Gino Reda is joined by TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger to discuss the fallout from Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz’s comments after their loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, how the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series run can impact the Maple Leafs, and the Vancouver Canucks ailing centre position on the early edition of Insider Trading.
Gino Reda: No one is denying that what he said was right when Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz ripped his teammates. The Leafs do not do a good job protecting their goalies and even [head coach] Craig Berube admits that William Nylander sometimes needs to give more.
What are you expecting from the team as they face the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which is their first game since the very public call out?
Darren Dreger: I think it’s easy to predict some type of physical response from the Maple Leafs. It should start, not just in Stolarz’s crease, but what about the opposition’s crease? In tonight’s case, the Devils.
The Maple Leafs have not done a good enough job of trying to generate the greasy goals, as NHL head coaches like to refer to. Whether it’s captain Auston Matthews, or a fourth-line forward, Toronto has to find a way to drive the net and create chaos in the offensive zone.
In the defensive zone, obviously after the Seattle Kraken game that they lost on Saturday night, Stolarz had enough. He was fed up with the fact that his group in front of him have not done a good enough job of keeping the flies off him. It’s not just defenceman Brandon Carlo, but the group by committee.
So, I think you’ll find a motivated group physically. I wouldn’t expect any sort of brouhaha or any sort of line-clearing scenarios, but Toronto most definitely is going to play harder in front of their goalie.
Reda: The city of Toronto is going nuts, considering what the Toronto Blue Jays are doing. It’s pretty crazy watching Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walking to the ballpark wearing a Matthews jersey.
How do you think this Jays current run could impact the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Dreger: To a man, I think they’re embracing the moment.
I’m not suggesting that every Maple Leaf is a fan of the Blue Jays, but you do have to live in the moment. I think that’s exactly what both the Blue Jays and Maple Leafs are doing.
It has to be considered a momentum builder. If you walk around downtown Toronto, you can feel the electricity. There is a buzz. There was a buzz in the in American League Championship Series as they developed through MLB’s postseason and now the Jays are off to the World Series.
This isn’t just the players acting as fans from a Maple Leafs perspective. I know Berube has been in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse visiting John Schneider, the manager of the Blue Jays, in the ALCS.
So, why can’t you feed off that level of excitement and help build that level of motivation if you’re the Maple Leafs in getting through a long NHL season? But also, maybe get a little more pep in your step when the playoffs come around.
Right now, the Maple Leafs are cheerleaders in a big way for the Blue Jays.
Reda: Rough injury news continues to flow in for the Vancouver Canucks. They are missing Filip Chytil, Johnathan Lekkerimaki, Teddy Blueger, Nils Hoglander, and the list goes on and on.
Oftentimes when a team goes through injuries like this, they say, ‘it’s next man up’ and someone else has the opportunity to pick up the slack and get extra ice.
Are the Canucks now past that and need to go outside the organization?
Dreger: If they’re not past that, they’re on the cusp of being past that.
You can dive in Abbotsford in the American Hockey League and see key injuries there up the middle as well. This makes it very difficult on an organizational level for general manager Patrik Allvin and the Canucks.
I’ll also remind everybody that Allvin has been searching for a centre, preferably a No. 2 or a two-way centre, for several months now. It’s not like this need has just recently surfaced.
They were hoping that Chytil would stay healthy long enough to buy them some time. He’s certainly more than capable and has proven in the NHL that he can be a proven No. 2 centre. But this young guy, who is 26 years old, has been through some dark and difficult times, specific to concussion protocols. So, he’s in there one more time and they don’t know how long he’s going to be away.
That’s why you see Allvin talking publicly about the need to do something at centre ice. The problem is that there are so many other NHL clubs also looking for a No. 2 or No. 3 centre. So, the market is incredibly thin in that area and Allvin knows that.
So, some are wondering around the league if Allvin is just going to simply add a depth piece. Maybe there’s a centre on another club that seems to be a misfit or a third or fourth-line centre in that organization but has the capability to elevate and be a No. 2 or 3 centre.
The Canucks at this stage, are looking at every possibility, and that includes engaging with another club with for a No. 3 or 4 centre on their roster.
Reda: That’s it for now, the full segment of Insider Trade with Dreger, Pierre LeBrun, and Chris Johnston is coming up on the early edition of SportsCentre.