Craig Button urges Leafs to speak with Dean Lombardi & Bob Gainey: Leafs Morning Take
77 down, five more to go.
Mercifully.
After their 1-2-1 four-game road trip, the Leafs are back home and prepping for Wednesday night’s meeting with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Frankly, what’s happening on the ice these days has taken a backseat to what else is ahead for this team —including its ongoing search for new management.
Obviously, that’s where the conversation started on the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take as we reacted to this weekend’s stunning Pete DeBoer news. On Sunday, out of nowhere, the Islanders fired Patrick Roy and hired DeBoer, who had been linked to Toronto all season long. In the long run, we didn’t DeBoer would be a fit in Toronto anyway.
Meantime, we also discussed the latest on the GM search. According to Elliotte Friedman, it doesn’t sound like Doug Armstrong will be that guy. Additionally, Friedman did mention over the weekend that he does expect Florida Panthers AGM Sunny Mehta to be apart of Toronto’s search.
As mentioned, the team on the ice has been an after-thought lately. That said, they did play an entertaining game in Los Angeles Saturday night, ultimately falling 7-6 in OT. We broke down the big offensive night. Matthew Knies led the way with two goals and two assists. On top of that, John Tavares tallied a goal and two helpers and Easton Cowan extended his modest point streak to three games. Also, we did discuss the team’s continued quest to stick up for each other. Mikey Anderson was messing up with Cowan, so Max Domi intervened. Rosie loved it. And yes, we did laugh about that weird sequence after the 4-3 goal where Scott Laughton got annoyed with something Knies said. Toronto’s 4-4-3 since Auston Matthews went down.
After that, TSN Hockey Analyst and former NHL executive Craig Button dropped by. Firstly, Button called out Toronto’s refusal to tank, praised the Florida Panthers for smart long-term moves, and weighed in on Peter DeBoer landing with the New York Islanders. He also suggested the Leafs consider a President-GM model and at least talk to veteran executives Dean Lombardi and Bob Gainey. The interview wrapped with Button putting himself in the GM’s seat — first call? Sitting down with Matthews about his future.
Meantime, plenty more coming your way on the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We’ll dissect the latest news and notes surrounding the team. Plus, Bruce Boudreau will drop by to dish on all the recent madness.