Weekly Takes - Monday, December 12 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, December 12 Edition

1. Matt Murray and/or Ilya Samsonov may crash and burn due to poor performance and/or injuries, but right now Kyle Dubas is looking like a genius.

He had no interest in re-signing Jack Campbell to a multi-year contract (which was always the right call), and instead hedged his bets on two short-term commitments to goalies with tremendous resumes.

And it is paying off right now in spectacular fashion.

He may not have only saved his job with the decisions he made with the goaltending situation this past summer, but he may have completely changed the way general managers approach their own goaltending situations.

Outside of the top five or so goalies in the world, why commit longer than two/three years to any goalie? The risk is hardly ever worth it.

2. Speaking of Dubas, it is time for MLSE and Brendan Shanahan to re-sign him.

This team is the best the Leafs have ever iced in the modern era. Maybe they lose to Tampa Bay in round one, but can anyone truly deny that this team is among the very elite in the sport and will continue to be under Dubas’ leadership?

3. My three stars from the Maple Leafs chaotic win over the Flames on Saturday…

1. William Nylander

2. Mitch Marner

3. Michael Bunting

Sometimes I wonder if this core peaked when John Tavares had his career season in 2018-2019 or when Matthews had his last season. You rarely want to let career years from your best players go to waste.

But Nylander and Marner are having their career years this season. It is time to take advantage of it finally.

4. If the Blue Jays signed Kevin Kiermaier as their starting centre fielder, it would represent a significant downgrade from Teoscar Hernandez a season ago and would be a total failure.

If they signed him to be their fourth outfielder – someone who can come on late in games as a pinch-runner/defensive substitution and someone who can start once or twice a week against right-handed starters – it is a great signing and addresses an important hole that the Jays had.

This move can not be fully analyzed until we know how this all shakes out.

5. The Mets signing of Justin Verlander comes with risk, yes, but unlike the Rangers deal with Jacob deGrom, it comes with a ton of reward.

If Verlander and Max Scherzer stay healthy and do not have their performances fall off a cliff due to age, they have the best 1-2 punch in baseball.

And if they do get injured and begin to regress, the Mets fan base can at least take comfort in knowing that their management staff did everything possible to win.

6. I love the Phillies signing of Trea Turner.

His contract will age awful, but they are in win-now mode with a generational player in Bryce Harper. You have to do everything you can to win a World Series.

And the Phillies are.

7. As is the case with the Turner contract, Aaron Judge’s contract will age awful, but you make the signing every time if you are the Yankees.

Re-signing him was the difference between being a World Series contender and not being one. It is really that simple.

8. The Red Sox are truly a team stuck in the worst possible position you can be in as a professional sports team.

They are making moves that contenders make, despite missing the playoffs comfortably and losing their second-best player to another team.

Truly stuck in the middle.

9. What is happening to the Raptors right now is the best thing for the franchise’s long-term health.

They are not a championship contender with this group, nor are they bad enough to bottom out for a high draft pick. That has become increasingly clear, so it is now on Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster to deliver a clear direction for this team, one way or another.

We are no longer in “let’s wait and see what we have with this team” mode, which is where this team has been since the start of last season. Real change is needed for the first time since this team won the title.

10. There are, of course, two options for Ujiri and ‘co.

Trade the likes of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr, Chris Boucher, and Thad Young for picks and young players, or trade picks, young players, and the likes of Trent Jr. for a player that instantly turns this core into a contender.

There is no right or wrong answer, but I truly prefer the latter so that this team does not let the remaining years of Pascal Siakam’s prime go to waste.

11. The best way for the Raptors to improve, should they go in that direction instead of a rebuilding/retooling direction? Trading/signing for a centre and efficient shooters/guards.

Signing one lengthy forward after another has reached its expiry date. There was nothing wrong with loading up on them and figuring out which ones you want to keep around, etc, but this is a poorly constructed team due to how many of them they have. This team can flat-out not shoot a three, nor rely on any guard outside of VanVleet and Trent Jr.

12. Tom Brady is not what he once was and the Bucs are not who everyone thought they would be this season, but with the game on the line, there is still not another quarterback I would take over #12.

It is truly amazing that in his age 45 season that he is still providing moments that will live in infamy forever.

He is the best to ever do it and reminds us all every so often.

13. For as poor as the Steelers offence has been this season, there should be little concern about it moving forward.

Kenny Pickett is progressing into being a true QB1, George Pickens has all the makings of a WR1, Pat Freiermuth is already one of the better tight ends in football, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren form a strong, diverse running back duo, and Diontate Johnson, for all of his flaws, is still a high-end WR2.

They are firing Matt Canada and drafting a left tackle high in the draft away from having one of the better young offensive units in football.

The biggest concern is the defence. They need to find a starting nose tackle, a starting inside linebacker, and a true CB1 this offseason. For as much elite talent as they have on defence, there are simply way too many holes.

14. My Week 15 NFL Picks…

• 49ers (-3.5)

• Vikings (-4)

• Browns (-3)

• Dolphins (+6.5)

• Saints (-3.5)

• Eagles (-9)

• Cowboys (-5)

• Lions (+1)

• Panthers (-1)

• Kansas City (-14)

• Patriots (+1)

• Cardinals (+1.5)

• Titans (+2.5)

• Bengals (-3)

• Giants (+4.5)

• Rams (+8)

I went 3-9 in Week 14, with MNF still pending.

On the season, I am 91-109.