Can’t help but feel for Jim Montgomery.
Despite losing just 41 times in regulation as the head coach of the Boston Bruins, he’s out. The B’s fired Montgomery on Tuesday and slapped the interim tag on Associate coach Joe Sacco.
Naturally, that’s where the conversation started on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. What kills me is how much slack the general manager gets in pro sports. The head coach is always the easiest scape goat. Maybe this Boston team just isn’t good? How about that? Whatever, at least Montgomery will be getting paid handsomely not to coach for them. Personally, while it’s never fun to see someone lose their job, it’s a breath of fresh air to see Bruins fans in disarray.
Meantime, we’re looking for some feedback from you regarding our podcast. If you go to this LINK and complete the survey, you will be eligible to win a $250 Fanatics gift card. We have several of them to give away!
Courtesy of Prime Video, we discussed a whole whack of topics. Honestly, the news cycle surrounding the Leafs over the past 24 hours has been busy and wild. Firstly, we broke down the latest: Max Domi was placed on IR and Nikita Grebenkin was called up. He will make his NHL debut against Vegas. Domi joins an infirmary that already includes Auston Matthews, David Kampf, Max Pacioretty, and Calle Jarnkrok. Next man up, I guess.
So, who plays centre? Against the Golden Knights, it sounds like Craig Berube will go with Tavares, Holmberg, Minten, and Lorentz up the middle. That said, things are always subject to change. Furthermore, Berube raised some eyebrows on Tuesday when he disclosed that he’s had some conversations with Mitch Marner recently about shifting to centre. We’ll see if that experiment ever comes to fruition. For the record, both Hutts and I were open to it. What’s the worst that can happen?
Meantime, we offered up an all-encompassing preview for this Vegas game. Grebenkin will make his NHL debut, Fraser Minten will make his season debut, Simon Benoit will come back in for Jani Hakanpaa, and Joseph Woll will get the call in goal. Sadly, we won’t see Ilya Samsonov get a revenge look. Adin Hill will be in between the pipes for Vegas, but rest assured, that Samsonov video tribute will be something.
Lastly, we had a chance to spend some time recently with Brampton Steelheads netminder and highly touted prospect Jack Ivankovic. In addition to previewing the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, we discussed Jack’s game, which NHL goalies he likes watching, and how he’s attacking his draft. Hell, he even dished on Toronto’s crease. Talk about versatility!
Jay Rosehill will be back in the mix for the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Join us as we recap Toronto/Vegas plus discussing some of the other hot button topics surrounding the team right now.
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube page HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too, wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!