The Leafs Management vs NHL

[ZBBM]

There goes my dream of relaxed facial hair standards.

Plekanec is dreaming even harder than you.  Besides, he can imagine Auston Matthews with a beard?

 

[Bullfrog]

There goes my dream of relaxed facial hair standards.

Keep the dream alive, man! I'm confident this is a Lou-only policy.

 

[Kin]

There goes my dream of relaxed facial hair standards.

Keep the dream alive, man! I'm confident this is a Lou-only policy.

Thing of it is that hockey culture is so stupid that even if Dubas did get rid of it I guarantee there'd be a column blaming that decision the second the Leafs started struggling

 

[herman]

There goes my dream of relaxed facial hair standards.

Keep the dream alive, man! I'm confident this is a Lou-only policy.

Thing of it is that hockey culture is so stupid that even if Dubas did get rid of it I guarantee there'd be a column blaming that decision the second the Leafs started struggling

I think the desire to blame the analytics movement will be far stronger.

 

[Kin]

I think the desire to blame the analytics movement will be far stronger.

I don't think it's an either/or. I think Crusty O. Sportswriter's lede will be something along the lines of:

"Dubas' Maple Leafs, or Math-le Leafs, descent into mediocrity surely began with the move away from the established protocols of the more tried and true hockey wisdom espoused by his predecessor. Gone were the clean chins and team first focus, replaced by statisticians so engrossed in their abacuses(abacii?) they barely had time to groom their Kensington Market hispter beards."

 

[Zee]

#TeamNoFacialHair

 

[Highlander]

#TeamNoFacialHair

They skate faster with no wind resistance. Lou is a Vulcan

 

[herman]

https://theathletic.com/274269/2018/03/15/james-van-riemsdyk-reminds-the-maple-leafs-why-hes-still-valuable/

It was a week before the Feb. 26 trade deadline and Mike Babcock was asked if keeping James van Riemsdyk, who scored the only goal that night in a 1-0 win over Florida, would be an easy decision for the Maple Leafs.

?I don't think anything is an easy decision,? the Leafs coach said with unexpected frankness. ?We've talked about this a bunch, you always have this plan but your plan can always change. It depends on what people want. There's lots of times you're going through and not planning on doing anything and you end up doing something. We don't really know, in the end, what's available and what we could pursue either.

?The way I look at it is, instead of worrying about that stuff, you just keep playing good and give ourselves the best opportunity,? Babcock added, referring to van Riemsdyk. ?Then, whatever is best for our team, Lou will do.?

The Leafs, in other words, were open to moving van Riemsdyk if the right deal came around.

This sort of decision making is very flow-charty and pretty much follows along with Lou's oft-repeated "if we have time to make the decision, we'll use it", and the much more annoying version: "there's a five-year plan that changes every day". It recognizes that player valuations are variable and something that players are encouraged to take ownership of (a la Kadri).

 

[herman]

https://theathletic.com/276317/2018/03/16/twitter-questions-answered-on-the-futures-of-tavares-and-jvr-skill-development-rules-changes-and-more/

https://twitter.com/oak_leafs/status/974477287449026563

The hierarchy is probably Brendan Shanahan, then Lou Lamoriello, then Mike Babcock (but Lou listens to every request Babs has, so they're basically on the same plane). After that, I would guess that different people value the input of Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas to different degrees, though they both have a respected voice with everyone. Those first three guys lean heavy on the other two for their info, which they both have mountains of.

https://twitter.com/Mr_Murphy14/status/974475788102795264

I don't think so. Not that they don't get along, they've just both been vying for the same job, and have been on the same plane for so long it would probably be weird for one to suddenly have to acquiesce to the other.

 

[Coco-puffs]

And the best answer from that article:

https://twitter.com/TwistedPuck/status/974480622247964672

Mitch is nearly impossible to hit with the puck, which is a skill he's had to develop because he's a dainty little feather, pushed by the gentle breeze in whichever direction it wants him to go. Which is to say, someone like Evgeni Malkin would wear him like a scarf out of the corner on the way to the net. So ? nope! They'll keep Mitchy flying up-ice and scaring D-man for the foreseeable future.

 

[herman]

Yes, that was magnificent.

I honestly don't know why people keep suggesting Marner as a possible centre.