Hakanpää Signs

[Music] you're watching Leaf's morning tap with host Nick albera and former NHL Jay Rose Hill the show starts now all right what's good everybody it is Thursday September 12th as we inch closer and closer to puck drop October 9th just around the corner in Rosie training camp I believe getting underway next Wednesday man that it is coming up quick and hot man I don't know we've been doing the countdown for a while and it is uh clicking away quickly so I'm pumped obviously it's funny I was looking back at our summer programming and like every bi I was like T minus 60 days T minus 50 days and I can uh tell you 27 days away from the season opener Montreal so in fact it is getting closer but there's a couple staples that uh you know tell my brain at least that The Season's just around the corner among them is like the player mediator Austin Matthews out there we saw McDavid we saw dry settle I think it's a cool little initiative that the NHL puts together every year they do one in Europe I think uh just at the beginning of September and they do one in Vegas and it's essentially a time for like all the top broadcasters to put commercials together and uh for the media to to ask some questions some of these guys yeah it kind of kicks off the season I don't know when you get all those big dogs together you're not going to get I I don't really pay attention to it personally it's cool they do it but uh I just don't think you're going to get you know any hot takes or any wicked sound bites out of them but uh it just it's just a reminder to me that the season's coming and they're promoting it and they're getting everybody out there with their big boys and uh again a reminder that uh we are close I beg to differ on that front because uh daily faceoffs Matt Lin had a chance to speak to Nathan McKinnon so naturally what would you ask Nathan McKinnon about uh Mitch Marner the guy he skated with in Vil we talked about this story a couple days back where marner's looking fantastic so determined he's having the summer of his life entering a contract year so uh Matt interviews or talks to Nathan McKinnon asks him about Mitch Marner and this is the response it's a hard league to win in and obviously I think Marner gets a lot of flak in Toronto but he's obviously one of the best players in the league I play with some of the best players in the league and then I skate with Marner and he's right up there with anyone especially at that Veil Colorado Camp there's a lot of good players and he's stuck out as one of the best for sure I can't get over this Camp man like it's an All-Star Game whoopy dooo man like what it's a bloody okay Mitch Marner here's a fresh sheet and nobody around you and you can absolutely dipy doodle and dick around with waist high sauce across the ey it's tailor made for him of course he looks good in there we're talking about playoff hockey mucking and grinding and battling through stuff to to win a Stanley Cup that's where he comes up short no one's surprised that he looks good and a dick around in Veil Colorado with a bunch of other stars like I'm not impressed I don't care what do you expect McKinnon to say about the guy he's highly skilled I'd go to those dick around things in the summertime with a fresh sheet and no one around you and I look like I can do stuff but it doesn't matter yeah I suppose like if you're McKinnon what are you going to say um I don't think I read that quote and said oh my goodness what is Nathan McKinnon saying but obviously he's giving respect to the player I just think every player has a summer of their lives where they look determined and they you know they look motivated like if you're not then you're playing the wrong sport probably well what do you think did you think he was going to go out there and look like [ __ ] oh he's tripping over his own feet out there man the Puck's like an anvil to the guy oh my God a you think that's gonna happen no do you think McKinnon's gonna say anything other than what he did say no so like it's just it's Absol like that's the kind of stuff that I just scroll by by so fast because it's just driil man I I just oh my god did you guys hear sound the alarms we got to get Mitchie signed up he's really good in veil in the summertime like what are you talking about of course he is everyone looks good [ __ ] around out there they're the best players in the world we're we're not talking about if he's got skill or can make himself look good in a summer skate like we're we know that everyone knows that we're we're not talking about that we're talking way deeper down the layers of do you want to give this guy $14 million a year for eight years and commit to him or is he got what it takes to get this specific organization to where they need to go in the playoffs like we've said that a million times like like as if everyone's mind is Gonna Change on Mitch Marner because he looked good in a summer skate like of course he did weirdly enough like from this Infamous Veil skate or skates there has been no video I want video to support that thesis lock down tight well I don't even know what that thing is like is it is it is it put on by someone or does do they just have a bunch of ice and the guys are all there [ __ ] around having fun saying hey we might as well skate while we're here you know it I mean a bunch of guys skate all the time there seems to be a crew that's put together in Veil and led by Crosby and McKinnon and others and I guess Mitch Marner got in the group chat somehow and is like I'm skating with you guys this year but I'm not even kidding I much prefer a video of like Mitch Marner finishing a check than Mitch Marner setting up McKinnon for a beautiful goal that's where I stand I know dude I don't know these little Sound Bites come out defending Mitch and it's just like stating the obvious he's a highly talented player and people are supposed to be surprised or that's supposed to be shaking news that he looked good in the summer skates I just I think it's silly fair enough um so you posted something on social media I think that warrants attention uh what on Wednesday night and I thought it was pretty genius you always hear like tales about this but you helped your kid pull his tooth take us through the explanation here well he's 11 he hasn't had a tooth follow in like forever and he was he was a little kid we like tied the string to a golf ball and downstairs into the off a mat I hit one and he had out of the blue we were out on uh out in a boat and he's like look at my tooth and it's just hanging there I'm like are you kidding me I'm like let's get that out and he's like we should like tie it to a car or something and I was like what I was like okay and then he's like oh just get your bike and I was like okay and then so Mom just grabbed the video thing we yanked it out right there his his uh his reaction was pretty genuine it was hilarious but uh having fun with the kids while they're still young and at home man it's going too fast you know how I know he's your kid and he's a Rose Hill absolutely Fearless I I think nine out of 10 kids would be like holy [ __ ] what's about to happen your kid just stood there like so proud I know he had a little bit of hesitation but he never second guest or told me to wait wait wait or anything my youngest is a little bit more of his mom like a little bit timid I don't know about this he'll second guess it but uh no he uh he had it like a champ like I said his reaction was pretty genuine it was funny what are the chances that I know the games changed a lot what are the chances that at some point in their hockey careers one of your kids drops the MS oh God I don't know man first of all you're gonna get have to get up to like the junior level I don't know it's wild to think about I can't even imagine it I don't know I don't think I would enjoy watching it by any stretch it would be more stressful for me than getting into it myself but I don't even know if that'll be a thing I guess he's 11 you know five years and if he's you know in that I guess it could happen man I've never really thought about it but I wouldn't be thrilled to watch it over and over again you as a parent you'd be kind of like don't don't lose don't get hurt don't get humiliated but uh I don't know stranger things have happened and lots of parents have had to be in that boat so I guess it's something to think about but I don't I don't Envision him being an enforcer or anything like that at what age do you start to teach them you know some some ideology some strategies on how to drop the glove safely because I think that's a big story this summer and you've talked about this on um uh your show about Matt Ry how he's got to evolve like that was a big story last year with Ry he was sort of Reckless the way he fought yeah I I've always thought it so weird that that hockey players when they you know say you are a guy that's gonna have to drop the gloves x amount of times per year and you kind of know that um it's just like I had zero training zero Z zero training I never boxing gloves MMA didn't do anything like that you think an MMA fighter is going to go into the octagon with just completely winging it it's very odd that hockey players are that way but um I think that's evolved a little bit some guys are doing some different training things and stuff I'm just saying I never really did but I've had kids come up to me a lot where they're at that you know 15 16 17 year old age and they're like hey I'm going to a dub Camp right now um if I happen to get mixed up with something like what do I do and at that point time I just I just kind of show them you know you know the your automatic response is going to be to duck your head and you're going to get fed if you do that so that's number one keep your head up tuck your chin probably gonna have a visor on so you're completely protected everything's goingon to be bouncing off of you do that and just the best defense is a good offense just throw and throw and throw and get that guy on his heels and it's all going to be over in about 15 seconds so um that's usually my advice but I think around that age when they're going to Junior camps and they realize that A lot's on the line I might make this team I might not some guy might be in the same boat might you know come and you know come up to me and say hey this is what's happening and you need to learn to at least know how to handle yourself it's interesting to me man like even in like 10 to 15 years how will we view fighting in hockey like we sort of feel like it's coming back I just wonder how we're going to look upon it in like 10 to 15 years is it going to be front and center again because everything comes back full circle and we're starting to see it a bit here yeah we've talked about that on Department a discipline like it was Gonzo Gonzo for a while there and it was in my mind media driven driven by the NFL's lawsuit the payout they played to their players it was lawyer and attorney driven and they had to say holy smokes we got a pull back on the Reigns here and they did and it they eliminated the enforcer and the tough guy and you know a decade goes on and all a sudden well this guy can play and he's got a little bit of ruggedness and all of a sudden you do get in a scrap the rules haven't changed you get a five minute for it but um then all of a sudden that Guy starts like it creeps back in the the the original reason why it even happens as hockey is it can be effective it can turn the momentum it can you know get a team back on on their feet and and it can also intimidate and make other teams play timid and not want to be there and shut it down for the night so then you know a guy like rampe and these delore and all these different guys mcder are all coming in here Jacky and Revo still there and all these different storylines and all of a sudden teams are like well I don't like the fact that that guy just ran us out of the barn I like the guy that guy the fact that that guy just called on our whole bench and intimidated everyone everyone looked like a [ __ ] I I don't like that feeling I don't like it at all in this hockey game and maybe we'll get a guy who can kind of handle himself and then all of a sudden there's this I mean McDermot goes to New Jersey for kind of an answer to rempe and then so the Metro is looking really so it's it's interesting and it's never going to be the year 2000 again where it's just mutants on skates but uh I think that the the cream just Rises where the game is what it is and people are going to realize that it's okay to have a guy like that it's actually beneficial and it you've noticed a little bit of an uptick lately it's such a ripple effect and uh for many reasons I'm looking forward to the season opener in Montreal on October 9th among them is the projected fight I would say very likely it's the first game of the season between Ryan Reeves and and and Arbor Jacky uh like that is the main event I think when you look at the show right now is like two premier Fighters going at it an opening night I'm looking forward to that we'll see I never like to say oh that's happening that night but I mean with with it being the Rivalry that it is and the opening night and the tradition that they play each other on opening night and having those two guys where they went last year on opening night and it didn't really go the way I think everyone wanted it to yet they didn't go again all season long so you there's there's reason to believe that if the Dynamics were right during the game that that could be a possibility for sure looking forward to it um pardon me kind of exciting I mean no one's sitting there going God I hope that doesn't happen that would be terrible like sorry but there's not a soul in the world except some dork sitting in the basement who would ever say that everyone's like man I hope that happens that would be incredible the first game always sets the table for me because you want to impress people from the least perspective you want to impress the new crash and banging head coach Craig barui and I think everybody's going to be trying to make a difference there and Montreal is trying to get their footing um trying to signify the end of the rebuild I think it would make a lot of sense but October 9th for me can't come soon enough at the Leafs Nation 401 here on YouTube hit that subscribe button hit that like button pretty please uh least morning take wherever you find your podcast make sure to leave us a festar review and don't forget to visit the leaf nation.com the opening segment is brought to you by Greta bar YYZ for a good time find Greta 590 King Street West in fact I might head down to Greta tonight for the Thursday night are they it's it's the Bills and Dolphins right yeah that's starting to happen man I just every time the NFL comes up I kind of shudder because I picked mcaffrey with my first pick and he got uh he's not playing the first two weeks so I'm basically going 0 and2 but uh no I was looking at the NFL um viewership numbers too and it's just absolutely incredible how dominant they are like not just in sports but for TV ratings on earth like it's just massive and I mean the average NFL team in 2010 was like 1.6 billion now it's like 6 billion it's just unbelievable how much cash is in there and I'd like to see some of that trickle down to the nas league if possible man did you see this Shannon sharp [ __ ] tough to say no idea what you're talking about you didn't see this in the last like 12 hours no unless I was duped on social media let let me make sure and clarify this but I saw something when I woke up and I'm like holy crap this is insane let me just confirm it so I don't speak out of hand here producer VI said it's it's real it's legit so yeah what happened Shannon sharp accidentally went live on Instagram oh I did see that was with a woman and they were going to town how do you do that man I don't get that like I've never is it on Twitter or Instagram Instagram live like you have to be live like there's different settings you have to press and he's claiming that he was hacked it's like yeah right bud is it easy to go to your live mode by accident no you have to press a couple different things like I I just I don't understand his version of the story oh every time someone screws up in an embarrassing way they say they got hacked it's the St then you don't have to answer any more questions dumb but yeah I uh I did see that it was a picture of him and I saw the video and I was like oh dear but uh at the end of the day two adults consenting and something accidentally I mean who cares I don't I don't think I'd uh like if he gets fired or something I think that would be ridiculous but it's also a pretty stupid thing to do yeah we'll have producer Vic fact check this I'm always careful now with Twitter there's so many fake accounts out there but I read something that he got fired but maybe it was just a fake account so we'll get some clarification um on that now we're TMZ Leafs morning uh latest hot no I just meant to bring it up because I saw you talking about the NFL and I'm like man like like what are we doing here how does that even happen I don't know wild things like that happen I always think it's a setup for like clicks and to get into the spotlight but uh I just don't understand how you accidentally leave your phone recording live on Instagram at that exact moment while you're going to town with somebody it's kind of I don't know I don't buy it yeah he was going to continent it wasn't even Town my friend there was some weird there's some weird Grunts and Barks going on I knew I knew you would know exactly what I was talking about anyways the big news of the podcast today dude it's been 73 days I did the math yeah since we first started talking about Yanni Hawk andpa finally made official yesterday a one-year deal 1.47 million um original deal was two years at 3 million uh so let's break down the signing what we think the player first and foremost can bring to the roster assuming Health we know there's a lingering knee issue here yeah I mean I think he's like Luke Shen 2.0 he's you know he's massive he's like 66 220 he's got a little bit of a mean Edge to him he hits a lot plus he is a A consumate plus player he doesn't get scored and all that often compared to what he you know what he provides he's a big time penalty killer likes to block shots and if he ever were to scrap I mean Yan Haka is not a fighter but I'm just saying I've seen him fight and he throws left hands and completely surprises the hell of of guys plus he's a huge bear out there so I mean I'm just rattling off outrageous pluses so what is that guy gonna cost well I don't know four or five million one point screw all like it's unbelievable and that's like I'm running out of fingers on my hand on the pros and then on the cons he might have a bad knee I believe it is right but he was out for the stars in March of last year in 2024 with all the money and resources in the world I just don't see how a guy's knee could be so bunged up that it's not you know reconstructed and fixed and healed and rehabbed and physio by this point in time so I just think the potential for this to be a massively good signing and beneficial to the back end of of the Leafs is huge and if his knee falls apart on day one of Camp well then welcome to LT like they've done so many times it's really not a huge risk I don't think in my mind with with the potential upside to be massive yeah I agree the pros outweigh the cons uh I think he's going to be beneficial for the penalty kill too but he checks a lot of boxes like how how much we've done this show for what two years how much have we talked about having that established right-handed shooting defenseman um I like the comparison by the way to Luke Shen like I don't think you can play that up into the lineup but I think in a 56 type look maybe a 4 five um a Hawkin pot just makes a lot of sense I like the fact that it's a one-year deal like I think the there there's limited risk with it being a one-year contract as opposed to two we just saw with John kingberg he played what 16 games and off to robita Island you go so like if something doesn't go according to plan or his knee doesn't hold up I think you just write your wrongs and and move on like it just made made too much sense for the leaf not to make this transaction 100% like for people who are like oh this is just John kingberg all over again well I I just I like it on paper him and his the way he plays Craig Brew style the way that backend um you know Ben W and and McCabe getting you know complimented by this big body all of a sudden we a rugged back end where that hasn't been the case and I don't know if benois or lilligren if this bumps one of them out um I think a lot of people it's tough we'll see how Camp goes see how preseason goes but I mean there's just more bullets in the chamber now and you know we've been dying for a right-handed defenseman I know like no nothing's perfect it's not like this Golden Goose just gets handed to you there's a chance that his knee's not perfect right there's obviously some cloudiness around there hence the however many days it was for them when they announced that he was being signed to when it actually got put down on paper there was some gray area but you got to think that since March all the doctors in the world could fix this guy's knee this isn't 1960 Bobby or where you tear your MCL and that could be the end of your career so I I I got to assume this kid's healthy and we just rattled off like seven huge positives that could really help this team in this back end out and I mean it wasn't very long ago you look at the back end you're just like well I hope Morgan Riley blocks every shot scores every goal does every breakout turns everything to the the outside has a plus4 blah blah blah blah and it's like and now Morgan Riley is just like a little blip on this back end where hey Riley like you don't have the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore go cook with with I I want to say no pressure but it's like you don't have to carry the weight of this team you have all these other pieces surrounding you that I mean nobody knows but it could go really really well and everyone can look and say have you seen the Leaf's back end lately and I I I just am excited for that potential at least tell you what there's got to be some dudes sweating on that blue line Timothy lilligren uh Conor Timmons I think has played his last game as a Toronto Maple Leaf I just think he is destined a for a trade or B for waivers once the season gets underway I just don't see a scenario barring injury here in training camp where Conor Timmons cracks this roster and the other Fascination for me is like a Simone benoa like I know he had a breakthrough season last year but how does he replicate things this time round I think he's going to be in the mix for playing time with the like ail grid and hacken paaw here yeah we we'll see where it goes I I just don't think the Leafs are done making noise it seems like something's cooking um the Nick Robertson signing and and then the patch already being on a PTO right now but everyone including the agent is like but he's gonna sign here shortly like what's with that there's there's something in the works in my mind and and some bodies and some money are going to get moved out it doesn't have to be an earth shattering thing um they're over the cap by you know not a staggering amount by any stretch but a you you know one little deal here that includes maybe a Robertson or timmens and a little bit of this a little bit of that and all of a sudden now it all comes to fruition and you say Ah that's what they were doing and this what this is what it looks like but yeah with hawen paaw being healthy and being on the back end and being what and who he is I think there's going to be some battle but I don't know like lilligren is you know he's their pick he's a high pick for the Leafs um he's got upside he's not that old or anything but sometimes he just kind of has these these kind of these kind of brain farts where Ben W to me is just really quietly solid and I've said it before but a defenseman a stay-at-home tough rugged you know physical defenseman if you don't really notice him out there that much that means he probably had a pretty good game he's one of those guys that doesn't need to shoot fireworks off and get the second star of the game um and he did that in Spades last year and he just he quietly and like with a nice little confident look on his face just knew his job knew the assignment banged and C jumped in there to help his teammates when he need to blocked the shot made the hit kept it to the outside quietly just didn't cause any Kur fuffle in his own end um I would love to see him stay with mccab in there and have hawen paaw maybe right up ahead of him it's just it's hard to say but there's options now is what I'm excited about yeah there's a lot of moving parts and with respect to lilligren I have sort of the same feel I did when they traded Rasmus sandine I I think we've seen enough from Timothy lilligren in his career to know what this guy is like I mean if you look look at Rasmus sandine what he's done in Washington it's been the pretty much the same thing he's been inconsistent has been unable to find his footing and and put himself uh you know ahead of others in the depth chart and I I think with lilligren uh maybe he's just in need of a fresh change of scenery and I think from the May police perspective maybe he's the guy that that just leaves but I'd feel comfortable with it I I think you it's easier to find guys like lilligren in this league and for me he's just way too soft I need a guy who's a bit tougher stronger and just hard to play against and I I lean that way too and when we're talk when you look at like really good teams and teams that have success in the playoffs and teams like like Florida that are just consant like just built well you looked at the Leafs and they've always been like oh like what are they gonna do just like have Marner and Matthews and nander just like score six seven goals and win six5 every night their back was abysmal they don't have any support who knows what direction they're going what their identity is with these coaches and it's just kind of all up in the air and everyone's got all kinds of reasons to pick them apart and now I look at it and it's like you've got high-end talent and Firepower up there you've got some depth behind which might be you know still a bit of a question mark and then you got a back end that's just big and mean and deadly that complement those big boys and all of a sudden you're looking at it and goes this might be a team that can do some damage they seem like they're and then and then behind that a coach that has a clear identity who does not waver who is very clear on his on his purpose and and delivers that to the team so that there's no messing around everyone's on the same page this is what we're doing and it could all come together very well and I think that I'm as excited about this season as I have been in a long time again I'm not going to get my pom poms out and start raw rawing too hard in the regular season because they're always pretty good in the regular season but I have reason to believe that this could be a more of a well-rounded team that could do things in the playoffs than they have in the past Dave Wright said hawen paaw and oel could make a nice pairing that's the other thing to think about um you know if you head on over to dailyfaceoff.com they do a great job there um the breakdown of the lines right now would have a pairing we think at least on paper always careful thank you for to producer Vic for putting that up oel with lilligren so I ask you oel with lilligren or oel with hawen paaw I know which side I'm picking yeah I like hawen paaw man huge plus player pretty smart pretty reliable um he'll hit he's intimidating he's got a big reach he's good in his own end he can kill penalties he'll block shots he's got a little tough streak to him um like aside from him literally being on the Shelf I think we're thrilled to have him in the lineup and again this isn't like I could see people getting upset if if he was $4 million and everyone's like how could you put that many eggs in a basket with a big question mark he cost a million something bucks like less than 1.5 it's it's it's a no-brainer man I'm I'm I'm pumped about it and and I would add to like rather whether it was intentional or not the fact that this drama or saga or whatever you want to call it played out over like the span of two and a half months actually worked in Toronto's benefit right because if they uh you know were conclusive and solidified the addition on July one then suddenly you don't have that money to play with now it's a one-year contract not a two-year contract it allowed them uh to sign Nick Robertson it allowed them to be patient with the hawk andpa process and it allowed them to get Patcher ready um in the full like we we think he's going to sign a contract but it gave them an ability to do way more and do business elsewhere I don't know if it was intentional but it worked out in their favor I'll say that yeah I think so and I think that when like I mentioned how there's more there's more to come they're going to put a bow on this and they're gonna kind of Tidy it up and and tie the knot on it right before camp or season or whatever and it's it's going to it's going to make sense to people who are kind of trying to figure out what's going on and I don't know exactly what that is I have my idea but um I I do think that when when that bow is tied on this that people are going to look and say wow that was pretty that was pretty slick you know tree Liv like tree living sometimes he takes heat I see like bad bad takes that he's like the biggest bus GM and it's like what are you talking about I think that everything he has done so far and I think that the next little step in all of this will show that hey he's he's thinking ahead he's got multiple things going he's got his a handle on the business and and he's making moves that lead to positive outcomes for the Leafs I think that you're going to see here in the next week or two that he knows what he's doing and he's got a vision and he's putting things in place and he's not dumb he's quite smart and I think he's going to put a lot of things together and opening night I think there's going to be reason to be pretty excited about this team I'm curious to see what's next uh so max petti he gets a PTO PTO in quotations um from what I'm told it's it's your it's an conventional PTO but he's expected to sign a contract you talked about Alan Walsh's agent pretty much saying he's going to be a leaf this season 35 years old he'll be 36 on November 20th last year 47 games played four goals 19 assists 23 points so it begs the question for me because I know we really got into the uh the minutia of everything the other day where do you expect like what's a good spot in the lineup in your opinion at least to Star for Patti um like third line left wing maybe does that make sense to you for me I think if you're bringing in a pachetti somebody with that track record I think you almost have to start him in the top six and if it doesn't work out then you're not going to go ahead with the contract I don't think they're signing Max Patch to be a bottom six player I I would not be shocked if he starts game one of camp and he's with Austin Matthews and Mitch Marner like I I foresee Patti on the wing with either Tavarez or or or Matthews and maybe again the wrinkle I don't know if you saw this report today but here we go again training camp just around the corner there's reports that Willie neander might play center this season so maybe it would make sense if you're not numbering your lines if if petti lines up with John tarz and it's on a third line well that's the thing I don't think that like if he's on the third line with certain guys it's like oh he's a bottom six player now he's got to muck and grind and dump and Chase and like I don't think that's necessarily the thing but you do look at that and you look at Bobby McMahon and pontis Holberg like pretty lean on that left side where's the depth and stuff and now all of a sudden um I think on opening night it's going to look completely different it's going to look thicker and heavier and deeper and more talent and I mean we'll just see what he looks like like Max petti is a very I know he's getting a little bit older but his talent level and skill he's like a premier scorer and playmaker and then ran into some injury problems and and Achilles Like if that I know that he rushed it or something wasn't healed properly and he redid it I mean to do your Achilles in the first place like I've always heard like you're toast for for 12 months and then to do it again it's like oh my God like no wonder he's like marked as this Band-Aid who's not who's totally done blah blah I mean it's a terrible injury but if that thing's healed and fixed but it's just got to be by now and it's I don't know how much in a killes is a factor when it's in a skate because I'm pretty sure he heard it off ice like if if that's not an issue then I think the Leafs are going to look like Geniuses bringing this guy in because he's only going to benefit them and if it's in if it's in the Top Line like playing with Matthews and Marner neand or whatever or if it's down a little bit more in a in just you know whatever four or five more limited minutes I think he can be super effective Assuming he's going to stay healthy and I mean the knock on the Leafs right now for anyone that wants to you know be a naysayer about them is you're just going to say oh well watch us blow up in their face all these injuries come to fruition and if that happens let's say wool goes down Patti goes down hawen paaw goes down it's just like yeah that's going to be a disaster but you got to have reason to believe that's not going to happen I don't think the powers that be would be signing these guys up unless they thought no I think these guys are 100% ready to rock and we have faith that they'll be healthy yeah it's another lowrisk hward type play u i mean I I think to the point of the question I think there's a lot of moving Parts like you you filter in Max DOI of the conversation is he going to play up the middle is he going to play the wing um you know what do you do with William neander is he going to play the wing is he playing up the middle that's why I'm so curious day one to Camp with the initial configurations look like but for me at least and I know the player is mid-30s and going to be 36 in November I still know what Max patet when healthy can bring to the table and I think he would flourish maybe you know obviously playing with the best center he's ever play with and Austin Matthews like at the very least I can tell you right now I think they'll give that Trio a look petti Matthews Mitch Marner yeah I think so and I don't think there's any reason why anyone especially sitting on the internet you know us or people at home to say well these are what the lines have to be like we don't know how guys are going to look that's what camp is for that's what preseason is for that's what October's for is figuring out like whose Vision sets up with other with the other guy who likes to go to the spots that compliment where this other guy likes to go you know you got two guys that like to go to that same spot and they're looking at each other going well Who the hell's going to go get that thing like then all of a sudden the coach is like he these guys are having trouble getting on the same page like that's just chemistry that's just playing with guys and we don't know who's going to look good together but they're gonna play them all together and I me I don't think to the level of Sheldon Keefe where it's a week before puck drop of the Stanley Cup playoffs and you're just mashing the blender button again throwing guys together I think you know Craig Brew will give everyone a try and a look and try to see where the dust settles and who looks good together and talk to the guys as well and be a good communicator on what's looking good what do you see what do you feel it's breakdown video did you like this play that play what were you thinking here there get the guys together and and when the dust settles it it looks like this and we don't know what that's going to be because that hasn't happened yet so I don't really like to say well this guy should play with him but I think that there's eenth more possibilities than there was you know at the end of last season or you know in the middle of the summer or after you know the first couple days of of free agent frenzy I think now it's starting to look like hey this could this could potentially be something and everyone's going to start off healthy so we've got that going for us and no one that we've got so far has broken the bank or blown up the cap or anything like that so I think all the additions make sense and are positive and have reason to to give a lot of Hope to Leaf's Nation yeah that's the big thing too that you mentioned there that I gathered was chemistry right like just because it looks like something might work on paper doesn't mean it's actually going to come to fruition on the ace I think it's important to stress that uh speaking of which uh rookie Camp underway uh the map Leafs um John guden of course the AHL coach will Coach the team this weekend coming up at the Bell Center they'll play two games against Montreal's rookies who are really really strong but the key prospects we know them by now Easton Cowen Fraser Minon uh Nikita gonin who is a 2022 fifth rounder a lot of promise there Ben Danford we had on the show last month or a couple months back Noah Chadwick um I'm curious obviously with with Cowan um how he follows up his dynamic seon um and and takes that energy in training camp next week yeah me too and that's kind of the main guy I'd be looking at in that those rookie camps are they're fun they're interesting they're like a step above you know playing Junior and that kind of thing for the most part but it's kind of like a prep like a prep tryy out thing for for training camp yeah and I'm just interest like normally I don't care about those it's like whatever a bunch of prospects are playing before Camp it's not earth shattering news and nothing really crazy happens but I'd be very interested to watch cow and say is this like if this guy just comes out hot and is just better than everybody else on the ice and just has that confidence and Swagger and is kind of like running guys and McKing and burying it and setting guys up and being a leader and talking on the bench a lot and chirping off to their guys like I would be like my God this kid's ready to rock and it would just be another reason for me to think this kid might be ready to make this thing out of training camp um but that's about all those things are really good for in my mind I don't get too excited about it I remember going to them all the time it was it was fun it was interesting nice to get your feet under you get a little pressure under you get some Spotlight on you before Camp um but yeah my my my eyes are on East and Cowen at that point in time yeah they're stacking that [ __ ] too Cowan mint and gbonkan is going to be a line and I believe Danford and Chadwick are skating together too so as mentioned Montreal's rookie crop is really really impressive too so I like the fact that these youngsters are going to be put up against a really good roster in Montreal too yeah I I've always kind of thought that uh Montreal their rebuild or whatever has got some some talent coming down the barrel so to get these guys together on another point and you know maybe you know some rivalries get introduced maybe some guys have some bad blood from the past maybe some gets made in a camp like this but looking down the road quite a while if these guys all get into their respective jerseys um to have that rivalry continue and and the Bad Blood and the stuff that we love so much playing against the Montreal Canadians is uh is exciting and hopefully that that does happen and these guys have a little bit of a history and backstory and don't like each other and they bring it right to the NHL from the GetGo of their careers you talk about Montreal that's where the season opener will be on October 9th uh Angela thank you so much for the Super Chat and she asked this who do you think is going to be the starting goalie for the opener in Montreal October 9th oh Joseph wall 100% 100% I think that the keys to that position are his um I think they'll use stoy um not sparingly but smartly but I think it'll be pretty clear that Joseph wo is potentially the future of the crease of the Toronto Maple Leafs and stoy is going to be a good supporting figure a reliever um a guy that can switch hit with them and and you know literally support him in you know the mental side of things practice doing goalie drills watching videos and and when needed to step in to relieve him um can do a good job and hopefully you know Joseph wall stays healthy and stroy doesn't have to ever sit in that number one spot um that's the goal I believe and I think that they'll they'll show that with him being in the crease opening night I'd be I have no reason to believe that it would be anything but Joseph wall yeah no need to overthink it of course they got the backto back they're in New Jersey to take on Sheldon Keefe on the Thursday night after the Wednesday open and maybe the thinking could be I'm just putting it out there that you're playing an inferior opponent in Montreal you go with stolar in the opener and you go with your better goal tender in the game a huge game a Revenge game in Jersey against Sheldon Keefe on the Thursday but I'm right there with you I go with Joseph wall uh I want to anoint my guy I want to solidify things I want both guys to know hey this is our guy game one of the playoffs right now it is Joseph wall but I I I think there's going to be a battle like I we've talked about this a lot we had Anthony stolar on the podcast I think he's better than people are giving him credit for and I want to see him push I really want to see him push Joseph W this season yeah I want to see him push them in a way that they're doing it together not like we're competitors and we're we're competition I mean there's enough pressure there's enough like if you're a if one of those guys needs the other one to play good to go oh my God I better try harder like what are we talking about here this is the Toronto Maple Leafs crease of the NHL no one needs to be pushed harder oh my gosh I oh I better I better show up tonight like there's enough pressure on these guys' plates they know what's at stake they don't need you know someone always nipping at their heels trying to steal their job there's enough distraction and and pressure and outside effect for these goal tenders I want to see them stand there like they always go out early with the with the with the goal tenders and they have the thing to themselves and and they talk amongst themselves and talk about angles and where they're pushing from and what do you think about this and how do you do that and they they I want them to be a team and a tandem and I want to be Joseph walls the starter he has the sky being the limit for him where he could turn into anything like anything's potential he I think he has the ability to be a premier goal tender in the NHL and then sto is his you know sidekick very capable you know second Stringer and they're always out there together you know sharing the burden of being a goalie on the trono maple Le that's what I want to see I don't need stoy to look at as the enemy and try to take his job all the time and nip at his heels to keep him sharp I think that's [ __ ] these guys are high-end talents who are already in a pressure pack situation they don't need anymore I think they need to support each other and switch hit that position in their respective roles yeah I think in a perfect world you want them to be like what Swan and allmark were with Boston they're like best friends and they just wanted to win that's all I care about wins getting two points and winning in the Stanley Cup playoffs and I want to see a healthy competition between wall and and Anthony stolar who I think without question is the backup entering this season it's time for the last call brought to you by bet 365 open an account with bet 365 today and bet on a huge range of market so whatever the sport whatever the moment it's never ordinary at bet 365 we talked about the Thursday nighter any any bets you're looking at do you like Buffalo here oh it's hard not to go dog I think they're a dog tonight oh okay let's just I'll just tell you on that I have not looked I did not know I my head's in hockey right now man I do like foot football it's neat but my fantasy's a disaster so I haven't had a chance to really look but uh you think they're going to get beat by the Dolphins hey I mean Tyreek it'll be interesting to see man interesting to see I don't know I I'll tail you on whatever you think I'm I'm more into Maple EES right now than I am to the the NFL but uh I'll tail you on whatever you pick I don't bet on football I just what I see on TV you know I don't watch much football I did watch a bit of the Monday nighter as I referenced on the podcast the other day but I I I'm a hockey guy baseball guy bit basketball maybe we'll just go over under on uh on whether what's his name gets fired or not yes we could do that too yeah I'm with you on that front so uh we'll leave it at that for today's podcast again we'll be back with uh two more episodes next week and again training camp I believe the weigh-ins start on Wednesday I think officially Thursday and Friday is when the players start skating we start see some video and we ramp up to some preseason games man I know it's exciting dude I'm uh I don't know everyone talks about the opening night but there's lots that can happen and will happen throughout training camp and preseason which is going to be exciting too so uh it's all happening there's going to be a lot of story lines and I won't lie I woke up today and I could not believe my eyes that here we go we're a week away from camp and neander I guess they're going to try him up the middle again man it's like Groundhog Day with this organization and um we'll see what comes to fruition over the next couple weeks so everybody thank you so much in the chat thank you for the Super Chat Angela at the leaf Nation 401 hit the like button hit the Subscribe button leaste want take wherever you find your podcast make sure to leave us a festar review and don't forget to visit the leafnation outcom many thanks to producer Vic for J Rosel I'm Nick albergo we'll talk next week take care make sure to check out more of our content right here on the Leafs Nation YouTube page we got long form interviews we got Clips you got epic rants by J Roso we simply have it all and don't forget you can find out much more at the leafnation tocom thanks so much for watching