Weekly Takes - Monday, January 9th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, January 9th Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs win over the Red Wings on Saturday…

1. John Tavares

2. Mitch Marner

3. Auston Matthews

Toronto’s best players were their best players and Ilya Samsonov was fantastic in net.

Can we stop panicking simply because the team is/was going through a mini post-Christmas slump? It is a marathon, not a sprint.

2. My three stars from the Leafs convincing win over the Flyers on Sunday…

1. Calle Jarnkrok

2. Tavares

3. Timothy Liljegren

I am not sure who should be coming out but Sheldon Keefe needs to find a way to have Connor Timmins in the lineup on a more regular basis.

3. My three stars from Canada’s thrilling quarterfinals win over Slovakia on Monday…

1. Connor Bedard

2. Thomas Milic

3. Dylan Guenther

Bedard, no matter what happens the rest of the way for Canada, cemented himself as the greatest player to ever don the red and white at the junior level.

A special goal by a special player.

With that being said, everyone else is going to have to be way better if Canada is going to win the Gold Medal. Starting with Shane Wright, Owen Zellweger, and Brandt Clarke.

4. My three stars from Canada’s semifinals win over the Americans on Wednesday…

1. Milic

2. Joshua Roy

3. Zellweger

An all-time great performance from Milic. One of the best goaltending performances in recent World Junior memory for Canada.

And a massive bounce-back performance from Zellweger and Clarke. It had to happen and it did.

5. My three stars from Canada’s historic Gold Medal win over Czechia on Thursday…

1. Guenther

2. Wright

3. Zellweger

A perfect end to one of the all-time great World Juniors.

A Golden Goal, a legendary individual performance from Bedard, a play that will be last in tournament lore forever (the Bedard overtime winner versus Slovakia), great crowds, and stunning upsets and finishes all throughout the last two weeks.

The best World Junior since 2009 as the tournament returned to its purest roots.

Heave Away!

6. Interesting that the sport of hockey was able to pull off an all-time great international event despite Russia not taking part, isn’t it?

Someone let the NHL know so that we can witness Bedard, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar play together while we still can.

7. Not making the playoffs is disappointing for the Steelers, but it says something that their worse season in two decades saw them finish 9-8 and their playoff hopes come right down to the wire.

That is a true testament to Mike Tomlin, who well deserved to have his above .500 streak remain intact.

The attention for Pittsburgh now turns to the offseason, where they should be quite excited.

Offensively, they have their franchise quarterback in Kenny Pickett, a great running back duo of the future in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, one of the best tight ends in Pat Freiermuth, and two talented wide receivers in George Pickens and Dionate Johnson.

Mason Cole at centre, James Daniels at right guard, and Chuks Okafor is a solid foundation at offensive line, too.

They need to spend a high draft pick on a franchise left tackle and invest the rest of their top picks in their defence.

They need a true number one cornerback to play opposite of Levi Wallace, a third-string outside linebacker to complement T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, a nose tackle of the future, and a Devin Bush replacement at inside linebacker.

With all the picks and cap space that they will have, all of that should be doable, as should re-signing Cameron Sutton and Terrell Edmunds.

The Steelers truly do have one of the best safety duos in the game in Minkah Fitzpatrick and Edmunds.

No excuse for Pittsburgh to not take the next step next season. Take advantage of the momentum that was built down the stretch and go all-in with your quarterback on his rookie deal for the next couple of seasons.

8. With all that being said, it is difficult to be confident for the Steelers 2023 season if they do not fire Matt Canada.

I am quite confident they will have a playoff-calibre roster in 2023, but if Canada is the one calling the offensive plays, there is a hard floor on Pittsburgh’s ceiling.

9. With the NFL regular season complete, here is a list of general managers and head coaches that I would move on from if I were their respective NFL teams…

General Managers…

• Andrew Berry (Browns)

• Steve Keim (Cardinals)

• Chris Ballard (Colts)

• Nick Caserio (Texans)

Head Coaches…

• Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals)

• Jeff Saturday (Colts)

• Josh McDaniels (Raiders)

Mike McCarthy should not be safe in Dallas if they flame out in the playoffs.

As for Caserio in Houston, I added him to this list after he fired Lovie Smith. He has done nothing to show he deserves to hire another head coach.

10. Here is a list of coordinators that I believe are worthy of becoming head coaches in the upcoming offseason…

1. Shane Steichen (Eagles OC)

2. Eric Bieniemy (Kansas City OC)

3. Leslie Frazier (Bills DC)

4. Mike Kafka (Giants OC)

5. Ken Dorsey (Bills OC)

6. Brian Flores (Steelers LBs Coach)

7. Shane Waldron (Seahawks OC)

8. Ejiro Evero (Broncos DC)

Sean Peyton, Frank Reich, and Jim Harbaugh are three free agents who are excellent head coaching options.

11. My year-end NFL awards…

• MVP: Patrick Mahomes

• OPOY: Mahomes

• DPOY: Micah Parsons

• ROY: Chris Olave

• EOY: John Lynch

• COY: Brian Daboll

12. My NFL Playoff Predictions…

AFC…

Wild Card…

• Bills beat Dolphins (-10)

• Bengals beat Ravens (+6)

• Chargers beat Jaguars (-2.5)

Divisional Round…

• Kansas City beats Chargers

• Bills beat Bengals

Championship Game…

• Kansas City beats Bills

NFC…

Wild Card…

• 49ers beat Seahawks

• Giants beat Vikings (+3)

• Cowboys beat Bucs (-3)

Divisional Round…

• Eagles beat Giants

• 49ers beat Cowboys

Championship Game…

• Eagles beat 49ers

Super Bowl…

• Kansas City beats Eagles

At the end of the day, everyone has a shot except for the Dolphins, Jaguars, Vikings, Giants, and Bucs.

I went 8-7 with my Week 18 picks and finish the regular season 101-134. Doh.

13. My thoughts on some of the teams that did not make the playoffs…

• Patriots: I wrote earlier in the season that I believe the Patriots as we know them are dead. I think that is more true now than ever before. They have no quarterback, no offensive creatively, awful special teams, and a tough, tough schedule next season.

• Jets: I love their coaching staff and roster, but it is going to be tough to take them seriously anytime soon if they do not land a franchise quarterback. They need to be players for Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers in the offseason.

• Titans, Colts, and Texans: I think the Titans and Colts are bound for massive rebuilds. The AFC South may be the worst division in football next season, even if the Texans take a step forward, which should be a reasonable expectation.

• Raiders: Unless the Raiders land Brady, which seems possible, there is no reason to believe they are going to be good anytime soon. The Derek Carr-Darren Waller era is over.

• Broncos: With a proper head coach in place, they have bounce-back potential. But there is also the real possibility that Russell Wilson is cooked.

• Packers: The Rodgers era should be over. Break the band up.

• Lions: No team that missed the playoffs has a brighter future than the Lions. It is playoffs or bust for Detroit next season.

• Bears: They should take a massive leap next season, given the cap space and draft pick capital that they have. But I do not see them in the playoffs next season.

• Panthers, Saints, and Falcons: All three teams need to look externally for their next franchise quarterback. Panthers and Saints can return to the playoffs next season if they do so.

• Rams: I would really want the team to run it back for one more year if I were a Rams fan, but Father Time may have arrived.

• Cardinals: With Kyler Murray out to begin next season, the season is already a write-off for Arizona.