{"id":239415,"date":"2025-10-25T14:54:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T14:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/239415\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T14:54:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T14:54:27","slug":"quick-shifts-why-maple-leafs-must-start-winning-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/239415\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick Shifts: Why Maple Leafs must start winning now"},"content":{"rendered":"

A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. In memory of Addison Barger making memories.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0What\u2019s particularly troubling about the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>‘ uninspiring October is how nicely this was all laid out for them to find their traction in a post-Marner world.<\/p>\n

Yes, 1B goalie Joseph Woll had taken an unexpected leave and fourth-line pivot Scott Laughton had suffered an unfortunate foot injury in camp.<\/p>\n

But compared to other supposed Atlantic Division powers like Florida (Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov) and Ottawa (Brady Tkachuk), who are missing key pieces long term, the Leafs were relatively healthy early.<\/p>\n

\"WatchWatch Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet<\/p>\n

Watch Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ all season long. This Saturday, catch the Maple Leafs vs. the Sabres, the Canadiens vs. the Canucks, the Senators vs. the Capitals, and the Oilers vs. the Kraken.<\/p>\n

Broadcast schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

Moreover, Toronto has been gifted about as easy a schedule as a team can get through the first two months of the season.<\/p>\n

Fifteen of the Leafs\u2019 first 21 games are at home, and what little travel they have is light. They won\u2019t change time zones until Game 19 (Nov. 15 at Chicago).<\/p>\n

By strength of competition, a serious Cup contender should be using this stretch to stack points and create separation in the standings.<\/p>\n

Of Toronto\u2019s first 15 opponents, only two qualified for the 2025 playoffs \u2014 and neither of those advanced past Round 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s totally irrelevant,\u201d Max Domi counters, not buying the theory that this is point-gathering time. \u201cEvery team is hard to beat in this league, and anyone can beat anyone on any given night, and that’s the approach you got to have. So, let\u2019s not look too far ahead here.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is true is that the Atlantic tides appear to be shifting. The Lightning have sunk to the division\u2019s basement, and none of the Big Three (Toronto, Tampa, and Florida) are in the top three. Only one Atlantic team (Montreal) has a goal differential above plus-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never look at where a team was at last year. It’s different this year, right?\u201d Leafs coach Craig Berube said in the midst of a home-and-home against the Buffalo Sabres.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t ever look at an opponent, whether they made the playoffs last year or not, as somebody we could take advantage of. Like, it’s hard league. Every team is good, and you got to be prepared to battle and play the right way against any opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBuffalo has got a lot of talent. Buffalo is a good team right now, in my opinion. They\u2019re starting to come; they\u2019re doing some good things. So, I don’t look at it that way. I focus on our team, what we need to do. We got to worry about where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fair. But to get to where they\u2019d hope to go, Toronto must take advantage of this kind schedule.<\/p>\n

The fatigue and competition \u2014 not to mention the airmiles \u2014 are only going up from here.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0The trade market is stagnant largely because so many teams entered the season targeting a playoff berth.<\/p>\n

The one franchise we all circled as a true rebuilder, Pittsburgh (6-2-0), is tied for third overall. Which is to say, it\u2019s a sellers\u2019 market.<\/p>\n

And who\u2019s in the cellar?<\/p>\n

The Calgary\u00a0Flames, with one lonely victory in nine attempts and a minus-19 goal differential. They\u2019ve dug the type of start that thin rosters can\u2019t recover from.<\/p>\n

Goalie Dustin Wolf is pointing out that he can\u2019t put the puck in the net, and Cup winner Blake Coleman is using the phrase \u201cmust win.\u201d In October.<\/p>\n

Craig Conroy possesses two of hockey\u2019s most movable assets: a minutes-munching right-shot defenceman in Rasmus Andersson and a passionate two-way centre in Nazem Kadri.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t always condone tanking, but this is a fine season to do so. And the way Calgary\u2019s going, they\u2019re accidentally tanking anyway.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0We\u2019re not sure which is more impressive: What (very) early Calder favourite Matthew Schaefer is doing for the New York Islanders (seven points in seven games while logging 22-plus minutes on the back end)? Or what the Islanders are doing for the kid?<\/p>\n

Hope you caught three of Schaefer\u2019s teammates rushing to his defence when the kid took a garbage hit in garbage time during the Isles\u2019 7-2 blowout of the Red Wings Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you love this, eh? I\u2019m sure you love this as much as I do,\u201d coach Patrick Roy grinned postgame. \u201cThat\u2019s a team. That\u2019s a team. That\u2019s what you do for your teammates. You\u2019re there for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love the way the guys protect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d give up one of my children for a f—– win.\u201d\u00a0\u2014San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who began the season 0-6<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, just want to apologize for my comments after the game. I love my kids. I would never give them up. I love my wife. I\u2019m a passionate, emotional person, and probably got ahead of me there, and so I apologize for those comments.\u201d\u00a0\u2014Warsofsky, before winning a kid-sparing 6-5 overtime thriller over the Rangers<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Have you seen a player more emotional during a Jumbotron tribute than Brad Marchand during his TD Garden homecoming this week?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The depth of Marchand\u2019s care had us thinking about Team Canada and how fiercely the 37-year-old wants to make the Olympic squad.<\/p>\n

Yes, there are younger, faster options Doug Armstrong could choose. But Marchand should be named to the roster, even if it\u2019s as the 13th or 14th forward.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s invaluable in the room. His work ethic is unquestioned. He elevates in the spotlight. (Marchand got my Conn Smythe vote, in a coin flip, over Sam Bennett.) And he\u2019s defensively responsible and versatile.<\/p>\n

If Canada loses a winger to injury, Marchand can play right or left. He can pitch in on a penalty kill or a power-play.<\/p>\n

That he\u2019s producing for the injury-riddled Panthers this season (10 points in nine games) despite facing harder matchups now that he\u2019s not tucked on Line 3 shows he\u2019s still got some jam.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m making the calls, Marchand is going to Milan.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Two of the most beautiful sweaters in hockey history got the reboot this week. The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche honoured the cities they swiped their franchises from, by donning Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques getups Thursday.<\/p>\n

Even the style of play had a throwback vibe \u2014 lots of rushing river hockey and a 5-4 final.<\/p>\n

The Avs, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary, will wear Nordiques threads six more times this season.<\/p>\n

Aesthetically, we love it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But between Colorado and\u00a0Spartacat<\/a>, you wonder if Quebec citizens \u2014 the ones with the NHL-sized arena but no team \u2014 wished NHL clubs would fleur-de-leave them alone and stop making money off marketing their logo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Leafs exec Shane Doan flashed a big smile Friday morning in Buffalo when we crossed paths ahead of the Doaner Bowl, acknowledging how fun it is to face his son, Josh, who is off to a fine start as a top-six Sabre.<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s Matthew Knies and Josh Doan grew up tight friends and rare NHL hopefuls in Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a guy like him is what allowed me to kind of get to this level,\u201d Doan said. \u201cYou have someone to practise every day with and to battle and compete with. Our coaches did a good job of splitting us up in practice, so we battled each other every day. That\u2019s something that I think allowed both of us to be where we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doan and Knies first played each other in Utah last season, when Doan was with HC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember he took a penalty and we scored on the power play,\u201d Knies grins. \u201cI remember looking at the box, and he came out with his head down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doan responds: \u201cHe took a run at me last year and then laughed about it after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mutual fans, Doan and Knies stay in touch. They went out for dinner together Thursday along with former Leafs defenceman Conor Timmins and former Utah winger Matias Maccelli.<\/p>\n

Doan jokes that Knies should\u2019ve snatched the bill, considering his new $46.5-million contract. But \u201cTimmer and Chelli\u201d got stuck with the tab after losing the credit card game.<\/p>\n

Shane\u2019s team lost Friday but can nullify family bragging rights with a win Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s ultra-competitive, and he doesn\u2019t want to lose to me in anything, so he definitely doesn\u2019t want to lose in hockey to me,\u201d Josh says of his dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s harder for my mom than my dad. I mean, the Leafs are his team, so he\u2019s obviously cheering for them, but she\u2019s got a split decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0The Chicago Blackhawks gave up on in-and-out skilled winger Lukas Reichel, a late-first-round choice of 2020, trading him to Vancouver for a fourth-round pick.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s your trade market for Nick Robertson, who has yet to score and got scratched by the Maple Leafs Friday in Buffalo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Leafs pitched a Robertson deal for Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov, it was reported this week, but Columbus declined. Chinakov, too, has yet to score and has been scratched by his team this season.<\/p>\n

A fourth-round pick doesn\u2019t do either Toronto or Columbus much good when they\u2019re trying to put a better product on the ice now.<\/p>\n

A change-of-scenery hockey deal makes too much sense when you look at the similarity of these two 24-year-olds\u2019 careers.<\/p>\n

Robertson: 53rd overall pick, 163 games, 32 goals, 25 assists, 24 penalty minutes, 11:26 average time on ice.<\/p>\n

Chinakov: 21st overall pick, 178 games, 34 goals, 38 assists, 36 penalty minutes, 13:52 time on ice.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0All the emotion and honesty of Anthony Stolarz\u2019s passionate postgame availability last Saturday evaporated by the time the goaltender stood in front of the Maple Leafs backdrop after Wednesday\u2019s loss to New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really good effort by the boys tonight,\u201d Stolarz began.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He then took ownership of a tough Jack Hughes goal, praised his teammates\u2019 backchecking and shot-blocking, as well as their effort in the offensive zone.<\/p>\n

This after the Maple Leafs had been thoroughly outclassed.<\/p>\n

Not sure if Stolarz simply regrets calling out his teammates and feels the need to overcompensate or if he had his wrist slapped behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Stolarz needs to be at his blustery, engaged self for he and his team have a chance.<\/p>\n

Chris Tanev compares Stolarz to Jacob Markstrom, an emotional goalie he played with in Western Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s competitive, he’s fiery, and he wants to win,\u201d Tanev said. \u201cMarkstrom, he\u2019s hurt now, but he\u2019s very similar. Sort of wear their emotions on their sleeves, and they\u2019re gonna say what they’re gonna say. And that’s because they want to win, and they’re the most competitive people you\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thick-skinned Steven Lorentz says we\u2019re seeing a more involved Stolarz than the one he played with in Florida, where Sergei Bobrovsky started the lion\u2019s share of games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a testament to the leadership role that he\u2019s taken on, and that growth in him. And he\u2019s doing exactly what he’s what he’s supposed to be doing. He\u2019s doing his job,\u201d Lorentz says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sees the whole play in front of him. He sees guys that are in the wrong spots. Or if he wants to see something a little bit different, then he\u2019ll tell the guys. He\u2019s not a stranger to that. And I think we appreciate that, because it’s better that he says it and we hear it, and then we can address it,\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still learning and he’s developing as a leader, and it’s good to see it in a goalie.\u201d<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Sheldon Keefe\u2019s New Jersey Devils enter the weekend in first place.<\/p>\n

Their power-play is scoring (32 per cent). Their penalty kill is stingy (93.1 per cent). And their even-strength play is quick and dynamic.<\/p>\n

Keefe credits his group for finding\u00a0\u201cdifferent ways\u201d to win. The second-year bench boss sees Jersey\u2019s PK as its foundation but also feels encouraged by the team\u2019s ability to come back in tight games and put opponents away when they grasp a lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all been a good response to what was a very poor outing in Game 1 (a 6-3 loss to rival Carolina),\u201d Keefe says. \u201cWe\u2019ve liked our results. But our process and our details and our structure \u2014 all these things have got to get to another level if we want to be able to sustain our play. So, that\u2019s what we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keefe reflects on his first year with his new club, when he knew \u201czero people in the organization.\u201d He didn\u2019t meet GM Tom Fitzgerald until his first interview. He had history with none of the players on the roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, all of that was new, and we were trying to change the identity of the team and how they were playing,\u201d Keefe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you\u2019re just starting from a different place. You\u2019re always kind of starting over in training camp, but you can get to things a lot quicker. Our practices have been a lot smoother. They know the drills. They know the expectations, the standards that we want to have in practice. And our leadership group is has been in sync with the coaching staff, and that\u2019s really helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0You haven\u2019t truly made it as a Russian immigrant in Montreal until you land your first poutine endorsement deal\u2026<\/p>\n

(Agent Dan Milstein, you may recall, also helped Ilya Mikheyev\u00a0get that soup money<\/a>\u00a0in Toronto.)<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0Lindy Ruff characterizes the Buffalo Sabres\u2019 three-headed crease as \u201ca good problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Callup Colten Ellis, 25, was stellar in his debut, and he\u2019s likely to start Saturday in Toronto. Grinder Alex Lyon has posted a sparkling .922 save percentage through seven starts. And projected No. 1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been recalled from a successful conditioning stint and will start a game next week.<\/p>\n

All of them \u2014 Ellis and Lyon, in particular \u2014 are on cap-friendly deals. All of them require waivers to get sent down. So, the Sabres are carrying all three.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, will UPL stay healthy? We can\u2019t answer that. We got to stay in a place where we\u2019re protecting ourselves,\u201d Ruff explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not comfortable for us. I don’t think it’s comfortable for them. We got three guys that like being around each other, but I think every goalie wants to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sabres don\u2019t want to lose Ellis only to watch Luukkonen go down again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if we put him in and he has another setback? I think you\u2019ve got to kind of run out every scenario and make sure that we back ourselves,\u201d Ruff says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a good problem to have. Frankly, I\u2019ll deal with that rather than not having a goalie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-239415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}