What could Conor Timmins bring, and is he a good gamble?

What could Conor Timmins bring, and is he a good gamble?

Yesterday the Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes completed a one for one trade. The Leafs sent Curtis Douglas to the desert, and got back Conor Timmins.
Douglas has played 13 games this year with the Marlies, contributing 1 assist and racking up 30 penalty minutes. He is a well documented giant, standing at 6’9. His ceiling with the Leafs was a 4th line centre, and he probably never had the skating to get there. Douglas was very well liked in the dressing room, and was a consummate pro throughout his time with the Marlies. I wish him the very best.
Now, let’s get to Conor Timmins. First, we should examine why Kyle Dubas is taking a chance, and what makes this such a good gamble. Before Timmins played in the NHL or AHL, he was a member of the Soo Greyhounds (go figure). He joins a lengthy list of Leafs to have played in Sault Ste. Marie, and was even a d-partner of one Rasmus Sandin.
Timmins was the first pick of the 2nd round back in 2017, going 32nd overall to Colorado. He was also a member of the Canadian World Junior team in 2018 where he won Gold, and led the tournament in plus/minus. He has also …

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Author: Bennett Jull / The Leafs Nation

A Blue Jays fan’s guide to the rest of the playoffs – who’s still in the mix?

With the Yankees winning yesterday, the matchups for the ALCS and NLCS are set. Since Blue Jays faithful are forced to watch four teams not named Toronto fight it out, here are some names that might sway you toward an interest in a team winning the World Series.

Houston Astros
Aledmys Díaz – Diaz was traded to Toronto before the 2018 season from the St. Louis Cardinals. Toronto gave away JB Woodman, but it’s safe to say that the Blue Jays won this deal. Diaz turned out to be one of the better hitters in Toronto’s lineup in 2018, hitting 18 homers and 55 RBIs. More importantly, Diaz saw a lot of action at third base, mainly due to Josh Donaldson missing most of the season with injuries.
In November of 2018, Diaz was traded to the Astros for Trent Thornton. Diaz has been a very nice piece for Houston. Over four seasons with the Astros, Diaz has totaled 32 home runs and 129 RBIs while batting .255.
Although the 2018 season was forgetful for many Jays fans, Diaz’ contributions should be acknowledged by many, and it’d be worth cheering him on for the rest of the playoffs.
Yuli Gurriel – Despite having no affiliation to the Toronto Blue Jays, Gurriel is the older brother of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the current left fielder in Toronto. They have both made their mark by h …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

2022 TLN Prospect Rankings: The No Vote Club

The 2022 TLN prospect rankings officially began yesterday, as Jon Steitzer opened the festivities by looking at the players who graduated from last summer’s rankings. We aren’t at the top 20 just quite yet, though, as first, we need to take a brief look at each of the players who did not receive a single top 20 vote this year.
First, a reminder of the criteria to be eligible for this year’s rankings. To be considered a prospect in the TLN rankings, the player must be under the age of 24 and has to have played 41 or fewer games (no more than the equivalent of half a regular season.) It should also be clear the player has to be on the Maple Leafs reserve list. No players that are on AHL or ECHL deals are included in the rankings. We’ve also excluded goaltenders from the rankings. Both prospects on AHL/ECHL contracts as well as the goaltenders in the pipeline will be discussed throughout the next month, just not as part of the actual rankings themselves.
John Fusco
RD | 5’11 | 181 lbs | Shoots: R | Harvard (ECAC) | Acquired: 2020 7th Round, 189th Overall
Despite being 21 years old and entering his DY+4 season in 2022-23, John Fusco has played a minimal amount of hockey at a high level.
When he was drafted as an overage prospect in 2020, Fusco was still playing in the United States High School Prep system with Dexte …

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Author: Kyle Cushman / The Leafs Nation

Getting Matthew Knies after the NCAA season might be the biggest splash the Leafs can make this year

Yesterday Nick Barden wrote about how Matthew Knies enjoys the pressure that comes with being a top prospect in the Leafs organization. That’s probably a good thing because whether he likes it or not, there seems to be a need for him to hit the ground running as soon as the NCAA Frozen Four tournament wraps up.
We’ll have a lot more on Knies this summer as the World Juniors start, and as TLN embarks on our prospect rankings, but given that Knies isn’t likely a name to come up at the backend of the countdown, we’ll address that need for him to be the big body second line left winger the Leafs haven’t been able to find elsewhere.
By his NCAA numbers, we’ve been given a lot of reasons to be excited:

Knies is very much already at the top of the NCAA game and is going back to school largely because he wishes to have another go at the Frozen Four and not necessarily because the Leafs think he needs to be there. That’s somewhat admirable on his part, and one that could set the Leafs up for a nice little late season push.
That doesn’t change that asking a rookie to fix an area of need in the top six isn’t a complete gamble, but that’s one largely of the Leafs own making.
Quite simply, the Leafs don’t have the money now for an impact player. Sure, trades exist, but that is dependent on a GM looking for them, and often players are willing to waive their no trade clauses to make it happen. Options are limited.
Over the course of a season injuries will happen, and the Leafs may have the opportunity to use that LTIR relief in order to explore roster upgrades. This is also a bit of a flawed premise as it is likely wherever the injury has occurred, that’s where their need is going to be, not to mention the distasteful premise of hoping the right player gets injured for the right amount of time in order to have wiggle room at the trade deadline.
Nope, we’re back to putting a lot of eggs in Matthew Knies’ basket, and the unfair pressure that comes with that.
Still, a player that made the (non-NHL) Olympic team before he finished his first year of college likely has a lot to offer. And if we didn’t get a chance to see much of what that is in development camp, we’ll get to see it s …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

6 notable games to watch during the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2022-23 season and some schedule details

Just yesterday we got the notification that the Toronto Maple Leafs had released their 2022-23 pre-season schedule, and just like every fan, we looked at who Toronto would be playing and when they would be playing those games. Well, not even 24 hours later and we get to see the entire 2022-23 regular season schedule for this upcoming season.
With that being said, let’s take a look at six notable games you should watch during the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2022-23 season as well as some details in the schedule too.
 
Before we take a look at some notable games to watch this upcoming season, let’s go over some important details in Toronto’s schedule, like longest homestand, longest road trip, how many back-to-backs, etc.
 
California trip: October 27-30 – (SJ, LA, ANA)
Western Canadian trip: March 1-4 – (EDM, CGY, VAN)
Longest homestand: 5 games – (Jan. 23-Feb. 1, NYI, NYR, OTT, WSH, BOS)
Longest road trip: 5 games three times – (Oct. 22-30, WPG, VGK, SJ, LA, ANA), (Feb. 26-Mar. 7, SEA, EDM, CGY, VAN, NJ), (Mar. 18-26, OTT, NYI, FLA, CAR, NSH)
Busiest month: November – 15 games
Least busy month: April – 8 games
Back-to-backs: 14 – 2 in October, 3 in November, 2 in January, 2 in February, 3 in March, 2 in April
Longest break in between games: 8 days – February 2 …

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Author: Joseph Zita / The Leafs Nation