Weekly Takes - Monday, November 22 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, November 22 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs’ strong defensive win against the Predators on Monday...

1. Ondrej Kase

2. Auston Matthews

3. Mitch Marner

2. My three stars from the Maple Leafs’ win over the Rangers on Thursday…

1. Jack Campbell

2. Morgan Reilly

3. David Kampf

Basically, the Leafs have shown what they are this season. An elite face-off and takeaway team who have a good penalty kill, a prolific offence, and a decent mix of skill and physicality.

And as of right now, one of the best goaltenders on the planet.

They need to add a top-six left winger at the deadline but this team is more than good enough to go on a run.

Will they? We will all find out in the spring.

The only thing to find out between now and then is 1) Is Jack Campbell the real deal and 2) Can the Leafs get a bit better at getting shots on net?

They are second in the league in “high danger shots for” but they are seventh in the league in having their shots blocked the most.

That is the only area between now and the playoffs that they may need to clean up.

3. My three stars from the Maple Leafs’ underwhelming loss to the Penguins on Saturday…

1. Campbell

2. T.J. Brodie

3. Wayne Simmonds

I thought they played fine through 40 minutes but their third period was awful to say the least.

4. My three stars from the Maple Leafs’ dominant win over the Islanders on Sunday…

1. Kase

2. Marner

3. Joseph Woll

This was the definition of a perfect road game and it’s safe to say we may have seen the end of Michael Hutchinson’s time in Toronto.

5. The Jose Berrios contract extension by the Blue Jays is more important than re-signing any of their key free agents this winter.

While they should be more than able to do both, making sure they can build their rotation around Berrios and Alex Manoah for the next half-decade was a must.

Signing him for under $20M a season -- on average -- was a tidy bit of business by Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, too.

6. The Eagles probably do not make the playoffs this year (although they might) but this season has been a success for them regardless.

The whole point of this season for them was to determine whether or not they can use all of their upcoming draft capital to build around Jalen Hurts or if they need to use their dradt capital to draft a franchise quarterback.

Lucky for them, it’s the former. Hurts is the real deal and should absolutely be built around.

7. My week 12 NFL picks…

• Bears (+3)

• Raiders (+7)

• Bills (-4.5)

• Falcons (-1)

• Texans (-2.5)

• Titans (+3)

• Eagles (-3)

• Colts (+3.5)

• Steelers (+4)

• Panthers (-2.5)

• Chargers (-1.5)

• Vikings (+2.5)

• Rams (+1.5)

• Browns (+4.5)

• Football Team (+3.5)

I went 5-8 in week 11, with Monday Night Football still pending. On the season, I am now 81-75 on the season.

8. My top four CFB teams remain Georgia, Cincinnati, Alabama, and The Ohio State, in that order.

MSU and Oregon are obviously done, leaving Oklahoma and perhaps Norte Dame and Michigan as the last two teams.

The first two teams are locks, while I feel confident about the Buckeyes winning out, which would eliminate Michigan.

Alabama probably has to beat Georgia to avoid Oklahoma or Norte Dame getting in, assuming those two schools win out.

9. I have seen enough.

Canada, with the best player in CONCACAF, is the best team in CONCACAF.

I think the Americans and Mexico are still very much in the conversation but there is no reason to believe this team is not the best team in CONCACAF.

10. So ends the most disappointing season in TFC history, which… says a lot.

The first order of business is to hire Bob Bradley, who will immediately bring stability to the organization.

The next step will be to fire Ali Curtis, whose tenure as general manager has been a disaster.

Roster wise, Jacob Shaffelburg, Marky Delgado, Ifunanyachi Achara, Richie Leyera, Auro, Jonathan Osorio, Kemar Lawerence, Ralph Priso, Jordan Perruzza, Ayo Akinola, and Luke Singh are the only players who should definitely be back, with Michael Bradley and Eriq Zavaleta likely being two players who they should still bring back.

I am 50/50 as to whether or not Yeferson Soteldo should be back.

No one else should be back, including Alejandro Pozuelo, who looked like a shell of his former self this past season.

TFC cannot make the same mistake with him that they made with Jozy Altidore. It is time to move on.