The Orlov trade makes the Atlantic Division arms race real for the Leafs

The Orlov trade makes the Atlantic Division arms race real for the Leafs

I don’t think there is really a need to ask how the Orlov trade affects the Leafs, it’s pretty obvious. Toronto took a nice first step to the deadline with a huge move to bring in Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, and that was a nice little way for a team in “win now mode” to try and close the gap with the heavily favoured Boston Bruins.
As much as we obviously focus on the Leafs need to win this season, the expectations, age, and salary cap realities for the Bruins make this season a do or die one for them as well. Bergeron and Krejci are in the back half of their 30’s and taking deep discounts to keep playing together in Boston. Marchand is crossing over into his later 30s pretty soon as well, he’s likely on his last NHL contract. And of course there’s the small matter of pending UFA David Pastrnak. They are either going to need to pay him a mint or this truly is a last dance situation for the Bruins. They want to win now and they showed their commitment on Thursday night:

The full details ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4tkcRiMoei
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 23, 2023

That price the Bruins paid looks awfully familiar to Leafs fans, and while I think most Leafs fans would take O’Rei …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Avoiding Patrick Kane seems like the best route forward for the Leafs

Avoiding Patrick Kane seems like the best route forward for the Leafs

Sometimes the trade deadline really sucks. One of those instances is when the team you follow is connected to a player you truly despise. If it was just a matter of the Leafs being interested in an overachieving, overpriced shutdown defenseman who is a crapshoot to mirror his success with a new partner in a new system, that would be one thing. Instead, we’re talking about Patrick Kane who has given people plenty of reasons to dislike him.
I feel like we’ve moved past the obvious reasons for not wanting Patrick Kane on the Leafs and now can focus a bit more on hockey-related ones. I say that the myriad of questions that come along with bringing Kane into the Leafs’ locker room would create a three-ring circus environment that typically doesn’t work out so well for the Leafs. If the Leafs think they need a chaotic element to a potential playoff run, I guess you can ignore the fact that the Toronto media will be very interested in reliving the questionable moments of Patrick Kane’s career through questions and in print from before he even gets on the plane to Toronto.

“I just don’t know if that’s going to fit.”@FriedgeHNIC joined @JeffMarek to share his view on Toronto as a potential destination f …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Willy Styles is the name, fashion is his game: Maple Leafs Gameday Fit Week #1 Power Rankings

One of my favourite things about hockey, and all sports really, is seeing what the athletes wear walking into the arena.
Whichever sport it is — hockey, basketball, football, or baseball — players like to show their personality through what they drape themselves in before games.
Hockey, in particular, is no fun when it comes to fashion. It’s a sport where kids are told at a young age to wear suits to their games and they do that all the way to the NHL level, if they make it there.
It’s boring. Unentertaining. Monotonous. Dull. I could go on.
There are some NHL teams that have loosened their dress code a little bit, but for the most part each team still wants their players to enter the arena looking ready for business.
While it’s understandable, I still hate it. I love fun, and dressing different is fun.
Toronto has settled for business casual, which means still wearing a suit. However, they are allowing the players to spice things up a little bit. And as you may know, there are plenty of guys on the Maple Leafs who want to show off their gameday drip.
So, I thought I’d write about it. Maybe it’ll be a weekly series, maybe it won’t. It all depends on if the Maple Leafs cont …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Projecting the Leafs training camp cuts

To date, the Leafs haven’t really been cutting anyone from training camp. Ty Voit wasn’t so much of a cut as he was a late addition who pitched in and departed as soon as the Leafs were able to bring back some injured players. Fraser Minten is done with the Leafs training camp, due to a wrist injury, and I guess you can also lump Carl Dahlstrom and Jordie Benn into the camp departures as they join John Tavares and Timothy Liljegren on the list of players with injuries that will go past the opening day of the season.
Really what we are looking at is the first round of cuts and one that will coincide with the opening of the Marlies training camp next week.
As a refresher, here was the original camp roster:

Now, here’s what I’d wager the current situation looks like heading into the pre-Marlies camp cuts:

ROSTER LOCKS
ON THE ROSTER BUBBLE
LIKELY IMMEDIATE CUTS
INJURED
G
MATT MURRAY
ERIK KALLGREN
KEITH PETRUZZELLI
JOSEPH WOLL
G
ILYA SAMSONOV
DYLAN FERGUSON
DRYDEN MCKAY

D
TJ BRODIE
JUSTIN HOLL
NOEL HOEFENMAYER
JORDIE BENN
D
MARK GIORDANO
FILIP KRAL
MAC HOLLOWELL
CARL DAHLSTROM
D
JAKE MUZZIN
VICTOR METE
MIKKO KOKKONEN
TIMOTHY LILJEGREN
D
MORGAN RIELLY
MARSHALL RIFAI
TOMMY MILLER
AXEL RINDELL
D
RASMUS SANDIN

WILLIAM VILLENEUVE

F
NIC AUBE-KUBEL
NICK ABRUZZESE
SEMYON DER-ARGUCHINTSEV
MIKHAIL ABRAMOV
F
MICHAEL BUNTING
JOEY ANDERSON
PAVEL GOGOLEV
PIERRE ENGVALL
F
CALLE JARNKROK
ZACH ASTON-REESE
LOGAN SHAW
FRASER MINTEN
F
DAVID KAMPF
JOSEPH BLANDISI
GRAHAM SLAGGERT
JOHN TAVARES
F
ALEX KERFOOT
KYLE CLIFFORD
TY VOIT (ALREADY REASSIGNED)

F
MITCH MARNER
CURTIS DOUGLAS

F
AUSTON MATTHEWS
MAX ELLIS

F
WILLIAM NYLANDER
ADAM GAUDETTE

F

PONTUS HOLMBERG

F

DENIS MALGIN

F

BOBBY MCMANN

F

NICK ROBERTSON

F

WAYNE SIMMONDS

F

ALEX STEEVES

To start off, players like Dylan Ferguson and Erik Kallgren really aren’t on the bubble for making the Leafs roster, they are just likely to stick around and provide the Leafs some additional goaltenders in camp. As far as non-goaltenders who are sticking around, Marshall Rafai has had a strong camp and with the Leafs lack of healthy defensemen, he could get an extended stay despite not having an NHL contract. Joseph Blandisi is another player who could stick around due to th …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Clutch hits from Whit Merrifield and George Springer propel Blue Jays to split doubleheader

It was a really gloomy day for the Toronto Blue Jays offense. Pair that with a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, and this had the recipe to be a nasty sweep.

Toronto dropped the first game 4-2 in a matchup that included Toronto going 1-8 with RISP and leaving 10 runners on base. Game 2 had a similar look to it (with an unreal amount of ground ball outs), until the 7th inning provided some of the biggest hits of the season from guys who needed them badly.
Toronto trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the frame, and they got a leadoff walk from Santiago Espinal. Espinal would end up on third base due to a couple of wild pitches from Rays reliever Colin Poche. It brought up the first of multiple buttons that John Schneider pushed correctly, as he pinch hit Whit Merrifield for Jackie Bradley Jr. He also pinch ran Bradley Zimmer for Danny Jansen, who had just walked to get on first.
Coming into tonight, Merrifield had been batting .182 as a member with the Blue Jays. Aside from his defensive prowess of being able to play mult …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

3 takeaways after Raptors destroy 76ers in Summer League

3 takeaways after Raptors destroy 76ers in Summer League

Toronto Raptors fans can’t really ask for much more out of a Summer League debut. Not only did fans get to see young studs like Armoni Brooks and Christian Koloko put on solid performances against the rival Philadelphia 76ers, but they did so in what became a 97-77 victory. While it was far from a […]
3 takeaways after Raptors destroy 76ers in Summer League – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ