GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators vs Montreal Canadiens - 7:30pmET - FRI Jan. 21 2011

Clouston and Murray will not be fired. Meddling Melnyk will make Murray claim Nabby from waiver wire and they will put Leclaire on LTIR.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:Clouston and Murray will not be fired. Meddling Melnyk will make Murray claim Nabby from waiver wire and they will put Leclaire on LTIR.

Not firing Clouston means Melnyk believes the season isn't salvagable imo. No sense bringing in Nabby if that's the case.

Melnyk is too much of a hockey guy to tank I think. But with his divorce etc, maybe his purse strings might be tied.

It doesn't make sense if you intend to tank. But it does make sense if you have integrity and still want to finish out the season on a positive note thereby softening the blow to fans.

No point in getting a top 5 pick if there's no one to watch next season.

hemlock wrote:

dennycrane wrote:No way I want Lehner playing behind this group.

I know we are always calling for changes but I really cannot see how Clouston survives this. It's not all his fault but this team is so bad they could end up with the worst record in the NHL this year.

If there is to be a coaching change, now would be the time with only 1 game left in January.

As I type this, 5-1. Embarassing.

Agreed about Lehner.

Keep Clouston, and stay the course though. Try and jettison what we can at the deadline. That alone should ensure a high pick. That's the start of the new direction this team needs to take.

Here is my problem with keeping Clouston, and doing things like not making a move for Nabakov.

To me, that is Melnyk telling the fans that he's not going to spend another dime to try to make the team better this year for the fans. Screw trying to make the playoffs, he's basically telling everyone (especially season ticket holders) thanks for your money, but we're not going to try to put the best product we can on the ice, I'm going to try to save money.

That to me doesn't help you in this or any Canadian city win the fans over.

Oh my...

This is silly. Call up the B-Sens and send EVERYONE down.

22_4_ever wrote:

hemlock wrote:

dennycrane wrote:No way I want Lehner playing behind this group.

I know we are always calling for changes but I really cannot see how Clouston survives this. It's not all his fault but this team is so bad they could end up with the worst record in the NHL this year.

If there is to be a coaching change, now would be the time with only 1 game left in January.

As I type this, 5-1. Embarassing.

Agreed about Lehner.

Keep Clouston, and stay the course though. Try and jettison what we can at the deadline. That alone should ensure a high pick. That's the start of the new direction this team needs to take.

Here is my problem with keeping Clouston, and doing things like not making a move for Nabakov.

To me, that is Melnyk telling the fans that he's not going to spend another dime to try to make the team better this year for the fans. Screw trying to make the playoffs, he's basically telling everyone (especially season ticket holders) thanks for your money, but we're not going to try to put the best product we can on the ice, I'm going to try to save money.

That to me doesn't help you in this or any Canadian city win the fans over.

See the bolded portion for the Leafs business model.

22_4_ever wrote:

hemlock wrote:

dennycrane wrote:No way I want Lehner playing behind this group.

I know we are always calling for changes but I really cannot see how Clouston survives this. It's not all his fault but this team is so bad they could end up with the worst record in the NHL this year.

If there is to be a coaching change, now would be the time with only 1 game left in January.

As I type this, 5-1. Embarassing.

Agreed about Lehner.

Keep Clouston, and stay the course though. Try and jettison what we can at the deadline. That alone should ensure a high pick. That's the start of the new direction this team needs to take.

Here is my problem with keeping Clouston, and doing things like not making a move for Nabakov.

To me, that is Melnyk telling the fans that he's not going to spend another dime to try to make the team better this year for the fans. Screw trying to make the playoffs, he's basically telling everyone (especially season ticket holders) thanks for your money, but we're not going to try to put the best product we can on the ice, I'm going to try to save money.

That to me doesn't help you in this or any Canadian city win the fans over.

Does signing Nabakov make this team better? Doubtful in the extreme.

The silence from the management team to me says they are staying the course. Slowly, the fans are getting excited about a youth movement now, so I don't think that's a issue.

As far as the season ticket holders go, I think most of them are knowledgable fans, and most of those people realize that this group is going nowhere. If the teams moves towards a younger lineup, the fans will come back in spades. That's the model of the new NHL. Look at the buzz around the Oilers and Kings etc.

It's not like this would be a full rebuild anyway. We've got the goalie of the future, and potentially 3-4 studs on the blueline. This won't be a Philly-style turnaround but it shouldn't take 7 years like it took the Hawks.

I certainly acknowledge the fickleness of this fanbase though, and would expect a dip in attendance during the transition, but I'd say we are already bottomed out, and this is realistically the only way to go.

Just can't see clouston surviving past this game....just can't. They're getting embarrassed and outplayed in every game...and we're on the way to 7 straight losses at home.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:Melnyk is too much of a hockey guy to tank I think. But with his divorce etc, maybe his purse strings might be tied.

It doesn't make sense if you intend to tank. But it does make sense if you have integrity and still want to finish out the season on a positive note thereby softening the blow to fans.

No point in getting a top 5 pick if there's no one to watch next season.

Where is this doom and gloom coming from? Look at the teams with the most buzz around them. All chock full of youth. The successful teams now are teams that just went through a turnover phase to a more youthful.

Yes, there will be some attendance issues during any transition, but those fans will absolutely come back when this team is exciting again, or at least play like they give a Dung.

I don't think I can watch much more of this filth tonight. Trying to make it through it, but not really seeing much of a point.

It's getting reeeeeeealy tough for me to defend re-signing Phillips.

Michallica wrote:Just can't see clouston surviving past this game....just can't. They're getting embarrassed and outplayed in every game...and we're on the way to 7 straight losses at home.

I'll be surprised if he's fired. In fact, if he is, any shred of faith I had in the ownership and management of this team will be shattered. This season is well beyond salvagable. Yes, the losing sucks. Yes, seeing the Leafs ahead of us in the standings irks me, but the proper way to build a team is to do it through the draft, not the patchwork Dung Murray has been trying for a couple of years now.

In order to build this up, it needs to be torn down first. In fact, we don't even have to be sellers to acheive this. If Murray has one of his patented (read: unproductive) deadlines, we are well on our way to a shot at the top pick.

Big Ev wrote:It's getting reeeeeeealy tough for me to defend re-signing Phillips.

Mercifully, I am at work and cannot watch.

and for people saying Pierre McGuirew would make us the laughing stock of the league, well, NEWSFLASH we already are the laughing stock of the league!

Jesus, how hurt is Neil?

Big Ev wrote:and for people saying Pierre McGuirew would make us the laughing stock of the league, well, NEWSFLASH we already are the laughing stock of the league!

Fair enough, but hiring McGuire isn't exactly the best way to turn the tide of opinion.

I don't think nabby and his half million is what's keeping us from getting him off waivers. I think melnyk and murray are both driving the tank bus. I imagine melnyk expects a full flyers turnaround next season. If they go after semin it will prove the theory.