Mar 11, 2022
Morning Coffee: Stanley Cup futures underline Leafs’ concerns head of trade deadline
With 10 days to go before the NHL trade deadline, the pressure is on Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. What can he do to fix his team’s goaltending situation?
With 10 days to go before the NHL trade deadline, the pressure is on Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas.
What can he do to fix his team’s goaltending situation?
The Arizona Coyotes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 in overtime as a +330 underdog on Thursday night.
While the Maple Leafs rallied from down 4-1 with three goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period to force the extra frame and earn a point, it did nothing to take away from the fact that they were in that position in the first place against a team that had won eight road games all season.
Looking at the Stanley Cup futures board, it’s fair to wonder what Leafs management can do to address the team’s most glaring need.
Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Friday, March 11, 2022.
Coyotes chase Mrazek, upset Maple Leafs
Toronto is currently the fourth choice to win the Stanley Cup at +1000.
Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, two of the three teams with shorter odds play in their division.
The Colorado Avalanche remain the betting favourite to win the Stanley Cup at +400.
Behind them, it’s the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning at +750 and the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers at +800.
If Toronto is going to win the Stanley Cup this season, they might have to beat all three of those teams in a seven-game series.
Can they do that with Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek?
For those keeping track at home, that’s now a 15-4-1 run to the over in the Maple Leafs’ last 20 games.
Toronto has allowed three or more goals in nine of its past 10 games – a 9-1 run to over for anybody betting on its opponent’s team totals.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have averaged 4.2 goals per game over their past 11 games. They’ve gone 5-4-2 over that span.
Campbell, who owns a 4.03 goals-against average and an .872 save percentage over the past month, won’t return until after the trade deadline due to a rib injury.
Mrazek, who owns a 4.00 GAA and an .863 save percentage over the past month, gave up four goals on 12 shots versus Arizona before getting pulled.
Rookie Erik Kallgren made his NHL debut in relief and gave up one goal on 11 shots – the overtime winner.
The Maple Leafs have been -320 or longer on the money line in five games since Jan. 12. They’re a combined 1-4 in those games.
Meanwhile, Auston Matthews continued his torrid pace with his league-leading 44th goal of the season in the loss.
Matthews is now -350 to win the Rocket Richard Trophy and +150 to win the Hart Memorial Trophy.
With Matthews playing at an elite level, and the offence clicking night after night, the pressure is on management in Toronto to figure out a solution to the team’s goaltending situation with just 10 days to go before the NHL trade deadline.
Eichel, Golden Knights lose in Buffalo
The Maple Leafs weren’t the only team involved in a high-scoring game in the NHL on Thursday night.
Overs went 8-5 and are now 18-8 over the past three nights combined.
Meanwhile, favourites went 8-5 with a couple of notable upsets, including the Coyotes at +330.
The Buffalo Sabres also pulled off a notable upset, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 as a +170 underdog in Jack Eichel’s return.
Sabres’ fans booed Eichel relentlessly, while Craig Anderson turned aside both of Eichel’s two shots to keep him from registering a point.
Eichel’s frustration carried over into his post-game scrum, where he dropped this impeccable quote.
The Golden Knights have now dropped eight of their past 12 overall, including being held to just two goals in back-to-back losses to Buffalo and the Philadelphia Flyers.
That’s good news for the Winnipeg Jets, which beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 last night as a +110 underdog.
The Jets are 4-1-1 over their last five games and are now just five points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 24 games to go.
Not bad at all for a team that was +1300 to make the playoffs at the start of the week.
Nets blow out 76ers in Simmons’ return
Sticking with players being booed, Sixers’ fans made sure Ben Simmons heard their disdain for him in his return to Philadelphia on Thursday.
While Simmons didn’t play, Kevin Durant, Seth Curry and Kyrie Irving made a point of quieting the crowd.
Durant, Curry, and Irving finished with 25, 24 and 22 points respectively, as the Brooklyn Nets cruised to a 129-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers as a 4.5-point underdog.
Meanwhile, the Nets held former teammate James Harden to just 11 points on 3-of-17 from the field, including 0-for-10 on two-point field goal attempts.
After the game, Durant spoke about the Philly fans and his desire to quiet them down with a statement win.
Brooklyn remains the favourite to win the East at +240, followed by the Milwaukee Bucks at +270 and then the 76ers at +300.
The Nets will play the Bucks on March 31.
Brooklyn and Philly aren’t scheduled to play again during the regular season.
Baseball Is Back
Major League Baseball and the players union reached a tentative agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on Thursday.
With so many big-name free agents on the market, we are about to have an intense free agency period to go along with the countdown to TradeCentre, NFL free agency and the start of the March Madness next week.
Buckle up!