Too soon?

[mr grieves]

Missed the 4-1 anniversary by a day or so.

But some worthwhile links...

Poulin on TSN: http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050/poulin-leafs-collapse-in-boston-changed-lives-1.488994

[tweet]731128704504565761[/tweet]

[tweet]731129200653041664[/tweet]

[tweet]731129289786195969[/tweet]

[tweet]731129373609361408[/tweet]

[tweet]731129492127793153[/tweet]

[tweet]731129782025502720[/tweet]

And Steve Dangle, from an alternate universe:
[youtube]Ah5Eh7f__T0[/youtube]

 

[hockeyfan1]

I remember, I remember, and it was a game I'd like to forget. 

Ever heard of the old adage, "sometimes the worst can actually be for the best"?  Well, that debacle of a loss was instrumental in the eventual changes in the organization as we've seen them today.

In a way, it may have been the best thing to happen.  It was the wake-up call it needed to re-organize itself.  That's about all the positives we can say about it.

 

[mr grieves]

In a way, it may have been the best thing to happen.  It was the wake-up call it needed to re-organize itself.  That's about all the positives we can say about it.

They got woke to something, anyhow. Reorganized itself in a way to compete with Boston in the third period of a game seven but was increasingly terrible in almost any other situation. To the point that some smart folks around here wondered if it was a stealth tank job.

In the long run, it worked out pretty well though.

 

[Tigger]

I was hanging out with an odd orchestra conductor for that, at a Boston pizza even more weirdly, I blamed him for showing up late and the 'verse allowed me to feel good about it.

 

[ZBBM]

Eh, phooey to DGB.  I wish they had won that game and if they had they still could be right where they are today.  Nobody knows.

 

[Kin]

I don't think the Leafs needed to lose quite in that fashion for change to occur.

 

[bustaheims]

I kind of agree with the idea that, had they won, more damage may have been done trying to tweak that roster. I don't think it would have changed much in terms of where they are right now, though.

 

[Joe S.]

While that game certainly sucked I barely have any feelings towards it. The ones that still upset me are game 6 canes and game 6 flyers.

 

[Zee]

I'm locking up all the hurt in a tight space and will let it all out when the Leafs finally win the Cup.  1993 game 6 to me was far worse than the Bruins collapse, not that I vividly remember that or anything. 

I have to agree with DGB though, timing was everything for the Leafs here.  If they won that playoff round against the Bruins maybe it extends the shelf-life of the GM, coach and other players.  Then we don't get Babcock when he becomes available and all the rest of it.  Of course you have to start somewhere, and the Leafs finally got off to that start once Shanahan came aboard and sold the idea of stripping the team down and building it up again.  Let's hope we see the pot of gold soon, sure feels like the Leafs are trending in the right direction with young players now. 

 

[mr grieves]

I kind of agree with the idea that, had they won, more damage may have been done trying to tweak that roster. I don't think it would have changed much in terms of where they are right now, though.

I don't know. If they hadn't lost in that way with that management group, who came up with those "solutions," would they have gone into such a dramatic free fall so quickly..?

PPP's Potato GM's roster -- Kadri as 1C, Grabo, MacArthur, etc. --  plus a bit more depth at C and slightly upgraded D (what sensible folks thought they needed after the lockout season), might've been a mediocre bubble team for a few years.

To really bottom out, the Leafs might've needed the combination of that collapse and execs foolish enough to draw from it the lessons they did.

 

[Al14]

I kind of agree with the idea that, had they won, more damage may have been done trying to tweak that roster. I don't think it would have changed much in terms of where they are right now, though.

I don't know. If they hadn't lost in that way with that management group, who came up with those "solutions," would they have gone into such a dramatic free fall so quickly..?

PPP's Potato GM's roster -- Kadri as 1C, Grabo, MacArthur, etc. --  plus a bit more depth at C and slightly upgraded D (what sensible folks thought they needed after the lockout season), might've been a mediocre bubble team for a few years.

To really bottom out, the Leafs might've needed the combination of that collapse and execs foolish enough to draw from it the lessons they did.

Yeah, losing that game was the best results.  If they had gone on to round 2, management would have tried to augment the roster again in the off season, thus, it would have just guaranteed more mediocrity IMHO.

This rebuild is just what the Doctor ordered!