Weekly Takes - Monday, November 21 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, November 21 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs win over the Penguins on Tuesday…

1. Matt Murray

2. Mark Giordano

3. Jordie Benn

An ugly second period but an otherwise solid game from Toronto.

2. My three stars from the Leafs most convincing win of the season against the Sabres on Saturday…

1. William Nylander

2. Murray

3. Michael Bunting

Goaltending continues to be a strong suit for the Leafs. And the sweaters the Leafs wore in this game were the best they have worn in quite some time, I must say.

3. The rule of thumb in the NHL when it comes to being able to truly assess teams is American Thanksgiving, so with that, here is my analysis of where the Leafs are at…

Forwards…

• The only question I had with the forward group coming into the season was who was going to play second-line left wing with John Tavares and Nylander. That remains a question, despite Nick Roberston showing flashes. I would like to see Sheldon Keefe give Roberston an extended look on the line, because Alex Kerfoot is certainly not the answer. Further to that, a new hole has developed with Engvall playing so inconsistent all season long. This team may need two forwards ahead of the deadline, though they could perhaps hedge their bets on Matthew Knies filling one of those needs. Regardless, here is what my lines would be as of now…

Bunting - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner

Roberston - Tavares - Nylander

Pierre Engvall - Kerfoot - Calle Jarnkrok

Zach Aston-Reese - David Kampf - Denis Malgin

Extra: Wayne Simmonds

Potential Recalls: Alex Steeves, Kyle Clifford, Pontus Holmberg, Nick Abruzzese, Curtis Douglas, and Joey Anderson

• Further analysis: The first line has another gear to get to but it will happen. Tavares and Nylander have been a great duo on the second line, and the fourth line has been great since Aston-Reese and Malgin developed clear roles. The biggest concern is the third line. I like Jarnkrok as I truly believe he can provide secondary scoring – as well as Kerfoot – but Engvall is not getting the job done right now. If Knies wants, that spot in the lineup may be his come the spring.

Defence…

• Coming into the season, the only question I had was Jake Muzzin. If he stayed healthy and performed the way he did in the playoffs, the Leafs defence was set. But if not, they were going to have a clear need at the deadline. The latter is indeed the case. They must acquire a defencemen to play with Brodie on the second pairing. Up front, two of Roberston, Engvall, and/or Knies can fill the holes internally, but the Leafs do not have that option on the back end.

Morgan Rielly - Timothy Liljegren

T.J. Brodie - Justin Holl

Rasmus Sandin - Giordano

Extra: Benn

Potential Recalls: Filip Kral and Victor Mete

• Further Analysis: Liljegren has taken yet another step this season, while Giordano continues to provide outstanding value on the third pairing. Sandin has been shaky to begin but I am not worried about him at all. Depth is not an issue either, as Benn is the perfect number-seven D-Man and Holl can be as good of a depth defencemen as there is in the league if the Leafs acquire someone to replace him in the top four.

Goaltending…

• This was the biggest question coming into the season. Could even one goalie stay healthy and provide league-average starting goaltending? The answer has been a mix of both, as both have gotten injured but have provided high-end to above-average goaltending when healthy.

Ilya Samsonov

Murray

• Further Analysis: A larger sample size is needed, to say the least, but the early returns are positive. The success of this goaltending room quite likely comes down to health, not performance.

4. My thoughts on the Teoscar Hernandez for Erik Swanson and Adam Macko trade…

• I am totally fine with trading Hernandez. He is one year away from free agency, one year away from being 30, and is not good defensively. That does not mean he is not a tremendous asset, because he is. He has been one of the better bats in baseball over the last three or so seasons. But trading him allows the Jays to replace him in the outfield with someone who is better defensively and perhaps someone who is even a left-handed bat. And that is precisely what the Jays now need to do.

• Swanson was exactly what they needed. The Jays simply had no choice but to acquire an elite right-handed reliever with elite swing-and-miss and they have done just that. The fact that he is under team control for another three seasons is a bonus.

• Macko is the type of prospect every team should covet – a multiple plus-pitch arm. Whether or not he ends up as a starter or reliever is to be determined but he instantly becomes one of the better prospects in the system.

5. I truly believe you need to give a young quarterback two-plus seasons to truly know what you have, but the Jets have to consider moving off Zach Wilson. He is not it.

6. My Week 12 NFL Picks…

• Bills (-9.5)

• Cowboys (-8)

• Vikings (-3)

• Jaguars (+4)

• Browns (+3)

• Jets (-3.5)

• Titans (+2)

• Texans (+12)

• Commanders (-3)

• Broncos (-2.5)

• Raiders (+4)

• Chargers (-2.5)

• Kansas City (-11)

• 49ers (-8.5)

• Eagles (-6.5)

• Steelers (+3)

I went 7-6 in Week 11, with MNF still pending. On the season, I am 74-82.

7. The Blue Bombers had the most elite talent in the CFL all season long, but the Argos were the deepest and most complete team in the CFL all season long.

A true credit to Pinball Clemons and his staff, who had only kept six players around since he took over the job in the fall of 2019.

This team is set up to be great for years to come, led by Chad Kelly at quarterback. He is the future of this team.

A well-deserved Grey Cup win. And an instant classic at that.

8. Here is the issue with the “bring back mask mandates” movement in Ontario right now…

Doing so would be putting a band-aid on the actual issue at hand. What is the issue? Our healthcare system is on its last leg as the province sees an uptick in influenza cases, which was always going to be the case after wearing masks and being in lockdowns throughout the last two winters.

The answer – or even a partial solution – is not wearing masks. It is increasing the wages of our healthcare workers, it is giving paid sick days to workers so that they do not have to go to work sick, it is encouraging people to get the flu shot, and it is building more hospitals than highways.

Real solutions to a real problem. Not band-aids and taking the easy way out by simply mandating people to wear ineffective cloth masks so that we “feel” safer.