Justin born of real Kipper and born and of lease Regional games of everything and uh infrequent visitor to this show but now back good morning buddy oh that was good good morning hello hi I’m here yeah you started off it’s been so long since I’ve used these
Headphones that I forgot if mute was in or out I’m alive I’m here yeah okay that’s good because yeah you started off like crackling as though it was we were trying to reach you in a different dimension present it’s all good yeah you’re in this one you’re in our
Dimension okay so let’s just start with that do you think that the team found something on the weekend yeah I mean I think what you’re looking for is what does it look like when it works what does it look like when you know the plan which we’re supposed to have is executed and
Everyone does their job and yeah that’s that’s really encouraging that there is a version of this leash team that you go okay you know like I can see how that can work like you know and we’ll get into into the finer details I’m sure I still don’t love every part of the plan
But plan aside when it works like that boy it sure looked really good didn’t it yeah it did it looked really nice that was by far the most enjoyable game of the season for me I needed it because I had spent five hours in the well just
The Argos game and I was five hours in the cold and you know when okay it wasn’t that bad I dressed properly but you know when you’re in the cold for a really long time how it basically just takes you all day to heat back up right you’re just there’s there’s something
About that where it’s hours upon hour upon hours of just needing to warm back up and then by the time you do you’re sleepy so I needed a leaf game I needed a leaf game that was entertaining that actually had moments in it because had it been some kind of non-descript game
That the Leafs lost three nothing I would have done Leaf’s talk and Sam would have gone so what do you think of that game I would have been like I thought the sweaters were nice yeah I I’ve been looking at my app on my phone going who scored the goals
Yeah that one was pretty good uh that one was all right no they really needed that one I like what you said about just you can kind of see it right of course they’re not going to be a perfect team I would say that that’s the majority of
The NHL you’re doing your National hour now so I know you’re watching way more games who do you really love outside of Vegas right yeah no honestly Colorado’s gotten shacked a couple of times like there’s not really teams where you’re like unbeatable no every team is slaw at
This point yeah I this is what the NHL wanted all along it’s just the full parity League where it just every team every night can be the same and no one loves their team and there’s seven interchangeable guys on the roster where you go oh that guy’s probably not going
To be here long term right imagine if teams just started selling jerseys of all the players right they’re like yeah like honestly teams have guys it’s like they have Cole blakeman and this is Blake Coleman and this is you know Trent Johnson and John trenson I don’t know who anybody there’s
A lot of Trent Johnson in the league right now there’s just I I try to tune in to others I watch that uh the the ass kicking that was put down uh by the Kraken on the on the Avalanche the other night and I watched a Vegas ass kicking
Of Colorado too because I keep tuning into their games because they’re later ones and I go oh yeah your record’s good let me see this Colorado team those promis they’re they’re I think deeper than maybe the Leafs are but they also just have a ton of who are you guys
That’s every single team in the league right now it drives me nuts it’s really hard man I I hope that I hope the cap FL cap dude I know but what I think is too is there’s there there are just too many teams right in the NBA right now you
Look at it and say wow there’s so much talent every single team has so many players and each team has a couple of really interesting guys and the NHL you look at it and go I think we could do without six of these teams you know take
Six teams out bump the cap up just a touch and I think the league would be a lot better for it but hey whatever I guess we’re just going to have this this kind of league for the the meaningful future because that’s is just the way it
Feels so like that that’s kind of how I’m looking at the Leafs is ex them who going beable of building a team right a team that an identity at some point during the season that the first long stretch with these guys I I thought I don’t know what the hell this
Is going to be because it was supposed to be that they were more offensive and then no one down the lineup was scoring it was supposed to be that they were tougher and then Brad Marian is injuring their defenseman and everyone’s just looking and smiling from the bench going
Please don’t do that again that would be that would be mean if you did it twice right they signed one of the toughest guys in the league who’s already off the team right it’s just everything that they were supposed to be wasn’t really materializing and I do feel like the
Promising part of this weekend is they felt heavier they felt tougher and and multiple ways tougher by the way they were down twice and they came back against Vancouver both times they fought for each other and now all of a sudden a bunch of the guys down the lineup are
Scoring yeah no absolutely you know there’s been a lot said about the whole Ryan reev thing and like all right his I don’t know minus 11 or something like that like he’s not hasn’t had a positive contribution fine that’s all well and good but a lot of it has been like okay
Well who who do they put in there that it’s that much different you know this whole Bobby McMahon comes up and I I I feel like people know things about him I don’t I every time I watch him play here’s what I see he’s really fast he’s
Big and I know from watching elast American League highlights he shoots it really well like some of his goals are just like beating the goalie clean hard shots so all of a sudden your fourth line with McMahon and S of Reeves is a guy is a line of Gregor who is lightning
Fast and he is three times in Leaf’s Jersey shot it past a goalie where you’re like boy the goalie looked bad there or is that a great shot so fast and can shoot it McMahon is fast and can shoot it and Camp is a great fourth line
Center so all a sudden your fourth line is very good with replacing one player so that was was really encouraging to me being like okay you know they they’re not that far off with a little tweak here and a little tweak there and then the other thing was I didn’t realize how
Much they would miss Jake McCabe just having him back to me suddenly made it feel a lot more like okay at least you have someone who knows like he wants to defend he cares about it right and he likes to hit and all that stuff so a few
Little things made a big difference over the weekend obviously they played great but just a couple of lineup tweaks went a long way yeah see that that’s the way I I feel about it right now and ask me again in two weeks with this team because it just it’s been such a roller
Coaster ride of oh it’s good it’s bad it’s good it’s bad it’s good it’s bad bad bad um but I had Myrtle on last week and we were talking about the team and to me the biggest point of optimism was you could Circle two players on the
Roster the way kingberg was playing and the way Reeves was playing and say if you just remove those guys and put in replacement level players how much better is the team and and I think with the fourth line we already have that question answered you go from a guy who
Just cannot move who cannot play makes a line a complete non-threat where you know they’re never going to score and it’s just about surviving the five to eight minutes they’re going to get a night but they also had to start them in the ozone I know that’s it you were
Taking away opportunities to score and going to just again a a replacement level player I don’t I’m sure you know I agree with the things that you said about McMahon I don’t know if he’s going to be someone that listen he’s he goes into the Trent Richard what what’s the
Name of the Trent patter he’s a Trent Patterson okay like he is a guy that 5 years from now I would imagine most LEF fans go oh right him I forgot about him but he’s just a replacement level guy that shows you how bad the Reeves
Experiment was and I I know that they can bury the the money I know that eventually it’s not going to be that bad because people keep saying it’s the worst contract in Leaf’s history and I go you’re clearly not a fan of this team you clearly have only been here for a
Very short time but it is incredible to think that a guy is going to get $4 million for a minus1 in two fights that he arguably lost both of yeah I mean it’s it’s a shame because like I have been okay with the idea that
You would have a guy who kind of Treads water or is even a little bit below treading water as long as it gives them an element they haven’t had during the regular season where guys felt defended and whatever I was totally okay with that um but you just can’t be the worst
Guy in the League you know like that’s just a bridge too far and you know I I know Sheldon ke was trying to protect him he made some comments like you know I’ve been through the goals and there’s not one where you would hold him like
Accountable for but I think back to like the play where Matthew ni chips one to him and he just can’t he’s not fast enough to skate onto it so he never affects the play but it’s because he’s slow you know so you don’t blame him but
Anyway it’s it’s a shame that it has worked out so poorly but it’s really tough to see it ever being a success it just is it’s going to be your worst option given the even a guy like McMahon being around yeah anyway uh classic Toronto though they we find a way
Neanders having just the best season Matthews looks incredible tarz looks like he hasn’t lost a step and the vast majority of the discourse has been about the fourth line you know but outside of like spawning yeah outside of sitting here and being like how good was that
You know like it’s tough to break down excellence in the way that it’s like okay how do you patch the holes and make this a Cup winner yes well the other part of it too is it makes it feel a little bit more desperate to win right because these guys are clearly entering
A different kind of prime window so yeah yeah I I the way I’m looking at this right now is I feel a little sympathetic towards not that it should be overly sympathy to the stars that have been given everything in this market but I thought what a frustrating
Time for these guys where they’re playing great they’re doing a lot the rest of the lineup everyone’s talking about them trying to give them credit for whenever they they win going ah this is the rest of the formula but then if the Leafs lose it’ll all be about those
Four guys yeah and no one wants to talk about the Excellence because you’re right it’s hard to break down plus we’ve seen it so many times yeah no it is it’s they’re in a very unique spot with this Market where it’s tough to get uh tough
To get a heap of Praise but you know I will say this weekend was one of the most surprising weekends for me like the leaf I’ve jok to you know have this reputation for Rising the occasion when you expect them to finally be done for but going into this weekend I I really
Had some concerns like that game against Vancouver was such a pleasant surprise to someone who has to cover them all year because there’s there was just so many holes going into that game that I thought that maybe this team was a you know a Fring playoff team and so another
Good weekend like that it’s like okay they’re not that you know that’s that was encouraging to see yeah there were definitely signs of is this team bad yeah that was the talk on our show with mcke mck was just like guys I’m worried like yeah I think think you
Might be right to be worried I like how that that that is genuinely mck’s job is I’m really worried that’s him just him hand ringing going I’m I’m nervous I’m worried yeah dude what are you worried about the leaf stink they’ve been crap your whole life why why are you worried
You’ve never seen a winner oh no things are going to be the same yeah oh my God they might only win one playoff series in 20 years I had new Andy on Friday and I went this is incredible the biggest goals in my life were him in 2004 and
That’s the last time they won before last season and and I know we’ve been had that beaten over our heads over and over and over again but sitting there and talking to him did make it feel different where yeah I was like oh right this guy hasn’t been in the league
Forever and he had the last memories for this team so to kind of close the forward conversation do you think they’ve found the groups will Sheldon Keef be able to resist the temptation to put the lines in a blender the second things go south no see I I do think they
Want ber tuzy to play with Matthews and and Marner like I think that’s how they see this working out as someone who hunts pucks for them and all that but ni just makes so much sense from like an offensive standpoint it to me it’s more
They also don’t want to put him in a spot where there’s a bunch of pressure on him like in huge games they’re going to be rolling out this rookie in those big moments like B’s at least kind of been through the league and through playoffs and I don’t know it I think
Eventually they’re going to want to see berzi back there but yeah I think will have a little run the one thing I did want to say on the forwards is that everyone right now is like hey how about that third line looks like they found a third line yada yada and they looked
Fantastic and it’s encouraging and it’s nice to see the Leafs get depth scoring like they’ve s they’ve been supposed to have they have supposed to had a good third line I don’t know don’t worry about the English for a long time but this finally like seeing them scores
Good now however I don’t trust that that’s a playoff line I don’t trust that line you know Max doy C yarn Croc like it just it doesn’t feel to me like a line you’re going to keep together in the playoffs I think that’s fair considering Nick Robertson no one
Thought would be on this team at all this season that he would get a small try out disappoint go back to the AHL and then likely be moved in an underwhelming trade package or as a throwin on something bigger and now it’s four games of awesome but yeah it’s fine
To question whether not that’s going to be sustainable but is that the biggest part of that line that you don’t trust or is it the doy down the middle piece because yarn Croc I think is just the yeah he’s he’s a Swiss army knife at this point that you can basically trust
Anywhere in your lineup yes but DOI at Center is something that like it’s tough to see lasting I just think he’s a poor defensive player and I don’t love having my third line Center that can’t defend and then Robertson yeah I re this guy’s a unbelievable scorer I I really think
He’s just got such a knack for it and his sense for offense and a great shot but yeah DOI plus him in playoffs and pitching him against Tampa Bay and pitching him against Florida you know it’s it’s tough and then yeah as you mentioned yarn Croc is was not impactful
In the playoffs at all so just tough to see that sticking what what I will say though about him even if it isn’t a playoff line they kind of just needed them right now agreed that’s well said like the timing is perfect for this line they they just desperately needed some
Other group to do something exciting have life yeah and they have they’ve been better than just okay Robertson has had real job I thought he was the Leaf’s best player Friday like I genuinely did I think I tweeted before playoffs put 89 out like he was every time he was out
There he was impactful in moving the pace of play I totally agree yeah he was awesome and then DOI just feels like he’s been reinvigorated playing Center that he’s actually he engaged yeah he’s found something he looked lost through the first four or five games of the year
He had that those two beautiful passes to n that n finished and then after that it got him some grace period but it was starting to get back to the point of hey what what what is it you say you do here and and he finally found something so
I’m good even if that line is just a stop Gap to something else right buys them time to figure out what exactly they need or if every other game they score you a goal you’ll love them right that’s it it’s just it’s it’s fine it it
Right now this is what they need and even we had the topic before the season of hey is this team better I really did think that they were going to be a better regular season team I I just thought that they were going to be able
To score more that it was going to fit their group that they were going to stay engaged with everybody chasing the points right and how many mercenaries this team has you thought berzi was going to be good right well I have liked berzi the last couple of games I will
Say yes I have too I have too and kind of to your point about n and the no pressure thing my my push back would be I haven’t seen the pressure part with him at all no he seems unfaced you’re so right that’s it I I don’t see a guy that
Looks nervous in times and if you’re talking about the dude who’s just supposed to chase down pucks who on this team other than Matthews has looked more dangerous when he’s on someone’s back this season for the Leafs than Matthew nce no good point it’s him yeah so for
Me right now I’m letting that go and I’m saying too hey berzi not like you’re playing with a bunch of nobodies right you’re playing with one of the best 10 Fords in the NHL right now in William nander and tarz who has I would say if we’re looking at underrated stories of
The season and I guess I shouldn’t have expected a big fallof with him right it’s not as though he was just some athletic Phenom that relied purely on the skating but it’s just how good he has looked we’ve had two years where people have gone
Tarz needs to get kicked out to the wing tarz needs to get kicked out of the wing could you imagine this team if they actually had to kick dvar out to the wing yeah no it’s essential that he be the player he is the money he’s making
And honestly it’s we may finish this John dvar contract step back and go holy that was a really good seven years and the whole time everyone was just going get this guy out of here I don’t know you know well especially since they might inherit a cheaper version of tarz
At the end of the contract right what do you think is likely he leaves and chases money somewhere or he resigns in Toronto for less money I feel like it’s the lad so there there might be a little bit of a long-term play here where in a season
And a half from now we look at this and go damn that was pretty good that they turned tarz into the new Mark Gano or the new Jason spezza where it’s the the good on the cheap contract um by the way that’s that’s still a concerning thing
To me a little bit is they this team has just always relied on the old guy to be the heartbeat of the team he used to be Spa now it’s gordano right and it was that way again Saturday where it was the old guy that had to fire everybody up
Again and I went this is great I love Jano but I I would like to see this from somebody else uh way to go though Gio I mean that’s a big boy he went in there with he threw he was throwing yeah he stood in there know but those were
Reckless punches to the point where if the guy he’s fighting is calm about it and really knows what he’s doing he could have landed one on the button where we go why did you do that why did you why did you do that fight okay um what would you give up for zadorov
Should the Leafs be making a move like this today well I think that depends on what you know like on the ability to extend him like you if you know you’re going to have him for a while um I I also think zadorov is a guy that if he’s on your
Team long enough you’ll go oh I see that’s why this six foot7 to you know 14 goal scoring defenseman isn’t beloved everywhere like there’s going to be some warts however I really would be excited about the Leafs having something that is so different to them a guy who can hit
And score that plays defense with an attitude like what a concept so there’s going to be some mistakes along the way I love it for the lead so you know I don’t know you know you start talking about these your know prospects you even talk with Kip and it’s like he brought
Up Minton and Cowen either okay it’s not Cowan so is Minon on the table for zidor off plus like can Calgary sweeten that pot significantly with another defenseman or I vladar you know do you like Vadar much more than you like samsonov I don’t know so no no I don’t
Either um for the record but you know it’s interesting to see what else they would have to do to make it work for a big piece like Minton my only thing is if you’re the Leafs and you make that trade you actually have to do it
For what 80 cents on the dollar to Calgary you cannot be doing a 100 you can’t be doing full price for full price because it’s just so early in the season I I feel I’m a little torn on this I really like zadorov he’s the defenseman
On that team that I would most like for the reasons that you outlined which is just bringing the team more of the things they don’t have right some size some nastiness they don’t get any goal scoring from their blue line and so that would be a nice addition for
Them but I would be a little nervous even in a year where everyone’s going to be around the playoffs and it’s probably going to be another buyer Market that some other names come up and you look at it and say damn you made the move too
Early yeah I I mean that that is a real concern it’s it’s a really tough situation I think it felt really desperate last week when the Leafs were six and five and lilligren hurt and mccab was out and kingberg looked you know unfixable it really felt like if you don’t do this
Now you know it it may come down to not making playoffs or making playoffs how early you make a decision like this so um you know winning buys you time to further assess what you have and I think that’s one of the the great advantages of you know the Lea gain from having
Some success last weekend is just okay let’s take another look at this we don’t we’re not in full panic mode winning helps you make better decisions in the long term the the the immediate part of this where I go no just do it now is you need to improve your penalty kill
Immediately and the clear number one spot is they they need another defenseman to play on that unit because the the Personnel like I asked Jason buo last week hey do they have anybody internally where you believe this is going to get better and he just flat out
Went no so oh okay yeah that that’s where you start to look externally um before you go last thing mm so they’re heading on this break and it’s nice because they’ve got this momentum and they’ve won some games and they’re probably feeling way better about themselves they had a game where they
Had some fights and they won on a Saturday night they probably went out as a team and had a bunch of drinks and now they get to fly to Sweden and a bunch of guys on the team get to show off Sweden to leaes the the mood is good with the
Team but it is a little bit of a break here where they’re only playing two games in 12 yeah what do you think the the story of the season has been for you so far H that’s a great question um I think think the new additions you know
The the new additions being not what the Leafs had hoped obviously this story is very different today than it was on Friday at noon you know like it felt like they none of them were working and it was tough to see any of them sticking throughout the whole season now it’s
Like okay berui looked better Do’s chipping in here and there kingberg had a good hockey game like a fine hockey game so to me it was the new guys but I think they’re they’re looking better than I thought I don’t know like I said very recently yeah recently yes before that
No congrats to Ryan Reeves on $4 million uh just incredible stuff this Pro Sports it’s awesome for that uh I know you got to run I’ll let you go thanks for doing this buddy I’ll talk to you soon thanks F sounds good have a good one
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