Game five between the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets was a sight all too familiar for the Toronto hopeful—a devastating defeat during an elimination playoff game.
After completing a miraculous comeback in game four, the buds sealed their own fate by getting blanked during the most important game they will play in 2020. They certainly had their fair share of chances and bad luck, but the fact remains – they haven’t won a playoff series in 16 years and counting.
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Ep 60: Vegas Takes Game 1; Panthers Set For Game 2; Cole Caufield
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 11:43 pm
Jim and Chris look at the Golden Knights Game 1 win and look ahead to Game […]
Some would argue that this season shouldn’t be taken too seriously. The world is in the midst of a pandemic and many things remain far from ordinary. But this team has also failed in four straight postseasons and some kind of change seems imminent.
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The question is, where do Kyle Dubas and co. begin? Is anyone’s jobs safe at this point and do fans still believe?
@kyledubas I believe in you
— gibby (@mrcNary) August 14, 2020
In short, yes. Hitting the panic button during an irregular season would appear to be a rash move, but what if? Dubas has a reputation for being innovative. Despite the divided opinions on the results he’s produced, his brain is most definitely spinning with ideas.
Trading one of their top forwards for a steady defenseman seems to be the glaringly obvious solution. The cap looks to remain flat for at least the next couple of seasons so moving any of the ‘core four’ (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander) isn’t likely unless a player with a similar salary were to come the other way.
With that being said, trading a forward for some kind of defensive help could certainly be in the cards. A player like Andreas Johnsson comes to mind, although his trade value isn’t at its peak following knee surgery.
The left side of the Leafs’ forward corps will be pretty crowded headed into next season with Zach Hyman, Ilya Mikheyev (pending a new contract), Pierre Engvall (provided he doesn’t play fourth-line center), and potentially Nick Robertson. What is saving Johnsson is his reasonable cap hit of $3.4M, but he’s also far from irreplaceable.
Kasperi Kapanen is a popular name often tossed around. Beyond Marner and Nylander, the Leafs are a bit thin on the right side. If Kapanen were to move on, the buds would definitely miss the speed and depth he brings to both the third line and the penalty kill.
The signing of Alexander Barabanov and the potential re-signing of Jason Spezza could help to ease the pain of losing Kapanen. Other fringe roster options like Nic Petan and Denis Malgin will also keep things interesting.
I look forward to seeing what Mikko Lehtonen and Alexander Barabanov can add to the Maple Leafs next season.
— Sergei (@berezin_goal) July 29, 2020
The defense is a different story entirely. To the delight of many fans, both Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie are more than likely moving on. Perhaps a full, healthy season from Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and Travis Dermott (who will be an RFA this offseason) will help to naturally improve things.
Rasmus Sandin also projects to be a regular and Justin Holl will be back as well. The make-up of the pairings seems adequate enough on paper, but improvement is absolutely necessary.
KHL-standout Mikko Lehtonen adds some intrigue as a slightly-older prospect (26 years old) coming in at entry-level money. Fans can only hope he’ll have more of a lasting impact than Nikita Zaitsev or Igor Ozhiganov ever did.
Whether they add a top-pairing defenseman or just a depth piece remains to be seen. Rumors have been tied to everyone from Alex Pietrangelo to Dylan DeMelo, but both of those players are free agents.
Given Dubas’ history and the Leafs’ salary cap situation, he is far more likely to orchestrate a trade and that’s if he decides to do anything at all.
This will forever be Kyle Dubas peak. pic.twitter.com/8f52fbKCAD
— Mitch McFerguson (@Fergtronic) August 10, 2020
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Ep 60: Vegas Takes Game 1; Panthers Set For Game 2; Cole Caufield
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 11:43 pm
Jim and Chris look at the Golden Knights Game 1 win and look ahead to Game […]
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Ep 59: Stanley Cup Final Preview; Game 1 Thoughts
by Full Press Coverage on June 4, 2023 at 1:43 am
Jim and Chris give their thoughts on the Stanley Cup Final between Vegas […]
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2023 Stanley Cup Final and Los Angeles Kings Talk with Dennis Bernstein
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 3:59 pm
Jim Biringer speaks with Dennis Bernstein of the FourthPeriod.com, Host of […]
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2023 Stanley Cup Final Talk - Vegas Golden Knights with Willie G. Ramirez
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 12:39 am
Jim Biringer speaks with Willie G. Ramirez of ESPN Las Vegas, The Sporting […]
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Ep 83: Stanley Cup Playoffs Are Here; Can Bruins Keep Up Pace?
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Ian and Chris are back to give their thoughts on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, […]
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Ep 82: Bruins Set Wins Record, Pasta Hits 60, Playoffs Around The Corner
by Full Press Coverage on April 10, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Ian and Chris react to the Bruins 63rd win of the season, David Pastrnak's […]
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The Hockey World Revolves Around Toronto
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Jim is back for a fourth season of the Final Word on Hockey as he is […]
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S4Ep28 - Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Final Preview
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Jim is back for the fourth season of the Final Word on Hockey previewing […]
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Golden Knights at Panthers
by Broken Controller Media on June 8, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Panthers at Golden Knights
by Broken Controller Media on June 5, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Panthers at Golden Knights
by Broken Controller Media on June 3, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Golden Knights at Stars
by Broken Controller Media on May 29, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Episode #141: Tend The Goal
by Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2023 at 2:24 pm
The 2023 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs have reached its final four teams, and […]
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Episode #140: Stone Cold's 4th Line
by Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2023 at 1:41 pm
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Full Press Blackhawks - Thursday, June 8th
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After Connor Bedard going #1, who are some prospects to look at for the […]
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Full Press Kraken - Thursday, June 8th
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Areas of improvement, prospect look and AHL playoffs. Learn more about […]
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Full Press Islanders - Wednesday, June 7th
by Full Press Coverage on June 7, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Lou Lamoriello holds a press conference yesterday we talk about what was […]
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Renegades Of Puck Ep 770
by Charlie Saunier on June 6, 2023 at 7:13 pm
Ep 770 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 6 & Preview Calder Cup Final […]
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Full Press Hurricanes - Tuesday, June 6th
by Full Press Coverage on June 6, 2023 at 5:20 pm
A brief look at game one of the Stanley Cup Final and potential draft […]
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Full Press Blackhawks - Tuesday, April 6th
by Full Press Coverage on June 6, 2023 at 2:00 pm
It is the Connor Bedard show at the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Will Connor […]
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6/8 - Nuggets Dominate; PGA/LIV Merge
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Ian and John discuss the Nuggets Game 2 win over the Heat and the recent […]
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6/6 - Golden Knights Cruise; NBA Final Heads To Miami
by Full Press Coverage on June 6, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Ian and John discuss the Golden Knights dominating win and look ahead to […]
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6/5 - Heat Take Game 2; Golden Knights; Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Ian and John discuss the Heat's win over the Nuggets, the Golden Knights […]
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6/2 - Nuggets Take Game 1, Barry Bonds, Stanley Cup Chat w/ Jim Biringer
by Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Ian and John discuss the Nuggets Game 1 win over the Heat, the upcoming […]