BRASS ASS PODCAST

These are the two-time defending champs, they have short memories for losses, and the 5-0 beatdown they suffered in Game 1 wasn’t going to shake their confidence. It was a reminder that Campbell is not Vasilevskiy, the best money goalie in the game.

Can a Stanley Cup winner be distilled into a repeatable blueprint?

It’s no secret playoff hockey is different than regular season hockey.

It’s heavier, more of a physical grind, and the calling of penalties tends to relax a bit during close games in the third period.

Heavier clubs – not to be confused with taller clubs, which don’t formulate as much to success – tend to go deeper in the postseason.

One team stands out and has that blue print come postseason.

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Yes on the Brass Ass Podcast, I talk about and provide information so that parents, grandparents and players do not make completely avoidable mistakes. 

Yes there is some really good advisers.

Unfortunately though, there seems to be a whole lot of other human parasites looking to get into the business because they think its a way to make a lot of money quickly. 

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Houston would be a worthy choice, but I believe Quebec City deserves a shot before Atlanta.

And while I’m sure there are good reasons to expand to those two places, we can’t discuss expansion without spending time talking about Quebec City.

Has anyone been paying attention to the Arizona Coyotes? That team is in a 4,600-seat rink, only temporarily, but Quebec City is a problem?

Montreal works just fine with a bilingual fan base. And for a long time, Quebec City worked well as an NHL town.

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It’s really weird to be looking ahead to the offseason and not immediately be freaking out about Toronto’s cap situation.

It’s a luxury we haven’t had in a while.

As much as it may fall into the situation of being way too early to do this, it also feels like with the trade deadline behind us it now gives us a first look at who are the players that are going to need to be re-signed and opens the debate about what pending free agents could be returning or not.

So here we are. We are entering a magical age where the Leafs have a competitive team and the “Toronto is in cap hell” good position for at least one year.

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The bad news of the day is that Toronto Maple Leafs newcomer, Ryan O’Reilly, has been diagnosed with a broken left index finger and has been placed on long-term injured reserve. 

The Maple Leafs are making some roster moves ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Devils. Both Steeves and Holmberg have been called up from the Marlies. 

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OK, Matthews not feeling great and Ryan O’Reilly having a “timeline” is significant. Welcome back to where the Leafs were in January, minus Pierre Engvall.

The Leafs shouldn’t rush anyone back to the lineup when the Leafs hold a five point advantage over the Lightning in the standings and really have nothing to lose but potentially a first round home ice advantage anyway.

It’s not 100% load management, but it’s about as close as you can get.

That’s why with a week with a game on Tuesday and the Leafs not playing again until Saturday, I’d consider giving Auston the game off against New Jersey as well as O’Reilly to make sure whatever is ailing him as a chance to heal too.

What I like about the late part of the season is there is that renewed interest in experimentation and the Leafs have already started with their 11F/7D lineup. Injuries are also going to be unfortunate and they are always going to happen, but they can also provide opportunities.

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In the weeks leading up to Deadline Day, we saw a number of trades league wide, with 19 more consummated on March 3 leading up to the final horn at 3:00 p.m. ET.

It has been a season of extremes, with restless contenders taking aggressive swings in pursuit of a Stanley Cup or even, a leafs single playoff series win.

So which teams made out the best?

The countdown on the playoffs begins,

it’ll be fascinating to see who Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe elects to go with on the fourth line, and everywhere else, ahead of their looming playoff matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

45 days remain to figure it all out.

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Trades in general have a motivating impact on the play of a team in the short term. And, for the Maple Leafs, being “All In” is a focus on just that – short-term success.

However, these trades might also lead to increased competition and potential performance declines for some players on the Leafs team.

We will see how the trades actually help this particular Maple Leafs’ team finish in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Get involved in the Brass Ass Q&A and Polls leading to the NHL 2023 playoffs.

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When talking about the “move of the offseason”, the hiring of Dean Chynoweth and Spencer Carbery are the real deal. The two moves that have gone largely unrecognized over the course of this season made their impact felt in an enormous way in Game 1 of Toronto’s first-round series against Tampa Bay

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