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Sean Gentili
Us.
Podcast Host
This is the Athletic Hockey Show.
Sean McIndoe
What up? What ups the Athletic Hockey Show. Sean Gentili here to the side of me is Frank Corrado to the other side of me, Farther to the same side of Me actually Sean McIndoe we're talking YouTube terms now, guys. We're talking about visuals and what have you. Thank you to everybody who subscribed. It's been fun seeing that take off. Hope everyone's doing well. Hope everyone's doing better than the Toronto Maple Leafs. We're just Going to dump the pucks out today. Let these two boys skate around. Another. Another ugly loss for Toronto, this one to the Boston Bruins. Fellas, I was perusing the site this morning. The top four Leafs headlines on there. A guide to this year's Leaf seasons for Blue Jays fans who are just tuning in now. And you can guess who wrote that. He's. He's. He's on the record right now with Austin Matthews. Matthews injury. Things have gone from bad to worse for the Leafs. Oh, that sounds bad, too. Myrtle, who's to blame for the Maple Leaf sports start to the 25, 26? Everything's going awesome. Right? Right.
Sean Gentili
Today has the feel of a practice. This is for us. This is us. It's a feel of a practice where there's kind of no rules. The pucks just get dumped on the ice, and it's like, just go have at it 30 minutes and do whatever you want out there. Because quite honestly, that's. That's what it feels like the Leafs are doing with. With the way they're playing the game, just hopping on the ice, seeing what happens. Maybe we'll win, maybe we won't. We probably won't. But there's not a lot of, like, there's not a lot of detail to their game right now, and that is a scary thing. There's a lot of things not going well for them. And when you wake up in your Toronto and usually you follow up a slow October with the quote, unquote, November to remember, and now this year it's been anything but, and you wake up today, and the only team worse than you in the Eastern Conference is the Buffalo Sabres. I don't know if. I don't know if we have to, like, significantly adjust our expectations for who the Leafs are, or is this just who they are now? But there. There are so many things going wrong with this group, and it's almost like you don't even know where to start. But there's big issues in Toronto.
Sean McIndoe
Well, what's, like, the primary issue, McIndale. Like. Like, you just. I'm sure you just had to change what your original plan was on that. On that. On the Leafs column for the Laps Jays fan.
Frank Corrado
I wrote that yesterday.
Sean McIndoe
Yeah.
Frank Corrado
During the day. And then as the game was going on, I had to go in and edit it and make it meaner because I'm like, there's no. I had things in there where I'm like, well, I mean, they're, you know, they're still 500. They're not terrible. And I'M like, no, this is. This is gonna get me yelled at. So, yeah, it's. I don't even know where to start other than, okay, let's. Let's say this. They brought in Craig Berube. He has a certain system. He clearly wants them to play this system. They made some adjustments to it over the summer to make them more of a defensive team. Playing on the right side of the puck is the catchphrase now. And they're just not doing it. And I don't know if it's because the players can't. I don't know if they don't want to. I don't know if they're sick of the coach already after 1 season and 16 games or. Or what it is. Maybe the system is broken. Maybe it isn't a fit for the. The skill. You go down the list. But the point is, right now, every Leafs game we do, two days of, they've got to get it figured out defensively. And then the next game comes around, they drop the puck, and immediately the other team is getting breakaways, odd man rushes and all of this stuff. And. And I'm not enough of an X's and O's guy to specifically pinpoint what's going wrong, but I'm enough of a hockey fan to know that something is going very badly wrong here, because I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be giving up four breakaways every period.
Sean Gentili
No, I. I just like, the. The biggest defensive issue for me, like, this is an X's and O's thing, is how porous they are off the rush. And if you ask anyone, like, what's the quickest way to generate offense? What's the easiest way to generate offense in the NHL? And anyone will tell you, man, if you could get quick strike stuff off the rush, it is so much easier. Because once you get, you know, playing in the offensive zone and a team sets up their D zone coverage, it's hard to break through, like, the different layers. And it's like you have to play, you know, possession time before you can break them down, before you can get the shot, get the chance and the rebound. But offense off the rush, you kidding me? In five seconds, I'm going to go from blue line to opposing hash marks and get a good scoring chance. I'll take that any day of the week. And guess what? Teams are taking that against Toronto right now because they are, like, the worst rush team against in the league right now. And, like, for me, this is what it comes down to. You Know dgb, you talked about being on the right side of your check and that's something that, you know, this Craig Berube system is. It was the Sheldon Keefe system, it's the Mike Babcock system. It's. Every system in the history of hockey is being on the right side and not getting three players trapped in the offensive zone. So you're giving up three on twos and two on ones and eventually breakaways. Like that is. We're talking about the bare minimum that they're not even doing that right now when it comes to negating all these rush chances. But another thing that like comes to mind is when you're playing defense on the rush, when you get back into your own zone around the blue line, everyone should know what their defined responsibility is as they go towards their own net. Meaning we should be able to create, you know, three one on ones in three lanes so that we know, okay, if the puck goes here, I could get a stick on it. If it tries to go across us. Well, now it's got to go through two sticks and the other guy can get a stick on it. That's not happening. And like other teams, defensemen are beating the leafs forwards up the ice consistently and getting chances. And so like you watch it and it's a complete mess. And it's so easy for teams to generate offense and it's, it's a massive issue for them. It's a massive issue. And that's not like, I don't know, that's just every team should know what they're doing off the rush. I'm sorry, like, coach can communicate to you as best as he can. And maybe that's something that's not happening right now. Maybe they don't know their defined roles and responsibilities coming into their own zone. I know I'm long winded and ranting, but that's the biggest glaring issue right now as far as how they're defending.
Frank Corrado
And here's, here's the other thing though is that right now what we're seeing is bad. This is. They're clearly spiraling right now on, on that side of things. But it wasn't like this is brand new. We saw a lot of this last year too. You look at the underlying numbers and all of that. A lot of them weren't great last year in the first year under Craig Berube, but the difference was they were getting vezina level goaltending and that bails you out an awful lot. And they were safe.
Sean McIndoe
They were a PDO team. Last year team use a phrase, I mean, that a lot of people don't like.
Frank Corrado
Yes. They got better results. I won't say better results than they deserve last year because goaltending is part of hockey. The power play is part of hockey. I mean, this is. There were warning signs on the dashboard last year, but they were able to paper over them by, you know, sometimes your strengths outweigh your weaknesses. And that was really the story of last year for this team. And now it's not happening. The power play can't do anything and the goaltending is not good. And specifically Anthony Stoll, I mean, they had the graphic last night on the broadcast, which I thought was interesting, of his numbers before and after he called his teammates out after the, you know, the night that he got run over a bunch of times. I mean, he has not been good. And last night he left the game early, apparently, as we're led to believe now a minor injury. But who knows? Maybe, maybe it's something he's been fighting for the last little while. Maybe it's unfair to say he hasn't been good the last bit. Maybe he's been playing through something. Hard to say, but the results just haven't been there. This is what happens when you're not good defensively and you don't have that Vezina level goaltender bailing you out. It gets ugly. It's ugly.
Sean McIndoe
And it's an 88, 884 save percentage for Solars. He's, he's not below, below zero and go save.
Sean Gentili
It's not good, man. And listen, he calls out this team, that's old news. Like we've, you know, everyone's kind of talked about that and wrapped that up and he.
Sean McIndoe
You didn't like that, though?
Sean Gentili
Like, I didn't, I didn't like that.
Sean McIndoe
Because let's, let's, let's re up that you weren't sight. You weren't psyched to hear that.
Sean Gentili
I, I didn't like that. Because first of all, there's always a conversation afterwards within the group where the next day everyone's coming to the facility and, and there's going to be a meeting within the players and even the coaching staff where everyone just says, guys, we have anything to say to each other, we say it in here. We're all brothers. We're family. We're in this together. We don't bring, you know, outside noise into this dressing room. So if we have something to say, let's all be comfortable having the conversations in here. Who knows, maybe that happened and he got fed up and he lost himself in the moment and he said something he shouldn't have, but that I'm sure he would want a mulligan on that whole situation because now he's added more pressure in a very pressure packed situation. You're the goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's enough pressure. But now you add that things aren't going well for the team in front of you and you're playing more than you ever have. Like you don't have any reprieve. You don't get a night off unless it's a back to back because Joseph Wall is not there. That's already enough pressure. But then you're going to put a target on your back from, I don't know, teammates or outside noise. It just, it wasn't smart, it wasn't a calculated move. And now the numbers tell us that, you know, he, he struggled before and he's struggling afterwards and that's, that's an issue. But you know, one thing, like Anthony Stolars is not wrong about this. He's not wrong that he gets bumped and hit and there's a lot of chaos that happens in his crease and nothing happens the other way. Like Toronto doesn't get any rebound wax and hacks and second chances. They just don't like. And that's, that's something going back to the Keef era, that, that was an issue. Like they, they made a lot of really pretty plays, man, like rush chances. You know, they could get going on the cycle and Marner could hit Matthews for a nice play in the slot, but, you know, it's a goal from 20ft away. And now that Toronto's this different kind of team, you know, big heavy was supposed to be big and heavy and mean forechecking type of team, they still don't get anything from the Goldmouth area that, that, like, that's got to be, if you're going to be a big, heavy forechecking team, that's got to be a hallmark of your team. And that's not the case. And that's, you know, that's a big issue too.
Frank Corrado
The scale and the, you know, the measuring sticks might say they're big and heavy, but this is not a big heavy team and it's sure not a mean team. And, and look, this is, it's, it's 2025. It's not 1985. We can't, you know, just go out there and send out the goon squad and tell them to go, you know, Take numbers and all of that. But there was unimplied suggestion when they brought in Craig Berubai that that was part of what was, was coming in, is this team is going to get nasty and it's good, you know, and all of this stuff, and I hate to say it, people have heard me do this before, but this, this idea of we got to have an identity in the NHL, I'm like, I'm so sick of hearing that. Because the identity is always, it's always the same, every team, same identity, hard to play against, you know, smart, defensively, boring, win two to one, all of that stuff. But it, it just hasn't clicked. This doesn't feel like a, this team doesn't feel different from the Sheldon Keefe era. It feels worse maybe, certainly right now.
Sean Gentili
Doesn'T it feel stale compared to the Sheldon Keefe era? Okay, but dgb, you talk about teams having an identity, right? And you say that, you know, a lot of teams want to have the same identity, except if you're Colorado, where you're hard to play against, is that we are going to skate you into the ground and you're not going to have the puck and you're going to chase us all game long. You know who that was like three years ago? The Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sean McIndoe
The Maple Leafs.
Sean Gentili
The Maple Leafs used to be a team that way where when they were at their best, they're hard to play against. Was that when Matthew's line was on the ice, they had 70% of the possession and the chances and you just. Guys after the game I would hear it all the time. Like I would do the radio, you know, pre game and post game shows with Jim Taddy on TSN 1050 and we would roll audio for an hour after the, and all we would hear was, you know, the opposing coach or the best players for Toronto say, yeah, it felt like we, we, we were fast and we had the puck all night and they couldn't get anything going. And then we would hear the opposing team say, man, you just felt like you never have it against those guys. And that's like we're talking three years ago now. And that was their identity at the time. It almost feels like Toronto has tried to address these players playoff demons by getting, you know, these, these slower, slower, tougher, bigger guys and they moved so far away from that where you're almost better off. Just saying, we are going to be the fastest team on the ice every game and we're going to have the puck more than you and you're just Going to have to chase us around. And they never doubled down on that. And now what this team lacks in so many different ways is skill. It's not grit. Well, they, they lack grit too, but who cares? They were never going to be gritty enough. But they could have been way more skilled than everyone. But they tried to implement all these pieces and mesh it all together and now you have what you have and, and it's, it's kind of messy looking and it doesn't look good what's going on out there.
Frank Corrado
And I get that transformation because the skill era did not work in the playoffs. I mean, we saw it over and over again. This skill team would go in and they would get shut down by a Florida or whoever else it was. Boston. And so I get the idea of, hey, we have to maybe we take a step back in the regular season so that we can take a step forward in the playoffs. That's a trade every Leaf fan would have taken when Craig Berube came aboard. But the problem is right now it feels like it's two or three or four steps back in the regular season. And look, the optimist view, I guess is maybe this is just the growing pains. I don't know why we're seeing growing pains a year plus into this.
Sean Gentili
Yeah.
Sean McIndoe
From a bunch of 30 year olds.
Frank Corrado
But maybe this is just learning and if it costs you five points in the. Or even 10 points in the regular season, you still make the playoffs and you're better equipped. Maybe it's just tough to get into that mindset right now because it's five months away. And right now if the I have started today.
Sean Gentili
Yeah.
Frank Corrado
The Leafs wouldn't be in them.
Sean Gentili
Well, ask yourself this. Ask yourself this, okay? As you try and unpack what the Leafs are, I'll pose it to both of you. What's the. What's the one thing that you can cling to that would tell you it's November 12th today and they're going to turn this around and they'll be, they'll be all good like they usually are where it's no sweat and they just make the playoffs. What's. Is there one thing that you can do right now?
Sean McIndoe
Austin Matthews.
Sean Gentili
He's hurt.
Sean McIndoe
That's right. He sure is. He's hurt after last night. Lower body injury, gets checked into the boards. Ruby wasn't thrilled about that. Obviously. I. Here's my question for you guys. Who is the new sin eater for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Who is the new scapegoat? We've seen them cycle through them over the years. It was Sheldon Keefe, was Kyle Dubas, was Mitch Marner, and now it was Jake Gardner. Oh my God, it was, it's been, it's been Morgan Riley.
Frank Corrado
It certainly was certainly William Nylander. A lot of years there. Yeah, yeah.
Sean McIndoe
Most of those guys are gone in some capacity. The Riley's and Nylanders and Tavares of the world have stuck on the roster. I think they've all worn that collar at one point or another. But who is to blame for this? Primarily? Now where. The better question is maybe where, where does the laser get truly focused? Like, does this turn into a Baruby thing? Does this turn into a tree living thing? Does this turn into an Austin Matthews thing? Are people projecting anger onto Brandon Carlo because he was the big trade addition? Who's going to, you know who. It's a top five protected lottery pick going back to Boston. So I guess they have that going for them. Like who is, who is the guy who ascends to the, to the peak of Mount Scapegoat here for Leafs Nation? Because there's going to be somebody.
Sean Gentili
If it's the pie chart, I think it's a pie chart situation. I think we got to break out the pie chart and you got to go percentage of the piece. And the reality is when the team that has been so good for so long. Okay, I was, I was talking to someone about this this morning actually. I was there for year one of this iteration of the Toronto Maple Leafs being together. Matthews, you know, Nylander, Marner's of course gone. Morgan Riley was there. That was 2016, 2017, since like just to let you know how long to put it into perspective, how long these guys have essentially been cruising to the playoffs stress free. I was there year one. I played for a bunch of different teams in the minors, different NHL team, played for two teams in two continents in Europe and started a new career. And now I'm like three years into that career.
Sean McIndoe
Yeah, that's how long. Had a couple babies, got married, had.
Sean Gentili
A couple of changes. That's how long we have held the Toronto Maple Leafs to the expectation that you just get to the playoffs and then it's up to you guys to get over the hump. Now it's like we have to, we have to almost adjust that because today we wake up and they're in the basement of the Eastern Conference, which is just not something that has happened. So as far as like assessing the blame to people, there's, there's like, listen, the general manager has Made some moves that, you know, he moved on from a guy like Frazier Minton and a first round pick and has brought in Brandon Carlo and it hasn't worked out and couldn't get Mitch Marner signed. Like, you know, and now it's a different coach who's a different voice than what Sheldon Keefe was. And like, so there's going to be blame for the gm, there's going to be blame for the coach, there's going to be blame for the players who are ultimately, you know, very good players but aren't playing to their capability, you know, goaltending. That took a huge step back. This year, you know, it's all about assessing the percentage. But when they're, when they're that bad this year, it's not just one thing. It's not the old, hey, Justin hall had a couple, you know, plays that cost us a game. It's not that. It's, it's. This feels different than the old school. One guy is the whipping boy. This is the pie chart of percentage.
Sean McIndoe
And that sounds a lot, that sounds a lot worse. That sounds like this single biggest thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, you guys can both answer this, but, like, what are you more concerned about regarding this team than anything else? And I, to me, if I were in your shoes and if I, if I had a vested interest in the, in the success of the Toronto Maple, is, which I don't. I think the fact that there isn't one whipping boy is the single biggest problem. There's no, there's no, there's no single single person left to absorb, you know, all the, all the negativity and all the beating. This seems more like a full systems failure than, than we've ever seen from them in the past.
Frank Corrado
It, it does. I mean, I think you could argue that a lot of the previous failures were system failures, too, but it was just fans and, and fan bases and markets doing what they do. But it does feel like that time is over in Toronto, at least right now. It's not. You know, you talked about lasering in on somebody. It's not right now. It's the blame, the anger, the frustration in Toronto. It's, it's a machine gun. It's not a sniper rifle. It's.
Sean Gentili
It's.
Frank Corrado
Everybody's getting it. And, and look, I mean, you talk about percentages. That's Myrtle's piece that I would suggest people go read where he was talking about. Where does the blame lie? Like, that's the approach he published 2.
Sean McIndoe
Days ago by the way this is.
Frank Corrado
2 days, this is before the latest different world, but here we are. I really feel like if I had to, if I had to focus it, I think you're seeing more of it on the coach and the front office right now. I think a lot of people are looking at Craig Berube going, this is year two. Is this working? Is it, is it not? And it's coming from both sides because you've got the people who maybe like Sheldon Keefe and like that ERA and like the high speed, play to your strengths, don't worry about the playoffs, just, you know, be the best team you can be in the moment. They like that approach and, and they don't like this new Berube approach. And then there's also a lot of people who, who loved it when Craig Berube came in because they were like, great. Here's a grizzled, no nonsense guy. He's not going to baby these guys the way Sheldon Keefe kind of felt like he was sometimes. We're not going to see him offer little tiny mild criticisms and then immediately walk it back the next day because somebody's fifi's got hurt and he has to like repair the relationships. This guy's gonna come in and crack some skulls. And so far, I mean he looks furious on the bench but then you know, who, who's gotten benched, who's gotten sent to the press box, who's gotten called out, you don't really see it. So I mean Craig Berube is kind of caught in between where it's like, do I, do I be even more Berubian than I have been or do I dial it back and maybe adjust to this roster that I've got? But I really think it's more even than that. You're going to start seeing the, the Brad for living hot seat warm up because even in, in Myrtle's piece I saw, you know, he, he singled out Perube, Ruby got a big chunk of the blame. And then in the comments people are going, yeah, who hired Craig Barub? I was Brad True living. And last year's deadline looks like a disaster. He went all in on Brandon Carlo and Scott Lawton and meanwhile makes the Carlo trade, gives up a first round pick and a very good prospect in Fraser Mitten for, for Carlo from a team that then trades Brad Marchand for less to Florida. And you know, which guy would you rather have for a playoff run? The off season stuff hasn't worked out great. The new guys who are coming in this, this Whole thing of, you know, we can rebuild Mitch Marner in the aggregate Moneyball approach has failed completely. Yeah. And I think people are looking at True Living's track record in Calgary and all of that stuff, and it's not great. So I think, I think that's where you're going to see it. And then it trickles down, but again, it just bounces back up. True Living's been here long enough now that if you don't like a guy on the roster, good chance Brad Treliving is the one who went and got him. You don't like a contract, good chance Brad Treliving is the guy who signed that contract. It's. Whatever your thoughts on Kyle Dubas, that era is, is largely done. Not saying it's. It's a completely clean slate, but it's, it's no longer. Can you point to the past and say those guys screwed it up and, and you know, Brad's just here to clean it up. He's not cleaning it up. It's not very clean out there. It's ugly. And I think that's where you're going to see the fans pointing. And that's a problem because, hey, if everyone wants to point a Morgan Riley, I mean, you could trade Morgan Riley or you could trade for somebody to come in and bump them down the lineup. When it comes to a front office, you're talking much bigger changes and it's. They're tough to do in November.
Sean Gentili
For Tree Living, though, like just, I know we got to go to break, but he can always redeem himself with a couple smart trades, right? Like you, you make something happen and all of a sudden that. That jump starts your team and sparks it. There's always that possibility.
Sean McIndoe
So yeah, with all those tradable assets, they have all this.
Frank Corrado
And also this is the same guy. It's. It's been five months of him trying to trade David Camp like your sixth best center. And it's apparently too complicated for this front office to pull off. So I, you know, you'll forgive me if I'm not really too excited about their ability to pivot now when, you know the Cali Yarn Crock trade watch is, you know, we're in that month, eight of that or whatever trades are.
Sean McIndoe
Trades are hard, Sean. Don't you understand?
Frank Corrado
There's a salary. Did you guys know that people's jobs really hard. That's why there's no trades in the NBA ever.
Sean McIndoe
Frank, who's your pick? Blame somebody. Come on.
Sean Gentili
I told you, it's everyone, right? I took out move. But I'm sorry, when it's correct when goaltending worst in the NHL Defensively porous. Like there's so that's. So it's Goaltending has some blame. Coaching has some blame. Players have some blame because they're not clearly getting what they're supposed to be doing. And some of the moves that have been made in the front office, I'm like, What is that? Four. Four things I named. It's 25% each all the way around the pie right now for me. And until I see any anything further, it's, it's just everyone's got to take their share of it. It's not one thing when, when you've been that below your expectations to start the season.
Sean McIndoe
I think that was a segment for everybody because Leafs fans want to revel in their own suffering and opposing fan bases want to do the exact same.
Sean Gentili
That that felt like an ESPN Dallas Cowboys type of segment where like national, nationally, like if you're a fan of any other team, you'd be like, I can. I can mess with that. Like, I can, I can, I can find some entertainment in, in the cowboy struggles. And I, I feel like hockey fans can find entertainment in leaf struggles.
Frank Corrado
I can't wait to hear from all the people who are like, why do the Leafs get so much coverage? And then they post that comment 18 times in every single Leafs article and can't. Can't square the circle of how those two things might be related.
Sean McIndoe
I've got some, I've got some numbers that answer the question, why. Why do the leaf struggles get so much attention? Yeah, I think next segment we're going to talk about some other crummy teams.
Frank Corrado
How they affect the Maple Leaf.
Sean McIndoe
That's, that's the big what have the natural predators done to affect the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last few weeks? Stick around for that.
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Sean Gentili
All right, we're back.
Sean McIndoe
As we said a couple minutes ago, there are in fact other bad teams in the NHL besides the Toronto Maples. We want to talk about a couple of those here. Fellas. Don't know how much you've been paying attention. Way things are going in Nashville, not great. Lost 6, 3 to the Rangers couple a couple days ago. Bunch more losses before that. Last in the league in goal differential or in. I'm sorry, in 5 on 5 goal share, second from the bottom in points. We had the whole Ryan O'Reilly kerfuffle last week. It seems like he apologized for some of that and you know, fell on his sword. Right. Like they caught him at a bad moment. Clearly can't, can't blame him for that. Let's rate this on a scale of 1 to 10. Frankie. Like, how bad, how bad do you view the situation in Nashville right now? Especially when we're talking about Barry Trots future. We're certainly talking about Andrew Burnett's future. We're trying to, people are already trying to work Steven Stamkos out of there in some way or another. Trade vultures are circling like this is a devolving situation.
Sean Gentili
I would say it's, it's so weird in, you know, how, how dire, how bad of a situation? Like, I don't know, out of 10, it's got to be an 8. Like, at least it's got to be an 8. Like, I never want to say 10 out of 10 because there's a lot of, like, there's a lot of good people involved in these situations that are good hockey players that it's just not gone well for Nashville. And a lot of guys with, with really good track records like Ryan O'Reilly is one of those guys. He's one of the best guys you'll meet in hockey. He really is. And he's a great player and has been for a long time. But you know, the moves that they've made in Nashville have clearly not made the team better. Their goaltender is not getting any younger and he gets bombarded and peppered seemingly every time he's in the nets.
Sean McIndoe
Yanked against the Rangers on Monday night.
Frank Corrado
He'S gave up goals at Madison Square Garden. Nobody does that.
Sean Gentili
That's right. Yeah.
Frank Corrado
Five goals in New York is like giving up 15 somewhere else.
Sean Gentili
You know, Roman Yossi's only played eight games this season. Like, he's trying to play with, you know, he's. He's got pots and he's playing through stuff. Like, it's just. It's not a great situation. And now, you know, Steven Stamkos. Who? Stamkos. A really good player. It's been a really good goal scorer in the long. For a long time in the NHL. Is he still a play driving centerman? No, but he's a useful goal scorer, but they're not getting that out of him. So it's, it's crazy what's going on in Nashville. I don't know, like, how you turn it around there, like, quickly. And Andrew Burnett, Andrew Burnett, as a coach, like, had the reputation of being this, like, offensively, you know, minded, empowering his players to, to do a lot with the puck. And like, they certainly played that way in, in Florida when he was there. And they don't score a lot. Like, a lot of that has to do with. They don't have a lot down the middle of the ice, but man, it's, it's not great in Nashville. And you're at the point now where it's like, do you try and strip it? And then how far back does that set you as you try and, you know, get back to some kind of trajectory that makes you a winning team?
Sean McIndoe
They're in Sweden now, too. They had, they had a fly over there for the, for the Sweden series with the, with the Penguins. Like, this is the wheels. It's. It would be disingenuous to say that they're wobbling. Those things are. Those things are about to fall off.
Sean Gentili
It's also tough in that market, guys. Like, it's tough in that market to, to. To sell a rebuild because it's not like a guaranteed. Like if you were. I lived through the rebuild in Toronto. Like, I was there when we were last place and we drafted Auston Matthews. Guess what? I looked up every night. Whether I was in the press box or on the ice, there wasn't an empty seat. You didn't have to worry about that. Not every market is like, that's a big different.
Sean McIndoe
That's a major differentiation point for Toronto, too. Like. Like, I'm speaking, of course, from, like, a Pittsburgh centric point of view here. There are so many fan bases, and there's so many cities in the NHL that think that where there's been a lot of success, that think they're immune to all the problems that creep in when you're on year two or year three or year five of, like, a protracted rebuild. Like, the amount of fan bases, the amount of. Of franchises that can continue making money during that kind of situation is really, really short.
Scott Powers
Right?
Sean McIndoe
So. So. So everybody's. Everybody's, like, laughing at the Predators or. Or whoever. Like, teams that. Teams that really need to watch it. Calgary teams like that, they really need to watch it for rebuilds. Like, don't, like, be careful because. Because your odds are your team's a little bit closer to trouble there than.
Frank Corrado
You realize, and that's fair. But I. I do think there's another side to this coin, right, which is in. In Toronto, let's say, or Montreal or, you know, pick a big market like that. Yes, the building is still full and the money's still pouring in, but that building is full of fans who have paid a lot of money to come see the team, and they have opinions and they boo when the team is losing, and then they call the radio station and then they go post on social media and they do all this stuff. And that can be an issue in especially Canadian markets and what we would consider traditional markets, where I think a lot of times it's harder to rebuild in those markets because, yeah, financially, maybe you've still got the support, but you can sit down and say, we've got a plan, and this is gonna. We're gonna feel some pain for three years, but we're gonna come out on the other side. And then you get two months into it and the fans are freaking out and suddenly the owner is getting cold feet and, you know, all this. All this stuff is happening. That was the. The, you know, the. The start of the Brandon Shanahan era in Toronto, where he was able to come in and actually sell that and say, we are actually going to do this and get the. Get the fans to. To buy along. And is it easier to do that in a place like Nashville where you say, hey, guys, we're going to take this step back and maybe the local fan base is more willing to go, okay, you know what? We'll watch the Titans for a little while. Titans are doing a rebuild too. They got a number one overall, but we'll go watch them and, and give you a bit of space to do it. And I think that the worst of both worlds is like a Calgary or maybe a Vancouver one where you're not. You're not quite a big enough market to weather it financially. But also you've got everyone screaming at you every time you lose. And that's why we haven't seen Calgary do it and who knows how long. But yeah, Nashville is a mess. And, you know, to answer the question of Frankie, do you tear it down? You have to. You ha.
Sean Gentili
I can.
Sean McIndoe
Yesterday. Yesterday.
Frank Corrado
I can understand maybe if you're an optimist and all of that stuff you say, maybe last year was just one of those weird years where everything went wrong. So we run it back or we, you know, we give it another shot. Okay. This team now is what they're telling you they are. They're not a good team. You look at their leading scores. Four of the top six are 30 years old or older. Five of the top five of the top eight, I think, because Marshall. And by the way, Steven Stamkos isn't on that list because he's not even. He's not scoring at all. And I, I gotta say again, like we said with the Leafs, we were talking about Bradshaw living. A lot of this has to go on on the front office. And I loved Barry Trots coming in. Finally a guy with fresh eyes. He hadn't been a GM, he hadn't been in front offices for 20 years. Learning all the excuses and all the stuff about how it's your job is too hard. This guy was going to come in and take some big swings, but now you're looking at it going, you know, a, the moves aren't working, B, the coach isn't working. But the coach who is the GM doesn't seem to want to make a change there either. I mean, at some point this is a mess and this is headed towards dead last overall. And maybe that's plan, but yeah, not that it's not a controlled demolition like we've seen in Chicago and San Jose and places like that. And that's okay because a lot of times these rebuilds, that's how they start. You know, the. The hockey gods tell you, give you a little boost and then you've got to take the hint and follow along. But this isn't a hint anymore. This is a big giant flashing neon sign in Nashville saying, it's not working, it will not work. You have to fix it. And they're over in Europe. I don't know if there's any concerts in Europe that they can get tickets to and then cancel. But that's about the only thing that's going to save them at this point because it is an absolute mess.
Sean McIndoe
I was like, after last season, whenever that was. That two years, my God, that was. When did, when did you two save their.
Frank Corrado
The U2 was two years ago.
Sean Gentili
Two years ago.
Frank Corrado
And that was the thing that people forget. They were awful for most of that season. And then they had the whole U2 thing. They went on the hot streak, made the playoffs, and everybody was like, oh, this team's good. Let's go out and get Stamkos and Marshall and all of that. I mean, it's, they, they've been pretty bad for, you know, going on two and a half, two and a half.
Sean Gentili
Seasons and, you know, not to do like, revisionist history, but think about this. At the time, they, they go on that hot streak, they make the playoffs, they lose to Vancouver, and like, goals were hard to come by at the time. So what did they do? They went out and they got Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchasault and they essentially imported 82 goals. That's what they did. Like, in, in theory, you were importing anywhere between. Because they both had 40 the previous season. You were saying, on a good year, I could get 80 on a so. So year out of both of these guys, I can get 60 more goals in my lineup. And it didn't work and it's not going to work.
Sean McIndoe
And you're bringing a great thing they forgot, by the way, was someone who could get the, to Steven Samko's, which is like, why I was like, last year I was willing to be like, maybe this is not true. Ugly. Full decline for him. You know, just because he's, he's so reliant on, on having someone set him up for those shots. Yeah, we saw the shot rate decline. It went from 11 to 7 per 60 at 5 on 5. That's, that's not good. But now we've seen the finishing talent just crater. Crater as well. Like, so I'm, I'm, I'm concerned about, about Stamcos. Like, I, I feel like this is him rapidly, rapidly progressing towards the end.
Frank Corrado
And by the way, 8 million bucks a year for two more years. Two more years. It's easy to look at this and go, maybe he just needs a fresh start. Maybe he needs this or that. How are you going to pull that off?
Sean Gentili
I. Oh, I think if you could get someone to eat that money and take a second. You would do it in a second and guess what would happen? He. He would go somewhere that's a good fit and he would pop 30.
Sean McIndoe
That's what I was going to ask. Like, do we.
Sean Gentili
That's my view on Stamkos. I think if he goes to the right spot and you get him on the power play, and even if you get him with the right player at 5 on 5, he doesn't need Kucherov, but he needs someone who can facilitate.
Frank Corrado
There's not a team out there that's going to pay 8 million to find out. You know, that's like. I don't think you would ever waive Stephen Stamkos. I mean, just given the respect that they have around. But if they put him on waivers, he wouldn't get taken right now. So I'll throw.
Sean Gentili
I'll throw a team out there. I'll take a team out there that's like always kind of feels like they're not going to call them desperate but urgent to try and make the playoffs is Vancouver. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe Vancouver's like, they're never going to do a rebuild there. No way. They're always going to throw something at the wall and see if it sticks like that. That would be something. But again, like, Stamcoast was so deeply entrenched in Tampa. And then this year they got the whole family settled into Nashville. Now you're going to go to Vancouver. I mean, it's just, it's. It's a tough dynamic.
Frank Corrado
Can I throw something at you that is just. I don't even know if I should put this evil into the world. Let's assume Nashville is willing to eat half.
Sean McIndoe
Mm.
Frank Corrado
Are there any teams out there that are pretty good but just lost a center for most of the season? Steven Stamkos to the Florida Panthers, where he slots in there. They resurrected Seth Jones there. How much would you hate that if you're the Tampa Bay Lightning?
Sean Gentili
Well, I don't think he's a center on that team. That's because I don't think he's a center anymore. But if he went to a team like Florida and for some reason it all of a sudden just turned around and like, that would be the greatest. Not a heel turn.
Frank Corrado
We all thought he was.
Sean Gentili
Yeah, it's just a really cool situation. Like down the road from Tampa and all of a sudden this guy's popping water bottles again daily.
Sean McIndoe
The Pittsburgh Penguins have $9 million in caps. Piss Dubas pick up the phone. Take the entirety of the contract. Take on a draft pick. A sweetener.
Frank Corrado
But. But if you add another old.
Sean McIndoe
Add another old guy to old guy Voltron. There's your. There's your trade deadline reinforcement.
Frank Corrado
That's what you have to do with Nashville is retain. Retain and to get something as opposed to refuse to retain. And now you're probably giving up assets to get the guy out of there. You can't be giving up picks and all of this stuff. You need to. You need to do something. And now it's. Do you even have the right front office in place? And like, would you fire Barry Trots? You're not going to do that. Nashville, the guy's a hero. The guy's the most important guy in. In the history of the organization.
Sean McIndoe
He's second the firing line. That's for sure.
Frank Corrado
Is it. Do you bump him upstairs to president? I don't know, man.
Sean McIndoe
Give him the team. Just make him the owner. Just trade stamp goes the maple leaves. I think that's clearly the solution here. Frankie, where are you this week, buddy?
Sean Gentili
We got. I'm in Montreal and we have the Dallas Stars here tomorrow. So it'll be nice to get eyes on them. They had the comeback win last night against the Ottawa Senators. Actually going to go watch them practice today and get eyes on what's going on there. So. Looking forward to it, boys.
Sean McIndoe
Let me know how that goes. I'm interested in the Dallas Stars.
Sean Gentili
Yeah, me too.
Sean McIndoe
The Dallas Stars practice experience.
Sean Gentili
They're always. They're always like this analytical darling of a team and they always lose in the Western Conference final. Different coach this year. So interesting to see how that whole dynamic is with. With Glenn Gulletson running the show.
Sean McIndoe
Just congratulate Jim Nil's Jim Nil on his fourth consecutive Gregory Award. And beyond.
Sean Gentili
Your name the gym soon to be.
Sean McIndoe
See you later, buddy.
Sean Gentili
See you boys.
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Sean McIndoe
All right, folks, we're back for our third segment today, we are joined by a man who covers a team that for the first time in the long running history of the DGB weekend rankings, I think have climbed out of the bottom five. Is that, is that, is that true?
Frank Corrado
Is that, is that true? Not the history, but in it was a streak of 3 years and 68 columns. This is the first time they're out of the bottom five. Scott, is, is the banner raising like the next home game or did they just do it immediately?
Scott Powers
It's, you know, the athletic will be 10 years in January and the Blackhawks haven't really been that relevant in the entire time I've covered the team. For the Athletic, it was, I covered two cups for ESPN and then came the Athletic. And yeah, you know, even the first year we weren't credentialed. They want to credential the Athletics. So we, we didn't cover the team that closely the first year and then the second year.
Sean McIndoe
I didn't know that, by the way. That's, that's very funny.
Scott Powers
Yeah. And the second year was the last time they were in the playoffs. So it's, it's been a minute since they were. Yeah. And I don't know if this is exactly a playoff team, but they're, they're playing better and they're interesting. It's their best start since the 201617 season. So that's, it's something. So, yeah, a little bit more relevant than we've had in Chicago for some time.
Sean McIndoe
Do things feel different for you personally waking up every morning and knowing that you're covering, According to Sean McIndu, the sixth or seventh or eighth worst team in the league instead of, instead of the second or third.
Scott Powers
Yeah, there's a little bit more interest in the stories and you're not like having to write every story that's advancing the next five, ten years. Right. Like it's, it's not always looking at, we're not talking about the, you know, the 20, 27, 28 draft already. So yeah, that's a positive. It's a little bit easier when, when the day to day is relevant. So I, I think that's the, the upside and certainly the Conor Bedard factor. I mean people, I don't know if people are as crazy about his Conor Bedard and the interest may have waned since, you know, that, that year one where everything you wrote about Conor Bedard was just, was just, just killed and eaten up and, and now it's, you know, there's maybe less intrigue. But he's, you know, he's, I think he's proven some people wrong and I think some people wrote him off strangely, you know, at 20. But he's, he's performing at a high rate, so it's, yeah, there's something there. And you know, the fact that he's doing it with, you know, Andre Berekovsky and he was with Ryan Green who, who's a fine player but you know, like he's still doing with players so you probably wouldn't think of typical first liners. You know, Tyler Bertuzzi's on the top line now too, so I think there's a little bit more, I don't know, stability there a little bit than, than he's had in the past and guys who are at least pros and you know, guys who've played top line, you know, top line positions before, maybe a little bit on the wrong side of 30 and you know, not long term line mates. But I think that's helped them too. Just having guys who are predictable and he's, you know, he's, you know, Bedard has more passes to the slots and he's doing a lot of things that you see top players do and you know, Bertuzzi's finishing him and Bravkovsky's been pretty good in setting him up. So it's, I think that's that comes into play. And then I think the larger thing too is that Conor Bedard's just faster and more mature and you know, there's some physical features that just, you know, as an 18, 19 year old probably wasn't exactly ready for everything in NHL and I think he's understanding the league at this point and it's. Yeah, things are evolving.
Frank Corrado
Yeah. I'm, I'm starting to think that I made a mistake with the Mount Rushmore of first overall busts in my backyard. That's. I have Yakapov, Patrick, Stefan and Rick DiPietro and I had already started carving Connor Bedard in and I'm now starting to worry that may have been early.
Sean McIndoe
You had to go. You had to go back and get the Alexander Day that you had.
Frank Corrado
Yeah. That you'd thrown away power. Sanding off Alexander Day in the nurse's uniform, replacing it with was. Was perhaps a little, a little early. Maybe I should have let the guy get out of his teens before I cast judgment. I got to ask as a, as a Canadian about the Team Canada factor. I was watching the on TSN last night. Mike Johnson and I want to say Craig Button had their Team Canada. They did not have Connor Bedard. They did have Macklin Celebrini. Is this something that matters? How much does this matter to Connor Bedard and how much are we kind of trying to force maybe a little bit of a rivalry here between these two number one picks or is there, is there a little bit of that in him? Of, you know what I'm, I want to be in this conversation.
Scott Powers
Yeah. I think that Team Canada is important to all these kids. Right. Like they, you know, I think it's on his radar. He. Yesterday he was asked about and Dom played it and you know, he asked about Celebrini and the points he's producing and he said, you know, they're good friends and he's, he's happy when he's putting on points. And I think, I think Conor Bedard is so comfortable in who he is and he's, he's dealt with the spotlight so much early on in his career that. Yeah, I, I think he looks at it differently where I think he's very competitive within himself and he wants to produce, but also very supportive of those other young kids because I think he understands what they go through in the spotlight and you know, all, all that that goes with it. And you know, him, even him knowing Gavin McKenna and, and, and you know, he's talked about him before and so I think for Celebrity and I know they spend some time together in the off season and they work out. So I. And, you know, I guess some of this, the rivalry, you know, be built up whether it happens on the ice or not. I think right now it's. It's easy to. To create just based on their ages and all the hype that was built around them. But, yeah, we'll see what the Sharks and Blackhawks become. And unfortunately, the two teams don't even play until I think it's March or something like that.
Sean McIndoe
So, yeah, that's a bummer. I found myself looking that up recently too. Like, when do we get celebrity versus.
Scott Powers
It'S going to be a min for that. So I think that'll be important. I think, you know, whether those teams are relevant and they take that next step. And yeah, it'll be interesting to see, you know, how much even they play each other against, you know, this sort of age, but how much down their ice at the same time. But yeah, I think it's important to me. I. I think, you know, he took some criticism for not playing in the Worlds for Team Canada and whether that would have an effect and Celebrity did. But. But part of it was, you know, Conor Bedard understood that he wasn't the player he needed to be or wanted to be after two years in the league. And part of it was how, you know, was the speed factor. And you looked at him, he was just playing even slower in year two than he was in year one. So he attacked the off season in a different way than his than previously. And, you know, the results have been out there. He's skating, skating much faster. He's, you know, he's getting the pucks. He's, you know, the pucks scoring on the rush and producing on the rush at a higher speed and doing it more consistently. So it's hard to. To knock what he did in the off season and saying no to Cat at the Worlds, you know, like, if Conor Bedard's good enough, they're going to take him. It just. Whether it's this Olympics or the next one, but, you know, if he continues to build on this and if he's at a point, a game plus come a month or so from now, it's hard to ignore that Conor Bedard's going to only continue to get better and the fact that he's playing with, you know, decent players, but he's obviously, you think him around better elite superstars that, you know, he can probably take this to another level, too, and maybe not have as much on him where he's, you know, he, you know, his ice time's crazy right now and, and he's, you know, he's playing, he's playing center and you know, whether that would happen in Canada and I'm taking face offs and there's so much on him too that you wonder on a team Canada and if he's just worried about if you're focusing on offense, maybe there's more there to give too. So, yeah, if I'm Canada, I. It'd be weird not to take celebrating Bedard. Right. Like, you just, you know, the potential there and the fact that they're only going to get better. I mean it's a really talented team. But if both these guys are in the top 10 scoring and they're doing this in, you know, with so, so teams, what's it going to look like when they're playing with. With other elite players?
Sean McIndoe
Is this skating the primary difference and is that the thing that's changed the most when you watch him year over year is that been where he's made that made that leap is like we're looking, we're looking for some reason to explain, I think, and this might be wrong why he, you know, why, why the production zamped up is. And I know it doesn't need to be one thing, but as someone who's watched, you know, every professional game that this kid has played, like, is that the secret sauce? For the time being, yeah.
Scott Powers
And I wrote about this on the Athletic on Monday and we kind of dove into all the reasons and one of them is the skating. He certainly, he looked faster coming into camp. And then, you know, the NHL's Edge data, it shows that he's faster and he's, you know, he's not a burner, but he's, he's fast enough now. And the line mates are important. Him and Berkov Koski are having the most success. You know, he's having the most success with Berkowski than any line made he's had in his career. I think it was minimum 100 minutes of 5 and 5. So the sample size is growing. You know, some of this maturity, like you see him being stronger, him being, you know, I think is really emphasized the defensive side and, and just, you know, being three years in the league and a 20, like it's, it's. He's, he's played enough NHL hockey now to kind of understand what he can get away with and what he needs to do. And you see some of that in you know, this is strength wise too and you see it in the face offs where you know, he was at 37% I think last season. Now it's at 46. Like it's like there's some significant growth there. So I, I think it's a lot of different things but I think the speed was part of it where he just needs to be, he doesn't have to be Connor McDavid, but he has to be fast enough to, you know, to be able to get to, you know, get on the rush and create. And he's been really good this year with yeah just being able to, you know, to finish off those two of ones or, you know, I think he's so, you know, that shot is so, so unique and it seems like it's a little bit more precise this year too. His shooting percentage is a little bit higher and you always tell the goalies are a little unsure anytime he lets it go or they're just not sure if he's going to, you know, where he's going to put it. And there's a lot of rebounds created. So I think even that's, you know, benefited Bertuzzi and Berkowski and you know, the primary sister up. I think he set up nine of Bervkovsky's and Bertuzzi's goals so far so, and be in the primary. So you know, there's a lot of different factors but I, I do think the speed is, it was key to unlocking a lot of that too, just creating more in this game.
Frank Corrado
So let's, in the, in the newsletter this week, I, I, I pulled out the gimmick of let's plant some flags, let's plant a flag on this Hawks team. I'm not going to ask you if they're going to make the playoffs. Is this Chicago Blackhawks team playing meaningful hockey in March? So they get to March. Are they playing games that we're all going, oh, this one's got real. They're in the mix even if they don't make it meaningful. Big time hockey for the first time in Connor Bedard's NHL career in March, yes or no?
Scott Powers
I don't think so. I don't think it's there yet. I think this team isn't deep enough and there's a lot of, a lot of signs pointing that Spencer Knight's really keeping this team up. And I, I still question this team can score enough goals. You know, Bedard's going to cover some of that and he's taking that step and, and Certainly, you know, Frank Nazar and you got some young players that weren't producing at, at, at such a level last year. I just question whether this team's. Yeah, can score enough goals. And you know, right now they're playing 11 forwards and seven defensemen every night to, to cover a little bit up of the defense and some of the guys who, you know, strengths are in different areas and you know, you know, Artem Leften off the, you know, the third overall pick a couple of years ago is playing better. But yeah, I think they're so young defensively too. Just whether the consistency of that and you know, you have some older vets too, and see how they hold up. But even now, like, they're dealing with some injuries. You know, Nazar's hurt, Dickinson's hurt, and, and you know, there's a couple of guys in Rockford that get called up. Nick larders, who scored 70 goals in the OHL last year, I think is really intriguing, but there's, there's not a lot of depth to this team and, and I think some players kind of are what they, you know, kind of are what they are. You know, I'm not sure Nick Fo is going to find the fountain of youth at this point or, or, or, you know, like, I mean, there's some young guys who are still trying to figure out the NHL. So I, I think there's. Yeah, I think they're a really solid team and, and they're, they're, they're interesting whether Spencer Knight can keep this up through an entire season. I mean, there's been a lot of nights where he's the Ben the reason. But, you know, it'll be interesting to see if he can keep it up in Soderbloom. Arvid Silverbloom's been pretty good as the, as the backup, but right now it feels a lot of ways that, you know, like they're, they're. Yeah, the goal is carrying this team in a lot of ways. And so, yeah, it'll, it'll be interesting. But yeah, I don't think it's this year. I think, I think a year from now it's, it's probably a little bit more realistic. And even now they haven't played a lot of teams for the Central, so we'll see when they start playing Colorado and, and Dallas and all those teams what, what that looks like too.
Sean McIndoe
The important thing, Scott, is that you have other stuff to write about, so congratulations there. You don't have to do the 15th or 20th assessment of Lucas Reichel or what have you.
Scott Powers
Lucas Reichel's gone now. I know Laz and I have written about Lucas Reichel more than I don't want to say. Congratulations should be allowed to so yeah.
Sean McIndoe
Thanks for joining us, Bud.
Scott Powers
Appreciate it. Thanks guys.
Sean McIndoe
And thank you fine folks for listening. I'm back tomorrow with Haley and a little fella by the name of Mike Russo. Join us for that Mac and do. Frankie and I are back, of course, on Wednesday. We'll talk to you real soon. And again, thank you folks for listening. As always, have a good week.
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This episode dives deep into the ongoing struggles of the Toronto Maple Leafs, dissecting what’s going wrong for one of hockey’s most scrutinized teams. Hosts Sean Gentili, Sean McIndoe (DGB), and Frank Corrado break down defensive breakdowns, lackluster goaltending, the failed transition to a tougher identity, and fractured organizational accountability. The show also zooms out to address trouble in Nashville, and checks in with Blackhawks beat writer Scott Powers on Chicago’s progress. The tone is candid, analytical, and often self-aware and tongue-in-cheek, reflecting both the hosts’ acerbic Toronto sense of humor and their deep hockey expertise.
Lack of Defensive Structure
The Leafs were supposed to turn a new leaf (pun intended) under Coach Craig Berube, focusing on playing “on the right side of the puck.” But players look lost, particularly defending off the rush.
Goaltending Regression
Last year, Toronto could mask some issues thanks to “Vezina-level goaltending" — this year, Anthony Stolarz has struggled, especially since calling out his teammates.
Failed Identity Shift ("We're not mean, we're not heavy")
Hopes that Berube would make the Leafs “big, heavy, and mean” have fizzled. Numbers might say they're bigger, but the team still isn't hard to play against.
Historical Context and Shift from "Skill Era"
The Leafs once tried to out-skate everyone but pivoted toward grit after repeated playoff failures, trading off regular season dominance for a hope of playoff resilience. Now, they seem to have lost both strengths.
Who’s to Blame? It’s Everyone ("The Pie Chart")
There's no longer a single scapegoat; the failure is organizational and holistic.
Accountability for Management and Coach
The front office and coach are especially under fire. Moves by GM Brad Treliving,[Berube’s] system, and trade efforts have all disappointed.
Dire State Analysis
The Predators are losing consistently, have poor goaltending, and spent big on aging stars (Stamkos, Marchessault) without improving. Calls for a full rebuild mount.
Market Differences: Rebuilds in Non-Traditional Markets
It's harder to sell a rebuild in markets like Nashville, unlike Toronto or Montreal where loyal fans fill the arena regardless.
Front Office Under Scrutiny
Barry Trotz, beloved as a figure, gets criticism for a lack of direction as GM. Moves for Stamkos, Marchessault have flopped. Is a teardown inevitable?
Special guest: Scott Powers, Blackhawks beat writer.
New Hope in Chicago ("Climbed out of DGB’s Bottom Five")
The Blackhawks have shown significant improvement—at least by their recent standards.
Connor Bedard’s Progress: Speed, Maturity, and National Team Buzz
Bedard has improved his skating and responsibility, drawing attention for a possible Team Canada Olympic role—although competition with Macklin Celebrini is creating intrigue.
Stanley Cup Playoff Hopes? Not Without More Depth
The hosts ask whether meaningful hockey late in the season is on the table. Despite Bedard's growth, the answer is “not yet.”
“The biggest defensive issue…is how porous they are off the rush.” – Sean Gentili (06:41)
“They were getting Vezina-level goaltending and that bails you out an awful lot...Now it’s not happening.” – Frank Corrado (09:21)
“The anger, the frustration in Toronto...it's a machine gun. It's not a sniper rifle. It's...everybody's getting it.” – Frank Corrado (23:17)
“This is a big giant flashing neon sign in Nashville saying, It’s not working, it will not work. You have to fix it.” – Frank Corrado (38:36)
“I think Team Canada is important to all these kids...Bedard is comfortable in who he is...very competitive within himself and he wants to produce but also very supportive of those other young kids.” – Scott Powers (53:55)
This episode is a comprehensive and blunt autopsy of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ early-season collapse, with thoughtful parallels drawn to other NHL teams navigating similar turbulence. The hosts bring humor, candor, and deep insight, weaving in enough context for less-devoted followers to appreciate the stakes. With the Leafs’ problems sounding “like a full systems failure,” fans are left with little optimism and even less patience—but as always, they're not alone in their suffering.
“Leafs fans want to revel in their own suffering and opposing fanbases want to do the exact same.”
– Sean McIndoe (29:09)