On Luke Schenn, setting a tone against Tampa, and Joseph Woll being the real-deal: Muzzy’s Muzings

Here’s a hot take: The Leafs should rest Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Ilya Samsonov and Mark Giordano for the entire first round.
Jokes aside, what a night in Tampa in the final dress rehearsal before things get going for real between the two squads next week at Scotiabank Arena.
William Nylander notched a goal and two helpers to lead the Leafs to a 4-3 victory in the penultimate game of the regular season. For what it’s worth, Toronto took two of three from the Lightning in 2022-23.
For the second straight night, the Leafs received a monstrous outing from their starting goalie as Joseph Woll made 46 stops for his fifth consecutive victory. Meantime, Luke Schenn, who potted his first goal with Toronto since February 2012, fell just an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Furthermore, Ryan O’Reilly and Calle Jarnkrok each chipped in with a goal and an assist. Also, Matthew Knies tallied his first career point – an assist on O’Reilly game winning goal.
 
MUZZY’S MUZINGS:
SCHENNSATIONAL
That right there – my friends – is why the Leafs went out and acquired Luke Schenn. It wasn’t a meaningless game for the 33-year-old, that’s for sure. In fact, at the first intermission, the former Bolt was already an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick. For context, he knuckled one past Andrei …

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Author: Nick Alberga / The Leafs Nation

3 reasons Raptors should beat Bulls in play-in tournament matchup

3 reasons Raptors should beat Bulls in play-in tournament matchup

Not only do the Toronto Raptors need to take care of business in a road matchup with the Boston Celtics and a home date with the Milwaukee Bucks to move up to the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament, but they also need the Atlanta Hawks to lose one of their final two games. […]
3 reasons Raptors should beat Bulls in play-in tournament matchup – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Historical figures give us insight into the Leafs

The All-Star break gives us a lot of time to take on some of our interests outside of hockey. As a history major (that has never once thought of using that education) I decided why not take the break from hockey to reach out to some of history’s greatest minds through the Historical Figures Chat app. Imagine what some of the greatest minds in history (and Richard Nixon) would have to say about the Maple Leafs. Here are some of the transcripts of those chats.
I decided to ease into it by reaching out to some hockey folks…

Now that sounds like a hockey player answer. We’re off to a good start. Some nice platitudes from Gordie have us off and running. Now let’s see what one of the greatest player/coaches in cinematic history has to say about the Leafs…

I would have expected something a little saltier from Reggie Dunlop and certainly would have demanded the Leafs to be a little tougher, but that does sound like a hockey answer still. Maybe we need to step away from hockey people and get some sage-like advice elsewhere. We’ll start with one of the greatest Dad’s in TV history…

I just want to give Uncle Phil a great big hug. I don’t know if this will fix the Leafs but it will certainly fix me.
Heading in a completely different direction when it comes to advice for the Leafs, I thought who could give the Leafs advice on how to cheat to get ahead. One name came to mind and while he was reluctant to help at first, he eventually caved…

I hate to say that I agree with Richard Nixon, but I kinda agree with Richard Nixon. If there aren’t some of MLSE’s brightest minds locked in dark rooms studying the hell out of the Bruins and Lightning by now, the Leafs might as well pack it in.
Now tactics are fun, but I want to know what the future holds in store for the Leafs and for that I reached out to history’s greatest predictor who wasn’t particularly forthcoming…

Less learned. If you want predictions you have to call a 900 number, you won’t get them for free through an app.
Maybe an outright prediction was too much ask for. Maybe reaching out to one of history’s greatest philosophers (that didn’t require additional credits to unlock) could inform us of what we can expect from the Leafs at the trade deadline…

This is truly inspiring and once again I am forced to agree with what I’m sure is a very accurate representation of Ioscrates feelings on ie hockey. It is important that the Leafs improve but not takeaway from who they are and what has been working for them. Introducing radical new elements into their lineup and creating potential weaknesses where they didn’t exist before is something that the Leafs need to consider at the trade deadline. Copy and paste this image into K …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Previewing The Farm Rosters: Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats

I’ll take up less space with the prelude this time since I established the premise in the previous article. Using Scott Mitchell’s Top 50 at TSN, I’m attempting to project where the most interesting prospects will break camp in less than 60 days.

Between his Top 50 list, and his “just missed” group, no less than 16 of the names he dropped look likely to start with the Fisher Cats including of course the name on everyone’s list, consensus #1 in the system, LHP Ricky Teidemann.
Teidemann was handled cautiously in his first season, and while he was so very good that speculation about making it onto the Jays’ roster this summer is natural, such an ascent would be even more remarkable than Alek Manoah’s in 2021.
In his draft year, at age 21, Manoah hauled 135 innings between college and the Jays system. Teideman threw 38 in college in 2021 and 78 for the Jays in  2022, with a significant slowdown period throughout most of July as a 19-year-old most of the season. Manoah was in his age-23 season when he came up for good. It’s much more likely that he gets 8-10 starts (40-50 IP) for New Hampshire and moves up to Buffalo at some point in June and goes another 80 or so. That’ll set him up to compete for a spot in the rotation in the Spring of ’24.
Speaking of… a mild tangent: between Manoah and long-term contracts, the Blue Jays have four rotation turns locked …

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Author: Tammy Rainey / Blue Jays Nation

Raptors news: Chris Boucher update, Gary Trent Jr. makes history

Raptors news: Chris Boucher update, Gary Trent Jr. makes history

There was almost nothing positive to take away from the Toronto Raptors’ dismantling at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans, as Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes combining for six points show just how bad things got. Gary Trent Jr. was the one player who really stood out. Trent put up 35 points, the most […]
Raptors news: Chris Boucher update, Gary Trent Jr. makes history – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Raptors injury report: Luka Doncic, Mavericks could feast on beat-up roster

Raptors injury report: Luka Doncic, Mavericks could feast on beat-up roster

The Toronto Raptors were not only unable to take down Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks during their tango a few weeks ago in Texas despite a Scottie Barnes triple-double, but they suffered a few injuries that have completely killed whatever momentum they had going. Losing Pascal Siakam has been destabilizing for this squad. In […]
Raptors injury report: Luka Doncic, Mavericks could feast on beat-up roster – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

5 trade targets Raptors can add due to Victor Wembanyama tank

5 trade targets Raptors can add due to Victor Wembanyama tank

While the Toronto Raptors can take comfort in the fact that they have everything at their disposal needed for a deep postseason run, not every team is gunning for championship glory. In actuality, we may witness a historic tank job thanks to the performance of consensus No. 1 draft prospect Victor Wembanyama. The hype around […]
5 trade targets Raptors can add due to Victor Wembanyama tank – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Blue Jays steal back-and-forth affair in 6-5 win, sweep Red Sox

In August, you’ll take wins any way you can get them, even if they’re not the prettiest!

The Toronto Blue Jays swept the Boston Red Sox with a 6-5 win tonight, in a game that featured both teams spoiling opportunities to put the game away. Every time one side took the lead, they would let the other side back into it. For context, tonight’s game featured five lead changes and 25 runners left on base between the two teams.
For the second straight night, the game would go into extra innings, and again, it was George Springer with the tie-breaking RBI. With Cavan Biggio at third base in the 10th inning, John Schneider put the contact play on with Springer at the plate. Springer grounded a ball to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, and Biggio took off as soon as the ball was hit. Biggio slid under the tag at the plate, and the Blue Jays took the lead for good.
Both teams swapped punches in the early innings of the game, as starters Kevin Gausman and Kutter Crawford could never establish a rhythm.
Bo Bichette got the Blue Jays on the board in the first inning with a two-run double to right field. The ball fell just shy of the short wall in right, and with runners on t …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

NBA point guard tier list: Where is Raptors star Fred VanVleet?

NBA point guard tier list: Where is Raptors star Fred VanVleet?

The Toronto Raptors saw Fred VanVleet take the leap from a promising two-way player with a solid 3-point to a no-doubt All-Star that is capable of leading a postseason team. When Pascal Siakam was working his way back from injury, VanVleet was the unquestioned leader of this team. 20.3 points and 6.7 assists per game […]
NBA point guard tier list: Where is Raptors star Fred VanVleet? – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

3 burning questions as Raptors begin Summer League play

3 burning questions as Raptors begin Summer League play

The Toronto Raptors need to take a brief pause from chasing Kevin Durant as they try to once again impress the rest of the league in Summer League competition. With how development-centric Toronto’s culture is, these exhibitions in Vegas will be critical to see how the young players are progressing. Last year was a Summer […]
3 burning questions as Raptors begin Summer League play – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ