Bryan Hayes joins SC with Jay Onrait for another edition of Harvey’s Hot Takes, where he gives his thoughts on whether he has any concern that the Blue Jays dynamic will change with roster turnover and if he’s declaring the Maple Leafs back in the playoff race.
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It’s tempting to say the Blue Jays should run back, as much as possible, last season’s team ( 1:32 ). tweaking the roster a little bit may not be such a bad thing. The Oilers, after having last NHL season made their second straight appearance in a Stanley Cup final, only to lose in six, rather than seven, games as in 2024, definitely needed to make changes. Time will tell if, this coming NHL postseason, they will have benefitted from enough of those changes to not just go for that Stanley Cup final appearance, but win. The Florida Panthers don’t appear to be the same team as they were last season or even the season before that, with a 4-1 loss to the Leafs under 12 hours ago.
Building an expensive roster will only take a team so far. Last month for the Raptors was a huge struggle even with big money contracts the team had handed out to RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Pöltl by last offseason at the latest. The last of those players has this season missed a significant number of games due to ongoing issues with his back.
Going a bit further back in the 2020s, Pierre Dorion, the then-GM of the Ottawa Senators, claimed that for that team, the rebuild had been done and that the team would spend to pretty close to the NHL salary cap and have an unbelievable amount of success. During his tenure, that team would make only one playoff appearance: in a conference final in 2017.
Steve Staios, a retired ex-Oilers d-man who with that team made an appearance in the 2006 Stanley Cup final, during an early-January midseason state of the Senators, claimed that team would contend when it was to have become ready to do so. maybe that was an admission that perhaps the Sens had been struggling a bit to remain consistent. Sure there were wins over the Capitals and Winnipeg Jets to begin this month, but that ugly loss of the Detroit Red Wings (5–3), with Leevi Meriläinen having, in that last game, allowed three goals on just nine shots after just one period of play before head coach Travis Green was to pull him in favour of Hunter Shepard. The first goalie had allowed at least one ugly goal although there’s also no doubt that his team threw defence under the bus.
They were never really out. The teams that are high in the standings won't stay there. Montreal sucks and is 5 years away from being good. Detroit is meh too
Putting McMann and Domi with Matthews has clearly done something to get him going again. More speed on that line, perhaps?
If the Leafs do get back in a playoff spot. I want some stories on just how hated Marc Savard must have been.
Nope
still 11th in the east
From the east coast to the west the leafs are the best
Jays should try and resign Bichette, but they don't need him, if his price is too high, go after another pitcher, maybe a closer, dont over pay for Bichette.
Hayes is contradicting himself. Signing Bichette would be the opposite of change.
This guy lmao…..lmao, this dude is a ban wagon jumper hard…..spits garbage and ppl eat it…..hes not an analist, not an expert, not an athlete…..hes a radio host and a bad 1 at that lmao…….
I came to watch the leafs talk not the blue jays
Stop making your titles 100% about the leafs when 50% of the video is about the Jays.
Until they lose 2 in a row or Matthews doesn't score for a couple and you guys talk about how they are done. The whiplash from the hot takes about any sports teams these days can cause broken necks.
Only been watching hockey, mostly Leafs since October 2024. AM34 looks happy when he scores. He usually looks like he's just doing a job. Now we have joy.
Here's an idea, lets talk about ANYTHING other than the leafs for a change, eh TSN?
Leafs play well and win: Are they back?
Leafs play poorly and lose: Is the season over?
calling it rn the jays dont make world series nect year, no way clement and barger and even lukes what they did again
I hate to be THAT guy, but it isn't Ka-ZOO-ma.
There is no stress on any syllable. If you must, please stress the first syllable, KA-zu-ma.
Way to start the Leafs segment off with Blue Jays…
I remember after the Jays won their first World Series in 1992, they made a lot of changes to the roster, and a lot of people were saying "well, we all know what team won't win the World Series next season" (meaning the Blue Jays) and they were even better.
only a few teams not in playoff race?
Everyone in the east is in the playoff race still
Guys, please don't be dumb. The team sucks. At this point the leafs are an alcoholic boyfriend, yes they got you roses but they will be drunk in a couple days, beating the crap out of you. And you know it
Packers are playing Saturday night not Sunday night!!!!!!
Not only if we could just get rid of Morgan Riley $7.5 million off the Hit just get rid of them for anything draft choices anything man because that guy is brutal the one with them in the playoffs you’re not gonna win with them this year get rid of them trade him for Luke Shannon or someone man I don’t know or a bag of pucks giraffe choices anything just get them out of here he’s painful to watch
Not yet! The Leafs need to string a "LONG" winning streak – 5 to 8 games? LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!