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The Mother-fucking goddamn Off-season Thread

LeafGm said:
See, to you it seems like a “wasted career”. But to Shane Doan, he found the place he wanted to live and pulled in $65M to live and raise his family there for 20 years. So, probably doesn’t seem like a “waste” to him.

And I can understand where some of these guys are coming from. Some people crave fame and recognition, but I guess I’m more of a misanthrope, because I would fucking loathe constantly being recognized and approached by random people in public that want to stop & chat, take pictures with me or get my autograph.
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theathletic.com

In conversation with Leafs GM Brad Treliving: On why breaking up the core wasn't an option

Treliving spoke about his visit with Auston Matthews and whether the Leafs will hold onto William Nylander this season, extension or not.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

As far as when you came in, keeping that group together, was that something you came in with the idea that that was something you were going to do? Were you open to changing that core group or was that just not on the table?

I don’t know if I really just focused on the core group. You came in and you had an outside view of the team. My whole view was just, let’s take a look at how we build our team here. The first thing was, these are really good players. So it’s great to say — that great line, “Oh, I’m going to make some changes.” Oh, OK. So just to stand up and say, “I changed the core.” But you actually got worse. So it’s great to say, “I changed the core.” But moving a player for a lesser player doesn’t make any sense to me. The more I got to know these guys, there’s the talent and then the attitude and the drive and all the things that they’ve been through, I think those experiences are gonna serve us well. Because they’ve gone through all these experiences to make them who they are today. So now, they’re not only really talented players, they’re really talented players — with each experience that you put in the bank is so valuable. And then you just keep watching your team. But to be able to come in here and right from the start you’ve got this talent base, that was exciting.
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But I guess the counter would be that that talent has had many opportunities and just hasn’t gotten over the hump. At what point do you say, “You know what, we’ve gotta switch a little something here” but at the risk of making your team worse? How do you balance that?

To do something like that, I want to know more about it. And I guess I would push back on that narrative that they haven’t gotten it done. Go back and study any team, any business, they don’t get to the end goal overnight. Look at the Detroit teams. There was a time when (people said), “No way you’re going to win with (Pavel) Datsyuk and (Henrik) Zetterberg.” After the fact, it’s always easy right? After the fact it’s, Well, of course (Alex) Ovechkin is going to win a Cup. It’s Ovechkin! But there was a long period of time before (they won) when people questioned the mid-90s Detroit Red Wings. All teams that have had success, or companies, or whoever’s reached the mountaintop, there is a step to go through that process.

And, it’s been a damn good team. Yeah, so they haven’t won a Cup. If that’s what we’re solely basing it on and saying, “Well, if we don’t win it, then we’ve got to blow it all up.” In the last five years, when this team’s been really good, we’ve had a team that’s repeated — so we’ve had what, (four) Cup champs in the last five years. So you take out the teams that were rebuilding, so there are 20 teams that should be blown up every year? It doesn’t work that way. To me, coming in and not having an inside view and just saying, “I’ve got to do something just because of the narrative here” doesn’t make any sense. I have to get to know it. I have to know where we can improve. But to do something, to take a really good piece and say, “I’m moving it so I can stand up and say, ‘I made a change’” doesn’t make sense to me.
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I was curious because you mentioned when you made some of the changes in the offseason, you talked about the room, you talked about the personality of the room. One of the things I’m trying to understand is how a louder room or a more energetic room translates to the ice, especially in the playoffs. How will that actually make a difference?

Maybe the way I said it was interpreted wrong. I haven’t been in the room. So I, at that point, didn’t know. I know we’ve got some serious people. And what I’ve found in time is the more energy you can have in the room — it is a grind for 82 games. All the research and all the people I’ve talked to (have said) it’s an excellent room. Like people who have been here and left said this team is serious. But I just feel even if you’ve got lots of juice, you can never have too much juice. And it’s a grind to go through. And it’s a grind in this market where it’s a little heavier, there’s a lot of attention.

So for me, the more energy you can have, the better. That’s one of the things Ryan (Reaves) brings. That’s what all the (new) people bring, they bring some energy. So how it translates to the ice, the more juice you have, the more energy you feel, to me, the better you are going to perform. And it’s not to say, the room is too quiet so we’ve got to make it loud. (My belief) is the more energy you can have, I do feel it’s going to translate (to the ice). That game in the middle of January and February, dog days (of the season), and it’s like, we’re four (games) in five (nights). (The energy) has gotta come from (team) staff. It’s gotta come from myself. It’s gotta come from Sheldon (Keefe). It’s gotta come from the players. So I just feel that having energy, having enthusiasm, you can’t have enough of it. And it’s not to fix anything. It’s to whatever level we’ve had here, I want to make sure it’s at a high level.
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But how do you balance that with, Ryan Reaves in particular, how can he help on the ice as well in a playoff series? How do you weigh that?

He’s got a specific skill set. In Ryan’s case, everybody talks about fighting. He can get in on the forecheck. And he can make things really difficult for teams not only in the regular season, but over the course of a (playoff) series he can wear people down. I hate talking about the playoffs because that’s in a far, distant land. We’ve got to worry about each day. But playoff series go (up-and-down). What you’re trying to do is keep the emotional level (steady). In the regular season, you’re gonna slump, you’re gonna through some adversity, and what you want to do is you want to keep your attitude proper, you want to keep your habits the right way, you want to keep your standards up, and that’s gonna allow you to come out of the adversity, hopefully, quicker. Ryan brings energy and enthusiasm. And anybody can do it when it’s going well, but when you’re going through difficult times — in whatever walk of life, things aren’t going well, things become quiet, things become down — he brings an energy level that I think is important.
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Did you consider changing the leadership group at all when you came in? Was that even a discussion?

In terms of?

Like changing the captaincy? These guys have been around for a long time.

We’ve talked about a lot of things. It wasn’t necessarily changing as much as adding to it (with more) help to support them. Maybe getting some more voices in there.
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You’ve talked a lot about the type of defence groups that you like to have. Where does that come from? Why do you like a bigger, more physical group? We see it in the playoffs every year, that type of defence tends to be the one that comes through. Is that why?

Yes. But I would caution there in saying that type of defence is getting a lot of play right now because Vegas had it.

But Tampa’s (defence) was pretty big. Colorado …

They added Josh Manson at the deadline. Before that, you wouldn’t necessarily say that they were bigger. You would say there’s (Cale) Makar, (Devon) Toews, a smaller group, more mobile. So there’s all different ways to skin the cat. And it’s not only just the physicality. To me, it’s length. Why I think that’s (important) is because there’s just less space (in the playoffs). When you look at trying to make plays in tight, the more length (you have) the harder it is to get around. We had a pair a couple years ago (in Calgary) with (Erik) Gudbranson and (Nikita) Zadorov. There’s length. And it’s not about physically pounding guys, although there’s an element of that. It’s (being) hard to play (against). It’s like playing in seaweed. If there’s a puck in front of the net, if I can poke (it from) 10 feet (away), it’s better than poking (it from) five feet (away). I’ve got an advantage. There’s wingspan. It clogs things up defensively and it makes it harder to play (against).

I guess that would be part of John Klingberg. Obviously he’s brought in for different things, but he’s also 6-foot-2.

And he’s got length. You’re taking up more space. Now, you can’t chase size just because there’s size. You can get into trouble with that. I think there is an advantage of it, especially over the course of a long (playoff) series when you’re like, I’ve got to put pucks behind (the defence), I’ve got to change how I play because the tighter I get to somebody (who’s bigger) they’re able to check me at distance more than a guy who doesn’t have that length.
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I still think it makes most sense to stick Jarnkrok in between them as the defensive conscience on that line (knowing that they won't get very harsh usage, obviously).
 
though now that I think about it - is it possible that Domi-Nylander are good enough offensively to carry a black hole like Kampf who can be the defensive conscience on that line?
 
zeke said:
though now that I think about it - is it possible that Domi-Nylander are good enough offensively to carry a black hole like Kampf who can be the defensive conscience on that line?
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Are they just gonna be asking him questions about decor and music all year? They realize he's supposed to be a hockey player right?

 
apparently Josh Norris had a setback with his shoulder right at the start of camp. they say he'd be playing if it was regular season but i dunno, that isn't what you want to hear the first time he comes back 8 months after surgery.

and oh, this isn't good:

Norris had surgery on that same shoulder back in 2019 after being hurt at the World Junior Hockey Championships. That ended his season at the University of Michigan. In 2021-22, Norris missed 16 games with another shoulder issue, but still racked up a career-best 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games. He signed his big contract after that performance, then hurt the shoulder again last season while taking a faceoff.
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Preston said:
Are they just gonna be asking him questions about decor and music all year? They realize he's supposed to be a hockey player right?
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He'll stay golden with the media as long as he fulfils the staged fight quota. The Gudas question last week was equally inane.
 
zeke said:
apparently Josh Norris had a setback with his shoulder right at the start of camp. they say he'd be playing if it was regular season but i dunno, that isn't what you want to hear the first time he comes back 8 months after surgery.

and oh, this isn't good:
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I'd be concerned if I was a Sens fan
 
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