Weekly Takes - Monday, December 18th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, December 18th Edition 

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs overtime loss to the Islanders on Monday…

1. Auston Matthews

2. John Tavares

3. Calle Jarnkrok

A game where Matthews easily could have had a hat trick and a game where the Leafs easily could have had two points.

Alas, he did not, and they did not.

An incredible moment for Tavares, though, who is certainly a Hall of Famer if he can manage to captain the Leafs to a Cup one day.

An embarrassing look for the Islanders fans who booed him, however. Toronto fans eventually forgave Vince Carter, someone who literally quit on the team, but Islanders fans cannot move on from a player who left as a free agent half a decade ago. A player who left to play at home after his front office failed to build a winner around him, at that.  

2. My three stars from the Leafs win over the Rangers on Tuesday…

1. Matthews 

2. Tyler Bertuzzi 

3. Mitch Marner

This game was the exact reason why you sign a goalie like Jones to be your third-string goalie. 

Overall, an impressive win on the second half of a back-to-back, on the road, against arguably the best team in the East.

3. My three stars from the Leafs chaotic (?) loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday…

1. Matthews 

2. Nylander 

3. Riley 

The Leafs did not have their A, B, or C game, but managed to steal a point on the back of an historic comeback. That is what happens when you have a superstar and Matthews is certainly that. 

The greatest goal-scorer in the world. 

With all that being said, they at no point played so poorly to the point where they should have been down 5-0. Ilya Samsonov was simply awful. At the time I am writing this, Jones should start Saturday. 

4. My three stars from the Leafs dominant win over the Penguins on Saturday…

1. Tavares

2. Max Domi 

3. Matthew Knies

As dominant of a game as the Leafs have played in recent memory, with Brad Treliving’s offseason signings of Domi, Bertuzzi, and Martin Jones all playing well. A rewarding feeling for the Leafs management staff, given who was in the building.

5. As for Kyle Dubas, the reality is there are going to be a lot more negative nights in the near future than positive nights.

The Penguins are an old, declining team, with little to no depth and a coach who has likely reached his expiry date with the group.

All power to him for getting the contract he got and receiving the power he has received in the process, but the Penguins job may be career suicide for Dubas.

6. You are always going to have people complain about Canada’s World Junior selections, but to me, there were no notable omissions from the team, both during the Selection Camp process and the announcement of the final roster.

Sure, they are leaving some highly-skilled players at home (Riley Hedit and Jagger Firkus, most notably) but gone are the days that Canada can take their 13 best forwards and expect the rout the world en route to a Gold Medal. 

They have to put the best team together and I think Hockey Canada, year in, year out, does a great job of that.

7. One of the takeaways from the Blue Jays missing out on Shohei Ohtani was that the Dodgers, outside of the brand and city, had the advantage from a winning culture perspective. 

And largely, that is on Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins.

They have drafted and developed well, they have made great trades and signings, they have built a deep Sports Science department, and Shapiro has done a breathtaking job with the Rogers Centre and their Spring Training facility in Dunedin. It is a world-class organization from an operation standpoint. 

But it is a results business. And while they have turned the team into a perennial playoff team, they have yet to have success when it has mattered most.

That is on them and sets up for a make-or-break, era-defining offseason and 2024 season.

Buckle up.

8. 2024 is not just going to be a make-or-break season for the front office, either.

With Ohtani out of the picture, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., one way or another, is going to be the face of this era.

He either shows in 2024 that he can be the face of the franchise, vaulting himself back into the MVP conversation while launching the team into World Series contention. Or he has his third average to above-average season in a row, deeming the Shapiro, Atkins, and Guerrero Jr. era an utter failure.

The 2024 Blue Jays will lack the hype early on from a fan’s perspective. But to any baseball observer, there are not going to be many more interesting stories to follow than the 2024 Blue Jays.

9. As for the structure of Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers, it is smart for both sides, as the Dodgers can spend money elsewhere to build their team around Ohtani.

With that being said, this is a loophole that needs to be addressed in the next CBA. You cannot have athletes avoiding state tax with a loophole this extreme.

10. The Chargers set themselves up for failure after bringing Brandon Staley back after their epic collapse in the playoffs a season ago.

An embarrassing stain on the Chargers management staff, who wasted a year of Justin Herbert, who would be in the right to ask for a trade in the offseason, 

11. My Super Bowl power rankings, after Week 15 of the season…

1. 49ers (+2 since my last ranking in Week 10)

2. Ravens (+2)

3. Kansas City (-2)

4. Bills (+2)

5. Dolphins (+2)

6. Cowboys (+1)

7. Eagles (-5)

The Bengals and Jaguars come off the list, while I remain confident in not adding the Lions.

It feels weird having Kansas City and the Eagles so low, but the lack of offensive weapons around Mahomes is a serious issue, while the Eagles look all out of sorts. Even if the Eagles manage to fix their issues, it is tough to imagine that they can go on the road and beat both the Cowboys and 49ers in the playoffs.

12. My Week 16 NFL Picks, after going 9-5 in Week 15…

• Rams (-4)

• Bengals (-2.5)

• Bills (-14)

• Lions (-3)

• Commanders (+3)

• Packers (-4)

• Browns (+2.5)

• Colts (-1.5)

• Seahawks (-2)

• Jaguars (-2)

• Cowboys (+1.5)

• Cardinals (+4.5)

• Broncos (-5.5)

• Kansas City (-9.5)

• Eagles (-10.5)

• Ravens (+5.5)

On the season, I am now 118-99, with MNF still pending.