Radim Zohorna makes first impression, Toronto continues strong push: Marlies Weekly

It was a losing week for the Marlies, but they did get an exciting addition, who could provide some needed size to the forward group.
Toronto began the week with a school day game against Rockford, hoping to extend their lead in the North Division. And well, they did just that.
Max Ellis scored two big goals for the Marlies, in the second and third periods, to help them push past the IceHogs 5-3. Pontus Holmberg also found the back of the net, with an assist going to Tommy Miller, who had two in the game.
Erik Kallgren stopped 21 of the 24 shots he faced and at the end of the game had an 8-5-2 record with an .885 save percentage.
Those school day games are loud and likely helped give Toronto a push in the right direction. However, you couldn’t say the same about Friday’s game in Hershey.
The Marlies started off very slow only tallying 11 shots through the first two periods while the Bears put up double that. Hershey was able to find the back of the net three times in the second period, and honestly, it didn’t look like Toronto had it in them to come back.
But they pushed.
Marc Johnstone started the scoring, finding the back of the net for his …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Eyes on Knies, Grebyonkin’s great season, Tverberg on the board: Leafs Prospect Roundup

We are now less than a week away from the NHL trade deadline, and with the Leafs having already taken their big swing with the Ryan O’Reilly trade, the focus has shifted from whether or not top prospect Matthew Knies could be on the move to if and when he’s going to sign with Toronto.
Knies and the Gophers wrapped up their regular season schedule with a weekend set against #3 Ohio State. After a relatively quiet one-assist showing in Friday’s win, he was in the middle of everything on Saturday.
Things didn’t start off so great as Knies was assessed a five-minute major for checking to the head in the first period, and linemate Jimmy Snuggerud earned a five-minute major of his own. The infractions allowed Ohio State to get out to a two-goal lead early in the second, but Knies and his linemates made amends and then some.
After Sabres prospect Aaron Huglen brought the Gophers within one, Minnesota’s top trio got to work and quickly tied the game. Logan Cooley made a heads-up play in the neutral zone to spring Snuggerud for a clean entry down the right wing, and sensing an opportunity, Knies darted past his man to the far post, arriving at the per …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

away from less than trade Week

Raptors’ Pascal Siakam finally earns deserved All-Star berth in career year

It’s been a turbulent week for Toronto Raptors fans after the front office didn’t make any franchise-altering moves before Thursday’s trade deadline. Though all of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby were floated as potential chips in blockbuster deals, Masai Ujiri sat on his hands. The one silver lining is the general manager bolstered […]
Raptors’ Pascal Siakam finally earns deserved All-Star berth in career year – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Jerry Trotta / Raptors HQ

been It's Raptors Toronto turbulent Week

Leafs Rumours: Goaltenders, a Garland and Schenn “who says no?” and who is in on who

We are at the three week to the deadline mark and Kyle Dubas is still doing Kyle Dubas things like making sure that no one knows what he is up to. We’ve recently seen how that can work to a team’s advantage as Lou Lamoriello came out of nowhere to grab Bo Horvat without having to suffer through the media weighing in on what would be a fair package for him to give up for Horvat. Did he overpay on the trade, maybe? Did he overpay on the contract, probably? Still he got his guy and everyone on Long Island seems happier for it. The Canucks probably aren’t upset either if the Islanders land in that sweet spot of narrowly missing the playoffs and getting the best possible version of a first round pick in 2023 for Bo Horvat.
Since Kyle Dubas is silent, we’ve been left with two things we can do with this post and that’s dive into the Leafs/Canucks trade proposal from The Athletic and check in on who is connected to some of the trade targets that Leafs fans like talking about.
First, we’ll start with a small tidbit from Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts…
10. I don’t think Toronto trades for a goalie unless the Leafs are convinced it’s a better option than what they have in the NHL or even the AHL. The Maple Leafs have limite …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

deadline Dubas Kyle Mark Three Week

How much grit does the backline have?

Last week we examined how much grit the Maple Leafs had up front. A day later, Dryden Hunt was placed on waivers (went unclaimed and has since played games with the Marlies), while Pontus Holmberg and Joey Anderson were called up. Both of them made positive contributions to the forward group last week. With just over a month to go before the trade deadline, the musical chairs in the bottom 6 will continue.
As the Leafs d-core nears full health (Brodie returned from injury last game, and Victor Mete is back skating), let’s take a look at the grit (or perhaps lack thereof) the Leafs currently have compared with what they had in the playoffs last season. There are many familiar faces this season, and some have continued to develop at impressive rates.
Morgan Rielly, Mark Giordano, and TJ Brodie each played 7 games last spring against Tampa Bay, while Justin Holl played 5. Combined, the four defencemen averaged 2 hits per game. Barring any injuries or trades (Holl is the only one that could possibly move), the four veterans of the group are each firmly part of Sheldon Keefe’s top 6 and they’ll be in the lineup for game 1 of the playoffs. We shou …

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Author: Bennett Jull / The Leafs Nation

examined GRIT last Maple much Week

Ryan O’Reilly gets the top spot on the TLN Leafs Trade Target List

Last week we ran a number of posts with the TLN contributors weighing in on what they thought of the Leafs season so far. It was probably a good thing to ask before the Leafs dropped a couple to Detroit and Boston, but that’s not really the point. The point is that while we would pool our thoughts on the Leafs season, I also asked everyone to put forth a list of five names that were their top trade targets for the Leafs. The end result is this, the TLN Leafs Trade Target list. There was no priority put towards the first name on everyone’s list, this is just a count of the top 15 players list and a look at how much sense they make for the Leafs.
T-8: Sean Monahan
Sean Monahan is a pure rental option that checks a few boxes for the Leafs. He’s a capable top six player that is having a better than expected season on a poor team, and has shown that he can achieve even more when he’s given better players to work with. The fact that Monahan is a center means that the Leafs can either roll three lines with some offensive capa …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

contributors’ last number posts Week with

Woll breaks record, Abruzzese clicking, Johnstone’s first, and Toronto’s All-Stars: Marlies Weekly

Another week, another stretch of games won by the Marlies in what has been a remarkable season to date.
Toronto had four games scheduled throughout the last week, though they only played three. On Friday night, while the Marlies were facing the Manitoba Moose, a fan experienced a medical emergency at the end of the first period.
Both teams — and the AHL — agreed to suspend the game when it was 1-1 after the opening frame. The AHL said the game will be completed at a later date though they haven’t specified when that might be just yet.
The other three games that the Marlies played this week went very well. Matter of fact, Toronto won every one of them.
They defeated Laval 4-2 last Sunday, then beat the Manitoba Moose 3-2 on Wednesday, and after their game was suspended on Friday, the Marlies bussed to Rochester and won their game against the Amerks on Saturday, 7-5.
Joseph Woll played in all three wins this week and has since broke the Marlies record for most consecutive wins in a season. And after defeating Rochester on Saturday, the 24-year-old is now undefeated in 10-straight games this season while holding a .926 save percentage.
READ MORE: ‘He’s never out of the play’: Joseph Woll ties Marlies record and could break it w …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

another games Marlies’ stretch Week

Miller signing, suspensions and Leafs earn Team of the Week: Around the Atlantic

It was a controversial week in the Atlantic division. The Boston Bruins dominated the headlines with their signing of Mitchell Miller and two players were suspended. Also, for the first time this season the Leafs have earned the Team of the Week honour.
Miller signing
On Friday the Bruins signed Miller to an entry level contract. Two days later they have parted ways. Immediately after Miller was signed, the entire hockey world lost respect for Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, and the Bruins organization.
Either the Bruins management team is completely inept, or they didn’t care about Miller’s past. Neely claimed they thought Miller’s bullying of Isaiah Meyer-Crothers was an “isolated incident” and they changed their mind on signing him based off new information.
The story of Miller’s repeated physical and emotional abuse of Meyer-Crothers has been public since Miller was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020. There is no way the Bruins were unaware of the extent of Miller’s bullying.
Neely and the Bruins only chose to rescind their contract offer to Miller because of the public backlash. Had the blowback not been so extreme, Miller would be playing professional hockey in Providence right now.
This is another tough look for the NHL …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Atlantic Boston Bruins controversial division Week

Král gets the call, Tverberg tearing it up, Grebyonkin’s opportunity: Leafs Prospect Roundup

This past week was another rough one for the Leafs, and with Sheldon Keefe searching for anything that could help get his club going, we saw the NHL debut of another Leafs prospect.
Filip Král, drafted in the fifth round back in 2018, was recalled to the Leafs and made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. He skated on a pair alongside steadying veteran presence Mark Giordano, seeing just under 12 minutes of ice time and finishing with a +1 rating. He was back in the same spot on Sunday night against the Ducks but played just over eight minutes in another game that ended up slipping through the Leafs’ collective hands.
There were promising flashes from Král in the first two games of his NHL career. He showed an ability to quickly retrieve pucks below his own goal line and make the proper read in a timely fashion in order to start the breakout – something that the Leafs’ defenders have struggled with so far this season. But there were also a few instances where Král bobbled the puck or telegraphed passes that were easy to disrupt, leading to turnovers.
All in all, the young Czech blueliner held his own in his first tas …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

another Leafs’ past rough This Week

Rielly vs. Sandin on the right side, why Robertson will have to wait, and not shopping the waiver wire: Leaflets

It feels like it’s been a long ass week. I had to check to see when the last time I wrote a Leaflets post was because it seems like it’s been forever. It was apparently last week. Maybe the rest of you aren’t struggling with the passage of time as much as I am, but I’m sure this pointless article intro is giving you some of that experience. Anyway, here are some bite-sized thoughts on the Leafs heading into a week filled with cuts and Justin Holl trade rumours.
Rielly vs. Sandin on the right side
A lot was made during the contract process that Rasmus Sandin didn’t want any part of playing on his unfavoured side. Or maybe that is something we just started putting out there to justify the delays in negotiations.
A lot has also been made of Morgan Rielly’s willingness to play on the right side, and Sheldon Keefe’s quit reaction of pointing out that he’s giving Rielly his reps there but doesn’t have much interest in moving him off the left side.
In reality, both of these players have a good chance of seeing the majority of their season on the left side, because injuries happen and that’s why Victor Mete and Jordie Benn are here, to take the guess …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

been feels It's like long Week