The Leafs spent a lot to get Nick Foligno, so they should try and keep him

The 2021 trade deadline is going to be remembered in many ways for Leafs fans. It was a time where they pushed their chips to the centre of the table and tried to go all-in on a team that was on track to win their division. They used that opportunity to fine-tune the edges and bring in enough depth to help prepare for what should have been a lengthy playoff run.
And it will best be remembered for a blockbuster move they did and did not make.
Toronto’s big slash at the deadline was acquiring former Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno for a hefty price that included a first-round pick being shipped off to Columbus. Not even a few hours after this trade went down, the biggest prize available went to Boston as the Bruins snagged up Taylor Hall for a roster player and a second-round pick.
At the time of the trade, I was critical of the decision to go with Foligno instead of Hall because the best course of action was to provide as much offensive depth as possible and there aren’t many opportunities to acquire a former Hart Trophy winner at a reduced price (because the …

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Author: Michael Mazzei / The Leafs Nation

Pascal Siakam’s injury was the tonic the sick Raptors needed

Toronto’s key players remembered that they were pretty good even without one of their stars. Will the lesson stick for the rest of their series with the Sixers? It is obvious to say that basketball is a team game, but I am an obvious person and so I’ll say it: basketball is a team game.
What’s more, and this is also an obvious thing to say, the Raptors have spent the vast majority of the last six-plus months being one of the very best basketball teams on the face of the planet.
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, however, the Raptors have not looked like a particularly good team. They have looked like, and this is trying to be kind, a bunch of dudes standing around waiting for two guys named Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam to do cool and interesting things with the basketball that result in it going through the hoop.
Then, in moments when neither Kawhi or Pascal can do said interesting things, the rest of the Raptors have generally looked at the basketball as if it were a grenade and tried to toss it as far away from them as quickly as possible in the …

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Author: ConorMcCreery / Raptors HQ