Scruffy’s This N That

1 – THE STATE OF THE LEAFS: Is this finally the year that MLSE hits the detonators on the Leafs? Was anyone really that surprised to see them lose to the Florida Panthers with the top players being once again basically a no-show? With contracts up and younger players needing to be re-signed or promoted, it is time to blow it up. The first move was made when Brendan Shanahan was told to pack his stuff up. 

Mitch Marner won’t be back. More on him below.  Matthew Knies needs to be re-signed. It is doubtful the team trades Auston Matthews, but they can’t keep the “C” on him especially when he said after the dismal Game 7 loss to Florida that there were too many passengers. As the captain, you are driving the bus so you have to take a lot of blame there. Matthews also revealed he played the season with an injury but wouldn’t reveal what it is.  Why the Toronto media didn’t press Matthews on the injury or why he decided to play in the Four Nations is another story.  I am guessing they are too afraid to ruffle feathers.  Morgan Rielly needs a new home and I am guessing Toronto could get a nice return for him in a trade.   The Bruins were smart enough to make the decision to start over this past year.  Toronto needs to follow suit.  Like Boston, a full overhaul isn’t needed, but a major tune-up is. 

2 – MITCHY, MITCHY, MITCHY:  Leafs fans are on Marner’s back again because of the way Toronto went out with both him and Auston Matthews again doing very little. There is a video of Marner sitting on the bench after being booed in the final seconds of the Game 7 loss where he soaks in what is going on and perhaps realizes his time in Toronto is over before leaving the ice for the last time this season.

Realistically, Marner’s days in Toronto were numbered when management went to him asking to move his no-trade clause in an attempt to land Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline.  The message had been sent to his camp.  The question now is where does he go? I personally think he ends up with Detroit, but I have had someone tell me Chicago is prepared to pay. The Rangers and Utah are also possibilities and with Philadelphia having a lot of cap space would they be interested? How about Pittsburgh with Kyle Dubas making the decisions?

There is still a chance he ends up back in Toronto, but I think both he and the team know that probably isn’t best for business.  

3 – THE HOCKEY COMMUNITY SHINES AGAIN: You see charitable acts and signs of respect in all sports, but I have thought for a long time that all the sports takes a back seat to hockey for a variety of reasons. What we saw last weekend was a perfect example. 

The Mark Scheifele story was a tragic one.  The Jets captain finds out his father has died in the morning of an all-important Game 6 for his team.  Scheifele, with a heavy heart, said there is no doubt he will play and play he did as he scored to give Winnipeg a 1-0 in a goal for Dad.  In the end, Schefiele was sitting in the penalty box when Dallas scored in overtime to send them to the Western Conference final. 

It was at that moment when the game was over that the love for Scheifele started. Jets captain Adam Lowry skated right to the penalty box where Scheifele remained.  In the handshake line, every member of the Stars embraced Scheifele and offered condolences.  One of the longer handshakes and embraces came from Jamie Benn who in Game 5 delivered a sucker-punch to Scheifele.  It was the next day when we learned Stars owner Tom Gagliardi offered his private jet to Scheifele to fly him home to his family in Kitchener in what was a class move as was many Dallas fans donating $55 to Jets charities.  For all the bad that we hear about in sports, this proves there is still a lot of good in it especially in hockey when you try to take a guy’s head off in one moment and then shake his hand and wish him good luck the next. 

4 – CONFERENCE FINAL OBSERVATIONS:  We are inching closer and closer to the Stanley Cup Final with a possible rematch from last year on the horizon. Just some thoughts on what we have seen in the Conference finals so far. 

• Has Florida been that good or has Carolina been that bad?  The Hurricanes through the first two games haven’t even been close to being competitive
• It’s safe to say when Stuart Skinner is on his game he is very, very good but when he is off, he is off! Three shutouts in his last four starts is nothing to sneeze about.
• Is Florida better than last year? Is Edmonton better than last year?
• Does Roope Hintz plays for Finland’s national soccer team?  Holy flop!

5 – AND AWAYYYYY WE GO:  It’s pre-season and I don’t care, but you do get your first look at the 2025 Saskatchewan Roughriders this weekend as they hit the field against the Bombers Saturday afternoon. The depth chart shows some of the number ones including Trevor Harris will get some time which is needed when the pre-season is so short.  This is the game though where Corey Mace and staff have to evaluate players to see if they have what it takes to be a member of the club moving forward. Some will and some don’t.  As I have stated, I think 80 percent of this roster is already known.  It’s the 20 percent that is an unknown and from what I hear there are going to be some tough decisions to make.  You just hope everyone can get through it healthy. 

6 – BYE MATT:  TSN says Matt Dunigan will not be back this year for CFL coverage, but we don’t know why and whether or not it was his decision or the network’s.  I would have to think it is the latter but who knows.  Dunigan had his detractors, and I understand that.  The best word I can use to describe him is quirky.  He had no real filter, especially when providing colour alongside Dustin Nielson, Rod Smith or Marshall Ferguson.  He was like your crazy uncle at the family bbq.  You don’t know what he is going to say or do, but you didn’t want to miss it.  I wonder who replaces him. 

7 – REDBLACKS:  Are the Ottawa REDBLACKS a team to make a small investment on as we get closer to the 2025 season? My pick in the East would be Toronto as it stands right now, but I couldn’t help notice when TSN’s Dave Naylor asked this week if Ottawa might have the most dynamic offence in the league. 

The team was last in touchdowns scored last season and much of that could be attributed to the fact they had no run game.  Naylor feels the addition of William Stanback gives them a ground game that they didn’t have since William Powell was there before he came to Riderville. They had the second most passing yards, which surprised me. Having guys like Kalil Pimpleton and Geno Lewis along with 3^rd overall pick Keelan White will make Ottawa better offensively, but the most dynamic offence? I don’t know if I can buy what Dave is trying to sell.  I honestly don’t know where I would put the REDBLACKS in the East right now. 3^rd behind Toronto and Montreal?

8 – THE TUSH PUSH: Why is this such a big deal? Have the Philadelphia Eagles really perfected a play so much that the NFL’s other 31 teams can’t do it thus many want the play eliminated?  While a proposal to ban the modified QB sneak did not pass, I can’t figure out why other teams are complaining about this when they can basically do the same thing.  It really makes those teams that are staunchly against this play come off as poor losers if you ask me. 

9 – NFL’ers AT OLYMPICS:  Flag football is going to be contested at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028, and the NFL will be involved as the league says its players can participate much like NBA players and NHL players do.  Obviously, the US roster will be stacked.  I wonder what type of team Canada could have.  Some have asked if the CFL would take a break to allow its players to play. I can’t see that because it would mean the Grey Cup might have to be played later and we can’t have that anymore. (HINT: Play the game in an indoor location!)

NFL Canadians like Chase Brown of Cincinnati, Chuba Hubbard of Carolina and Jevon Holland of the New York Giants are three that I automatically think of as potential players. I guess Kurtis Rourke could be in the equation too if he is not in the CFL by then. 

If the CFL does allow players to take part, Tre Ford, Tyrell Ford, Brady Oliveira and Kian Schaeffer-Baker are some guys that come to mind that could be on Team Canada.  I think it would be in the league’s best interest to stop things so that CFL players can take part, but I think too many teams will be against the idea. 

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: 

• Hockey crowds in Europe are just different from those in North America.  Seeing the fanbases and atmosphere at some of the games at the Worlds have been unreal.  Also nice to see former CTV Regina sports person Brit Dort doing a great job with what is going on with Jets p x p/color combo Dan Robertson and Kevin Sawyer at the Worlds in Denmark and the women’s worlds a few weeks ago. Speaking of which, DENMARK????  That’s leaving a big mark that will take some time for Canada to get over.  At least it wasn’t at the Olympics!
• The NFL will start giving an award to its top offensive lineman at the end of this season.  How long as the CFL been recognizing its top offensive lineman? Why has the NFL waited until now to do this?
• What happened to the Baltimore Orioles? A team that many thought might be the best in the American League East after its young stars put things together last year are one of the worst teams in baseball.  
• If you loved “Cheers” in the 1980’s, you loved Norm Peterson.  The character George Wendt brought into our living rooms on Thursday night was one we all laughed at and one we all loved.  There have been a lot of great TV characters, but Norm Peterson was one of the best if not the best.

That’s all I got! Have a great week!