The Need to Knows
- The Time: 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET
- The Place: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
- Where to Watch: ROOT Sports NW, TSN4, ESPN+
- Where to Listen: KJR 93.3 FM
- An Opposing Viewpoint: Bay Street Blues
Know Your Enemy
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, every season is a chance to prove the narrative wrong about them. Every season, they bring out their star-powered roster of big money players such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander, and they inevitably rope their fans back into the torture chamber. Could this finally be the season they make it past the first round of the playoffs? Last season, that answer was yes, exorcising those first round demons by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then the Florida Panthers happened, and the Maple Leafs were once again packing their bags home. Despite making it further than the team had in a long time, Kyle Dubas was let go of his general manager duties for the Maple Leafs, and Brad Treliving stepped up to fill his shoes. When you haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967, it’s not enough for moral victories, I suppose.
The team’s offseason acquisitions seemed to be based around the premise that what the Maple Leafs truly need to go out and win that Stanley Cup is some more grit and edge to their game. Names like Ryan Reaves, Max Domi, and Tyler Bertuzzi are either known primarily for being a bruiser or have a general physical element to their game. The one other major offseason acquisition for the Maple Leafs was a bit shocking considering this general theme: defenseman John Klingberg. During Klingberg’s time with the Dallas Stars, he was known for being an offensive defenseman with a tendency to sometimes get a little too fancy out on the ice. Nowadays, he hasn’t even been providing the offensive assistance making him worth any defensive miscues, and he’s not someone who defends with physicality. (I write this while knowing Klingberg still sits on my fantasy team. I’m no smarter than a real GM, apparently.)
The Maple Leafs have come out to a bit of a slower start this season, but things are picking up for them with a 6-3-1 record over the past 10 games. They sit third in the Atlantic, only behind the Panthers and Bruins, but the Red Wings and Lightning are right on their tails.
Game Preview
The Kraken have dropped their last two games and find themselves sliding down from some of the ground they’ve gained. Losing against Vancouver on Friday was one thing. The Canucks have jumped out to be one of the best teams in the league right now, and there’s no real shame in being outplayed by a superior opponent. Losing against Chicago on Tuesday, however, was a completely different story. Chicago currently sits as the second worst team in the league. For the Kraken to not take advantage of the opportunity to gain momentum the way they did against the San Jose Sharks feels like an absolute embarrassment.
It’s hard to find anything new to say except to keep begging and hoping that any one of these games will be the turnaround point. It doesn’t happen to every struggling team or player, but I’ve seen it happen enough. Sometimes it takes an external force to kickstart it into gear, like a coach getting fired or a standing ovation, but sometimes teams just figure it out on their own. The Maple Leafs aren’t exactly the team I’d expect the Kraken to win against, but if they can chip away at a larger (but slightly struggling) foe after an embarrassing loss, maybe it could be the spark they need to start getting back to the game this team was known for last year.
Perhaps their best hope is for Matty Beniers to build off his performance from Tuesday night. With a goal and an assist, Beniers was starting to play more like the Calder Trophy winner that he is. While the Kraken need stronger performances out of quite a few players, let’s just ask for a little at a time.
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