Hello, hello, hello and welcome back to Leafs late night.
Where it's never too late for the Leafs.
Though it might be a little late for Ridley Grigg to save any face with Leaf
fans, but that is coming up later.
So stay tuned for our breakdown of that.
Obviously, we got to talk about it.
As always, we were presented by Inside the Rink.
Roscoe joined by Beener.
How's it going, buddy?
It's gone.
How about you?
Oh good, I like the black and white stripes you got going.
You playing a part?
anybody can be a ref, anybody can, you know, run a department of player safety.
So why not play the part?
Ohhhh
Good way to start.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
So, I mean, anybody who's been listening is no stranger to our lack of confidence
in the depth of this team.
I mean, it's been pretty obvious who's run in the show the last couple of weeks.
I mean, all the goals have been coming from the same core of people you expect
them to come from.
But I mean, you don't want 100 percent of the points coming from there.
And that's kind of what it's been lately.
And when they have an off night all at the same time, oh,
This team does not look very good.
Yeah, um...
It's tough to watch, right?
Like, the big boys have been playing actually really well for a good chunk of
the year, and then we haven't had the depth scoring that we thought we were
gonna have.
I actually, I pulled up a little list here on Cap Friendly, shout out, and I put the
search parameters to players making between four and a half and six and a half
million dollars.
And I want you to guess where Tyler Brattuzzi lands on that list.
What number?
Out of a hundred.
Out of a hundred?
I think oops didn't mean to hit that little premature jump the gun on that one
sorry excited about my new button here let me see sorry there's a hundred and twenty
four players making between four and a half and six and a half she said 95th
that case 115.
Okay, he's not quite that bad.
He ranks at 77th, just between Riley Smith and Jason Zucker at 21 points between the
group of them.
Leading that group, can you take a guess?
And what was the price, the contract range again?
4 .5 to 6 .5.
The first two contracts that popped into my head, they're both out of those deals
right now.
That was McKinnon and Pasternak's.
They were both on crazy good deals.
4 .5 to 6 .5.
It's gonna be someone that I'm gonna slap myself for not saying, but I can't say
goth up my head.
Oh, somebody, Steph is screaming and I know.
Heheheheh
Okay, it's Mr.
Sam Reinhart, six and a half million dollars.
On the dot, he's the highest earner here, him and Chris Kreider, number one and
three, both making six and a half, Jake Gensel in second.
So 64 points for Sam Reinhart.
The reason I pulled this list up was just to kind of see where our dollar value
lands, because I mean, we've been ripping on Bertuzzi a lot for underperforming, but
I just want to see across the league for people paying that much, you know, where
does it land?
And at 126 people, 77, it's just under.
the middle.
So I mean, not great, but there are a lot of guys that are underperforming a lot
more or performing worse, underperforming better.
I don't know how to say that.
Josh Anderson sucks is what I'm trying to say.
It's making a lot of money to score fucking six points this season or whatever
it is.
So, I mean, yeah, to bring it back.
The depth hasn't been there.
And unfortunately, the money is spent on it isn't paying off.
So that's why this trade deadline is going to be interesting, because where the Leafs
currently sit,
You know, when you drop three of four games to Ottawa that you shouldn't, that
drops you down to fourth in the Atlantic under Tampa.
And if we look at the wild card race, we are in the first wild card spot sharing
that at 60 points with the Detroit Red Wings.
That is not where the Leafs want to be right now.
So.
Trade deadline, what the.
What the fuck do you do?
Like, there's nothing to buy with.
You've got no chips.
They don't want to trade cow and they don't want to trade mitten.
I'm glad.
But I mean, that doesn't leave much to send out the door to help this team, nor
does this team seem like anything on the market can help them.
Like, I don't know, do you just, do you punt on this year at this point?
Like, I know it's February 12th, there's still quite a bit of runway left.
We've seen a lot of teams turn things around quicker.
But I mean, with how little there is available to do and how much competition
has started to spend and run away with it, like, I'm starting to get the feeling that
maybe you just punt on this one.
Like Brad took over in a really weird time.
It was in the middle of the draft.
He didn't really get to make all the moves.
A lot of people were off the board trade wise and there wasn't a lot available.
Like I just, I don't think he got to do everything he wanted to.
So at first I want to say that you don't punt a year away when you have players
that we have.
Like, okay, if Matthews Marner and Nylander were all off with injuries done
for the season, yeah, absolutely, you punt the year away.
They're all healthy, they're all still here.
We can't do that.
I guess by punting, I mean, like, don't spend what little you have on trying to
bolster this.
Like, I think what you have is what you have this season.
Like, you hope that Woll comes back.
You hope that, you know, a couple of the guys start clicking a little better.
Maybe Bertuzzi turns it around in the playoffs.
But like, really, it's I don't think you spend anything on this year.
Well that's another thing too, is that everybody hasn't fully lived up to what we
know they're capable of.
Brutusy, Domi, like, and it's not like they're playing bad.
We've said this multiple times.
It's not like they're out there just...
given 150 % every night.
You just can't fucking score.
They just can't do it.
Like, so if they weren't giving the effort, I would be a lot more concerned.
It sounds silly.
It sounds like I'm looking at everything with my leaf glasses on, but there is a
possibility for this to change very quickly without doing a damn thing.
That being said, none of us expected a single thing that Tree Living did this
summer.
Like none of us.
Yeah, but to be fair, like none of the things he did have really been the
difference makers this year.
Like.
But, like how many times have I said over the last handful of episodes, this is
everything that Keef didn't get before.
He always got the cardio kids that, you know, skate, skate, skate, can't bury.
Now he's gotten a little grit and he can't still do anything differently.
So you're turning this around on it doesn't matter.
I guess you're trying to give Keith what he asked for to show that it doesn't
matter, that that's not the problem.
Like.
Like, and yet again, I don't want to advocate for someone losing their job, but
we've got a pattern here.
Like we really, really do.
That, that, that it, a lot of the times it seems like this team doesn't have the
structure to play games properly.
Okay, just to give a little credit to Keith here, some of the guys that were
brought in, I'm looking at points and just if you're looking for the new guys on the
team, just go to the Leafs stats and hit points and search by lowest and they're
the bottom six guys basically.
So aside from Bertuzzi and Domi.
So I mean, you've got LeJoy obviously is a new guy here, zero points, only played
four games.
Ryan Reeves, 25 games played, two goals, minus 12, 20 penalty minutes.
We've got him for another two years.
That's something that...
Like to Trey and Keith's credit, he was still kind of there last year and has been
quite sought after the last couple of seasons.
And I think we just got like the end of the pie.
Like there was nothing left of him by the time we got him.
Which.
have any way to defend that signing because I do not like that signing
whatsoever.
Three years is insanely long.
Benoit, been great.
Goal in an assist in 36 games, cool.
Two points, but that's two more than he needs.
We would have signed him at zero points.
Laggason, same deal.
I don't need to see much of him.
Then we get John Klingberg.
14 games.
He's got five points.
Anybody who's following, John Klingberg still has more points than Ryan Reeves.
He has three more points than him in half the games.
And he only has one less point than Geo, who we just found out is hurt.
And so was Connor Timmons.
So this entire bottom here, like you can...
put a giant fucking cross through this except for Simon Benoit for none of this
is usable.
Like what are we doing?
But go back to every season previously and you'd have four or five different signings
or call -ups or draft picks or whatever from Dubus.
It was the same thing.
So I don't know, I guess the point here is like, unless you move somebody like one of
the defensemen who's not working out for somebody that has term, like you're making
an improvement for this team for the next two, three years, that I can get behind,
but there's not much you can sell.
So I don't see many teams that'll swing on that.
Unless Robertson and Nyes and Bertuzzi all kind of finally figure out what they
should have.
a month and a half ago.
I mean, nice has gotten better, but I just don't think he's at.
I mean, I guess he's at the level that he should be at his age, but not where they
need him to be for the team at this stage right now.
But you can't trade him.
level where he should be for his development, but you need to start giving
him a little bit of rest.
I'm not saying load manage him or anything like that.
Just, okay, you want him on the top line.
Don't play him the full 25 minutes that you're playing Matthews and Marner.
Like this past game against...
you put there?
Like that's what I'm saying is he's playing to his development level, but he
he's filling a role that he can't fill 82 games.
while Nicky Bobby has been playing on average what four minutes a night when he
plays like the guy's scoring and he gets no ice time spread it out more like this
past game was the first game I think in probably four or five games that he got
over 10 minutes.
Yeah, he's averaging 11 right now, but that puts him like behind Noah Greger.
and he had 14 minutes his pass game.
Yeah, they're really not playing Robertson So if you can and I guess this is this
comes down to Keith and who he's gonna play but like there's a couple guys that
if they can figure it out sure you have a shot but like I just really I'm not I'm
trying I guess internally not to get my hopes up that like this is a year where
I'm expecting a run out of this team if Anything happens it's gonna be because
these guys go playoff mode and it's the opposite of what we've seen in the last
couple years We're like, oh
This is a steamroller through the regular season.
They have to be able to continue this into the playoffs.
And it's just not been the case.
So unless the opposite happens this year, like I'm just I don't know.
I guess I'm just not getting my hopes up.
Not to be negative, I just I don't know.
Not every year is the year.
No, but every year you should have the optimism that every year could be the
year.
Like that's the whole point of fandom, right?
Yeah, I mean, I'll get behind Matthews potentially and probably winning the
rocket.
Knock on wood.
Like there's things to be excited about this year.
The fact that we've gotten over the first round hump, I think I've put less pressure
on my own expectations every year to like, guys, you have to do this or I'm going to
break something.
I feel like just ripping that bandaid off kind of lets me breathe a little bit and
not see every playoff as like make or break.
Like, what is one of the things we were saying about the Oilers at the beginning
of the season?
Was that...
the oilers.
They can turn it around at any point.
that you take McDavid and you take Dry Cytl away and they're a lot of mid, right?
Yeah, um, yeah.
a little higher, but some are a little lower.
There's a lot of mid there.
Look at the Leafs.
Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares is still better than a lot of the NHL.
Right, like there's a lot of talent there.
And the rest of it, like take our Leafs glasses away.
The rest, we definitely do.
Like there's players with potential, Nice has great potential, Robertson still has
great potential, but at this point in time, there's a lot of mid right there.
Well look what the Oilers have been doing.
It's the same goddamn roster, all they did was add Corey Perry.
I mean, yes, but there's also the the asterix that their goaltending was
absolutely abysmal.
Like Jack Campbell turned into a non playable starting goalie and Skinner was
no better.
And Skinner randomly and and and Skinner randomly just went, oh, if I'm the only
guy, I guess I have to do it and figured it out.
And now he's completely usable.
whole team started to play better defensively.
Yeah, definitely things change under the coach.
But I think like you can't attribute Skinner's play to just a coaching change.
I I guess, but fuck, man, that's that's a lot of that's a lot to put on one guy just
because he's McDavid's junior coach like.
yeah, but he - Skinner was playing poorly, but he was also facing a ton of high
danger chances against.
Yeah.
Like if you limit shots, like I can stop shots from the blue line.
You put shots down right in the slot with someone who's been shooting 200 pucks a
day for 20 years.
Yeah, I'm not going to stop that.
But I mean, you saw some of these goals they were letting in.
It wasn't like it was high danger stuff, like him and Jack were letting in beach
balls.
-hmm, but when you have absolutely no confidence because all you're seeing is
shot after shot because your team doesn't give a shit They're not playing any
defense Like I'm not saying that's all of it But they do go hand in hand good
coaching and good goal -tending show me a good coach.
I'll show you a good goalie
Okay, so let's bring that back around to the Leafs.
Sammy has been...
back, but the last two games are the first time since he's been back that I've seen
him look around behind him multiple times to see where the post is, and that shit
freaks me out.
Yeah, so before the All -Star break, he looked a lot more calm and that he didn't
have to constantly search for where he is.
He wasn't swimming as much.
Like he wasn't doing any unnecessary movements.
And that's a big change for Sammy, especially over the last six, seven
months.
But the last two times we've seen him play.
Yeah, I think he's played two.
Yeah, it was Jones in Ottawa.
Like.
he's starting to kind of revert back a little bit.
So whatever he did when he had that little like break before the All -Star break, he
kind of needs to get back to that and get himself back in the right headspace
because physically we know he's a good goalie.
We know he can do it.
He's proven he can do it, but he just has to get in the right headspace for that
because like goaltending is ridiculously mental.
Well, yeah, and clearly they noticed it if they put Jones in against the sense now
that I go back to those, you know, reset where my mind's at here.
But yeah, so obviously they saw it.
They switched into Jones, but it's like, again, this just shows how fragile this
tandem is, especially like even if wool comes back, like it's not set in stone
that he's going to be great, especially after all the time he's missed.
So, you know, again, it's just another question mark that I don't know if a trade
like a simple trader,
you know, something not so simple like a coaching change is going to fix this year.
Like, it's I see like it's you got a surgery on this roster at this point.
Well, yes and no.
Like, they're all hockey players.
They've all, they all can play the game and they've played many different
structures over their entire careers.
You just need to get everybody committed.
And Keefe is not getting everybody committed.
The last two, three, four years, they've actually played a really good team defense
game, but they're not doing that this year.
They've got away from it completely.
Like, they have the...
side, they've got defensemen that are playing better.
Like, I mean, we've got Riley having a much better season than the last two.
And I think, you know, the emergence of guys like Benoit and I don't know, I guess
just Benoit at this point.
McCabe's been better, too.
Somebody that's going to be sticking around.
But I think you also see another year on Geo and another year on Brody.
So.
what I was just going to say is the fact that we're seeing some aspects of the
Leafs defense that is actually working really well.
Like Benoit, McCabe's been playing a lot better.
Playoff Riley has been here all season, which has been incredible.
And we're doing all this with our best defensive defenseman over the last, what,
four years?
Isn't playing great with Brody.
Yeah.
And guess who we didn't mention in all of this?
Timothy Lilligrin, who unfortunately, here we are in February of 2024.
I mean, look, it was a long road with him and Sandeen.
We had high hopes for both of them and rolled the dice and picked Lilligrin and
shipped Sandeen off to Washington.
And here we are.
I don't think either of them are really what we thought they would be.
I mean, Sandeen's obviously on a shit team in Washington right now, but.
Like, I don't think Lilligran's getting any better than we've seen.
Like, I think his best games have already happened.
Like, this is as good as he gets.
There's potential that he could get better.
He'll never be a...
like, from what we're seeing, he'll never be a top two defender.
Well, I didn't think he'd be top two, but I don't think he's even going to be a top
four, like unless something clicks or they get him a better partner and the team
starts playing better defense and he's in better situations.
Like it's going to take a lot because where they've got him and who and playing
with Giorgiano all these nights, like on the bottom pair, like they're just not
putting him in positions to develop properly in the NHL.
And they're just kind of turning him into a sixth defenseman.
And that's looking like what he's going to be.
Yeah, all it takes is that one season for it to click for him with, like you said,
either with a good partner or a better mindset of how he wants to do things.
Like there's so many defensemen that coaches, general managers have just said,
you know what, no, they're like, they're never going to be anything.
And then they turned out to be great.
Like there was doubts on Thomas Cabralet when he was drafted.
He turns out to be one of the best defensemen on the Leafs for years.
He probably should have been a winger, but you know.
yeah, so should Eric Harrelson.
Yeah.
I'm not gonna deny that either.
like I'm not trying to say he's gonna be amazing.
I love Lily.
There's that's been no secret I've always loved him him and same man.
I loved both of them It just doesn't work for every player right and that happens
that's part of the game But a lot can be said for how they're playing for how
they're like a lot of times there is no structure some of the plays that
when they're trying to leave the zone or when they're trying to even just cover
defensively.
It's like, what are you guys doing?
There's so many lapses.
many people out of place and like their stick is in the opposite lane of where the
pass or the shot would go.
They're like leaving guys open in front of the net.
Two guys go after one guy.
Like it's it's insane.
The the the Peewee level defense that they've been playing.
Oh, it's been crazy and like, yet again, I'm not trying to get anybody fired, but
there's like, there's simple things that can be done to change it.
And if you want to try to say, okay, it's just the players not doing what the coach
wants, well then coach.
Like if it's truly you're trying to instill a system and they're not doing it,
then coach, bench them.
Don't give them the ice time.
You have no issues giving
like not giving players ice time, just ask Robertson.
Yeah, we've not seen a single player benched in a long time.
David Camp, yeah, that's it, who pretty much didn't deserve it.
And the penalty kill hurt for it.
This is coming off of where we would see Justin Hall play a couple bad games and
it's like, oh my God, sent it to the press box.
And it would have a good effect.
He would be like, oh shit, yeah, I was playing bad.
I'm gonna work on a couple things, come back.
He played great for a couple months.
Regardless of how people talked about it.
He would be good for a while out every time they scratched him.
He was good after We have seen so many guys not get scratched literally just we
switch them out for someone else and that is not the same
No, it's not.
And like, I feel like I'm sounding like a broken record, but we've tried everything
else.
It's a co look, I I'm not discrediting that a lot of this is on Keith, but like
I'm back to Lillagran for a sec.
I'm not trying to discount that, you know, he hit his own ceiling.
I think this team lowered his ceiling in the way that they handled it.
And that comes down to management and coaching.
Like if you don't find somebody to fill out like, OK, how do I put this?
When you're looking at developing somebody, you have to.
put them in a position to succeed.
And if you see that your 40 year old defenseman is declining game by game, why
would you put them with the person that you want to be on this team long term?
And it's going to be here potentially past when Morgan Riley is here if things pan
out.
Like what, I don't understand the logic behind tanking them by sticking them on
for, you know, seven, eight minutes a night with a guy who's not able to keep up
with 85 % of the players on the ice anymore.
Mm -hmm.
You're trying to utilize his strengths to cover up another player's weaknesses when
he's brand new in the NHL.
And...
It's like hiring a millennial to do some like, you know, a bunch of tech stuff at
the company when no one else knew how to do it.
And all of a sudden, they're doing six people's jobs.
It's like this isn't a way to have a long term employee.
And I think that's where they fumbled.
Timothy Lowe.
Yes, now it was working when they first tried it because Gio and Lillie actually
looked great together when they first tried it, but you have to try to decide
what type of player you want him to be.
Like, Lillie's kind of, in my eyes, he's kind of more likely to be like a two -way
defender.
Like, not as defensive as Brody, but not as offensive as Riley, like, and...
We've seen him take a couple shots from the blue line that have been, you know,
gone through the crowd and tip off somebody to go in.
Like, he's got a decent shot and he...
cut up to the net and he'll have a great tip or a great little play in tight.
Like he can do that.
He just, he needs to find that good happy median.
Yeah, I wish they tried about more on power play, too.
I know there's been a couple times when he's gone out there, but like, I think
that's really where you needed to try him out, especially after, you know, you lose
Klingberg and you're kind of leaning the rest of the defense into being defensive.
Like, why not?
I know.
OK, so while we're on defense, we got to talk about the.
Big ol' elephant in the room, which is the end of the Senators game.
Oh my good god.
So I was hoping we'd have Souther here because he was actually at the game, but I
think he might have passed out.
So.
Obviously, empty net, Leaves her down by one, Ridley Greig, as we've all seen,
comes skating down right in front of the net, takes a big old clapper.
And as he is skating around the boards with five seconds left, he is absolutely
demolished.
with a two -handed cross check to the side of the dome by our very own Morgan Reilly
in the least Morgan Reilly way I've ever seen.
This is the last guy I expected this from on the entire team.
It goes to show that this mentality has indeed bled through all of them.
They are all seeing red when things are not going their way, and that's kind of
what we wanted.
But what...
What was your initial reaction when you saw this?
Not like after everyone talking about it in the replays, like what was your initial
reaction?
So I'm kind of playing the role of Matt Barnaby on this one because I can see both
sides of it and I like both sides of it.
I am an agitator.
So I would be Ridley Gregg winding up for a full out clapper on an empty net.
Because that is something I would do just to try to rub it into the other team.
Because when I'm on the ice, I'm quite an asshole.
But then at the same time, if I saw someone doing that, like,
as a goalie if I got pulled and I'm sitting on the bench because we pulled me
to get an extra attacker, I saw that happen.
I'd be skating off the bench to block him in the face.
So like, I can see both sides of it.
When I initially saw it as a Leaf fan from that aspect of it, I hated what he did.
I loved the fact that Riley went right over there until I saw the stick go up.
As soon as I saw the stick go up, I'm you freaking idiot with
Paros in charge of player safety.
This is probably going to be close to 10 games.
Yeah, my guess was seven.
And...
ridiculous.
He's got no history.
It's just like the spezza thing, right?
Like what should be a fine is not going to be.
Everybody all over Sirius XM, everybody, oh, they've got to make an example out of
him.
He deliberately went for the head.
Okay, yeah, so did Perron.
Yeah, there's been a lot of deliberate targeted intent to injure attacks this
year.
And I am in no way defending what Riley did.
I'm what I'm saying is there is absolutely zero consistency in how these things have
been punished this season, last season.
And we all know this.
So all we can go off of is the history with the Leafs in similar situations.
And the closest thing we have is Jason Spezza.
It's a retaliatory hit that was targeted and very obvious.
-hmm.
So like.
I want to defend Riley getting pissed off because like you said from the whole
roster of the team that is probably one of the least likely players you would expect
to see that from.
So I do like that fact because the team is showing that they're tired of all the BS,
everything that's going on.
Like the Jets, like, oh, is there anything better than beating the Leafs?
Like that kind of shit, right?
They're...
They're done with that, which is good.
That's like, that's the next step of the evolution.
You want that evolution as your team, but you go about it a different way.
You hammer them into the boards and then you scrub it up on the ice or, you know,
you grab them and throw them down.
You don't cross check someone in the face.
Yeah, that's where it crossed the line for sure.
And I mean, obviously both acts from both guys are on a different level.
But I think my initial reaction, not initial, but I'd say like 10 minutes later
was like, I think both of those guys probably both regret and wouldn't do that
again.
Like it's one of those things where in the moment they're like, fuck yeah.
And then immediately you're like, you know what?
That probably wasn't a great idea.
Or like if you're gonna cross track him, break your stick over his arm.
Like, not that it's right, but...
when the guy doesn't see it coming until the last second and can't protect
themselves, like that's the last time you expect to get cross checked in the face
after a whistle.
You've just scored.
It's the end of the game.
Like I mean, like you said, rough the guy up, hit him like sure.
But that's that's dangerous.
And it's just not something regardless of what jersey you're wearing that.
we need in this game.
And again, it's just so crazy that we're talking about Morgan Reilly in this
situation.
Like, it's like if Mitch Marner, like two hands slashed a guy in the face and broke
his teeth out or something.
Like, it's just not what you expect from.
that I would almost expect more because Marner wears his emotions on his sleeve,
man.
It's true, but you don't see either of them as being like violence first kind of
guys.
Like it's not how they handle things like I'd see martyr talking shit and like
really getting up in someone's face and laughing and being really good at chirping
sooner than I'd see him like to choose violence.
And that's how I feel about Riley, too.
Apparently Riley's a really good chaper on that note.
But I just think like as someone who has had issues in the past dealing with their
emotions, like as a kid I would get so angry I would burst into tears
immediately.
Like I can understand the craziness of intense emotions.
So like we've seen Marder break into tears.
We know how much he loves this team and how emotional he can get and I'm not
saying that's a bad thing just of either of the two I could see him losing it
because of that fact.
It's fair.
So I guess what this really comes down to is how many games like you said, it's
close to 10.
I'm thinking seven.
And how much is this going to affect the team?
Because like we've been saying up until this point, the defense has been shaky as
shit and he's been this well solid thing every night.
So.
Now we're reports are we're down Timmons and Geo, so that's.
you know, that really limits who you've got.
I think they did actually say who was at practice tonight.
I'm just going pull it up.
they would have they called up la joy or Lajoi, however you want to say it.
So to me, this might actually work as almost like a best case scenario.
Because it really, really shows you what you have when you lose your best
defenseman.
And I'm really, really hoping we see Shanahan or Keefe or someone just snap.
Like, Keef made a couple comments, almost sort of calling out the Department of
Player Safety.
Like, I just want to see Shanahan come out and say it.
Or Trey Living, or someone, right?
Like, aside from Keefe, the GM and the president, neither of them are short of
money.
Yeah, really.
I'm just looking here from David Alter, Jake McCabe taking PP1 at practice.
And we got here Brody Lillagren.
There we go.
Benoit McCabe, Laggison Giordano, Riley Lijois, so it'll probably be Laggison and
Lijois because I was pretty sure I heard Giordano was out.
But it says Timmons is ill.
And I thought, oh, here, Keith says.
They'll see how Giordano and Kamp should be okay for return tomorrow, but we'll see
how they feel in the morning.
Timmons remains ill and will not play tomorrow.
Okay.
And in other news, Joseph Wohl was back on the ice at practice.
So not soon, but soonish.
Yeah, like those are the next steps, right?
Getting him on, getting him in his gear, doing the movements, just seeing before
you try to stretch anything.
And even the team defensive structure from the game he got hurt, like that is why he
got hurt.
Yes, it's amazing that you can go and you can make those incredible, you know, post
to post saves, stretching across and robbing guys.
Cause that's like every fan loves to see that.
But at the same time, you shouldn't have to do...
three or four of those in a two minute span.
No, and look, again, if we're looking at the shitty decor that we're going to have
to go with Brody Lilligrin, Benoit McCabe, Lagasin, and I guess it's maybe Geo if
he's OK.
So Lagasin Geo, that's going to be in front of what an unconfident Samsonov or
Martin Jones, who's been really, really 50 50 like one game he can be great in the
next.
It's like whatever.
So.
My God, I don't love this.
who were, let's just say it's seven games, OK?
St.
Louis, Philly, Anaheim, St.
Louis, Arizona.
OK, that's not bad.
That's really not bad.
That's five.
And then we got Golden Knights and an Avalanche for six and seven.
And then if it goes eight Golden Knights again.
So really, they should be able to handle two games against St.
Louis, a game against the Ducks and against the Coyotes.
Flyers, who knows?
But they should, holy shit, should be able to handle those games without Riley.
Like, it couldn't have come at a better time because the back half of their
schedule sucks.
And this seems like the only easier stretch based on the current standings
that they have.
Yeah, like I said, I think this is gonna come to a head.
It's gonna be some drastic suspension, seven, eight.
I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if they gave them 10 games, which sounds
asinine.
definitely going to appeal it.
Like they're going to appeal it either way.
But if it's 10, they would have to.
And I'm sure that goes down just because of because I think what you get into there
is the Leafs.
I know they can't take this into account, but like I don't think Batman's going to
want Paros sending a message with a high profile player on the Leafs where people
are going to protest with their money when things are getting bullshit.
Well, what do you mean by protest with their money?
Like if people are going to start, you know, not going to games or something when
Riley's not there because of like how bullshit the like if it's 10 games and
they uphold 10 games, like you're going to see some sort of backlash to that that I
don't think Batman's going to be like I'm not advocating for the least getting
special treatment.
I'm saying like 10 games to make an example out of Morgan Riley seems like a
stupid thing to do, like just for the marketing of the game.
what you're saying, but Betman's already proven he doesn't give two shits about
Canadian teams.
And with the history of the Leafs, you could bench Matthews for two months and
they'd still sell out.
But I mean, look, the guy that you just sent to the All -Star game is the person
you're going to make an example out of for something that's not as, I don't know.
Again, I'm not, I don't want to sound like I'm def...
Yeah.
I'm not trying to sound like I'm defending the hit.
I still think it was, you know, like I said, it was over the line.
It's dangerous.
It's uncalled for.
It's unsafe.
Yeah.
100%, two or three games, but he's going to end up getting like 10.
Like it's in person, so we know it's at least five.
Yeah, tens excessive.
Seven, I would be like fine, sure.
Whatever.
It's.
sure whatever if there was consistency and if the next guy that did this got the same
thing.
But it's not gonna happen.
It's not.
It's definitely not.
OK, so I mean, we went over where our next games are.
We've gone over the lineup.
This has pretty much been where the Leafs are now, because, man, it's been a weird
time.
Slow part of the season.
Things have been very shaky and no one knows what's going to happen.
Come trade deadline.
So.
Yeah, just our thoughts up until now, I guess.
Thanks.
If you guys have any questions or some games you want us to play, we are going to
get back to it here.
But just a short one tonight because we got to update on this Riley thing and it's
late.
So.
Appreciate y 'all and we'll see you next time.
Ciao.
Look how tight that hat was.
That was giving me a headache.
That leaf's hat is too small.
Giving away a free small leaf's hat to whoever claims it.