Tuuka Rask: downfall of Leafs

[north-of-border]

Forget all the other bad moves the leafs made this decade. At least they got a top 10 scorer in the Seguin trade..... What really screwed this team was the Rask for Raycroft deal.

Leafs only made the playoffs 1 time in the past decade... But its not like they were always a last place team. For the majority of time they were a fringe playoff team that could never put it together. They always came close. So what could have changed it all?........... Tukka RASK!

Leafs would have made the playoffs at least 5-6 times this decade.

What a screw up.... Thanks to Justin Poggie and John Ferguson jr

[whysoserious]

That's just one bad trade in a long line of bad trades, bad FA signings and just a lack of direction.

Tukku Rask alone was not going to make that team a playoff team 5-6 times. Heck, Bernier had a pretty solid season last year and couldn't get them to the playoffs.

[BramptonYute]

If Bernier didnt get injured, we probably would have made the playoffs.

Anyways, the Rask trade happened a long time ago. Time to forget about it.

[Brew666]

If Rask is the difference between playoffs and no playoffs then that's a sign your team isn't good enough to be in the playoffs. Great goaltending should be the difference between a great/cup contending team and a good/playoff bound instead of playoffs/no playoffs.

That said, I think goalies in Boston have had the benefit of having Chara playing 25+ minutes in front of them. He has a Brodeur affect on the team and could have been awarded the Norris almost every year he's been w/ Boston.

[LLJ]

If Bernier didnt get injured, we probably would have made the playoffs.
.

As I recall, we also had troubles on offence. Kessel pretty much went on a drought at the worst possible time.

[s e n s i]

JFJ **** us with that trade for sure, but who wouldn't trade kadri/1st for jeff carter right now? gardiner looks like he is what he is at this point. phaneuf still has 6 years left on his deal. just a whole bunch of deals and non-deals that have screwed us to the point of perennial treadmill laughingstock

[Ganjamayne]

Let's be honest everyone though Raycroft and even Pogge was the future at that time. Nobody thought Rask would even be an NHL caliber goalie.

[north-of-border]

Let's be honest everyone though Raycroft and even Pogge was the future at that time. Nobody thought Rask would even be an NHL caliber goalie.

Raycroft was only suppose to hold the fort down for a couple if season. He was not the future long term plan.

....... Rask and Poggie were the future. Yeh Leas had to chose one. Unfortunately they chose wrong.

What made it worse was what they got in return. Raycroft had a great rookie year, but was a backup when the Leafs made the deal. He sucked in Boston.

[CptLouHefner]

This is silly. In hindsight, there are a ton of trades/drafts that you can do this with. Nobody knew that Rask would have been this good, he wouldn't have been traded if that were the case.

[Crowned]

Actually, Rask was regarded as a can't miss prospect at the time. He was absolutely incredible at the World Juniors too.

[BramptonYute]

Its Tuuka Rask were talking about here, not Sidney Crosby or someone.

Rask is not the downfall of the Leafs.

[TRNBA12]

I don't know if Tuuka does more with a horrible d situation than Reimer and Bernier did who stood on their heads quite a bit. Plus who knows how Tuuka the milk crate thrower handles the pressure here.

Still think half the problem with Leafs is JFJ era drove them to ground zero in terms of talent and assets. Brian Burke added better talent and assets to the team but if he had taken over at a 5/10 situation instead of a 1/10 it would've changed everything.
That and Dave Nonis has been a trainwreck since he take over and Shanahan has felt like as much of a ghost as Mikael Prokherov is with the Nets. Possible Brian Burke would have them going to 3rd straight playoff season

[North_of_Border]

all im saying is, there were about 3-4 seasons where the Leafs came close to the playoffs and but just missed out..... yes the Goalies were not the ONLY problem, but we have all season what an effect a superstar goalie can have on a team with about average defense. Which the leafs had for many seasons. Think Bobrovsky in his first season with Columbus. That team shouldbnt have been anywhere near the playoffs.

......... now if the leafs were getting top draft picks year after year, maybe u live with it. But since they couldnt evenh manage that, u might as well have tried for the playoffs. Where Tuuka Rask comes to mind.

[snomeister]

I hated that trade the second I heard it. Both Rask and Pogge were great during the WJC, but after seeing Rask's performance in it, I knew he'd be a star someday. I thought Pogge would at least have a career in the NHL, don't know what went wrong.

[Dennis 37]

Leafs got Tom Kurvers for a pick that New Jersey used to get Scott Niedermayer. That was the trade that was the downfall of the Leafs.
Or one could argue Lanny MacDonald and Joel Quenville for Pat Hickey and Wilf Paiement as well.

Except for the trade that brought Doug Gilmour, every trade the Leafs have made has been their downfall.

[bballsparkin]

^^Sundin trade was a good one.

[OAKLEY_2]

^^Sundin trade was a good one.

Felix Potvin for Bryan Berard was a good trade.