Weekly Takes - Monday, June 30 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, June 30 Edition 

1. I would argue that John Tavares re-signing with the Leafs on a massively team friendly deal is a bigger culture change than simply letting him walk. 

He has set the tone. It’s winning over money. 

2. It did not take long for the first take to age well,

Getting Matthew Knies on a long-term deal, under $8M, caps off quite the week for Brad Treliving.

3. Getting Nicolas Roy, a third-line, right-handed defensive centre would address a huge need for the Leafs. Having your centre position addressed ahead of free agency would be tidy business by Treliving, who will/would otherwise need a defensive centre to take the heavy minutes away from Auston Matthews and Tavares,

4. My Leafs forward lines heading into Canada Day, with Tavares re-signed and the assumption that they will be trading for Roy…

Knies - Matthews - Vacant 

Max Domi - Tavares - William Nylander 

Bobby McMann - Roy - Vacant 

Vacant - Scott Laughton. - Pontus Holmberg 

Brad Marchand for 1RW and Andrew Mangiapane for 3LW, pushing McMann to 4LW, would be a nice offseason, to say the least. 

The second line would need to be sheltered a ton, but the other three lines would be well above average defensively. 

Combine that with the fact that McMann and Laughton should give outstanding production as fourth liners, and the Leafs could be as deep as they ever have been in the Matthews era.  

The benefit to moving on from Mitch Marner. 

Let’s see what Treliving can pull off. 

5. Masai Ujiri came to Toronto labeled a saviour, and unlike so many before him, he truly was a saviour. 

His crowning achievement will always be providing the city the greatest parade in sports history, but his legendary legacy started way before then. 

He had this city believing way before the Kawhi Leonard trade. Four years earlier, he stood on the stage at Maple Leafs Square, days removed from launching “We The North,” and blurted “Fuck Brooklyn,” a team at the time who had multiple Hall of Famers. 

It was a defining moment. 

There were many ups and downs since that moment, but one thing remains true: Ujiri should have a statue here one day. He gifted the city a championship, he made the people in this city believe in themselves, and he opened doors that no one thought was possible. 

Talk about putting yourself on the clock, Keith Pelley. It’s your show now. 

6. If I were the Raptors, I would just let Bobby Webster take the reigns. 

Toronto has made a lot of weird moves since winning the championship, but they have done a nice job since finally committing to a rebuild. I trust Webster to run the operation, 

7. If the Raptors think Collin Murray-Boyles had the highest upside of any player on the board, they were right to draft him.

I would not even disagree with their projection, given his defensive, playmaking, and scoring ability.

But he cannot shoot as of right now, on a team that does not have enough shooters to begin with.

The Brandon Ingram trade should have spelled the end of RJ Barrett. This pick should certainly do that now.