One more chance to get it all wrong
No matter where you set the points bar to qualify for the post-season in the East (does it really matter if it's 89 or 93 points?) the Leafs can pretty much lose no more than two, maybe three games the rest of the season if they want to make it to the post-season dance.
The way this season has gone, two losses is pretty much an average week, week-and-a-half in Leaf land.
Clearly the playoffs are a pipe dream - as they have been since the all-star break - sixteen wins in your first 43 games will do that to a team.
I don't think missing the playoffs is the worst part of this season (yeah, it stings) - what's worse is what the Leafs are doing with their prospects.
Why on earth is Tlusty playing four to six minutes a night? He got a single shift in the second period against the Devils. He's averaging five shifts a game. Is it just me? Why is this kid even in the NHL?
I know he's just an injury fill-in, but Jeremy Williams had just one shift in the second and a single shift in the third.
Stalman got a more respectable 14:35 of ice time.
Is this any way to develop and evaluate talent?
Hopefully, someone near and dear to the coaching and player development staff will find a calculator and do the post-season math for them. Once the Leafs are officially-officially eliminated from the playoffs, I hope Maurice just lets the kids play.
The rest of the team couldn't carry the mail this year, the playoffs aren't going to happen, clearly it's time to give the kids plenty of ice time to see what they're capable of.
Maurice is caught in the same predicament that many coaches on mediocre teams find themselves. In order to potentially secure an extension on his contract, he needs to play the veteran players in order to keep the team competitive and hopefully prove to the GM (whomever that turns out to be) that he is the guy to continue leading this team. However, the long term future of this team clearly rests in its youth and management needs to know if they have anything to build around.
ReplyDeleteObviously, there's an inherent contradiction in that situation and the only way to remedy it is to replace Maurice or sign him to an extension. Neither will happen so it's unlikely that the young players like Tlusty or Williams will not see much ice time until the Leafs are golfing and they are returned to the Marlies, which is probably where they should be now anyway.
Oops. That should be it is unlikey that they "will see" much ice time. I wish this site had an edit feature.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both Paul.
ReplyDeleteIt's rather drastic, but you can copy your comment, delete it and then re-post it with corrections.