Weekly Takes - Monday, January 1st Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, January 1st Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs loss to the Senators on Wednesday…

1. Tyler Bertuzzi 

2. John Tavares

3. William Nylander

A sloppy game from the Leafs, who still did enough to win. Bertuzzi could have had three goals in this one.

2. My three stars from the Leafs overtime loss to the Blue Jackets on Friday…

1. Auston Matthews

2. Nylander

3. Mitch Marner

The Leafs best players were outstanding, and while the team was a bit sloppy defensively in the first 40 minutes, they did more than enough to win. In fact, they did more than enough to put themselves in a position where the game should have been a blowout. 

But Ilya Samsonov was awful. Again. I have no idea why Brad Treliving and Sheldon Keefe keep trotting him out. He is costing the Leafs serious points, while delivering the worst goaltending Toronto has seen in years.

This has to be his last game as a Leaf, for as unfortunate as that is, given how great he was last season.

But he is cooked.

Call up Dennis Hildeby, who is not as inexperienced as people think. If he gets hot, who knows what it can lead to.

3. My three stars from the Leafs loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday…

1. Matthews

2. Matthew Knies

3. Nylander

Scratching David Kampf while preaching accountability is cute if you are Keefe, but it means nothing if you do not demote Marner, even if it is just for a game, the next time the Leafs play. He was awful in this one, with a lazy penalty ending any chance of a comeback. 

4. My three stars from Canada’s win over Finland on Boxing Day…

1. Nate Danielson 

2. Mathias Rousseau 

3. Macklin Celebrini 

Canada’s depth was as advertised, while the narrative that Canada lacks elite talent goes to the waste side when you watch Celebrini play. He sure looks like a star to me.

5. My three stars from Canada’s blowout win over Latvia on Wednesday…

1. Connor Geekie 

2. Celebrini 

3. Brandon Yager 

6. My three stars from Canada’s shutout loss to Sweden on Friday…

1. Rousseau 

2. Celebrini 

3. Geekie

Matthew Poitras, Matthew Savoie, and Jordan Dumias all need to be way better. Three 19-year-old players, with the first two having pro experience. It will be impossible to win if they do not turn things around.

I also have no idea how they overturned the penalty call on the hit on Owen Beck. Gone are the days, suddenly, of hits from behind in IIHF-officiated games being automatic penalties.

An interesting development.

7. My three stars from Canada’s win over Germany on New Year’s Eve…

1. Celebrini

2. Yager 

3. Carson Rehkopf

This team looks far from inspiring, outside of the greatness of Celebrini. 

8. The Blue Jays bringing back Kevin Kiermaier solidifies the fact they will have the best defensive outfield in all of baseball for another season.

I thought they would prefer to move Daulton Varsho to centre field, while bringing in a power bat in left field, but I think this is the right decision as long as they add power at third base and DH.

9. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa is a fine signing for the Blue Jays, even if the contract is a little rich.

He cannot hit at a major league level, but he can play every position on the diamond – sans first base – at an average to above average rate, depending on where he is playing, while also providing some speed.

As long as he is the last man on the roster, I like the signing, more so if it pushes Santiago Espinal off the roster.

10. My thoughts on the Raptors trade with the Knicks…

• I always liked OG Anunoby more than most, as I thought at his peak he could become one of the better three-and-D players in the league. But he was a pending free agent that the Raptors could not re-sign until the offseason and they simply could not afford to take the risk of losing him for nothing. When you equate for that, his underwhelming defence this season, and his health concerns, it made a ton of sense to trade him.

• Precious Achiuwa was an intriguing player to watch due to his size and athleticism, but that was about it. I doubt he will become a rotational piece on a championship team.

• My immediate takeaway from the trade was that Immanuel Quickley was the best player involved in the trade and after thinking about it further, I believe it even more. He is the point guard of the future for the Raptors and checks off every box they need in both the short and long term. Masai Ujiri, at long last, has pulled off a heist. 

• RJ Barrett has a hefty contract, so simply becoming a valuable rotational piece may not be enough, but I love taking a flier on him. The skill set is there. Maybe he puts it together in his hometown. What an amazing story that would be if he could.

• Ujiri also getting the Knicks to throw in the Pistons second-round pick – a defacto late first-round pick – is some tidy business. Getting young roster players is nice, but so is getting draft picks. Ujiri got both.

• Ujiri botched the 2023 trade deadline between the Jakob Poetl trade and not trading Fred Van Vleet, but he clearly did not botch the handling of Anunoby. He took a lot of flack for not trading him at the deadline in 2023 or in the offseason – with many saying he would not get nearly as much for him in-season due to the fact that he would be nothing more than a rental – but clearly, Ujiri read the market better than anyone could have imagined. Full credit.

• Next up has to be the trades of Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. The latter has been awful and will not go for much, but if the Raptors can receive a package for Siakam the way they did for Anunoby, they will set themselves up in a great position, being able to build around Scottie Barnes and a terrific group of U-25 players. Poetl, Chris Boucher, and Dennis Schroder have to be on the trade block too, with their ages simply not aligning with the Raptors future.

•  Realistically, if you are the Raptors, the only players on the roster as of the start of 2024 that should be on the roster at the end of the 2024-2025 season are Barnes, Quickley, Barrett (maybe), Gradey Dick, and maybe Christian Koloko. That does not mean everyone else is bad and needs to be chased out of town, but every move the Raptors do, starting with this trade, has to be with building around Barnes in mind. 

11. For as enticing as it is for the Bears to keep Justin Fields and draft Marvin Harrison, they have no choice but to draft Caleb Williams.

You cannot pass on a generational quarterback for a quarterback that you are still unsure about after three seasons. 

12. I would never count out Patrick Mahomes, and I would not rule out the Bills, but it is tough to imagine the Ravens not coming out of the AFC.

They are a healthy secondary away from being the best AFC team since the undefeated Patriots.

13. My Week 18 NFL Picks, after going 13-3 in Week 17…

• Ravens (+3.5)

• Texans (+1.5)

• Bengals (-4.5)

• Bucs (-5.5)

• Pats (-1.5)

• Lions (-4)

• Jaguars (-3)

• Saints (-3.5)

• Cowboys (-12.5)

• Kansas City (+1.5)

• Raiders (-2.5)

• 49ers (-3.5)

• Giants (+6.5)

• Packers (-3)

• Seahawks (-3)

• Bills (-3)

On the season, I am now 136-113.