Mike Grinnell defends Matthews, questions Leafs media narrative in heated debate: Leafs Morning Take
For the third and final time this season, the Maple Leafs are set to tangle with the rival Boston Bruins.
It’s the annual mentors trip, too, which means the team has extra motivation to pull out a win in Bean Town in the front end of their back-to-back. That said, given their 2-8-2 record since the Olympic break, a win feels like a tall order, especially against a Bruins team battling for a playoff spot.
The mentors trip is where the conversation started on another spirited edition of Leafs Morning Take as Jay Rosehill returned to the mix. To kick things off, Rosey dished on his experience with these kinds of trips in his playing days. He had a few good stories from the dads trip the Leafs took back in the day to New York City. Spoiler: Colton Orr’s father was the star of the show.
Meantime, we did discuss the game in Boston, too. Morgan Rielly will play. And, so will Anthony Stolarz, who was forced to go to hospital for precautionary reasons on Saturday night in Kanata after taking a Nylander shot in the neck in warmups. Of note, Jake Gardiner is Rielly’s mentor on the trip. Also, since he hasn’t been there the past few shows, Rosey hit on Craig Berube’s testy comments from over the weekend. Like everyone else, Rosey thinks Berube is already coaching for his next job. He thinks the timing of the comments were weird. Why take a run at Woll when the defence has been abysmal? And, Cowan’s a rookie. There’s no reason to run him down right now.
After that, Mike Grinnell of Spittin Chiclets stopped by for a wide-ranging and spirited discussion, highlighted by a heated debate surrounding Auston Matthews and the scrutiny he faces in Toronto. Grinnell pushed back on the narrative, suggesting the local media can be overly critical of the Leafs captain, while Rosehill countered by pointing to deeper cultural issues and a lack of accountability within the team. The conversation also touched on Boston’s resurgence following last year’s retool, with Grinnell explaining why the Bruins have been able to bounce back so effectively. That naturally led to a comparison with Toronto, as the group debated whether the Maple Leafs can realistically follow a similar path—or if that idea is simply wishful thinking.
Lots coming your way on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We’ll recap Leafs/Bruins, look ahead to Leafs/Rangers, too. Plus. Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star will drop by to weigh in on this train-wreck of a season.