I think I have improved a lot in my offensive game in the last two years. This year, playing with Logan Shaw and Vinni Lettieri for most of the year has been really, really helpful. I have been really focused on my offensive game more than my defensive game. Shawsy was taking all of the responsibilities defensively, and that helped me kind of... not forget about that part, but show my skills a little bit more in that regard.
Tough break on the first goal. I thought that kind of took a little bit out of us and put us on our heels a little. They capitalized on a couple more and got a power-play goal. We had some good looks and didn't put it in the net. I felt like we were a little bit... not tentative after they scored their first goal, but we didn't stay with what we were doing.
The rumor mill continues to grind as the season hurtles towards the Olympic break. The prevailing chatter has focused on Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright. The former fourth-overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft is reportedly on the trade block, as The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta first reported. This situation could provide an opportunity for the Maple Leafs to continue their roster turnover.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving has been sizing up the market on defence. Looking at his options, we mentioned, for example, potential interest in Luke Schenn. I think that's still there,
"It's a tough travel schedule, mixed in with a lot of late nights on the road trip," Maple Leafs' head coach Craig Berube said. "That's where you have to be smarter, manage the game a little bit better."
There will be some clips that we use, both good and bad. The big thing: I think we had nine turnovers, and seven of them became scoring chances the other way. This is not a team you can do that against - or against any team, really. We didn't manage the puck very well, especially in that second period. It was back a few games, so that is something that we've talked a lot about and worked on.
I have been playing a lot of minutes down there, and that is fun. Obviously, I want to be here, but you can't really look in terms of what-ifs. I have been around here for a while with this organization and in the NHL. If you keep playing that (what-if) game, it's not good for you mentally. It is just about putting one foot in front of the other, working hard, and being a good teammate.
Reading between the lines, it has seemed from the outside like the player group - or some of the leaders in it, at least - might think the crowd should do more to stay on the team's side and help get them going in games, while the fans have (fairly) felt like the players need to give them more reasons to get fired up with their effort level on the ice.
Without fully understanding what Brendan Shanahan did on a daily basis, it seems very likely that not having someone in his role this season has been a hindrance to the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs parted ways with Shanahan on May 23rd, and this isn't about making a case that was the wrong decision but Keith Pelley's decision to keep the position vacant was.
I don't know if it got away from us. If you look at scoring chances, we out-chanced them in that period, but in the defensive zone, they had the one goal where we just didn't seal up. We got stick lifted, first of all, and then they made a play up the wall to Ovi. We have to have that backdoor sealed up.
Toronto has struggled out of the gate in a big way. From sloppy defensive coverage, to underachieving superstars, to injury woes, it has not been pretty through the first month of the 2025-26 season. Treliving has been rumoured to be searching for a top-six forward on the trade market, and also a right-handed top-four defenceman, but there's one serious problem. The Maple Leafs' GM has nothing to work with in negotiations.
Good, solid effort all around. I thought we played a smart game. It is a good team over there. They have a lot of good offense and fast players. I thought we did a good job of keeping them at bay for the most part. The penalty kill was good, and I thought everybody contributed tonight in their own way.
