Mike Zeisberger: What Is The Plan With the Leafs...Do They Have One?!

0:00All right, so the trade deadline is coming gone. Some guys are out in Toronto, but certainly not all of them. Brad Trailiving says There there will be a plan. There may not be a plan right now, but he did say there will be a plan Let's bring in Mike Zeissberger covering the Toronto Maple Leafs for NHL.com in the world of the NHL at large. Good morning Zeiss Good morning, and I just want to straighten it out. Yes, I'm from Toronto. Yes, I work for NHL.com, but I cover the entire league and Thankfully after watching some of the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, I get to watch some of the other league. Yes, indeed, and hey, Habs and Leafs, whatever, I mean Either team could be in the bottom of the standings. It's always it's always good. It's a rivalry game And we're looking forward to that tonight, but Mike for starters, and before we get into the deadline You've got the benefit of the perspective here of that a couple of months can provide What's the story of of why things went south so quickly for the Toronto Maple Leafs year over year here?

1:01Well, first of all before we get started, I just like to say Believe in Habs there should be a caveat in the NHL schedule that they play on a Saturday in Montreal It is so weird and I will never get accustomed to waking up on a Tuesday or a Thursday And going like, yeah, look at it. It's beautiful here in Montreal. You know, you can see Mount Royal, the skies are blue And the Leafs and Habs are playing tonight That's just I just find that kind of weird, but You know, there's a lot of there's a lot of different things. I mean First off First off, you know Coach Craig Barouba is taking a lot of heat in Toronto You know Fans seem to think that You know the players aren't really going out all out a hundred percent form I really find that guy's head scratching when you consider

2:03That we're a year removed not even ten months removed From this team making its first appearance In a conference finals since 2002 so you know what? Yes, in game seven they got Let's face it humiliated Um by the Florida Panthers Excuse me That's notwithstanding if you think about it they won the division last year. So all of a sudden the coaches no good Um I just think that when you look at it, there's a lot of reasons for it, but one of them to me is is flawed roster construction. I mean, you know, we can argue Um, all we want should they have tried harder to keep Mitch Mariner and there's their stories out there that it was a mutual parting of the ways that he wanted to leave but The fact remains that you know while he did not have success As the team did not have success in the post-fees and during his time in Toronto

3:07Mitch Mariner was a hell of a player still is was a hundred point guy People forget that he's only two or three years removed from being a finalist for the silky Which shows you as as the NHL's Top defensive forward which shows you that he's a 200 foot player but You know It is what it is He left but When you think that they took his salary money And got Matthias Macchelli decoded Joshua And obviously Nicholas Ross who worry who who was uh, you know since traded to Colorado But you know none of those guys are impact players Um and know it no offense to them And I just think with the salary allotment the fact that they have become a slower team the fact that You know on the back end um They don't really have puck carriers that can that can move the puck up quickly enough

4:11um You know their best puck carrier is the defenseman is 35-year-old Oliver Eckman Larson You know Morgan Riley still one of the most stand-up guys I've ever met covering the leaves but um, you know as the the tread starting to wear on his tires um There's a lot of there's a lot of reasons and I think I encapsulated a lot of them um You know in the in the segment so far but bottom line bottom line is I just think that there's You know like I said roster construction is flawed And they become an old slow team and in the national hockey league that bucks at both trends of being faster and being younger So but you tell me what you've heard from Brad trail living and company here over the last few days but Am I wrong to think that there seems to be an internal sense that they can turn this around on the fly and and can and get back into contention as soon as next season

5:15Well, that's easy to say, but I will say this You know after the tree deadline on on Friday will we met the trip Brad tree living um I heard radio is thrown it back The decade to the days of huge it A non-stop stream of the biggest invest And more all your decade defining favorites all in one place I'm 2010s the decade on the free I heard radio app preset the station so it's always one tab away He looked like the type of guy that that was perplexed You know, he said yeah, we got a plan and stuff like that, but the body language Um, you know some of the questions that he was pelted with them and you know headscraping answers I mean, you know now one of the most most headscraping things is the fact that

6:19um at the trade deadline They created Scott Lawton to the Los Angeles games for a conditional third-round pick This came a year after not only did they give up a first-round pick But one of their top prospects to the flyers to get Scott Lawton And the difference in what you gave up As opposed to the return for the same player once again its head scratching um You know when they when they created for brand and cargo last year at the trade deadline with the Boston Bruins And what they gave up uh, they gave up a prospect and freezer mint and And the first round pick which by the way guys Okay, it's caught five protected Right now the lease looks like they're gonna finish you know between six and nine From the bottom In the NHL means Boston gets a high pick from them Plus freezer mint and is now on the first line with the Boston Bruins

7:21So there's a lot of these head scratching moves That just leave you there going like What is the plan and right now if they have one they're not telling us and for those of us on the outside looking at the team We're wondering what it possibly could be uh following in the footsteps of Tyler Sagan and Tuka Rask as well other players that have gone to Toronto going to Boston and Had quite a lot of success. This is the morning show on Tia since 690. I'm caught on my canna Sean stars here We're chatting with Mike Zeissberger from NHL.com who is in town for the haves and lease game tonight Sean and it's got Lawton scoring goals now for the L.A. Can't stop school on a nightly basis I mean and everything Mike you're talking about I mean, it sounds it sounds doomsday from whether it's the Mariner and the And the morale the psychological impact at the uncertainty of where this team is which again if we go back to How aggressive in your opinion? Does this team become in the offseason? You know one of the you know the sayings is tear it down to the studs

8:28Can you envision a world where Brad tree living will keep that job and be tasked with that or it does Keith Pele and everybody else do a massive overall beginning with the front office and the trickle down effect Well, I think that's everything's clouded. Okay You know it there seems to be this narrative in Toronto right now about everything being focused on the coach Once again, I don't think you know Craig Barubay suddenly forgot how to coach But you know something obviously isn't working, but it goes deeper than that. I mean the coverage you bear In terms of prospects They did get some draft capital back. So let's see what they do You know the first thing I think they have to do when the season's over is sit down Austin Matthews and say look You've got two years left on your deal What's your position? You know, I do you want to stay here? I mean, you know, you don't want to get into a situation and God forbid

9:31I mean, you know nobody ever thought that we'd get to the point where you think that they might At some point Think of trading Austin Matthews so they would get something back for him which they did not do For mitt mariner, but you got to talk to your best player and see what his His thoughts are Can you do a Boston Bruins which listen? I get Marco Sturm in the Bruins so much credit Because last year they they cut bait with some of their players You thought it was a rebuild and all of a sudden I mean they're in a dog fight to get in the playoffs. I don't think too many people Predicted before the season that they would do that, but they've they've done a hell of a retool Can the main police do that? Can they turn it around quickly? I think they're going to have to think outside the box in order to do that. I'm not I'm not saying that they can't Um, but it's going to be interesting and it's going to have to start with their best player

10:34and seeing what his feelings are and You know how committed he is Um to being a Toronto Maple Leaf and look at the last contract that he signed a lot of people thought that You know That's it for Austin. He wants to play in the US, you know at the time. Maybe he was going to go um To the coyotes because he grew up in that area Obviously they're they're in Utah now, but um Austin said that he loved playing in Toronto when he showed by resigning Um, is he going to do that? So to me I think how they go for a forward start stops and starts Uh with awesome Matthews and what his plans are um in the last 24 hours or so the Matthew nice stuff Has emerged here. I'm curious Mike. Why? If if the speculation is to be believed that the the Leafs and maybe the Canadians were close To a trade involving Matthew knives on on friday

11:35Why why would the Leafs be looking to trade this player? Well, I I would love to know what return would be because I'm it's a little head scratching for me too I mean look at Matthew nice has not Had the season that everybody thought he was going to have he's but he's a power forward But we also know that he's banged up um You know the suspicion is that it's a need the suspicion is that he's going to have to have something done In the offseason So I don't know why You would even think about creating somebody like that when he is one of the younger players the few younger players With such a big upside like he has um But again, um, I think that if if if they have decided that this thing needs to get Corned down Then I think that every you know a lot of people say well everybody's off the table except Matthew's a needlander

12:38But you know depends on how serious you are if you are In those terms and you were going to get a good return Um, I think you have to I think you have to keep all things open Unmistakably Canadian It's the music that raised you The artist raising the bar. Hi, this is Ryan Adams. Hey, my name is Brett Emmons. I'm from the glorious sons Hi, I'm Nelly potato made in Canada the station that champions Canadian music loud proud and all yours No passports required just press play tap into mating Canada now on iherradio dot c a or the free i heart radio app I mean Is it through the draft primarily? I mean is that how do they did they look at other teams? Whether it's you know here in Montreal for example, you know accumulating some good draft picks Developing the talent and then you know getting maybe a couple of surprises whether it's lane Hudson or Ivan demidov

13:42I mean is in your opinion is that the best path forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs if in fact they get hyper aggressive this summer And we see some substantial talent leave Yeah, I do I just don't know, you know Here's the thing guys and then you guys know this better than I do, but I remember when Montreal went on this You know they they they brought in Gorton They brought in Hughes You know they had been to the the Stanley Cup final against Tampa um And they decide they looked at it and said you know what this isn't sustainable and it's taken a few years To the point where I now look at The window of national hockey league teams over the next four or five years And I put the Montreal Canadians at or near the top Of the list of teams that are going to be something to be you know contended with For the for the next half a decade or so I was actually a practice yesterday talked to cool coffee old about it

14:45Talk to lane Hudson about it Talk to Marty Sella. We about it About the the halves young core where I look around the league and I'm going like I don't really see A team that has so much young talent That are all locked up to long-term contracts that are that If you if you look at how the cap's going to go up how cap friendly they are so I think that's an ascension and and I think you know a lot of people had set at the time from the outside outside of Montreal Well the Habsands won't put up with that. They're not going to they're not going to go through like a rebuild and be patient And I think both you've seen guys that and you you cracked me if I'm wrong the people have been With this because they've seen improvement. They've seen the young players and now it's paying fruition Can't you know try to compare that to what's going on in Toronto where a lot of people say oh, you know Leaf fans won't go you know they won't put up with that

15:47Actually you kind of get a feel for Toronto fans. They kind of do They they they sense that something needs to be done whether it's the current management that does it We'll have to wait to be to see um, but the interesting thing is Are the people running may please sports and entertainment going to look at it that way? Are they going to go? Hey, let's get some band-aids in and just try to get into the Next year into the wild card spot So we can get the revenue playoff revenues from look from a couple home dates so again It's part of this Cloud of uncertainty that what that hangs over the your organization What are they going to do what path are they going to take And I think a lot of that stuff is still up in the air and even those of us that are around the team Aren't sure which way they're going to go I know and before I let you go that you had a chance to catch up with John Cooper I didn't know this until reading your latest piece third NHL.com

16:48Mike's weekly column sizing him up that The day after losing the gold medal game John Cooper on his way back to North America gets the news that his father bob had died and Well and John Cooper one of the more insightful guys you'll you'll ever talk to Mike, but What can you tell me about what it was like catching up with with john and and talking about that Well, you know, we all know john is his jokester and you know one of the best personalities in the game I was down in Tampa for the outdoor game against the Bruins and he looked like a you know He came out dressed in all white like like he was cubana Somebody somebody from from cuba he was uh he was uh you know We had a stogie with them He was it was an homage to the Cuban heritage Uh in in in Tampa. So you know this guy is always embracing the game Um one of the more thoughtful minds and it but

17:51You know, it was it was one of the few times that I've actually seen him You know showed show his vulnerable side and it was top You know, I asked him, you know What's the difference between john Cooper now and the one we saw like four or five weeks ago And he said well, you know what this one's beaten up a lot and and Rightly so I mean look at I mean those of us that that watch and love the game look can't have the lost in the goal metal game Um, you can't make an excuse that they got golly because golly's are part of the game every team has has gone through that Carter hella buck played great Um, but at the same time we saw it We all saw the way that team canna the played they had their foot on the gas. It just wasn't their day But you know It was his dream to coach Canna then the Olympics one day if if any cellars were allowed in the Olympics, which they were Um to come that close in the three on three and losing, you know That's crushing them up But to be on an airplane going home and find out that your dad is passed away

18:55Like he said that that gives you perspective and In the hockey world when things are going up where things are going down, you know, you understand Uh, big picture Um That there's more to it than that. So you know, he's managed to bounce back Um, you know, I saw he was back with the quips after that eight seven lost to uh Debuffalo the other night that that got him back into the game, but um You know, like I said John Cooper is one of the best personalities we have in the sport Um, that was a double whammy within 24 hours losing the gold medal game and then losing his dad Um, so we wish the Cooper family well and uh, hey guys who knows In six weeks from now We might be seeing John Cooper versus the Habs and uh, you know, or should I say Marty sent me we against the the lightning Um, either way it would be a fascinating storyline and it would be great theater. No kidding now uh

19:59Well, Mike great great to catch up with you man and glad you're in town. I hope we get a good one tonight and we'll talk to you again soon Yeah, and uh who knows I might be covering the uh the Habs and the playoffs and it's so if so uh Hope to talk to you guys again. Have a great day. That's Mike Zeissberger I'm Luke Wilson join me each week for film never lies since retirement from the NFL I've had a lot of my mind now got my own show So if you're tired of lazy takes if you want honest conversations join us each week film never lies available on all TSN platforms in the iHeartRadio app