The Montreal Canadiens are playing really well, and that should bother true Leafs fans.
Suffice it is to say, it was a spirted start to the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take as David Pagnotta filled in for Jay Rosehill.
Bottom line: If you’re a Leafs fan, you’re a Leafs fan. That’s it, that’s all. This conversation stemmed from a night out I had recently in Toronto while watching Game 2 of the Habs/Sabres series. In my opinion, way too many people — some of them supposedly Leafs fans — were cheering every time Montreal scored. That didn’t sit right with me. It just felt wrong. Naturally, it sparked the whole “Canada’s team” debate, which is always ridiculous. At the end of the day, don’t be a bandwagon fan.
At any rate, after that, we talked some Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas and Anaheim have split the first four games of their series, while Mitch Marner is leading the entire postseason in scoring with 16 points. Crazy stuff. Aside from the Canes/Flyers series — which ended in yet another Carolina Hurricanes sweep — Round 2 has been outstanding so far.
Over in the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Toronto Marlies advanced to the North Division Final over the weekend. Toronto knocked off Laval 3-2 in a winner-take-all Game 5 and will now face Cleveland, with Game 1 set for Thursday night. Both Artur Akhtyamov and Dennis Hildeby have been outstanding throughout the postseason. We also showed some love to Vinnie Lettieri, who’s tied for the AHL lead with five playoff goals. Meanwhile, Easton Cowan has chipped in with six points through eight games so far.
Meantime, we should get a much clearer understanding of Craig Berube’s future this week. He met with the new management group over the past few days, and it sounds like a decision could be coming relatively soon. Pagnotta weighed in, saying he believes Berube will stick around. We discussed what that would mean for the organization moving forward, and what the overall plan could look like. Naturally, that led into a much bigger conversation about Auston Matthews. Pagnotta revealed that Matthews and his agent, Judd Moldaver, are expected to meet with John Chayka and Mats Sundin at some point over the next few weeks. Since last week, Pagnotta has been adamant that the “non-committal” narrative surrounding Matthews has been somewhat misconstrued. According to him, Matthews loves Toronto and wants to win in Toronto. If the Leafs can demonstrate their commitment to doing exactly that, this process should go smoothly.
Rosie will be back in the mix for the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We’ll sift through the latest. Plus, Brian Burke will join us once again.