Weekly Takes - Monday, October 30th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, October 30th Edition

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

1. Joseph Woll

2. John Tavares

3. Matthew Knies

This game should go down as the Leafs sloppiest win of the season, but it is better to win sloppily than to lose sloppily.

The net is Woll’s.

2. My three stars from the Leafs win over the Stars on Thursday…

1. Woll

2. William Nylander

3. Morgan Rielly

Here is where we are at with Nylander: His stretch to begin the season is the best stretch by a Maple Leaf in two decades, sans Matthews in March and April of 2022 and maybe Phil Kessel in the winter of 2014.

As for Woll, he is getting results and looks great while doing so. This has the potential to be a season-changing – and era-changing – development, if Woll truly is the real deal.

3. My three stars from the Leafs loss to the Predators on Saturday…

1. Nylander

2. John Klingberg

3. Tavares

An impressive point to get, given it was the last game of a long road trip and saw them lose another defenceman in-game.

Two would have been nice, but that went out the window the second they lost the opening faceoff of overtime.

4. There is no grosser feeling than wearing a neck guard while playing hockey, but I truly believe it is not a reactionary take to say neck guards should be mandated at every level of hockey from this point forward.

One tragic incident is one too many when it is preventable, more so given how many close calls there have been over the years.

5. Very early takeaways from the start of the Raptors season…

• There is no question that we are witnessing an emerging Scottie Barnes. He is playing more aggressively than he did at any point last season and that can be said about his game on both ends. There will be no storyline more positive than this one if this plays out throughout the course of the entire season.

• Dennis Schroder is not a starting point guard on a team with championship aspirations, but he can certainly be the 6-man on a team with championship aspirations. From his ability to attack a defence, to his own defensive ability, Schroder gives the Raptors an element that they have not had in quite some time from a point guard.

• Speaking of point guards, the Malachi Flynn era can end. He is not a rotation player in the NBA.

• Gradey Dick should be getting regular playing time off the bench, more so with Jalen McDaniels playing empty-calorie minutes thus far.

• Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poetl are going to have to be way better if the Raptors are even going to sniff a playoff spot this season.

• The team, overall, is what everyone expected them to be. They will crash the glass, be a lot to handle in transition, get steals, and be, at the end of the day, a top-ten defence at worst. But their half-court offence + bench shooting is every bit as bad as it was a season ago and there was never any reason to believe it was going to change. The coaching swap may end up moving the needle at some point, but the personnel is largely not there to be an efficient offence.

6. If there is one negative from Barnes’ start to his season, it is his postgame antics after Saturday’s loss to the 76ers.

I do not care if he was a Nick Nurse fan or not, but taking a shot at him is a childish move from a player who is expected to take on a leadership role for the franchise this season.

Put more respect on someone who led the franchise to its highest heights.

7. As for Siakam, while he does have to be better, it sure does look like the Raptors are phasing him out of the offence.

You do not want to overreact after three games, but there have to be more questions about Siakam’s long-term fit in Toronto than ever before.

8. We seem to, around this time each season, begin to wonder if this can finally be the season that a wide receiver wins the MVP award, only for it never to happen.

But this season feels different. AJ Brown is the best player in the NFL through the first eight weeks of the NFL season.

9. The Kirk Cousins injury is unfortunate for the Vikings, who were almost certainly going to overcome their tough start to the season to make the playoffs.

But it is truly horrific for Cousins, who was playing the best football of his career and was destined for a life-changing contract in the winter.

The worst of sports.

10. As Brock Purdy continues to come back to life, the question should not be if he is declining, but whether or not he is capable of even being a “system quarterback” for an otherwise loaded 49ers team.

I still lean towards saying “yes,” but the last three weeks have been tough.

11. My Week 9 NFL picks, after going 8-7 in Week 8…

• Titans (+4)

• Dolphins (+5)

• Packers (+1) (Rams +2.5 with Stafford)

• Commanders (+2.5)

• Texans (-2)

• Cardinals (+7.5)

• Bears (+6)

• Seahawks (+5.5)

• Falcons (-3.5)

• Colts (-1.5)

• Raiders (-2.5)

• Eagles (-2.5)

• Bills (+1.5)

• Chargers (+2)

On the season, I am now 55-61, with MNF still pending.