The post-Auston Matthews injury heater is over.
For all intents and purposes, the Leafs were thoroughly humbled by a well-coached New York Islanders squad on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Joseph Woll was solid, but Ilya Sorokin was even better.
Having said all that, Jay Rosehill was not impressed with Toronto’s game. He wanted more. Way more. That’s where the conversation started on the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. This team’s playing out the string, and for the most part, that’s been evident for a long time now. At times, they look like they’re going through the motions. Rosey had a lot to say about William Nylander, especially his overall shift on the Emil Heineman goal.
At any rate, we spent a good chunk of the show discussing whether the Leafs are coming off as fake or disingenuous. When Kyle MacLean barely bumped into Joseph Woll, Morgan Rielly jumped in immediately. Over the past few games, they’ve been far more engaged in the extracurricular scrums and post-whistle stuff—almost like they’re trying to prove a point. The fan base isn’t buying it, and clearly, the message has been received inside that room. Too little too late. Rosey thinks Brandon Carlo should be getting more heat than he is over what went down last week against Anaheim. Furthermore, we did hit quickly on a few positives: Steven Lorentz snapped a nasty 29 game goalless drought and Bo Groulx picked up another point. Toronto struggled with discipline. The Islanders went 2-for-6 on the power play.
After that, projected lottery pick and University of North Dakota blueliner stopped by to touch on his development and NHL future. Verhoeff reflected on his NCAA season and his team’s exit in the Frozen Faceoff semifinals, while also discussing his experience representing Canada men’s national junior ice hockey team at the World Juniors. He broke down his playing style, what he wants scouts to notice, and how he’s approaching the upcoming NHL Draft. The projected first-rounder also touched on the idea of being drafted by a Canadian team, his upbringing as a fan of the Edmonton Oilers, and his thoughts on the current Toronto Maple Leafs, emphasizing the importance of team culture. Additionally, Verhoeff weighed in on the fallout from Radko Gudas’ hit on Auston Matthews, offering insight into how he would handle a similar situation involving a teammate. He also looked ahead to where he sees himself in five years and shared thoughts on fellow prospect Matthew Schaefer.
The Leafs are off until Friday when they will host the Carolina Hurricanes. The conversation never stops on Leafs Morning Take, though — Pete DeBoer will join us on Thursday.