[MUSIC] >> The Bulls team has a team four-one twice in four days. >> I think so much last game. Both teams look good and it was playoff style game. And ultimately it's just a couple breaks that go in one way or the other. So just for me, it's just important to dial them for the full 60. And to keep understanding that one or two goals make break a game. >> How would you assess your two games against the groups this week? >> I like my process and ultimately it's what I have control over. So obviously I'm not happy with the result and I want more from myself to give this team. So I keep working and keep working on the process. Over my years I've tried to do a good job of separating the emotions from the game. And I think that's a good thing for everybody to do especially is you get towards the postseason. There's a lot of trippy games and emotional games with big rivals. So for me it's I'm focusing on making the next save and focusing on winning the game. [MUSIC] >> Good morning, Joe Sports, 10-5-9 of the fan, Ben Anis, Brent Gunning. And Angel Tread deadline today, 3 o'clock, EM, Jeff Merrick, Elliott Friedman, Luke Gazdick, later on in the program. That was Joseph Wall after he had another loss to the Boston Bruins. He's been responsible for three of the four. Not responsible. >> He's gonna say wow, it's been in net. >> Okay, yeah, three of the four. >> He's allowed, speaking of four, he's allowed four goals in each of his three starts against the Boston Bruins, including yesterday's four one defeat to the hands of the Bruins. And just one point about what we heard from him and when we continue to hear from him and it's like these post games are not everything. It's like, who cares? If you stop all the pucks, do you say whatever you want? >> Yeah. >> But yeah, it is quite a departure from the Jack Campbell is like, I'm so bad. Like I cost the team the game like I could you imagine what he would have said. He might have retired after allowing the fourth goal last time. I just skated off the ice and hung his head in shame. >> Yeah, and for a goalie, you should, I guess, remove the emotional element of it from your play. >> Yeah, not the guys that are engaged physically like they were yesterday. Anyways, Joe Wall has not been good against the Bruins this season. >> It seems pretty clear to me that the Maple Leafs would like for him to take the reins and run with this starting job and be the starter for game one of a postseason series. But now the sample against the Bruins is over. Like there are no more Bruins games on the schedule. There's no more, hey, there's the litmus test and here's maybe how it's gonna look in a postseason series. That's it, we've just seen it. And it's resulted in two points, but zero victories. And Joe Wall in particular has not been great. >> Nope. >> Against the Boston Bruins. Does that sample, and it's not finished, finished. What is finished? At least you're gonna finish third in the Atlantic. What is not finished to their first round opponent is going to be. Could be the Panthers still in the first round and pick your poison there, I suppose. But does his individual record against the Bruins impact what now I have as a 60/40 split in favor of Elias Amsterdam getting the start in game one. So for me it does, does it impact your decision as to who gets the start in game one of that series that, hey, it's not like Ilya Sampson off his rattled off a bunch of wins. He also was Owen won this season against the Boston Bruins, but does Joe Wall's individual record against the Bruins and being a Massachusetts guy, I don't know. Maybe there's a connection there as well. Does that impact your decision making when we head towards game one? >> God, I wish you made it easier, right? >> I'm not going to. >> No, no, I don't mean you. I don't care what you do or don't do. Joe Wall should have made it easier because we can sit here and we hate the fourth goal. We can quibble on the breakaway one, but was it his fault? The Leafs lost that game last night? >> No, they scored one goal. >> I don't think it was. Exactly. We go back to the four one on Monday and maybe a little more his fault there, but guess what? At least we're worse in that game. So I think that's the problem with it is that if you're of the mind and the belief that Joe Wall can give you good enough, you haven't seen the team that he should be good enough behind against Boston yet this year. For me, if it is against Boston, what this has changed for me is that I am now open to the possibility of Ilya Samsonov stamping home that he's the game one starter in the regular season. That that's what has changed for me. The fact that you got up against Boston three times, you lost all three and to your point A, so the other guy, he lost the game too. I think that you see that as, okay, Samsonov, if you can prove you are definitively the guy by the end of the regular season. And I don't say that to say he isn't right now. He is definitively the number one guy right now. There's just 19 games or 18, whatever it is, there's so much and it doesn't seem like that much. But with goal tending, that can swing 15 times in 18 games, but I'm now I'm now comfortable with Samsonov being the number one starter so long as he continues to be this guy over wall and it's against Boston, a lot of caveats there. Sure. And Joe Wall performed well when he was forced into duty against the Panthers last season. Well, so that's, that's what I think is the interesting thing about this is that if, if the table flips and I use table in the like English soccer sense, where Boston is down on top and Florida's, they're going to have two more games like this down the stretch where you say, okay. And are they going to give each guy one? Is it going to be seen as tip in the hand who the game one starter is, whoever gets that first Florida game, if the, if the standings flip and that's who it looks like you're going into. That's what he's the really interesting part about this is that it feels like, okay, there we have the definitive sample size unless they play Florida and then we get to do this two more times right towards end of the season. 867 save percentage for Joe Wall in the three games against the Boston Bruins is not just the four walls. Yeah, it's just, it, it hasn't been good up and good. Nope for him against the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swamin looked pretty good in those two games against the Leafs this season. He's looked pretty good. Like every single moment that he's spent on an NHL ice service and including the postseason. I only get the loss in game seven against the Panthers last season. But yeah, it would have been interesting to play that series out again with him getting all the starts instead of a Linus Olmark, any who. So physicality. Sorry, no, one more thing on Guiltany. Why does it, I know it's just like, I guess culture or whatever. Why does everything just work so easy over there in Boston? Like, I don't think Joe Wall and Ilya Samsonov are at each other's throats. I also wouldn't be surprised if it's like those like fighting fish where you have to keep them in separate tanks. And it's like, ah, don't have them in the same room. You don't want, you don't want Samsonov remembering there's another goalie around here at any point in time. And then the Boston guys are just hugging each other. There's no ill will or it's like, or at least they're doing as good a job publicly acting like there's not. I don't know if you can, you know what, he's that good an actor. I mean, well, exactly. That's what I'm getting at. Like if it was me, I'd be going, why are you stealing my job? What's going on here? But they've just, everything just seems to go so smoothly. All marks been paid and he's also gotten the individual accolades with the Vessna last season. Well, I mean, Swainman knows about to get paid. Do you think most Vessna guys go, how about, you just give me the crease? I want the Vessna. Yeah. How about that? I don't know. Yeah. No, there seems to be something just intrinsically teeny, great with the Boston Bruins. The Leafs apparently before the game, according to Max Nomi said, we're going to be fighting for each other in this game, no matter what happens. Was that, was that seem like before, I guess I would have been before the game yet? No, like, I just wasn't sure of the quote if they like had to come to Jesus moment after the way the first period went. But yeah, I guess it would have been before the game seeing as how Jake McCabe tried to kill someone nine seconds into it. Yeah. Okay. So Jake McCabe did do that and Tyler Bertuzzi did get in a scrap. Still the best one of the night. Oh God. It was so good. Yeah. And Max Nomi did go after Brad Marshand and wanted to go with him, but Brad Marshand wasn't having that. He eventually got his way later on in the game against Charlie McAvoy. So the Leafs showed some toughness. So what does that mean? What does that mean? Because I expect that Jake McCabe in a postseason series is not going to risk his team being short handed just for the pleasure. And I'm sure it was a pleasure. Oh man. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed it. Brad Marshand. I think that element out of it, I suppose, but this is also the team with the same players that allowed Brad Marshand to skate away unscathed after removing Timothy Lilligren from the lineup for a month and a half. What did yesterday's game indicate to you, if, again, where everything has to be with a vision towards late April and May, a postseason series between these two teams? What does yesterday's physicality mean? I don't think it means nothing. I think the biggest thing to take away from it, though, is that it's from guys that matter. In the past, when you've seen this from the Leafs, it's your, you know, it's your Ryan Reeve for lack of a better term going on, I'm going to show these guys how big and tough we are. And there's nothing wrong with Ryan Reeve showing everybody how big and tough he is. I quite enjoy it, quite honestly. And if you would have wanted to show that Brazil character who was a Leaf Farm Hand a year and a change ago that last night, I wouldn't have been remotely mad about it. But it means so much more when it's from guys that matter on the team. Born has hit on this all year long that the Leafs for years have had a team A and a team B, the real team and the mercenaries. Well, part of the three lines being spread out is that you don't feel like it's that case. It's three real lines and then a fourth line of mercenaries. But it's that it's your second line center. It's your second line winger. It's guys you're going to count on to matter. It's guys who you got for how good they've been in the playoffs doing that in a playoff tone setter. You can't look at it as anything other than a positive development. Will it matter? Yeah. I don't know. It's a positive. You know who will decide that it matters? It's a boring answer. But Joe Wall really a Samson awful decide how much that matters. They will. I mean, and Austin Matthews and Mitch Marner and William Kneelander, but to that point, it's like, yeah, William Kneelander was dragged into something, but then was, yeah, dragged out of it because of those guys. Right? Like that those. I'm happy I'm happy you brought that up. That's still the deal with this team. And yeah, you're right. It's like those guys are closer to the core because they're going to be impactful pieces and you need secondary scoring from a Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi. But they're still not Austin Matthews and Mitch Marner and William Kneelander and to lesser extent, John de Varras who also doesn't have that in him. Like those guys. John de Varras has it in him like once a month. He does feel like he kind of snaps once a month and gets, it just has a night where he's ornery. I just, you wish you saw it all the time. But notably in a game that felt like a real rivalry game, like everybody's in on it. Including the Bruin stars. Well, okay. So that's what I wanted to say about this. And no one's going to sit here and say, Marshawn doesn't want it or he's a wallflower, but he had every opportunity to oblige to engage in that stuff. And I suppose your answer is going to be that he did when he killed Matthew Knives. Yeah. But I don't know. Brad Marshawn had every opportunity to engage in oblige and I'm not going to tell you. But he could say scoreboard. He's allowed to say scoreboard, right? Because well, one, they are winning the hockey game. And yeah, part of it is because of the five on three that they earned because, well, they didn't earn it. They were gifted in that, but they earned it by Brad Marshawn being a very cross checkable person and understanding that, you know, just by existing, yeah, it's likely that somebody's going to cross check you would put you on the power. And it's also just by existing, he's going to take a cheap shot at a player that has, I suppose, plausible deniability. Yeah. It's the, that is, that is where I get frustrated by all this. And it's the track record of it all. If it's the thing we've talked about all the time, you're not going to see it from Marner. His playoff toughness was getting punched in the face instead in their last year by Matthew Kachuk. He really showed his toughness there, right? Right. Okay. Matthews. We've done this a million times. Okay. It's not going to change. I wish it was. Flip, you think it's going to happen? I certainly don't. John Tavares. I do feel like it lurks in there, but you just have to put the right coding in because again, we do see them just kind of snap and freak out three, four, five times a season, but you take it three, four, five times in a playoff series, especially if it's going to be against those guys. I don't think that Bertuzzi and Domi can kind of make those guys anything different, but I think it matters having guys who are not just your third and fourth line guys cruising around doing that stuff. I guess probably the best way to put it. Yeah. They need Bertuzzi and Domi to be good and to our shared point, when both of those guys were struggling early in the season, that we will see them at their best and most impactful when the games start to matter most specifically in the postseason. I think, and listen, they didn't get on the scoreboard and it doesn't matter if they're the throw in Brad March and all over the place and they lose four wanting game, one of a postseason series against the Bruins, but yeah, I think that was proof of concept when it comes to that as well. For sure. For sure. And just again, an exceptional job not getting the instigator by Tyler Bertuzzi. I just remember, I forget which game it was, the Ben Wah fight, I think where, well, you can't jump them. You got to, you got to wait, you got to plan it to knock at the instigator. Clearly Bertuzzi watched that breakdown by BX because he did a wonderful job of baiting with their spoon into getting the breaks beat off him. All right, this NHL trade deadline update brought to you by your local Ontario Subaru dealers. Welcome to uncommon performance in a Subaru with legendary symmetrical full time all wheel drive. Mentioned it. Jack Genssel off the board. He is not going to play for a while still still on the injured reserve, but he sent to the hurricanes for Michael Bond take a first of fifth and some prospects involved there. The Golden Knights unable to make it happen, unfortunately for them. So Alec Martinez, I guess you don't have to end up on LTIR. You're okay. You can come back unless there's another move to be made, which you can't discount either. There was no debate going into yesterday's game as to which side of the aisle the penguins were going to be on. It was a bubbling situation. The Genssel was going to be able to door either way, like they were clearly selling at least him going into yesterday, but clearly those are the six nothing that capitals just puts the final stake through the heart of the 2024 Pittsburgh penguins. Sidney Crosby, you're going to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Here is Captain Canada about what his front office has rightly decided to do here before the three o'clock trade deadline. What are you thinking about the rest of this season? I know you're trying to get into the playoffs and win every game, but also managing the match. I don't know. I mean, it's probably a better question from them for them, right? Did any of that distraction from playing to what happened tonight? I don't know, I don't know honestly. Is this compared to anything you've been through before here? I wouldn't, no, I wouldn't say this, yes, yeah, it's a new experience for sure. I think the trade deadline time's always tough, but I think given the circumstances, yeah, I would say this little heavier. Thanks. Yeah. That is hard. That's a hard listen. And part of it is, it's hard to separate that that's immediately following a six nothing loss to your historic rival, right, in the Washington capitals who are kind of going through the same thing. But yeah, that's a, that's embarrassing, man. Six nothing, you're, you're still supposed, like there is a mathematical chance you can get into the playoffs. You are like factually supposed to be still playing for a postseason spot, not to be embarrassed and to be embarrassed on a home ice. Six nothing to another team that's not going to make the playoffs. So there's, that's obviously part of the reaction you hear from Sidney Crosby. But yeah, you don't feel good if you're going to be hearing your star player who's going to be talking to you about whether he wants to be extended and whether he wants to remain with the only franchise he's ever known or whether he wants to take his talents elsewhere this offseason. Yeah. I God, we talk a lot about truth serum on this show. I would love to get the truth serum into Sidney Crosby because I don't think you can look past his answers and say, ah, that's a nothing burger was after a six nothing game. Don't make anything of that. I think that colors the perception of it in a big way. I think if Sydney Crosby gets asked, and look, he was never going to duck the media, especially if they make a six nothing loss on deadline day. That wasn't going to happen. But if he just said, not tonight, I imagine there's a pretty different answer than I don't know, go ask Kyle when he, when he gets asked about that. Now there, this all goes to what you believe is going to happen with said you've, we've all heard the reporting that being a one team guy is important. Is it the absolute most important thing? Maybe not, but it certainly carries a lot of weight with him. And it just all depends on how much you think he was bought into the plan of Kyle Dubas and how much they're on the same page. You know, Dubas got a seven year contract. He carries a ton of weight in that franchise. He doesn't carry more than the guy who wears the C and I don't know, Mario, Mario might like bequita to him one day or I guess, friend way now, but like he is the penguins. So I look at that and I, I chalk it up and I know people say, Oh, shock are coming from you. I chalk that up mostly to a guy being gutted that he's missing the playoffs again. And it's like, okay, that's it. Final nail in the coffin. We got pumped six nothing. The capitals are scoring against us. Is it a little frustration with where things are out with the team and the trade that was made? I'm sure, but I don't think that is, I can't stand Dubas and that's why I'm letting it be known this way. That was my read on it anyways. Okay. I'm big on the percentage chances of things. Yeah, I know you are. You love it. I put it at 99.99999999999% Sydney Crosby's remaining at Pittsburgh Penguin for the entirety of his career. And he figures at an extension this off season with the penguins for three more years or whatever it is. And apparently there was that report that the penguins actually tried to like reopen his contract and pay it more. It's like, this is, we don't feel good about you only counting as eight point seven against the cap. Like, can we, can we give you more? And the editor was like, obviously, like no, if anybody deserves it, if anybody deserves it. But yeah, no, the words of the league, he's, he's not going anywhere. And that's going to stink because penguins are going to stink. Unless, wow, Kyle Dubas really has an ace up his sleeve, hard to imagine best case scenario for the entirety of the NHL and for especially our purposes here, content creators who pay attention to this league is said we get like the last couple of years of Sydney Crosby mercenary and it's, I know Sid would tell you he's not doing that because of the legacy stuff. Sorry, Sid, you're wrong. The legacies, like it's cemented, you're the, one of the greatest of all time. And right there with Mario in penguins history, you think the penguins fans would know, but would, would, would have one Iota of animosity towards you if you decided, hey, man, actually this is probably better for your long-term development as well that you're able to recoup the assets with me and trade me away this office. It's not going to happen, but yeah, for like an entertainment standpoint, for a health of the game standpoint, even for the penguins standpoint, it's in their best interest to trade them away. Yeah, I, the penguins part of it, for sure, of course, you get to re-stack that. And then the other part of it is that once he leaves, it allows you to totally reset. But I don't know, maybe I'm sentimental. Maybe I'm the worst. I don't know. You tell me which one, but I love the fact that all of the different, and this is, and you know, we use goats, it's supposed to be just one guy, but it's like, you know, we have a lot of goats and all of these sports. They all have things that separate them, okay? Like with Gretzky, he's the, he's always going to have all the records with Mario. He was the one team guy. And I think that does mean a lot to Sid, where you see all of these other players, Conor McDavid, is he going to fall in the same path? We think so now. But who knows how these things play out? I do think there is something to it. And what I love to see, love to see is strong, but what I like to see Sidney Crosby running shotgun with Nathan McKinnon or something. Yeah. I don't know. If he ends up embossed it, I probably won't like that very much. Like, I feel. What was that? Habs fans. That's the sleeping dragon of all this. Why am I like, why don't you just stay over there, okay? Because the timeline, now we know, like, go look at Ottawa, go look at Buffalo. These things don't always go the way you think they're going to go. But that's been the scariest part of all this is the Habs sucking at exactly the right time to in theory anyways, and then it's going to happen. But in theory, get good enough to be the John Tavares landing spot, except for a guy who's won everything in the world. So yeah, that's also, I have to be honest, and that color's a big part of this for me, of the worry of the Habs getting good and him going there. And you just stay in Pittsburgh, Sid. But from a content percentage. No, he's going to stay there. He's not giving us anything. Boy, the Kyle Dubas legacy is going to be quite something, because like I said, this inhibits if he is given the go ahead and better than that, like Sid is like, hey, actually, I want you to trade me. I think that would be a great relief to Kyle Dubas. Oh my God, that would be, that'd be, because you can't get mad at him. No. Sitting Crosby's leaving. What do you want me to do? He wants out. I'm going to hold Sid hostage on this bad team. Well, and plus, I mean, the contract. His contract allows him to not be on the hot seat ever, right? Because it's what? A seven year deal? This makes like 5 million. It makes more than every leaf other than the core guys and bird. But if you're a penguins fan, you obviously have more patience. And if you're like, oh, okay, this is a tear down to the studs rebuilds and instead, man, I wouldn't put anything past sitting across. We've just happened like an MVP type season this year and they're not going to sniff the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. It's going to get better next year. I mean, in a world of limitless possibilities, maybe in a world actually more of like flattened cap possibilities and an Eastern Conference where there's doesn't look like unless the Panthers of this team that were headed towards a dynastic situation at the very tippy top of the conference, yeah, maybe they can make the playoffs because it is half the league gets in, but doesn't seem like it's getting better in Pittsburgh. Okay. What do you quickly? Bunting being part of the return, obviously, just from a Toronto perspective. This is hilarious. And again, like everyone knows where I stand on both those guys be a bunting and dubious. So this is opinion will shock you. But you know, if you're going to go full rebuild, yeah, get more picks and get more prospects, but Michael Bunting has proven he can play with elite players in this league. And guess what? The Penguins don't have any okay players, but they do have a few elite players, especially up front still. So you'd want to get a first round pick. I'm not going to sit here and say it's a great return, but and I know people are going to roll their eyes at the Sue of it all. But I think it makes all the sense in the world if the Penguins are going to try to stay relevant, dish and all those guys are going to be there, you want, you want a Michael Bunting? Yeah, I suppose you do. And the fit was not there with him in Carolina, good players. That's a problem. They don't have elite forwards. Honestly, I'm joking kind of, but when they bump bunting down the line up here, he was a lesser version of himself. He's good with elite talent. Some guys just are. And not everybody is. Hey, listen, Michael Bunting, even in a diminished season in Carolina stack the points up against what Matthew Nyez has done, basically all season long playing alongside Austin Matthews and Mitch Marner. Yeah, it's not just plug and play playing with great players and Zach Hyman's making a work as well. But yeah, no, there's just some guys that are capable of doing cast break happening and he couldn't make it work. Also, just how dare you putting Zach Hyman and Michael Bunting in the same sentence. As a guy who likes Michael Bunting, Zach Hyman, how dare you? All right, so any updates on what's happening over there at the SportsNet studios? Yes, the light has been turned off that allowed me to see this, but I did see them putting out it looked like some type of muffin tray, maybe like banana loaf or something along here. Like you see it like, you know, Starbucks are like the fancier kind of stuff. So yeah, cake pops. I didn't see any cake pops. I don't know. I mean, Merrick would know, right? We're going to talk to him soon. So it'll be in the building? On the other side of the door, like it's not accessible for us, like we couldn't just like slide over there. Don't grab. Oh God. No, you think my past card gets into that? No. Placial studio? Not a chance. All right, we'll talk to Jeff Merrick of SportsNet in 32 thoughts next is the fan morning show continues. Ben Anis, Brent Gunning, SportsNet 590, the fan. Big guests and bigger opinions on everything happening in leafsland. Real kipper and born. Be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you guys talk at all of those great day minds? I think you just dated to Brad. I mean, I see a lot of moves kind of happen today. I think we're all aware and there's a chat about it, but I don't think anybody's, you know, it's not on TV. I mean, I think that Brad is going out making these types of moves to bolster the team. Yeah, it's good. I mean, as a player, you always enjoy seeing that. You know, you want your group to get better and I think it just shows some confidence. I mean, our team believes in ourselves. We have confidence we want to go with their play and make a push here at the end of the season. You know, again, once we start playing for room, we want to be ready. How much would you say the trade deadline might be distracting this game right now? I have no idea. I don't have social media. Good morning, Joe, Sportsnet five, nine of the fan band and a sprint gunning a little more than seven hours remaining until the three o'clock trade deadline. The broadcast on Sportsnet starts at 10 o'clock this morning, just mere feet from where we are in our Sportsnet five, nine of the fan studios. And they just delivered some food and that's a little too early considering the broadcast doesn't start for another two and a half hours. There is cellophane wrap on top of it. Keep your fresh. I also saw somebody walking around with what appeared to be. It had just been a piece of paper with anything on it, but it looked like several, so maybe like segment rundowns. It's happening. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. And in mere moments, Jeff Merrick will walk through those doors as he gets set to be a part of the big show. He of the Jeff Merrick show and 32 thoughts. It joins us right now. How's it going? Jeff. I'm well. Yeah. For me, it's a black coffee day. I never eat on dates like this. Really? But I never want to be the guy that's got soup on his thigh, so it kind of. I often subside on just black coffee, so that's amazing to my ears, Merrick. I'm happy to hear that. You'll be caffeinated. I don't have any actual trades to break, so I've stuck to breaking what is happening in the studio next door. What's this day like, Merrick? I mean, we always have the scuttlebutt, the run-up leading up to it. But what's the day like for guys like you and Fridge and everybody working it? It's Chase Day. It's Chase Day, especially on a day like this where, like, let's be blunt here. Like, a lot of the major names have already been traded. So this is a day where, you know, you sort of call together all the tips you have over the past couple of weeks, and you see where they land. Like, I'll give you a couple of examples. Last year, trade deadline, I spent the majority of my time figuring out whether UC Sorrows was indeed going to the Los Angeles Kings, he didn't, and I spent a lot of time seeing if Logan Stanley was going to the Washington Capitals, because those were two of the big ones that ultimately didn't happen last season, but we were chasing. So it's a day where you chase a lot of things, maybe they'll end up as sort of dead ends, and you just sort of, honestly, to be blunt, you annoy people today. And what I will do and what Elliot will do is we'll spend the weekend like no jokes, it's been like the whole week, you'll spend the weekend apologizing to people for bothering them so much, whether it's, you know, people on teams, representatives, players, all of it. You know, leading up to this day, people are sick of hearing from you, even if they pretend that they're not, and you do spend a lot of time saying, "Hey, look, I know I was really aggressive the last couple of weeks, and it's one unit that I appreciated." I think they get it. I think this is a very particular point in the NHL schedule. And it's not like there's no big names available, right? Tyler Tofoli's still out there, a guy, Brattrelli, for living knows a little bit about acquiring it the deadline, not to say that he's on the Maple Leafs radar, there's no indication that's the case. Mad Dumbo guy that they were apparently in discussions with as a free agent this past off season. Maybe there's a Jacob Chickron move, Jacob Markstrom out of Calgary, like, what do you think there is still like a big move to be made before three o'clock today? Well, Tofoli, for sure, the other name that I wonder about is Jason Zucker. And there have been a number of teams that expressed interest there, the Boston Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks had a conversation with someone last night that said, "Don't sleep on the Winnipeg Jets," as well, because as much as they've made their Sean Monahan move, and we're sort of used to Kevin Shevel day off being rather conservative around trade deadline time. Last year was Nita Ryder, could this be Jason Zucker on the Winnipeg? We'll see where that one ends up. But there are still names, and there's always the one trade, guys. There's always the one that comes out of nowhere that nobody saw. The big one of recent note was a couple of years ago when Anthony Manta went for Jacob Verana, and everybody went, "We had no idea these two were even available." At that point. So there's always one of those. And then there's the ultimate wildcard, and that wildcard to be blunt, the Vegas cold at night. And we always talk about managers who could literally do anything, and I'll put your mother for the Vancouver, even though technically he's not the GM, we all know who runs the show there. Rutherford's in that camp, and so is Kelly McCrimmon, the GM of the Vegas cold at night. So I never say that Vegas is done, much like I say, no, your mother for team is ever done. So I would be watching Vegas and Vancouver today, as they put their final touches on everything. There are some teams that we all believe are done. I look at the Edmonton Oilers, anything that the Oilers do today is a bonus. Like I think that the Edmonton Oilers have put the pen down, this is the team. Let's just hope for health at this point. And then there are some other teams that will be doing it and cramming for the final exam here right until three o'clock Eastern. So we got the big trade we were maybe expecting today, late last night, details finally coming out. It is, in fact, Genssel making his way to Carolina. I'm sure you saw the post game comments from Sydney Crosby where, I don't know, he's not going to be happy after any loss, but especially not a six nothing one. Just what do you make of the return? Obviously, bunting is kind of the central piece coming back along with a couple of conditional picks there. Are you surprised that the route the return took or does that kind of make all the sense in the world, given where Pittsburgh's at? Choose same Ray Greyhounds for life, right? Listen, it didn't work out in Carolina for Michael Bunting. We know that there's always been an affinity that Cal Divas has had for that player as well. And they did need to get a body back so that that does make a lot of sense. Dubas and bunting has always been a successful battery. I'll tell you what, it does indicate what the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking for right now. They're not so much interested in draft picks as much as they're interested in young players. And I think of note on this one, you know, all three players that came over from the Carolina Hurricanes, obviously all in the early 20s. And they're all forward. I don't know what to read into that other than maybe Dubas is just looking for the three best young players available in any trade, but I thought it was interesting that we're looking at three players, a couple of centers and a winger in this one coming back. But the Pittsburgh Penguins are, you know, not looking for draft capital, they want bodies. And the ones, the ones, the one area, and this is where Jason Spencer, I think really steps in here too, I think what they want is bodies that they can develop. And they don't want to take them from the root to the fruit. They want a player that's had maybe a couple of years pro under his belt. So not exactly a surprise. We heard going into deadline that what the, that what Cal Divas was looking for was actual players and not lottery tickets. And I think he looked around the landscape and looked at what Vancouver was offering and what the Vegas gold, the Knights were offering and said, this is the better, the best deal that we can get. Now from the Carolina point of view, this one really does seem hand to glove, doesn't it? Doesn't it? Like when you look at perfect. Does he not look like and seem like and play like a Carolina hurricane style player? Like this is a team that is very much led by, I shouldn't say led by, but very much heavily influenced. Let's just say that by the analytics departments, they pride themselves on being the smartest organization in the NHL. So this one makes a lot of sense for the hurricanes. And then when you look at what Dubas is trying to do, it depends, you know, that fits the mandate. Get young players here. As for Sydney Crosby's comments, look, I think Sydney Crosby knows what the score is here. You know, I'll tell you what, and it's jarring to hear, but I was on Hallford and Bruff a couple of days ago. And one of the things we were talking about and discussing is, and I'm sure, you know, maybe the reality this is, you know, slowly starting to dawn on Sydney Crosby, maybe it already has. Here's what I think we should wonder about has Sydney Crosby played his last playoff game in the NHL? Yeah. Yeah, I think it's very possible. Well, here's the here's the like counter wonder I have or like hat on a hat of a wonder is, does the fact that we know best on best hockey is coming back and he's going to get to Captain Canada twice? And I mean, the world championships if he wants. Do we think that alters anything? Like, if he didn't have that on the horizon and it was, I'm really never going to play in a game that matters again. Do we think that that alters his decision making or thought with this at all? Because that's the thing I've been wondering about that is that he's not going to play no games that matter because I guarantee you when he puts on the Canada sweater and the sea that goes along with it, those will matter quite a bit. Ultimately, I don't know that it does. I mean, I think it's great. And we've heard for a long time and we know that, you know, Sydney Crosby and Conor McDavid have been two of the more vocal players in the NHL Players Association about best on best. But I still think that over 82 games, he has a competitive drive where he wants to get into the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup. I think that, you know, what the next phase of Crosby's life, and by the way, I'm one of the people that expects an extension announced on July 1st, and I think that Crosby, as much as we want to romantically, you know, send Sydney Crosby to Colorado to play with Nathan McKinnon and, you know, the Nova Scotia dream and leading the Avalanche to another Stanley Cup and it's McKinnon and Crosby on the ice together, you know, parading the Stanley Cup around, I think he takes a lot of pride in the idea of being a Pittsburgh Penguin for life. I mean, he was one of the people most responsible for rejuvenating the Pittsburgh Penguins, saving the Pittsburgh Penguins, if you will, we tend to forget how, you know, how much dire straits this Penguins team was in before the draft that brought them Sydney Crosby. So I understand the frustration. I do think obviously he's looking forward to international hockey, although maybe it does give the Penguins situation a little bit of a softer landing and he will still play in highly anticipated competitive games, but I mean, you guys know Sydney Crosby, you've seen how Crosby is playing this year. He's trying to drag this team up to steepest hill in the NHL and it's just not there for him. I'll tell you what I do wonder about, though, is, you know, I wonder about players around him and I do wonder about someone like Eric Carlson now, and I'm not saying Eric Carlson's getting moved today, if anything happens to Eric Carlson, it's probably an off-season move here. You know, this isn't what Eric Carlson signed up for, unlike Mulkin, unlike Latang, unlike Crosby. Eric Carlson still hasn't won a Stanley Cup, and I wonder how much of a burning drive that is still for Carlson? Yeah, it wasn't what he signed up for in San Jose, it wasn't what he signed up for in Pittsburgh. Yeah, I don't know, maybe part of that is on the player as well, but I digress. I want to get your Leafs perspective before you let you go, Jeff, here, because are there pencils down, they've made a couple of moves that I think we could have predicted, they haven't made a move for a centerman which might be coming. Yeah, what do you think they got up their sleeve today? Yeah, I don't think it's pencils down. I don't think it's closed the books and send the scouts around the table home. I still think that Brad's your living is, to be blunt, I still think that they're still canvassing the fencemen, and to your point, I think they're just looking to add another depth of fencemen. I've wondered, and Elliot has as well, about Nick Jensen from the Washington Capitals. I would throw maybe Nick Dowd forward into that mix too, but no, I don't think that this team is done canvassing the NHL universe specifically for a defenseman, and if they can pick up a depth center in the process, I think they do it. Not that you want to base everything on one or maybe two games, but I just do wonder how much these last two games against the Boston Bruins. How much that tall Brad, if you're living about his team and what they need here at trade deadline. Yeah. How about that? Do you guys feel same? I'm curious. I'm always curious about that one about reading too much into one game, or reading too much into a pair of games, or reading too much into a regular season series against a team you're going to face off in the playoffs that, let's be honest, there is some historical bag of gentlemen. Do you guys meet a lot into that? Sometimes I'm guilty of doing that. I think it's different this year. I think, and obviously there was a sea change with the Leafs this offseason, but I think if it was the guy who had built this and had been familiar with the team for nearly a decade, you'd say, okay, I don't, I'm not going to get swayed too much by one or two games or three or four in a season series. But I think the true living is new here, and you know, he had the meeting with the team after the first Boston game this year where the Lillegrine incident happened and seeing his team not play overly well, but stand up for themselves last night. I do wonder how much that kind of changes his opinion of it. I don't think he looks at it and says, oh, my team can't hang with these guys. I actually think and say, whoo, these guys really want to hang with them. And I wonder if it kind of emboldens him more. That's kind of my read on it anyways. Yeah, that's kind of my take to on on all of it. I'll be curious to see what your living does, not necessarily as a reflection. Most of the last couple of games, although certainly, how can you not be influenced knowing that you're facing the Boston Bruins in the opening round? Yeah, maybe that game looks different with Joel Edmondson playing in it. Jeffrey? Yeah. I wanted, I wanted Edmondson going full Torterella in the tunnel last night. He was there. Go David Clarkson. Yeah. How bad could it go? Oh, wait. That was bad. Yeah. Okay. And then before he even steps on the ice. Oh, tell me, tell me we wouldn't give him a statue, Jeff. Obviously, tell me he wouldn't have one before he stepped foot in the city if he did that. That would be an automatic standing ovation first game back. Yeah, absolutely. Jeffrey, we'll see you in person, at least out our window in mere moments, buddy. Black coffee for all of us. Here we go, gentlemen. Buckle up. All right, see, man. Jeff Merrick, Jeff Merrick show, 32 thoughts podcast on his way in again, the broadcast on sports net starting at 10 o'clock, the deadline, 3 p.m. Eastern time on sports net. As we get set to see, I think, yeah, I would wager it some significant amount of money on the Maple Leafs having at least one more deal in them, but I think what was true before is still true now. And maybe this does play into the record against the Bruins this week. Maybe if you'd really just, if you had looked like the superior team to the Boston Bruins this week, would there not be more impetus to say, Oh man, maybe the big swing that we were like kind of on the fence about doing maybe actually we need to push harder in that direction. One, I don't think that that trade ever existed to agree in with and two, yeah, they didn't look like that against Boston Road. So I think we're still back in the place of, hey, yeah, Joel Edmondson helps. He's not like the difference maker. I don't think he makes you better. You didn't give up your first, and I think it would be nice to have the option of maybe not having Max Domey played second mindset or not to say that you definitely don't. But like give me an option here. And I think that's what we're going to get. I think there will be an added center. Again, I do the knives of it all. I think complicates the question in a massive, massive way. But if they look great against Boston, we'll be not be having the conversations we had heading into this week of do you want to upset the apple cart? Look how well everything is setting into place. Like you can talk your, this is this is truly the beauty of this time of year is that you could talk yourself into just about any move for any team unless you're the public at large talking about that Jay Gunsell trade, in which case you do not like. And I'm with you. Like you gotta, you gotta get a first in there. We haven't talked about the condition on the first router and the Jay Gunsell trade. If they make the cup final, that's the condition, then it reverts to a second rounder, which so safe to say that's a second round pick. Feel free to prove me wrong Carolina hurricane. So I just look at it and say, if there is a big swing to be made, all those guys have been taken off the board. Savard doesn't change things for me, especially with you getting Edmondson. I think if it's a big swing, it has to involve like a big, big swing and it's brody going out or something so you can create a ton of room and really change the complexion. I don't know that that happens, but we're going to talk about Matthew and I's. Is it, does it reinvigorate a boots, navy's discussion or something along those lines? Now they're not. I imagine they have no clarity on this, especially if it's a head injury. It's so hard to gain any clarity on that at any point in time, especially not 12 hours removed or barely 12 hours removed from what it happened. But yeah, I do wonder if maybe nighs changes things and they, I don't know, kick tires again on boots, navy's. That's the one that if it's a bigger deal, that's the one that now makes a little bit of more sense. And even with a healthy nighs, how do you feel about him and the potential upgrading of him on that top line as well? Like this is a guy that did pop in the postseason last year and looked at his best and the reason why the expectations were as high as they were. But yeah, as far as his individual production on the line has been there, the other two guys have been there and he's been a part of it. Yep. Lots of, lots of pluses for him. Tons of pluses. That's all well and good. But we've also seen, you know, the Michael Bundings of the world score 20 goals plus playing alongside those dudes, which he's not going to do this year, even when he's healthy. Like, how about just the idea of improving on Matthew nighs as your top line left wing? So I think the problem with that is that there's just such a small group of available guys that can do that. You can do the thing where you find a center to play wing there. Like I know, Graham Lind's been a name that's been bandied about. He's got like four or five or five for this year and one more. Maybe that's the way you do that. I'm not unopposed to it. I just don't know that the player is there because it feels like if you're going to make that move, it has to be someone that's worth giving up the first four. And I just don't know that that player exists up front unless it's Bhuch Naevich. And then obviously, yeah. Yeah. Once you're doing the Bhuch Naevich, just get the paraco, just do it all, just do all the things. Yeah. Just do all the things. Sure. It'd be exciting. Yeah. You think? No, I know. I'd be running around my house telling my three year old child to barely know this is going to be like, oh, he's so big. Look how tall a paraco is. Yeah. The awesome. Yeah. That's unlikely to happen. Yeah. I would go as far as to say it is as likely that Sidney Crosby is traded today as it is called in Paraco. It's a blue five days in. Yeah. And actually, but kind of. Last thing on, on the, the Crosby thing, and it was a good point that you raised like the idea that, hey, at least he knows there's some meaningful hockey to come if it's not in Pittsburgh. That's within Canada. Sidney Crosby doesn't seem like this type of guys. I don't think he would punch me, but would Brad Marshawn punch me for having that thought about Sidney Crosby? Like, it's like, you, could you imagine going to him be like, hey, you're never playing playoff game again. You're fine with that. Right? Yeah. No, I can't. No, probably not. And here's the thing. You can do both, right? Like you can play the playoffs. Yeah. Yeah, it's allowed. It's not going to happen though. Like it, there's not one person that's wavered from that same opinion that's like July 1st when Sidney Crosby signs an extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins and he remains there because that's the guy's MO. And there's a reason why he makes $8.7 million, very superstitious fella as well, like I've heard. Well, it's not superstition. It's a routine. Right. Okay. You heard about the Italy story. No. Okay. Hold on. Time now for the Wakenrake presented by Sports Interaction, your homegrown sports book, 19 plus bet responsibly, hockey night in Canada, original six historic rival edition this weekend in Montreal. This is Toronto Maple Bay is playing only their second game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. Of course, the first was game one of the season, which they won in very exhilarating fashion, not a lot of defense happening, not a lot of gold tending happening, but they are one and oh against the Montreal Canadiens after a six, five shootout victory in game one of 82 this year. So still some more games to go in the season series against the Canadians who have lost three of four, obviously still in looking towards the future mold. This is a Leafs team that has, I guess, limited amounts to play for, but would like to bounce back after a disappointing couple of losses to the Bruins this week. Joel Edmondson's not going to let them lose that game. Former Hab revenge night for him. Yeah, I think I think rarely do I do this. If you want value in this game, you're going to have to go Leafs by goal and a half. I'm going to do it. I know it's scary. They're the Leafs. They lay eggs all the time in games that don't matter to them. But I think the given the way this Boston Craw is going to stick for them this week. We're all hot and bothered by the deadline. Maybe get another body today. I like the Leafs by goal and half tomorrow. And despite the fact that Austin Matthews did score the overtime winner against the Buffalo Sabres, he's slumping right now. And I think he loves nothing more than scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during the regular season. He does. He does love it. He really loved it against Kerry Price. Yes, he did. So I like the Maple Leafs to once again like the Lamp and maybe not 10 goals like there was in the first meeting. But yeah, I like the over in this game as well. I also like a Ryan Reeves Wi-Fi fight. Oh boy. Should they both be in the lineup? Yeah, that'd be fun. All right, that was the Wakenrake presented by Sports Interaction, your homegrown sports book, 19 plus bet responsibly. When we come back, we'll talk to the insider, Elliot Friedman, again, going to walk through the doors that we're looking at in mere moments next as the fan morning show continues. Ben Anis, Brent Gunning, Sportsnet 5.0 to the fan.
