Carter Hutton thinks the Leafs should look to trade Anthony Stolarz this summer: Leafs Morning Take
In recent outings, Craig Berube has sounded like a coach who knows what’s coming. His comments lately have been more blunt than usual.
11 to go, and then we’ll find out what the plan is behind the bench for next season.
Having said that, what happened this weekend in Minnesota really put things into perspective. We kicked off the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take by paying tribute to Jessi Pierce, a Minnesota-based hockey reporter who tragically passed away this past weekend in a house fire alongside her children and family dog. Life doesn’t make sense sometimes.
It was a tough transition, but after that, we got into the Leafs’ ugly weekend. They lost 4-3 in OT on home ice before getting drilled 5-2 in Ottawa. As mentioned, Berube had some blunt words on a few different fronts. He knows. He has to. David Pagnotta was in for Jay Rosehill, so we talked about the future of both the head coach and GM. Pagnotta thinks Berube’s done, he’s not sure on the Treliving front. He says it’s very quiet up to right now. No one’s talking.
After that, we dove into some of the sidebar storylines from the weekend. Naturally, we discussed Joseph Woll, who took some pointed postgame criticism from his head coach about “needing a save.” Then, we touched on Anthony Stolarz, who was sent to the hospital for precautionary imaging Saturday night after taking a William Nylander shot to the neck in warmups. For what it’s worth, Stolarz was back on the ice for practice, while Dennis Hildeby was recalled on an emergency basis Monday. Additionally, we got into how the Leafs should handle Easton Cowan down the stretch—and whether we could be watching the final few games of Morgan Rielly in a Leafs jersey.
With all the crease chaos, we summoned former NHL goalie Carter Hutton to dish on the chaotic weekend. He weighed in on Berube’s blunt “we need a save” comment directed at Joseph Woll, breaking down whether it was fair criticism or a step too far—and how a public callout like that can impact a goaltender, either as motivation or frustration. Hutton also discussed Anthony Stolarz’s scary pregame incident in Ottawa, explaining just how vulnerable the neck area is for goalies after taking a William Nylander shot. Beyond that, he touched on Berube’s future behind the bench, what Toronto should do with its crease this offseason, and the mindset of players when conversations shift toward shutting things down late in a disappointing season.
Jay Rosehill will be back in the mix for the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Make a note to join us as we preview Toronto’s final visit to Boston this season.