To sum it up, Friday’s episode of Leafs Morning Take was the longest in the podcast’s history.
The Leafs are now winless in six (0-5-1), and another rough night in the standings leaves them 10 points out of a playoff spot with 28 games remaining.
The dream is dead.
At any rate, we kicked off the show by picking apart the pieces from the latest disappointing loss. Yes, they were better in Seattle, but it doesn’t matter. This late in the season, there are no consolation prizes. They lost, and more importantly, everyone around them in the standings won. At this point, it seems like everyone’s run out of answers —including Craig Berube, who was weirdly positive after the game. Furthermore, in his hit with TSN Radio on Thursday afternoon, Brad Treliving didn’t really divulge much. It was a very vague hit.
To be honest, we barely touched on the game itself. Instead, the conversation focused on the bigger picture and what we expect from the organization as the Olympic break approaches. This marks Toronto’s first six-game winless skid since 2019. Very little has gone right—Anthony Stolarz had another tough outing, and the team continues to struggle to keep the puck out of its own net. We had a pretty long conversation about the leadership core. In general, we’re not seeing a response from this team, the same issue they had earlier in the season.
Meantime, former Leafs GM and long-time NHL broadcaster Gord Stellick stopped by to share his thoughts. Stellick weighed in on the loss in Seattle, his surprise at where the Leafs sit in the standings, whether he’d consider a seismic deal involving one of the core players, who deserves the most blame, what his first move would be if he were back in charge, and where Keith Pelley fits into the current mess. Like most of us, Gordo is stunned that the Leafs find themselves in this position. Two series victories in a decade, folks. That’s all she wrote.
I’m hitting the road for the games in Calgary and Edmonton. With that in mind, Jay Rosehill and I will do Monday’s show together from the Barn Burner studio in Calgary. We’ll recap the game in Vancouver, plus look ahead at Toronto’s back-to-back in Alberta to wrap up their pre-Olympic slate. Also, Alberta native Justin Pogge, a polarizing name in Leafs history, will drop by the show.
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