Weekly Takes - Monday, May 5 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, May 5 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs disgraceful game five loss to the Senators on Tuesday…

1. Matthew Knies

2. Calle Jarnkrok 

3. Anthony Stolarz

When Toronto lost game four, there was no reason to be concerned. Annoyed, sure, after a slow start and not scoring on a four-minute power play in overtime, but they gave us no reason to be concerned – everything they have done this season has led us to believe this team is different, after all.

But a regular season effort, mixed in with the power play not only not scoring, but hurting you, in game five, is shades of every other Leafs team from years past when they had a chance to put a team away.

1-13 in close-out games is a staggering statistic. 

This team now has two more cracks to show they are different before going in the record books as the most embarrassing team in franchise history. 

It would be a fitting end to the most embarrassing era in franchise history.

Let’s see what they are made of.

2. For the Leafs to win, it is going to have to start with their big guys.

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner simply need to be way better (this is a theme come springtime), while Morgan Rielly needs to reactivate “Playoff Mo.”

But on a lesser scale, I would bring Nick Robertson back in for Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty looked good in game three, but has looked too slow to be engaged in the last two games. 

Bring in Robertson and hope he can provide a spark. 

Bobby McMann showing up at some point would be ideal for the fourth line, too.

3. My three stars from the Leafs thrilling game six win over the Senators on Thursday…

1. Pacioretty 

2. William Nylander 

3. Bobby McMann

Finally. They did not make it easy on themselves, but they went on the road and ended a team’s season, with half the core four (Matthews and Nylander) delivering with massive performances. 

A core-saving, memorable win, capped off with Craig Berube getting a ton of credit for not only keeping Pacioretty in, but moving him up the lineup. 

Berube, sometimes to a fault, gives his players multiple opportunities before taking them out of the lineup. 

He kept Pacioretty in and it paid off for him. 

Between that and his pregame speech, where he acted as though things were business as usual, he deserves a ton of credit. 

Maybe this team is truly different. Outside of a one-game slip-up, they have shown they are different all season. 

Let’s see how they can handle the Panthers. 

4. I do not think the Leafs will beat the Panthers. That is not a knock on Toronto either, as I think Florida is simply the best team in the world. (I thought they were maybe running out of gas near the end of the season, hence why I took Tampa Bay to beat them.)

But let’s see what they are made of. There is no reason to be taken to the cleaners. The Leafs star power, defence, and goaltending is good enough to make this a series.

I just question their depth. 

5. The Kings must make a head coaching change, while completely overhauling how they play. 

This was the most beatable Oilers team they have ever faced. 

A true choke job.

6. The Mikko Rantanen revenge game is a great example as to why why you keep your stars, not trade them to diversify your roster. 

Stars are stars for a reason. You keep them around. 

7. The Jets will be in tough against an elite Stars team in round two, but they have to feel as though they are in a great spot.

They were less than two seconds away from being eliminated. They won a playoff series despite getting historically awful goaltending from their best player. 

Truly wild. 

8. The Lakers at no point in their first-round series looked like a team interested in going on a deep playoff run and that started with Luka Doncic, who made Nico Harrison look a lot smarter than he actually is with his play in round one.

But the biggest story from the Lakers-Timberwolves series is not Doncic or the Lakers, it is the Timberwolves.

If Anthony Edwards is going to play like a number one option on a championship team, the rest of that roster is good enough to win a championship.

9. Seeing the Clippers flame out in round one is a sad reminder that if Kawhi Leonard stayed in Toronto, not only would he have gone down as an all-time great with at least three championships, but the Raptors would have certainly had at least one more. 

One of the great “what ifs” in NBA history. 

10.  My thoughts on Canada’s federal election…

• I am shocked that Pierre Poilievre did not resign as Conservative leader. Yes, the Conservatives got their strongest voter turnout since 1988, and yes, Poilevere outperformed the polls and created a strong opposition, but at Christmas, he was on track for the biggest federal electoral win in modern Canadian history. And now he did not even win his own riding. This was a stunning collapse from a career politician who failed to pivot his campaign after Justin Trudeau resigned. He will be looked upon as a loser (rightfully so) and in politics, that is tough to come back from. His only saving grace is that he will be a clear contrast to Mark Carney and the Liberals in 2029.

• Jagmeet Singh should have resigned after he set the NDP back in 2019 and should have been chased out by the party after doubling down on setting the party back in 2021. He did not, and that set the stage for a historically awful night for the NDP on Monday. Here is hoping that the NDP finally returns to its Jack Layton roots and offers Canadians a clear alternative to the Liberals as Canada’s true leftist party in 2029. There is a clear right-wing party in Canada and two clear centre-ish parties in Canada. Shame on Singh for allowing that to happen. They will never outperform the Liberals if they run alongside them, rather than being a strong contrast.