Leafs left with the easy task of naming Keith Petruzzelli the starter for Saturday night

Leafs left with the easy task of naming Keith Petruzzelli the starter for Saturday night

It seemed like it always should have been Petruzzelli’s game and one that was confidently announced a week ago so his family had time to shuttle to Toronto for his NHL debut, but if there was any doubt about who should be getting the start, it should be cleared up by this recent insight from Sheldon Keefe:

Keefe says Matt Murray will not play tomorrow. They will make that decision of who starts tomorrow. @BodogCA @RinkWideTOR
— David Alter (@dalter) November 12, 2022

While the Leafs have historically shied away from the idea of having their goaltenders make NHL debuts on Saturday night nationally broadcast home games, this one hits a little different than the standard fare. For one, there really doesn’t seem to be much of a choice, but we’ll get into that later. There’s also the fact that this is a game against the Vancouver Canucks. The 4-7-3 Vancouver Canucks that seem to be hanging on by a thread. It’s not a bad opponent to line an inexperienced goaltender up against, and in that sense it couldn’t have worked out any better.
It also seems that no one is delusional enough to believe that Petruzzelli will be making his case for a Leafs job tonight either. This is about as one and done as it gets. Good or bad, by Tuesday Keith will be riding a bus with the Marlies, and the Leafs will at least feel comfortable enough with Matt Murray wearing a ball cap f …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

East contender trading for Jae Crowder would be awful for Raptors

East contender trading for Jae Crowder would be awful for Raptors

The Toronto Raptors should be perusing the trade market right now, as it is never too early for Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster to be looking at every potential avenue with which they can improve this team. A Jae Crowder trade appears imminent, and Toronto would be wise to ask around about his availability. Crowder […]
East contender trading for Jae Crowder would be awful for Raptors – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

TLN Prospect #5: Fraser Minten brings potential and projectability to the Leafs

Ahead of the draft, I was of the belief that the Leafs should be targeting more NHL projectability with their early picks rather than just swinging on higher upside prospects who provided less certainty in their overall projections. Last year’s selection of Matt Knies in the second round – a player with a relatively safe floor who still possessed some offensive upside – was a step in that direction, and the early returns have certainly exceeded expectations.
The Leafs went in a similar direction with their first pick of the 2022 draft after trading out of the first round, and while it was a bit of a reach in relation to most public draft rankings, the selection of Fraser Minten at 38th overall also offered an intriguing balance of potential and projectability.
One of the youngest players in the draft, Minten was a bit of a late riser in the lead-up to the draft, at least in terms of the buzz surrounding his name. Still, he went off the board much earlier than many were expecting, and the Leafs stood pat to select him rather than taking the chance and trading down again, illustrating the organization’s belief in the player.
Given Minten’s age, his already solid base of skills, and the fact that he has only been playing high-level hockey for a relatively short time, Kyle Dubas and the rest of the Leafs’ front office belie …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

Rumours: Dubas speaks and the Draft Day roundup

The trading floodgates should be opening today. Or it could be like last year when every GM quietly makes their scheduled pick and we turn off our televisions feeling unfulfilled five hours later. Still, there’s the hope of trades and that’s what we’re in the business of selling you. There was a Dubas availability yesterday, and we’ll start with some of his quotes from that.

#Leafs GM Kyle Dubas on the state of talks with pending UFA Jack Campbell. pic.twitter.com/qjqEjGR3Mf
— David Alter (@dalter) July 6, 2022

It seems that Kyle Dubas is viewing Jack Campbell as a bit of a safety school when it comes to goaltending options, and that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. The goal is to either upgrade or get cheaper. The status quo isn’t an option because the status quo is about to triple in price. It’s probably best to make peace with the fact that Jack Campbell won’t be a Leaf next season if that was something you wanted.

#Leafs GM Kyle Dubas on negotiations with Ilya Mikheyev. It’s a bit more ominous here. pic.twitter.com/9MMAG0S87x
— David Alter (@dalter) July 6, 2022

Dubas was far blunter when it came to Mikheyev and reiterated how much the Leafs love the player and how he is likely due for a raise, but that raise has him priced out of Toronto. The communication channels are open but don’t hold out hope here.

Dubas on any concern about Sandin getting an offer sheet: “If there’s going to be an offer sheet, the sooner the better so we can make our decision and move on.”
— David Alter (@dalter) July 6, 2022

This follows a lengthy quote about how the Leafs view Sandin and Liljegren to be very similar, and it doesn’t take a genius to read into the fact that the Leafs see Sandin as needing to take a contract identical to Liljegren’s. The offer s …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation