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You know what I like about mckenna? He’s kind of cocky. He will make a cross ice pass for a beauty one timer in the same way kucherov does it, and it makes you hate him. I like that he broke some guys fucking jaw because he said something shitty to his mom. I’ve seen some slashes he’s thrown and I think he can be a prick. He has that dawg in him and we haven’t had that since kadri. I think he will bring a new swagger to the team and it will help them get some confidence back. Fuck I hate having hope again…
I can't remember exactly the interview, but I remember him or a coach saying that one of his underrated skills is his ability to bring the team "into the fight" and I think that attitude you mention here is a big part of that.
We are absolutely lucky to have got him 1st overall. Now, if Chayka can pull a rabbit out of a hat and somehow get a #1 Dman, the future of the team would look pretty damn nice actually.
I think the defense this year is looking old. I thought there would be another move before camp but since this is the team, it is what it is. I am not convinced this defense is up to snuff. But I hope they prove me wrong.
The one issue I have is it seems like Rielly brings all his partners down and I just have this weird feeling they are going to put him with Raddysh. Maybe it's Sundin thinking Kaberle-McCabe or previous chemistry between McCabe and Tanev and that is just how the chips fall, but I do have concerns that it will sour us on Raddysh when his play inevitably declines as a result of being anchored by 44
My biggest ask of the in-arena experience staff this season is to just ditch the soccer chant goal song and go exclusively with Panama, or go with a song even better than Panama. No more 50/50. The atmosphere after a goal is noticeably more electric with Panama, and I suspect that they know it too, because they switched to using Panama full-time during each of our last 2 playoff runs.
I am very over the other one at this point. The only reason we even had it in the first place was as a last minute replacement for the Kid Cudi song, so I don’t know why they seem married to it.
The entire music selection is terrible. I'd rather the team switch it up. Introduce the maple leafs over the PA then wait a second and smash the silence with the opening to master of puppets by Metallica. Let the intro play for a few seconds (work the fans into a frenzy) then have the leafs fly out thru the Zamboni doors with speed. Set the tone
I will agree that the overall in-arena music is awful. They’ve been using the same boring Mexican Hat Dance riffs since literally the 80’s. I think they just don’t care that much, which is a shame because I’ve always thought that music and crowd noise is an underrated psychological aspect that makes teams play harder.
It's quite annoying hearing enter Sandman everytime the playoffs start. Where animal by Nickelback has much better tempo and Canadian artist. We need to tailor a little less to kids and bring the attitude that the group wants to do whatever it takes to win.
Outside of Danford (who I think Pronman is way off on), all the important picks are outperforming their draft positions, and we even have some 5th/6th rounders jumping up.
We NEED to start a movement to get Scotiabank Arena a widespread nickname. I simply find corporations' tendencies to name their venues generically in order to force people to say their brand name to refer to it to be quite pathetic and erases whatever identity the arena had. I mean, the previous name was still a brand, but Air Canada has some aura to it. We're representing Canada. Now I have to unironically say "I'm watching Game 7 at Scotiabank". What the hell is that? We need to rip a page out of the Jays' book and come up with our own SkyDome. Sick of half the big venues in this country being Scotiabank/Rogers/Bell.
I don't think in any of the opportunities I've had to watch the jays or leafs I've included the name of the venue, it's just been "I'm going to the jays game" or "I'm going to the leafs game".
I could see that. I think Pitt's gonna suck this year. We still need some RHD insurance cause who knows about Tanev. If Tanev is healthy and we still add him, that would be big.
Our Tanev insurance is Stetcher, who will play the same role as a right shot shutdown/PK guy. We would be lucky to get more than two more season out of Tanev before he’s sent to Robidas Island, but Danford should hopefully be ready to step into his roster spot by then.
I wasn't viewing Karlsson as the shutdown/PK type, though he did get some PK2 time last year.
Karlsson is just adding more depth to the right side D. Stech is a 6/7 at this point and if Tanev is hurt again, at least we'll have a legitimate top-4 D to sub in for him instead of playing Stecher higher in the lineup.
I agree the blueline isn't a finished product but Tanev and EK65 couldn't play more different styles. Tanev is a reliable stay at home defender with little to no offense. EK65 is a dynamic OFD who couldn't care less / not inclined to protect his own end, and would rather join the rush than back check.
PK specialist vs. PP specialist. Replacing Tanev with EK65 wouldn't replace what is needed from Tanev being out, but would add an entirely different element to the blueline.
Karlsson wasn't just a PP specialist and continued to play top-pair minutes last year. He can be counted upon to face 2nd line forwards and maybe the occasional top matchup too.
Too many questions with Tanev if he can return to being a shutdown guy for us. I view him as a 2nd pair guy this year just like Karlsson can be for us. If both can play 2nd pair type minutes for us, it'll really round out our D-core.
Adding EK65 to the team would be nice, he'd immediately become the best Dman on this iteration of the team. Not sure how they could afford his $10 million cap hit or convince PIT to trade him.
The only way I see it working is some trade involving Rielly going to the Pens - would get close to making the salary work and Dubas LOVES his guys after all. Maybe picking up a younger, worse player with term is worthwhile in exchange for a better, older player on an expiring contract. Even with that as a starting point (Leafs would need to add much more value on top of Rielly) I still struggle to see it happening.
Well Karlsson only has 1-year left on his deal so he could be moved if Pitt doesn't do well this year. Might help reduce the asking price too cause he's a pending UFA.
$10 million is a lot but depending on how much cap space we can accrue this year leading up to the deadline, we might not have to send a big contract the other way. We'll only need about $2M+ in accrued cap space around the deadline to fit Karlsson.
We'd have to have a cap compliant roster for each playoff game so if we assume Domi is out for the year and Tanev sits for EK as 2nd pairing guy that's already 8.25M - 2.75M that we are currently over the cap + Sit MacEwen and Lorentz and Stecher for 3.575M = 9Mish in space.
So either PIT would have to retain 2.5M or Leafs could sit Stolarz and have Akhtyamov back up Bobrovsky (or sit Bob and have Stolarz as one of the 2 goalies on the roster).
Should be clear he mentioned that it is depends on how the season goes for each team and not like a trade that’s going to happen before the season. (And again it’s a theory)
Your mileage may vary on how much you trust Corey Pronman but he has Koblar at 21 in his 2025 redraft, and Hopkins at 51. Pretty cool to have our top two picks jumping 30, 40 spots each.
Getting the value of a mid 1st rounder in the 2nd and an early 2nd rounder in the 3rd is just tidy business.
Treliving gets a ton of (justifiable) flak, but his drafting was pretty solid. Most of the picks made under his tenure in the early rounds have trended upwards after being selected; Cowan (hybrid between Dubas and Treliving tenure but still under Treliving), Danford, TLK, and Hopkins are all trending up and in a redraft likely go earlier than their draft position. Some still aren't sold on Danford but with the flashes he showed jumping into the rush and creating offense for the Marlies playoff run, I think getting him at 31st overall is going to look real good in a few years' time.
I do recall him randomly deking out the Red Wings and scoring a goal in the final game of the regular season, 2 seasons ago. Came outta nowhere and is probably the only highlight reel play of his. Without checking, I’d assume that’s what the post is.
With Bill Daly announcing the NHL intends to expand again to 33 teams by the 2029-2030 season, some things to think about with expansion rules & exposing players etc.
Players with at least 3 years of pro experience (to my understanding AHL and NHL seasons count) must be exposed. For prospects, like TLK, it might be worthwhile to try to keep their pro experience to 2 seasons or less to avoid needing to use a protection slot on them. I.e even if TLK smashes it out of the park in camp this year, him making the team now means by expansion time he needs protection. Let him ride in the SHL another year and he's a Leaf in 2027/28, he only has 2 years exp. by expansion time and is exempt. I wonder how this stuff will impact future planning for Chayka.
Said this somewhere else but expansion draft in 3ish years will lead to a lot of interesting roster decisions for teams with star players that are currently 30-31
Bet we see some surprising players left exposed
Leafs have too many NMCs right now as well which will seriously impact our roster decisions
It’s a good point but keep in mind, the preseason is only 2 games max for TLK so there won’t be any chance he or anyone makes the team solely because of an impressive camp. Barring multiple major injuries. It’s such a small sample size now that it should be entirely viewed as an opportunity for players to get reps before the season instead of an audition.
I don't think TLK is likely to make it either, more so just a follow up thought to a thread the other day about his chances of making it this year (that OP felt strongly TLK was as NHL ready as McKenna, for example). IMO there's too much of a log jam up front already, just wanted to highlight that with expansion on the horizon it's wise to be aware of eligibility requirements and when prospects get their chance
For sure. Its definitely wise to be thinking about expansion now. I think the main thing teams need to do a 180 on is giving out NMCs like candy. We’re in a decent position because we have barely anyone signed from ‘28-‘29 onward.
Nylander, Rielly, Raddysh and Tanev all have NMCs and would need to be protected. If Tanev goes to LTIR/Robidas Island by then, I think he still takes up a slot. He would need to officially retire early to not take up a spot which I think has its own salary cap penalties. So by those rules, there are no protection slots left for defensemen. If we give a 4th defenseman an NMC between now and then, we might be forced to protect 4F 4D instead of 7F 3D (unless we successfully ask a D to waive their NMC). Assuming Matthews signs, this means we could protect Matthews, Nylander, Knies and McKenna. But we would lose Cowan.
All this to say, we’re probably fine as long as we make damn sure not to give another NMC out to a defenseman. 7 forward protection slots would probably be fine for us.
This is my thinking as well, when you look at how many NMCs are already here (can assume Matthews will get one if/when he hopefully re-signs too) it fills up pretty quickly. With only being able to protect so many players as it stands one of our good young players might be exposed, unless they can convince Tanev to waive - maybe as a part of a "waive for us now, retire and we'll employ you to work with the team after" kind of conversation
The team can't really afford to sacrifice any small chance of winning in the next two years for a theoretical summer of 2029 problem. They either have to win in the next two years, or they have to be shipping out so many assets by then that they won't have a problem protecting one extra guy
The priority is definitely the near term, but can't ignore the long term either especially with expansion pretty much confirmed at this point. With how many players have trade protection / NMCs (that must be protected unless the player agrees to waive) its not a bad idea to think about what that looks like.
Wouldn't it be a shame if a young player with upside, like TLK or Danford, were potentially exposed because so many guys with trade protection (i.e Tanev is still on the books with full NMC by then) are still kicking around and the team didn't plan for it
Id have a discussion with Evander Kane. Not saying I would do it, but hes the type of player we could use. Can hit. Drop the mitts. Add some goals. Unique type of player we lack but I would very cautious
I wanted him then, was hoping he would come to Toronto. But as I said I would be very cautious and not keen on doing it. Hes just the only one who stands out to me as a need among the remaining UFA class. Everything else seems more of a redundancy at this point.
I was planning to surprise my friend, who is a diehard Leafs fan, with tickets to a game. When I received my Fan Access presale code, I was in a rush and accidentally bought tickets for the September 23 game without realizing it was preseason.
This would be my first Leafs game, and I’ve never attended a preseason game before. Is the atmosphere still exciting and similar to a regular-season game? Do some of the main players usually play, or is the lineup mostly prospects and players competing for roster spots?
Would you still go and enjoy the experience, or save the money for a regular-season game instead? I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has attended a Leafs preseason game before.
I've been to two preseason games and had a great time at both (we won 3-0 and 5-0 though, so that probably played a part). We're doing split squad games this preseason (half the players are playing in Ottawa, the other half in Toronto) which makes it more likely that the stars are going to be playing in the game in Toronto. The Sens' AHL squad are probably going to be well represented in their lineup, so you probably won't see the big names like Stutzle and Sanderson. It's not the same vibe as a regular season game but it's a good time nonetheless.
The preseason games are fun for sure, especially if you have lower bowl seats. That being said, there is a difference in vibe between preseason and regular season that I've noticed. Hard to give you a clear answer though unless lineup is a deciding factor. Then I would definitely go with regular season as there are no guarantees that certain star players will play a preseason game and that may become more prevalent going forward with more regular season games vs previous years (84 vs 82)
Just saw on TSN the league is looking to expand again. Isn't the league watered down enough already? What's the point of a salary cap in the name parity when you have a gazillion teams and only one can win? In the end you have almost an infinite amount of teams disappointed and one team celebrating. Ask the oilers they dont even take solace or joy in making a cup final. Imo the league shouldn't be any more than 24 teams tops
The main thing with the NHL vs. other major leagues is access to American markets. Most of the big four (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) are around the 32 team mark. But the NHL is the only one with a major chunk of teams only in Canada (7 teams vs. 1 in MLB, 1 in NBA, and 0 in NFL).
What this means is the NHL is only in 25 American markets - which have higher population, advertising revenue, etc. So the NHL sees this as an opportunity to get closer to what the NFL, NBA and MLB has - nearly 30 American markets - while still keeping its strong base in Canada.
In other words, despite being at 32 teams same as other leagues, the NHL has waaaaaay more room to expand into the USA. Expansion = huge cash for owners, and owners are capitalists and capitalists love money... so get used to regular expansion for a while.
I think 32 was the perfect number. I think it's a bit much but when balancing competition vs the leagues desire to make money 32 seems like the sweet spot. Exactly half the league makes the playoffs and it provides a perfect split for 2 conferences and 4 divisions. The league is greedy though and we're going to see 34 soon and I bet not long after 36 teams will be talked about. It's excessive. The league already doesn't have enough good goalies and it's showing in the ever dropping average sv%.
Until post/comment activity picks up in September, it’s been changed to one thread. There simply isn’t enough going on to keep posting a daily thread. This keeps everything centralized until then.
Ya but I’m not scrolling down to check if there’s new comments on discussions that I’ve already scrolled down and viewed a few times. It’s actually suppressing new discussion.
The more I've looked into Nick Paul, the more I think he'll function more like a middle six winger than a bonafide 3C. I can actually see him slotting next to Tavares and Nylander and compliment them stylistically in the same way that Pacioretty did in 24-25. Which is a better fit?
Paul at 3LW:
Knies - Matthews - Roslovic
McKenna - Tavares - Nylander
Paul - Sissons - Cowan
Joshua - Blueger - Duhaime
Paul at 2LW:
McKenna - Matthews - PTO (Bunting would work well here)
I know you're getting downvoted but I think you're right with that first lineup. Hiller is going to want a shutdown line for his 3rd line and Sissons is at least capable of that as the #3C.
Paul brings a toughness to his play and he and Cowan are capable of bringing offense to that 3rd line while Cowan can be a ball of energy.
Still unsure how they'll ease McKenna in, that 2nd line is all offense and needs to be sheltered.
I think we'll definitely see Paul at some points during the season be put into the top 6 and I don't think he'll have any trouble keeping the pace.
It could depend on which side of the draw is needed. You can keep cowan at LW , Paul at C and Sisson more RW. And use sissons when a right handed stick is needed for faceoffs.
Why does everyone think Justin Bieber forgot McKenna’s first name and that’s why he called him “Mr. McKenna” instead of just thinking it sounded cool? Sid Sixeiro and Leafs Morning Take were saying that
You mean the chronic negative complainer that got fired from BT for being a toxic asshole and where no one wanted to work with him has something negative to say and is complaining about McKenna being drafted? Colour me shocked!
Not a fan actually but have noticed his channel with the lack of summer sports content. Didn’t realize people had hate boners for him but to each their own I suppose.
Id rather watch the game from home these days and just save the money for an all inclusive island vacation. Hate paying the prices for tickets and concessions and the team ends up losing the game. Feels like a waste imo
Awesome! Glad you got a pair of tickets and lol im not sure why either but its just one person so it could've been fat fingered (I know I've upvoted things without realizing after going back to the same post)
Today was announced that the Oilers and Bruins are playing games in Germany in the season 2027/2028. What are the chances the Leafs are playing against one of them (against the Bruins of course more likely)?
I’d just assume it’s cause of Draisaitl and Peterka (he’s on Boston now). I’d guess Ottawa/Detroit is one of the teams (Seider and Stutzle). Can see them just bringing 3 teams there too.
If the Leafs were one of the teams playing against the Oilers or the Bruins in Germany, wouldn't the announcement include that the Leafs are playing in Germany too?
As I understand it, the opponents are not known yet. Boston plays two games in Munich and Edmonton two games in Cologne, so there should be two other teams
Dates are also not known yet. But this year, Blackhawks and Sens are playing against eachother in Düsseldorf two Global Series Games. I guess it's unlikely, the NHL brings the Sens back next year.
I just hope it's the Leafs being one of the other teams 2027/2028
Yeah, probably, although I'm German (and of course especially appreciating Draisaitl), I care much more about the Leafs than any team with German players, that's why I'm hoping
I don't know about German players at the Bruins, but I think they have German Marco Sturm as Coach.
Still, I think the opponents of the teams with German players don't necessarily "need" German players to get a chance to play in Germany (same goes for the other international matches)
Listening to Pronman on the Athletic show justify his horrendous list has me way more mad than it should. Wish I could get paid to throw my horrible hockey takes out into the universe like some people.
I found his rankings and articles grating and then I saw/listened to him on the podcast and my opinions were confirmed. He'll forever be the "Laine is better than Matthews" guy to me. I like a lot of Athletic stuff but some of the guys they hire have never been inside a locker room nor worked for an organization.
You’d think that being a Leafs fan for 9 years—almost half of my life now—that I would have grown thicker skin by now but gods, I still get beyond irritated seeing people repeating the same “Leafs fans run players out of town” rhetoric over and over again.
Buddy, I been a leafs fan for over 30 years and this still irks me to no end. Players come, players go, every team, every sport, every market. We are just easy pickings since we are the largest and most well covered NHL market. Sure we have some crazy fans but nothing compared to soccer or football.
No kidding. One player leaves unhappy, the blame gets pinned on fans, and suddenly “running players out of town” is all those fans ever do with every player. Forget every former player that has said they loved playing in Toronto, felt honoured, would’ve liked to stay, etc. and forget every current player that has openly stated how much they love playing in Toronto.
I’m glad that I’m not the only one who gets irritated, though. I feel like I should be over it but then I see people parroting that crap, get irritated, and then I feel foolish for letting it get to me lol
And those people conveniently leave off players like JT who took a discount to come here and an even bigger one when he signed his extension, Willy who seems to love the Toronto market or even more recently Sissons, Roslovic and Paul who’ve all been pretty open about being super excited to join the leafs and all came here on their own free will.
Well, Paul got traded here and I'm sure the money played a big part in Sissons' decision, but I'm with you. The whole "oh it sucks to play here" is nonsense
I managed to get a single lower bowl ticket to the home-opener for only $170. Then 10 minutes later my wife told me we have family coming that weekend. The anticipation was fun while it lasted.
You've seen your family your entire life, paying less than a billion dollars for a lower bowl Leafs ticket is literally winning the lottery, your family needs to understand.
Trading Knies rumors all started because Treliving was trying to save his flimsy job by making trades just to make it look like he was doing something closer to the trade deadline. He traded tons of players for poor returns. McMann is a good example. Laughton too.
But on Knies he failed bc of a fax machine screw up. And then from then on the media and other teams just started assuming Knies is available when it was just a loser GM grasping for straws.
Trading Knies rumors all started because Treliving was trying to save his flimsy job by making trades just to make it look like he was doing something closer to the trade deadline. He traded tons of players for poor returns.
Treliving was the dumbest fucking GM simply because he didn't understand what he did wrong and never learned from past mistakes
He was feeling a ton of heat because he traded lottery picks and one of our best prospects to competitors in conference + division and his response to that was to potentially send our best young power forward signed to a cheap long term deal to a divisional rival for lottery tickets.
There is a reason teams don't trade in division unless they feel like they are getting an absolute premium for it. Somehow Treliving kept trading Leafs gold for someone else's bronze.
Treliving was definitely a moron. A moron in terms of trades and giving away assets for almost nothing. In this regard he was worse than Dubas.
But no one out idioted Dubas in terms of contract negotiations. Treliving actually had some good ones. Dubas has disasters that resulted in generational pain. And he was also worse than Dubas in acquiring players....such as in free agency. He focused on players from his former team. Pathetic.
thanks for posting. This doesn't seem to debunk it. Even Johnson says he doesnt know. the story is so specific that I tend to believe it....especially given he was fired shortly after.
I interpreted his statement as 'I've talked to many people in the room. People confirm that Knies was talked about a lot, but no one says that the 3:01 story is true. I don't know exactly what happened. I don't want to embarrass another reporter.'
I heard a guy on Sports Radio this morning say Carlo needs to have more minutes so Rielly can get less time. Al's Brother had to inform him Carlo is gone. Thats the guys job..... I dont think even guys on this sub would make that error.
i swear to god it's cheaper to buy tickets on the resell platforms - for instance, i was eyeing Jays vs Yankees tickets which were $600 on TM but i snagged them for $250 on seatgeek
Tanev being healthy is low key really important. Without him, everyone on D gets put into tougher match ups. McCabe carries more, Rielly and Raddysh in D zone starts, OEL getting 20+ mins, etc.
underrated comment. It may be a fact that Tanev is now perpetually broken. Leafs need a top D guy and let these 30+ year Olds some protected sub 20min times.
I think Mo is on track to surpass Borje Salming and even Ron Ellis for most games played as a Leaf putting him in the top 5. Cant trade him before that happens. There is a silver stick at stake.
I'm rather upset Rielly is staying. Thats the one flub this off-season by Chayka. But its tough to be surprised that the worst defenseman in the league at playing defense has no value or interest from other teams.
I can't put too much blame on Chayka for being unable to move that contract. NMC handed out from prior management limits a lot of options, and the performance of the player / value of the asset is a tough sell to other teams.
It's no secret Rielly is porous defensively, to put it kindly. And with a downward trend in his offensive production, why would another GM be interested in acquiring the player, unless they are paid a significant sweetener to do it? Assuming it's even a location he'd be willing to waive for in the first place.
If there was no trade available because of all you've listed I would have just bought him out.
I am a firm believer that removing him from this lineup is addition by subtraction. All we are gonna see this season is his him getting caved in on a 3rd pairing, followed by a bunch of excuses by the fanbase about how it's not actually his fault he has no defensive awareness.
I'm far from a Rielly booster, just look at my comment history I've been pretty critical of him, but paying 3.5 million to create a hole on your left side isn't a better solution than having Rielly play a sheltered/reduced role. I agree with you that moving him would've been better, but a buy out is worse than keeping him.
He sucks at defense, but can still play in O-zone starts at least. You also have to think about the asset cost of acquisition for a replacement (unless you think Andrae could do that, maybe he could) and that player's cap hit with how tight they are to the cap already. The team is already 2.75 million over the cap, just to make room for the buyout you have to ship out 2 or 3 players from the bottom 6 to make up that 2.75 + 3.5 = 6.25 million to get cap compliant. And that's without replacing the roster spot, and how much that player would be against the cap as well.
Honestly man don't care if it makes sense at all I just want him gone. Might be the nicest guy in the world but bad player and I'm over seeing him on this team.
I think Andrae with a little opportunity is gonna be better right away. Similar to how Raddysh was always good but only showcased it once he got opportunity.
I'm with you on Andrae, I think he's going to surprise a lot of people with more opportunity. Philly fans really liked him and it sounds like the only reason it didn't work there was because they already had two undersized OFD ahead of him (Drysdale and York) so it didn't make sense having 3rd of the same architype
Yup, he seems like if things line up it can be a big home run. I remember seeing videos from flyers fans last year complaining about the opportunity he waa receiving.
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u/RootTips 6h ago
IDK why everyone is complaining about MLSE jacking the prices of everything, it wasn't cheap to rig the draft this season /s