Weekly Takes - Monday, February 5 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, February 5 Edition

1. The NHL nailed it with its All-Star Weekend, outside of the Player Draft. Half of the intrigue of the Player Draft is to see who gets picked last, and while I understand why the NHLPA does not like it, the NHL has to bring it back.

But everything else, from the skills competition, and the 3-on-3 PWHL event, to the All-Star game itself, was fantastic.

I just hope next year they have players who want to be there, because Nikita Kucherov embarrassed himself on Saturday night. People are so desperate for NHL players to show their personality that they found Kucherov to be edgy and cool on Saturday night? What are we even doing here?

2. My lineup for Canada’s 2025 Four Nations Cup roster…

Forwards…

Zach Hyman - Connor McDavid - Connor Bedard

Brad Marchand - Sidney Crosby - Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe - Nathan MacKinnon - Mitch Marner

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Brayden Point - Mark Stone

Defence….

Devon Toews - Cale Makar

Shea Theodore - Alex Pietrangelo 

Josh Morrissey - Noah Dobson

Goalies…

Adin Hill

Tristan Jarry

Extras: Nick Suzuki, Matthew Barzal, MacKenzie Weegar, Drew Doughty, and Jordan Binnington 

Honourable Mentions: Robert Thomas, Mark Scheifele, Bo Horvat, Steven Stamkos, Morgan Rielly, Evan Bouchard, Dougie Hamilton, and Devon Levi 

3. I love the Canucks trading for Elias Lindholm.

They have a star goalie, a number one defenceman, a star centre, and multiple other high-end forwards. Why not trade for the biggest fish on the market?

The Canucks are as good as any team in the NHL.

4. Justin Turner can be a great clubhouse guy who can provide slightly above-average offensive production from the designated hitter spot.

Because of that, I would have much rathered Jorge Soler, who could have provided well above-average offensive production from the DH spot. Or even JD Martinez, who could have done the same. Settling for Turner just does not make sense to me.

The only argument I can think of is “Turner can also provide defensive value,” but that is not true. He cannot field a position in 2024. He was awful at third base for the Red Sox a season ago.

An underwhelming signing for the Jays, who are better than they were a week ago without Turner, but worse than they were a season ago with Brandon Belt in his spot instead.

A starting third basemen still needs to be added to the roster.

5. The Corbin Burnes trade by the Orioles is awful for the Jays, who are staring at a third-place finish in the AL East.

If Grayson Rodriguez takes the step that I expect him to, the Orioles are going to be a problem.

6. Arthur Smith instantly becomes the best offensive coordinator that Mike Tomlin has had since he employed Bruce Arians way back when.

Some may dispute that, citing how awful the Falcons have looked offensively in the last few seasons, but there can be no disputing the success Smith had when he was the Titans offensive coordinator.

The job of a coordinator is to maximize the group he has to work with and no one did that better than Smith with the Titans. He, at worst, is an above-average coordinator. 

With that being said, it would have been great to see Tomlin hire the next great offensive guru from the Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay coaching tree. Smith is proven and has had success in the position, but I would have shot for the moon with the hire. 

Tomlin kept it safe.

7. The Ravens coaching staff being depleted in the last week is a nice reminder that windows shut tightly in pro sports.

I expect the Ravens to be great in 2024, but there is no denying the reality of what has happened to them in the last month. They have gone from being Super Bowl favourites to facing serious questions regarding their defence in 2024.

Brutal.