2025-2026 Off Season Thread - The Rehappening

[leafman101]

Tavares for $5 mill as a 3C is great.

The real problem with that plan is getting the 2C better than Tavares.

Vegas moving us Hertl/Karlsson to free up Marner room and get the 8th year would be a coup.

 

[CTheBigPicture]

Tavares is a notable personality in the room. Independent of that, I'd love to have him at a 3C for that price, I think he is a good performer, I think he is a great team ambassador and good representative for Toronto. BUT he's got to go. You've got to bend the team without breaking it. Bending includes Marner and Tavares. Keep Matthews, MR, and Willy + Tavares is not enough of a change.

 

[GEEMAN]

Tavares is a notable personality in the room. Independent of that, I'd love to have him at a 3C for that price, I think he is a good performer, I think he is a great team ambassador and good representative for Toronto. BUT he's got to go. You've got to bend the team without breaking it. Bending includes Marner and Tavares. Keep Matthews, MR, and Willy + Tavares is not enough of a change.

Thing is if you keep JT he has to accept a smaller role and no longer part of the core

 

[CTheBigPicture]

Thing is if you keep JT he has to accept a smaller role and no longer part of the core

yes but he is still JT. Smaller role in terms play is not the same as smaller personality in the room. Skill on this team has not been an issue. We don't have fighters in the core and JT being in the room simply prolongs this issue.

 

[Volcanologist]

Tavares needs to be replaced in his role with someone who is a much better 5 on 5 player. they don't have to score 38 goals.

 

[leafman101]

Which NHL teams need to upgrade on defense? Ranking all 32 by current quality

Here’s how we’d rank each team’s defense depth, from best to worst, just before free agency begins.

www.nytimes.com

18. Toronto Maple Leafs​

Current quality: 49th percentile
Looking for: High-end defenseman

Over the last decade, one of Toronto’s biggest problems has been a lack of a true No. 1 defenseman. Morgan Rielly at his peak may have been offensively gifted enough, but he gave way too much back to really qualify.

To this day, it remains an issue for Toronto, leading to the team’s top forwards playing one-dimensional hockey when it matters. When Nathan MacKinnon can play with Cale Makar and Connor McDavid can play with Evan Bouchard, they can offensively dominate while not giving much back. Auston Matthews playing with all-defense guys such as Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev does not offer the same luxury.

So while Toronto’s blue line is mostly complete and is deep, it’s lacking the high-end talent necessary to go all the way. The Leafs have three No. 2s and two solid guys in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo, but the lack of a clear-cut No. 1 is a huge problem.

This is the most surprising one. They ranked 12th in centers without Tavares and 24th in wingers without Marner.

Our D is not good. Average at best. Maybe don't spend $7 mill on your 4/5 and give that to Ekblad.

 

[Wayward DP]

Tavares is a notable personality in the room. Independent of that, I'd love to have him at a 3C for that price, I think he is a good performer, I think he is a great team ambassador and good representative for Toronto. BUT he's got to go. You've got to bend the team without breaking it. Bending includes Marner and Tavares. Keep Matthews, MR, and Willy + Tavares is not enough of a change.

since when did robots have personalities?

 

[CH1]

Tavares for $5 mill as a 3C is great.

The real problem with that plan is getting the 2C better than Tavares.

Vegas moving us Hertl/Karlsson to free up Marner room and get the 8th year would be a coup.

assuming Marner even wants to sign for 8

 

[Cojo]

assuming Marner even wants to sign for 8

Agree. Highly doubt Marner is going for term on this one.

He seems cocky enough to cash in again in a couple years

 

[MapleLeafBlueJayBoy]

I am all for bringing back Kadri.

 

[thehabhater]

Tavares is a notable personality in the room. Independent of that, I'd love to have him at a 3C for that price, I think he is a good performer, I think he is a great team ambassador and good representative for Toronto. BUT he's got to go. You've got to bend the team without breaking it. Bending includes Marner and Tavares. Keep Matthews, MR, and Willy + Tavares is not enough of a change.

37 goals = "good performer"

 

[CTheBigPicture]

37 goals = "good performer"

not sure what you mean. Make that a Hall of Famer. I love him, but want him out of the room.

 

[Leafin']

37 goals = "good performer"

Now do playoffs goal totals

 

[thehabhater]

not sure what you mean. Make that a Hall of Famer. I love him, but want him out of the room.

If you lose both Marner and Taveres, you will lose offensive production, and faceoff puck control that you can't easily replace via free agency this year.

While Marner can fuck off with his attitude, Taveres is another matter. Depending on price of course.

 

[CTheBigPicture]

If you lose both Marner and Taveres, you will lose offensive production, and faceoff puck control that you can't easily replace via free agency this year.

While Marner can fuck off with his attitude, Taveres is another matter. Depending on price of course.

I see next season as a loss season just as I saw last season as a loss season. But this time it's different. We wasted last season just to prove to ourselves for the millionth time that the core doesn't work. We'll lose next season to clean up.

 

[thehabhater]

I see next season as a loss season just as I saw last season as a loss season. But this time it's different. We wasted last season just to prove to ourselves for the millionth time that the core doesn't work. We'll lose next season to clean up.

If you bring back Taveres, and work Cowan into the lineup, you are only slightly worse off than you were last season.
Cowan, should be in the AHL, but you gotta do what you have to do.

 

[CTheBigPicture]

If you bring back Taveres, and work Cowan into the lineup, you are only slightly worse off than you were last season.
Cowan, should be in the AHL, but you gotta do what you have to do.

but you are still focusing on skill level. I do not believe in this group of core players, never have since the Habs series. Everyone should go out the room IMO, I am willing to stop short of Willy and Matthews for now, but will be willing to give up both next season (especially Matthews), if the captain again shows that he is a passenger (ie. tier 2 star) and not a driver (i.e. tier 1 star).

To help us see if Matthews is a super star, I want most of the other key characters in the room from Marner, to JT, to MR, off the team.


Ps if I had any guts, I'd say blow it up right now as Mathews failed to win the 4 Nations for the US too.

 

[Preston]

If that's the case, keep Marner for his clutch 4 Nations tournament!

 

[CTheBigPicture]

If that's the case, keep Marner for his clutch 4 Nations tournament!

he got demoted. One play isn't enough but at least he showed up there for that play. His time as a Leaf washes over that. I am glad he is gone. He'll do ok off this team, but with this team we'd be stuck in the same loop.

 

[WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou]

If you bring back Taveres, and work Cowan into the lineup, you are only slightly worse off than you were last season.
Cowan, should be in the AHL, but you gotta do what you have to do.

Half measures.

If keeping Tavares and promoting Cowan makes you slightly worse than last year when you didn't win shit, then you'll win even less shit next season. So if you arent winning the Cup either way (and, trust me, you aren't) then why go halfway? Get rid of Marner AND Tavares.

Nothing will stop the crash that is coming so stop wasting time and money trying to prevent the unpreventable and just drive it off the cliff and crash it instead of watching it slide slowly down the hill for 3 or 4 years as you try to apply the brakes.