Leafs Hold Season Ending Interviews

 

Photo From Editor in Leaf

Well, I am going to start this article in a way I never thought I would and talk about something that I hope never happens again to anyone. Last night at around 7:30 pm while in the parking lot of a movie theatre in Etobicoke Mitch Marner was victim of a car jacking that saw him held at gunpoint, thankfully he and his passenger were not harmed but with the Leafs holding their final press conferences today Marner did not speak to the media because Toronto Police Services asked him not to comment on the incident while the investigation is ongoing. Now, I have seen people online today taking shots at Mitch for what he went through trying to make jokes about it and to those people trust me when I say you mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. What Marner went through last night would be traumatizing for anyone to go through and to make jokes about it is simply disgusting. We as fans should just be thankful that he is surely rattled from the experience he wasn’t harmed at all because the outcome could have been much more severe. Everyone that met with reporters today was asked how Mitch was doing and they all said with all things considered he was in high spirits.

I am not going to break down what every single player said today when they stood in front of reporters because every answer was relatively the same. Each player said they believe in this team and feel they are knocking on the door. A few said that if a bounce or two went their way or maybe they got a few more penalty calls in their favor that maybe the result of the series with Tampa could have ended differently.

There were a few comments that were noteworthy from players and first was Jason Spezza. He was asked if he was hoping to return, and he answered saying that Toronto is the only team he would play for, but the decision is entirely up too management and in the coming weeks he plans to sit down with Kyle and see what his plan is. Spezza stated that he still feels he has something to bring to the team but currently he felt lost because he is asking himself if he brought enough and did enough to help the team win.

I personally hope that Spezza returns next season because although many might think 12 points isn’t enough, but Jason still produces for the Leafs, he is on the verge of scoring 1000 career points. He is still very good on faceoffs and the leadership that Jason brings on and off the ice, he has shown the younger players on the team what it takes to have success at an elite level but we also saw many examples of his leadership on the ice and game 5 was a perfect example when he went to Jack Campbell reassuring his confidence and of course there was Jason’s speech in the intermission that sparked the team and their comeback.

One player that will for sure be a focus this summer will be Jack Campbell as we all know he in need of a new contract and there are reports that the Leafs offered him a multiyear deal worth 2.75 million dollars per year, but Campbell’s camp turned it down because they are looking at a five million dollar or more price tag. When asked about it, Jack talked about how much he loves playing for the Leafs and how much he appreciates his teammates and the fans, but he apparently hasn’t given any thought on his contract situation he said he will just leave it up too his agent and Kyle Dubas. Personally, I hope Jack returns because he has performed extremely well for the Leafs from day 1 and hopefully, they can get a deal done that is fair for both sides. In fact, that was the answer Dubas gave when asked about the likelihood of signing Campbell, Giordano, and Lyubushkin so let’s turn our focus to the management side of the interviews.

The first to speak was Sheldon Keefe and he talked a lot about how he liked the way the team performed for majority of the season, he was very happy with how the team performed against the top clubs in the league, but he also understood the frustration the fans had when the team dropped points against teams they are expected to beat, Buffalo, Montreal, and Ottawa are examples of this. He also mentioned that he and the coaching staff have already begun thinking of ways to strengthen the team going into next season. It’s a major positive that the Leafs finished the regular season with the league’s best powerplay, but it didn’t perform that way in the playoffs when it mattered the most. When asked about the potential of changes to the roster being made Sheldon’s answer was an expected one when he said he can only focus for now on the players that are returning and his job as coach is to bring the best out of the players that Kyle provides him with.

Which now brings us too the combined press conference of Kyle Dubas and President Brendan Shanahan. Brendan started his press conference saying that he understands the frustration of the fans and their desire for change, but he feels the team shouldn’t make a trade just to make a trade. One change that fans for some reason are hoping for is that Dubas and Keefe to be fired. To those fans I hate to burst your bubble and dash your hopes, but Sheldon Keefe and Kyle Dubas will return once again for the coming season because like I said in my article the other day. There is absolutely no reason to fire a coach and a general manager following the season the team had collecting 115 points and 54 wins. Another question fans have is will there be changes to core. When Kyle was asked, he reiterated that although the responsibility is his he isn’t going to make a change just to make one. He will of course look at the roster and will do everything he can to make the team better because that’s his job, but Kyle feels the Leafs have prospects on the Marlies and a few European signings that will have a very good chance at cracking the Leaf lineup when training camp arrives.

So, I want fans and readers to be prepared for changes, but they likely won’t be the drastic ones that emotional fans are hoping for simply because if a new General Manager would likely overhaul the team and the same fans wanting change would be crying the blues as the Leafs miss the playoffs and fans sit through another rebuild. Once again, the tam had a very good season and a positive playoff series despite losing game seven.

So, that’s all for this one once again thank you so much to everyone that followed and supported my blog this season. I am going to take a break for a few weeks and will likely return after the NHL Entry Draft weekend on July 7^th and 8^th where I talk about what the Leafs did that weekend and then a week after the draft is the opening of Free Agency. This offseason has potential to be very interesting and I of course will do my very best to cover it.

Thanks as always for reading