Weekly Takes - Monday, May June 29th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, May June 29th Edition 

1. John Chayka made the layup pick with Gavin McKenna, but that should not overshadow the weekend he had.

Not only did he, by all accounts, nail his selections, but he gave himself more picks to work with by trading Brandom Carlo and Sam Ersson.

Badly needed. The prospect system needed a major rejolt and it occurred overnight. The retool is well underway.

2. As for trading Brandon Carlo, the one disadvantage it puts the Leafs at is their penalty kill.

On both the forward and defensive side, this needs to be Chayka’s top priority on Canada Day.

3. The Blackhawks trade for Bowen Bryam is the truest sign that their general manager has to go.

Kyle Davison tore the Blackhawks down to the skids – a mistake in major rebuilds unless you nail every single draft pick and find gems along the way, something he has not been able to do.

So he trades a premium asset for a young NHL player who has not lived up to his potential.

Brutal.

Even if Byram pops off, it’s a missed chance to find a star winger alongside Connor Bedard.

4. I like the Raptors drafting Allen Graves, an analytics darling who is a better shooter than most of the forwards they have drafted in previous years.

But they come out of the draft with a glaring hole at centre and too many wings. 

This needs to be addressed within the next month to avoid the Raptors ceiling being another first round exit. Something has to give eventually. 

5. I cannot blame the Heat for trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, because anytime you have the chance to acquire a top-five player in the league, you do it.

But the Heat are still multiple pieces away from contending. They have zero depth and now zero assets to acquire said depth.

I think the biggest loser in this is Antetokounmpo himself.

6. Jesse Marsch and the Canadian Men’s Team should be proud of their World Cup performance.

Eight years in the making, it sucked that the tournament began with question marks surrounding the health of their two best players in Alphonso Davies and Moises Bombito. It sucked even more when Ismael Kone, their most important player, suffered a devastating injury.

 It had all the makings of a major letdown event for Canada.

Instead, they won their first ever World Cup game, advanced to the knockout round for the first time ever, won a knockout game for the first time ever, and provided Canadians with a core sporting memory.

Incredible. Now they have their chance to take down a soccer power on Saturday.

What more can you ask for?