TSN: Martin Biron when asked if the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending is better entering this season compared to last and if he likes the moves the Leafs made on the blue line.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Frank Corrado: “I gotta get permission on this Marty but I will, I would love to throw a ‘Yes Guy, No Guy’ at you. Jimmy, is that okay? Can we?
Jim Tatti: “Go ahead sir.
Corrado: “All right Marty, here we go. ‘Yes Guy, No Guy,’ you feel more confident in the Leafs goaltending this year than you did last year?
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Biron: “Yes guy. I, yes. I, I was never a big Ilya Samsonov guy. And look, last year they had you know three goalies and it was, it was kind of this piece of together.
Anthony Stolarz this year did really, really well in Florida, with the best goaltender when you look at the advance numbers, goal save about expectations per game. But he wasn’t a number one but when he played, he played like an elite number one.
Can he play 40 games? Can he play 35 to 40 games this year? Absolutely. But that means you Joseph Woll playing 40 to 45 games. So I think that’s where the question mark is, is where is Joe Woll going to be?
But I’m way more confident in the Leafs goaltending this year than I was in the Leafs entering the season last year with what they had in the crease.
Tatti: “Okay Marty, supplemental ‘Yes Guy, No Guy.”
Corrado: “Oh here we go.”
Tatti: “Yes Guy, No Guy, you like the Leafs moves on the blue line.”
Biron: “Ah, I’m going to say ‘Yes Guy.’
Look, when you look at the Toronto Maple Leafs this year on the blue line, it’s still Morgan Rielly. They did add (Chris) Tanev, so that to me is, is a really, really nice piece.
(Oliver) Ekman-Larson did really good in Florida and obviously, that was a big part of their revamping their blue line. So I think it’s gonna be good.
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Do I think those two moves are enough to say all of a sudden the Leafs are way better on the blue line? No, but it’s a start. So a little bit like they did last year with Max Domi and Bertuzzi, it’s kind of like, ‘hey, let’s find a couple of pieces that could be complimentary and work out. The differences they’re, they’re not one-year deals. Last year Domi and Bertuzzi were one-year deals. This year it’s a little bit different. Tanev and OEL, they sign long-term.
But I liked their blue line better this year. I like what they’ve done with, with helping out the group on the back end.