#john-tavares

#john-tavares

According to TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston, the Toronto Maple Leafs will say goodbye to pending unrestricted free agents Alex Kerfoot, Justin Holl, and Michael Bunting this off-season.There's a lot of talk surrounding Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.Many wonder whether or not he will remain with the team under new general manager Brad Treliving.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs learned anything from the Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup victory, it's that they need to trade some of their offensive talent for defense.If you compared the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs based off talent alone, the Leafs would be better, but that's not what wins championships.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should, if they can, add more star players to the roster.The Toronto Maple Leafs have operated the last several years with a "studs and duds" salary cap strategy that has now more or less been adopted league wide.Now that every team has an analytics department, the fact that the NHL is a strong-link game where stars dictate results is no longer a secret.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a Matt Murray problem on their hands.A goaltender who played mediocre for the club in just 26 starts in 2022-23, missing out on the team's postseason, and suffering several injuries throughout the campaign.The Toronto Maple Leafs netminder currently has 1-year left on his deal at $6.25 million AAV (average annual salary) along with a base salary of $8 million, a number that could make his contract untradable to practically every team, except one, the NHL's third richest franchise, the Montreal Canadiens.

The Toronto Maple Leafs held a press conference on Thursday morning to officially introduce Brad Treliving as their new general manager.He is the 18th GM in Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history.The press conference revealed what his priorities, and how he is excited to get down to work.One of the more notable things learned from the press conference is that Treliving can't be involved in the 2023 NHL draft.

As Kyle Dubas ' time as General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs has ended abruptly, now seems like the appropriate time to ask the question: what's next for one of the NHL's richest franchises?Working as the Toronto Maple Leafs GM for five years, Dubas' most memorable moment on the job came in July of 2018 with a quote during an interview with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, stating "We can, and we will" in regards to signing all four of the Leafs' core players.

Last week, Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan announced that the team is cutting ties with general manager Kyle Dubas.According to James Mirtle from the Athletic, the two Toronto Maple Leafs managers were at odds with each other.Shanahan allegedly prevented a few trades from happening during Dubas' time with the Leafs.

The Maple Leafs aren't done yet.Mitch Marner had goal and an assist as Toronto downed the Florida Panthers 2-1 in a must-win Game 4 to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the teams' second-round series Wednesday.William Nylander also scored for the visiting Leafs.Rookie goaltender Joseph Woll made 24 saves in his first post-season start with Ilya Samsonov sidelined due to injury.

Sam Reinhart scored at 3:02 of overtime as the Florida Panthers defeated the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Sunday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.The centre grabbed the puck behind the net and wrapped it around on a surprised Joseph Woll before the Panthers spilled off the bench.

The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs took their first playoff series, Joseph Pentresca wasn't even born.But after nearly two decades, the Leafs are finally headed to the second round of the playoffs.The hockey team beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime Saturday night to take their first round series, sending fans like 18-year-old Pentresca into a frenzy.

John Tavares scored two goals and added an assist, Joseph Woll made 23 saves and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Sunday night.Alexander Kerfoot also scored for Toronto, which has won two of its last three.The Maple Leafs are seven points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division with Toronto having one game in hand.

Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan has told each of the club's "big 4" forwards they are not likely to be traded this summer, per TSN's Chris Johnston on "Insider Trading."Auston Matthews and William Nylander are entering the final season of their contracts, and are both eligible to sign extensions with the Toronto Maple Leafs starting July 1.

The Toronto Maple Leafs sent shockwaves to the hockey community when they decided to part ways with GM Kyle Dubas.late last week.Dubas was hired in the 2018 offseason as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and now ends his tenure with making the playoffs 5/5 times, one division title, four first-round exits, and one second-round exit.

Kyle Dubas is out as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.The team said Friday it is "parting ways" with the 37-year-old executive, whose contract was scheduled to expire June 30."I would like to thank Kyle for his unwavering dedication over these last nine seasons with the organization, including his last five as general manager," Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a statement Friday.

Joseph Woll isn't thinking about all the work that got him to this point.All the Maple Leafs rookie goaltender is focusing on is keeping his team's season alive.Toronto will turn to Woll for Game 4 of its second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers staring down a 3-0 deficit with No. 1 option Ilya Samsonov out due to an upper-body injury.

Paul Maurice addressed the media after his team's 3-2 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.On what he would say about holding Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares to zero goals through three games:
Bobrovsky.That would be the end of that answer.

Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after his team's 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers which improved the Leafs' record to 43-19-9.On the team's response after the loss to NYI:
I thought they did a good job.We went out and started like we did the other night.Tonight, we stayed with it.On Matt Murray's performance:
I thought he looked great.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are done for the season.Things didn't go as planned, which means that plans need to be made to determine what's next for the franchise.The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is poised to undergo significant changes.What that looks like isn't very clear at this moment.However, all signs point to the exit of some long standing members of the organization.

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to do whatever it takes to re-sign Ryan O'Reilly this offseason.When you look back the 2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs season, the Ryan O'Reilly trade was the most significant move of the campaign.The team finally went "all-in" and although it didn't translate into a Stanley Cup, it wasn't due to the lack of effort by O'Reilly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs held their season-ending media exit press conferences this week after being eliminated from the 2023 NHL playoffs.In addition to now ex-GM Kyle Dubas on Monday and President Brenden Shanahan on Friday, there were many current Toronto Maple Leaf players who came up and spoke, players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Noel Acciari, Morgan Reilly, and Ryan O'Reilly were some key names that spoke this week.

In the end, the biggest problem when you find yourself in an 0-3 series hole is that you need everything to break just right for four straight games.In Game 4, it did.The Leafs played well, of course, but they also scored a goal off a referee's shinpad.In Game 5, they probably deserved to win.They had a ton of chances, but they now end the playoffs on a seven-game streak of scoring two goals per game.

All good things come to an end, and for the Tampa Bay Lightning, their string of deep postseason runs ended on Saturday night.The Bolts were able to push Game 6 of their first-round series to overtime, but John Tavares scored to send the Toronto Maple Leafs to the second round for the first time since 2004.

For many young Toronto Maple Leafs fans, this was the first time they ever celebrated a playoff series victory.After losing ten consecutive potential series-clinching games and having not won a series in 19 years, Auston Matthews & Co. finally found a way to get it done.The Toronto Maple Leafs rode near-flawless goaltending from Ilya Samsonov, a full 60 (plus 4) minute effort from just about every skater, and a small helping of good furtune to a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 6 of their opening round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have clinched a playoff spot for the seventh straight season.However, there is still plenty of work to do.With the Ottawa Senators' victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs are officially in the 2023 NHL playoffs.The Leafs have nine games left in the regular season before their first-round matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have 11 games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season.They have been dealing with some injuries lately, but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.Both players the Toronto Maple Leafs added at the NHL trade deadline from St. Louis, Ryan O'Reilly, and Noel Acciari, have gotten hurt.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were a big talking point on the Monday, May 15th edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek.During the podcast, they discussed the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs core four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander.Of these four players, the situation with Matthews is the top priority.

The Washington Capitals' coaching search will include one of its former captains.The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Capitals plan to interview Jeff Halpern for their open head coaching job.Halpern, a Potomac, Maryland native, has been an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning under Jon Cooper since the 2018-19 season.

Michael Eyssimont had a goal and an assist as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Thursday to force Game 6 in their first-round playoff series.Anthony Cirelli, with a goal and an assist, Nick Paul and Alex Killorn, into an empty net, also scored for Tampa.Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.

Alex Ovechkin isn't the only Capitals legend to get drenched in the locker room after a big milestone this season.Former Capitals captain Dale Hunter was honored by his players on Saturday night after his London Knights defeated the Windsor Spitfires, 6-3.For the 62-year-old Hunter, it was his 900th career victory as head coach of the Knights.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators07:00 PM at Canadian Tire CentreWatch on: CBC, SNO, SNW, SNP
The Leafs last game was at home on March 17 against the Carolina Hurricanes, which Toronto won by a score of 5-2.The Leafs have a record of 41-18-9 so far.The Ottawa Senators last played at home on March 16 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Carolina Hurricanes @ Toronto Maple Leafs07:00 PM at Scotiabank ArenaWatch on: NHLN, TVAS, TSN4, BSSO
The Leafs last game was at home on March 15 against the Colorado Avalanche, which Toronto lost by a score of 2-1.The Leafs have a record of 40-18-9 so far.The Carolina Hurricanes last played at home on March 14 against the Winnipeg Jets.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs fire Sheldon Keefe, it won't change the outcome of where this team is headed.Throughout his tenure, Sheldon Keefe has been the winningest head coach in Toronto Maple Leafs history and has guided this team to the playoffs every year.Although he can be fiery behind the bench, it's usually towards officials as he's definitely more of the modern-day player's coach.

Kyle Dubas has a big decision to make.It's one of many facing the Maple Leafs.Toronto's general manager said Monday as the team reflected on its second-round playoff exit that he needs time to decide whether or not he wants to continue in the role with his contract set to expire at the end of June.Dubas said if he does depart the Leafs it will be to spend time with his family after a trying year, adding he won't be joining another organization for next season.

Brothers Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers declined to wear special Pride-themed warmup jerseys ahead of the team's 6-2 loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.The jerseys were part of Florida's Pride night game in support of the area's LGBTQ community, and the brothers cited their religion as the reason for their decision.

Zach Aston-Reese scored twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Friday night.Morgan Rielly, with a goal and an assist, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (41-18-9), which got 32 saves from Ilya Samsonov.John Tavares added two assists.

- Sheldon Keefe Entering Game 5, the Maple Leafs are also overdue to break an inordinately long streak of scoring exactly two goals per game in the playoffs.#LeafsForever have scored exactly 2 goals in 6 straight games.11 different players have scored their 12 goals in that span.This is their first streak of 6 straight games scoring 2 or fewer goals since 2011-12.

Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs had their season on the line, needing a win to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive.It's safe to say they earned their right to keep playing.The Toronto Maple Leafs faced a glaring 3-0 series deficit heading into last night's game 4.
With fans and analysts all over social media acting like the series was over, it wouldn't have been surprising if the Leafs came out with a poor effort.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers are set-up for Game 4 of the series Wednesday night, with the Canadian team still looking for their first victory of the series as the Panthers are up 3-0.During Tuesday mornings skate, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe had some dramatic changes to the line-up.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs get swept and lose in the second round of the playoffs, except a ton of changes.It's crazy what a week can do for the Toronto Maple Leafs.Doesn't it feel like it was ages ago that we were celebrating the first round win against the Tampa Bay Lightning?For the first time in 19 years, the Leafs were in the second round and things were going to be different.

The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in a 3-0 hole after losing 3-2 against the Florida Panthers in game three on Sunday.In all three games against the Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs have only been able to score two goals in each game.Unfortunately for them, it has not been enough to win.There have been stretches in each game where Toronto is in complete control of the game, but for whatever reason, the Leafs let that control slip away.

The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery is almost here.Which makes now the best time to look back at some of the previous winners of the lottery and how it has impacted their franchise.Each year, the NHL Draft Lottery gives one team the chance to draft a real difference maker to alter the course of their franchise.

It's very ironic that the Toronto Maple Leafs slogan is "the passion that unites us all" when their players showed zero passion during Game 3 against the Florida Panthers.Being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan is the worst.Even when they have their most successful season in 19 years, this team still finds a way to disappoint us.

The Maple Leafs will need to keep their undefeated playoff road streak alive tonight to prevent the unthinkable scenario of falling 3-0 down to the Florida Panthers (6:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC/TBS).The Leafs currently find themselves in a position they haven't been in since the first-round series versus the Boston Bruins back in 2018 - two games behind - only this time they're heading out on the road for a must-win Game 3.
If there are reasons for optimism, it starts with the resilience shown on the road in the Tampa series - they won all three away games - as well as the team's ability to control the run of play and scoring chances in the series against the Panthers so far.

After practice on Wednesday, head coach Sheldon Keefe discussed the team's disappointing result in New York, the team's recent 5-4-1 stretch, the status of his injured players, and much more.Practice Lines - March 22

Leafs lines at practice
Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner Bunting - Tavares - Nylander Kerfoot - Acciari - Lafferty Aston-Reese - Kampf - Simmonds
McCabe - Brodie Rielly - Schenn Giordano - Holl Gustafsson - Liljegren
Samsonov Murray @TSN_Edge pic.twitter.com/zVQ2wxhuJU

Matthew Knies has a concussion and will definitely miss Games 3 and 4, according to Sheldon Keefe.He's "unlikely to return in the series."- Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 5, 2023

After the game last night, Sheldon Keefe honed in on the Sam Bennett cross-check on Michael Bunting with a comparison to the Auston Matthews cross-check on Rasmus Dahlin last year that result in a two-game suspension for Matthews, but the reality is that the incident Keefe offered "no comment" on - the Bennett takedown on Knies - was much, much worse.

After the heroics of John Tavares in overtime of game six on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will now face the Florida Panthers in round two.The Toronto Maple Leafs will have home-ice advantage for round two.Game one is on Tuesday, May 2nd, and game two is on Thursday, May 4th.Games three and four will then be in Sunrise, Florida, but Leafs fans were hit with a surprising message on Monday from the Panthers organization.

It's been far too easy to be negative about the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last two decades.That's because the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't made it to the second round of the playoffs since before 'The Facebook ' gave their users a Wall as part of their online profile.There's been many theorized curses on the Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in game six of their first round series.John Tavares was the hero, along with Ilya Samsonov, as the Toronto Maple Leafs did what they haven't been able to do for the last twenty years - advance to round two.The Leafs took an early lead, but Tampa tied it in the third, making things very intense.

Florida Panthers @ Toronto Maple Leafs07:30 PM at Scotiabank ArenaWatch on: TVAS, SN, BSFL
The Leafs last game was an away game on March 26 against the Nashville Predators, which Toronto won by a score of 3-2.The Leafs have a record of 44-20-9 so far.The Florida Panthers last played an away game on March 27 against the Ottawa Senators.

The second half of a back-to-back was no problem for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played an even better game than they did the night before.After deserving to beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday Night, and getting screwed on a random bounce to end the game, the Toronto Maple Leafs destroyed the Predators on Sunday, dealing them a vicious blow in their late-season attempt to make the playoffs.

Minnesota vs St. Cloud St.6:30 PM at Scheels Arena, Fargo NDDI Men's Hockey QuarterfinalsWatch on: ESPNU and TSN+
Leafs prospects in action today are Matt Knies and Mike Koster with Minnesota and Veeti Miettinen with St. Cloud.This is a single elimination game, with the winner going to the Frozen Four in early April.

History is repeating itself this postseason, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning are all but guaranteed to play each other in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.The Toronto Maple Leafs and Lightning put on one of the most entertaining series in the entirety of the 2022 playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers last night on the backs of a two-goal Auston Matthews performance.Though many are quick to excuse the Toronto Maple Leafs recent horrible play by referencing the new players and line combinations, I don't think it's that simple.Without Ryan O'Reilly in the lineup, the Leafs are simply a worse team than they were before the deadline, because Rasmus Sandin and Pierre Engvall are superior to the rest of the players they added.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Florida Panthers07:00 PM at FLA Live ArenaWatch on: BSFLX, SNO
The Leafs last game was an away game on March 21 against the New York Islanders, which Toronto lost by a score of 7-2.The Leafs have a record of 42-19-9 so far.The Florida Panthers last played an away game on March 21 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It's common knowledge at this point that the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2004.The Toronto Maple Leafs have had successful regular seasons every year since 2017, but have gone 0-for-6 in playoff rounds.In the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Leafs were their closest to winning a playoff round in the "Auston Matthews era," leading 3-2 in the series before losing game 6 in overtime and losing a hard-fought game 7 by a 2-1 score to the eventual cup finalists Tampa Bay Lightning.

The St. Pat's jerseys were on, Luke Schenn was welcomed home (with a big hit and a 'Luuuuuuke' chant to boot!), and the Maple Leafs played with some real purpose in this 5-2 win over Carolina.Other than an injury to Noel Acciari, this was a great night for the Leafs.Let's hope Acciari is okay and that the Leafs continue to play with this kind of urgency and pace.

Colorado Avalanche @ Toronto Maple Leafs07:00 PM at Scotiabank ArenaWatch on: TNT, TVAS, SN, SN1
The Leafs last game was at home on March 13 against the Buffalo Sabres, which Toronto lost by a score of 4-3.The Leafs have a record of 40-18-8 so far.The Colorado Avalanche last played an away game on March 13 against the Montréal Canadiens.

Buffalo Sabres @ Toronto Maple Leafs07:30 PM at Scotiabank ArenaWatch on: TVAS, SNO, SNW, SNP, MSG-B
While I do like a good "Illya" for an under the weather Samsonov, as well as three defensemen on one pair, here's an updated look at the lines.Alex Kerfoot - Auston Matthews - Mitch MarnerMichael Bunting - John Tavares - William NylanderSam Lafferty - Calle JärnkrokZach Aston-Reese - David Kämpf - Noel Acciari
Morgan Rielly - TJ BrodieMark Giordano - Timothy LiljegrenJake McCabe - Justin HollErik Gustafsson
Matt Murray - confirmed starterIlya Samsonov
Alex Kerfoot is on the first line because he's better than Michael Bunting (hopefully only for now).

The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a hard fought come from behind victory Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers where Mitch Marner took the team on his back and led them to victory.Monday night the Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Buffalo Sabres for the third time this season with their most recent outing coming just under three weeks ago where Ryan O'Reilly was the stand out star with his first hat trick as a Leaf and first in almost two years.