- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie on TSN Radio on the Leafs.
“I think Shanahan believes he’s looking at a 3-5 year project to get this team to where it needs to be. They need better players here, let’s not kid ourselves. They need to improve at centre.”
McKenzie on the trade market for Phil Kessel.
“I would say what’s the market for a winger that scores like he does in the NHL? I don’t think you could trade Kessel and get back what you really need & that’s a 1C. Not many teams would trade a 1W for a 1C. Think Wilson’s criticisms of Kessel were fair of an elite player. Kessel’s #s are right there with the best of the best in the NHL. I’d like to see Kessel play with a true #1 C. If Corey Perry was in Toronto instead of Kessel what would Perry produce? “I think that’s the problem when your best player is a winger. “Until the time that the Leafs’ best player is a centre they’re probably not going to be much better than they are right now.
“I don’t think Shanahan & Nonis are dialing up the phones saying what about Kessel? What about Phaneuf? I think if someone calls and asks they’ll listen. Leafs are not where they are right now b/c Kessel/Phaneuf aren’t good hockey players. Need to be surrounded by better players. The way to get better hockey players may be to move them, but I don’t think they’re beating down the doors to trade them.”
McKenzie on the Maple Leafs won’t reach the next step …
“Until the Leafs have a center that can be mentioned in any of the top 15 Cs in the NHL. Ana, Bos, Col, Det have 2. Edm has RNH & Cgy has an up and coming one in Monahan. Montreal is going to get better when Galchenyuk develops more. Credible contenders in the NHL have a big time centre and most have two of them. Even the Panthers are doing well & that’s because they have two in Bjugstad and Barkov coming up.”
- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie on TSN radio on Maple Leafs coaching situation.
“Can the Leafs play better under Horachek, DeBoer or whoever they choose to put behind the bench? There’s only one way to find out & that’s why Carlyle was fired. The nature of the beast is that Carlyle’s teams get worse as the season goes on & that’s maybe why Shanahan made the move now to keep this team in the playoffs. I was shocked Carlyle wasn’t fired last summer & I believe he only didn’t get fired bc Shanahan didn’t feel Trotz, Laviolette was someone they wanted to commit $2 million for 5 years.
Now the only question that needs to be answered in the short term is where do they go from here ? I think it’s probably that Horacheck is the interim coach for the remainder of the year but I don’t think that’s 100% certain. There are some different names available now that weren’t available in the summer like DeBoer, MacLean and Eakins. Is Carlyle the reason that the Leafs are a so-so bubble team that struggles to get consistency? Probably not, let’s see if someone can get better results/better possession numbers/play consistently.”
- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger on TSN radio on the Maple Leafs, Bruins and Red Wings coaching situations.
“I believe Horachek will be the interim coach for the remainder of the year. Only reason you don’t lean to a DeBoer now is b/c you’re intrigued by what may available in the offseason & that takes us to Babcock. Could the Leafs afford to pay Babcock $4 million per if that’s what commanded? Of course they could. If your Shanahan maybe fundamentally/philosophically have a problem. Belief is Shanahan makes $2 mill. Would he pay Babcock $4? 1. is Toronto going to be interested in Babcock? 2. and more importantly, is Babcock going to choose Leafs over other opportunities? If Babcock is interested in a project & the Leafs are a project, he’s got a project in Detroit. There’s lots of reasons for Babcock to be interested, intrigued, flattered by the Leafs, but doesn’t mean he’ll take it.”
“It is hot right now in Boston all bets are off. Everything is possible in Boston.”
“Today was business as usual in Detroit bc Holland & ownership have done everything they could to get him to re-sign there. Det is willing to go to $3 m for Babcock, but are they willing to go to $4? I don’t know. Have a good coach coming up in Blashill.”
Dreger on Nonis.
“Nonis has to be on the clock. I don’t think there’s a radar showing Nonis as the next firing candidate. If Shanahan had deep concerns with Nonis he would have fired him with Carlyle or made the change in the offseason. I believe philosophically that they’re on the same page. I know collectively they made the decision yesterday to fire Carlyle. But don’t get me wrong, Nonis will be heavily scrutinized as he should be. Nonis has a lot of contract negotiations that he has to go through but his challenge is to make this roster better. Nonis hasn’t really made the big trade. He’s had some signings. Clarkson which he’d probably like to have a do over. Nonis extended Phaneuf & Kessel but those players are getting those deals as UFAs, so there’s value there. The young guys are the easiest to move in Toronto: Gardiner & Kadri.”