who, if the timeline is correct, asked for a leave of absence around when this video was taken and missed the Sens game against the Rangers in late November.

It was rumoured that this was for divorce proceedings but now with this video who the fuck knows.

Zaitsev’s dad accused the ex of being abusive and taking drugs/having sex with the girls in the room. Zaitsev is back with the team and not talking.

There’s a good chance one or both of the girls were born in Canada too, so immigration might get involved.

What.

What the hell is going on in this league? Another coach fired for unprofessional conduct. 

Dec 11, 2019 5:22:42 GMT toxicboy1980 said:

What the hell is going on in this league? Another coach fired for unprofessional conduct. 

I bet there will be a couple more stories like this in the days or weeks to come.  I wonder what the Stars coach did to get himself fired?

The rumour going around about the Dallas situation is that Montgomery is an alcoholic and it was affecting his work or the “culture” of the organization. That’s totally a rumour but it seems to hold weight.

From the way reporters and podcasters and everyone is talking, most people “in the know” know what happened but are staying quiet for now. It sounds like when the news drops everyone is going to confirm it right away.

Chabot played 37:50 minutes against Tampa holy shit.

Taylor Hall finally moved on from NJ. Devils got some pieces, but did not get any high value prospects from Arizona. Plus, the lottery pick is top three protected.

I kind of feel bad for NJ. They really didn’t get much from the Hall trade, and after Arizona made them an offer they seemed to shop around and couldn’t find anything better in return.

It’s hard to get good returns when you’re a seller in this league. Hall was never going to re-sign in NJ and everyone knew that, and were able to take advantage.

Next thing is moving Subban and they probably won’t get anything for him either. Hopefully a decent goalie? I dunno.

Leafs went up 3-0 in the first 5 minutes of the game.
Reimer gets pulled.
Carolina gets a SH goal, scores late in the 1st, then goes on a tear in the 2nd to go up 5-3.
Leafs get another goal but Carolina goes up 6-4 in the 3rd.
Leafs score to make it 6-5 on an absolutely ridiculous pass from Matthews to Marner. Like play of the year worthy.
Then Barrie and Marner score 6 seconds apart to go up 7-6.
EN and Leafs win 8-6.

That game was fucking ridiculous and I may be day drunk now.