Dreger on the Maple Leafs' overarching uncertainty, Matthews' future in the balance and Berube's impact
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What are the main uncertainties facing the Maple Leafs this season?
Here's Darren Dreger, our TSN hockey insider. What's happening, Dregs?
You know, it's the final insider trading this season until, I believe, the Stanley Cup final. So I don't know if you get the constant dings on my phone that come through when we're doing shows like this, but there's another one. My phone is just dinging off the hook, and I wish it was breaking news that could spice things up. But it's actually one of my cousins. My sister was texting. I got a text from some guy named Jeff O'Neill. Chris Johnson's been all over me. So that's the day it's been. That's the kind of day it's been.
Well, Dregs, let me ask you this. The athletic article that came out, we know how the market has received it. But have you talked to people throughout the league? Because to be honest, that's the weirdest part for me is I was getting more – messages from people outside the city of Toronto about the article.
Same.
Yeah, same for me, same for me. You know, I think for those of us who are invested in the Toronto Maple Leafs as deeply as we are and have to talk about it on a day-by-day basis, was there shock or surprise in all of the sourcing that was done there and the information that was provided? I don't think there was. Very telling because it pulled the curtain back, but You know, I remember there was a little bit of pushback when we initially reported that, hey, Keith Belly was more or less involved in hockey operations, right? You know, and then Keith made the comment at his media availability that said, you know, I'm not a scout, I'm not a coach, and I'm not involved in hockey operations. But, you know...
You know, whether or not it was his place, traditionally speaking, in hockey operations, he felt at that point that he obviously needed to be, if not hands-on, at least witness firsthand what was going on. And he spent the better part of two days in the war room around the trade deadline. So that got... some eyebrows raised, I would say, around the National Hockey League. And, you know, I think there were certain elements around it as well that pointed fingers at Brad Troving and management for what they were doing or more what they weren't doing that struck a chord. But beyond that, I think it was just how deep the dive was that resonated across the league.
Dregs, how would... someone like that know what they weren't doing, like with no experience of being in that room, like weren't doing according to what? What he thinks they should do in a war room? You know what I mean?
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know what, O-Dog is probably two different versions of the story, right? And the one which was well-sourced in The Athletic, you know, isn't one person talking. That's multiple people talking, I'm sure, to Chris Johnson and Jonas Siegel and James Myrtle, who authored all of it.
How does Auston Matthews' future impact the team's direction?
I guess in respect to balance, if you're Keith Pelley, and obviously he's never been involved in a hockey operations group before, he's never had a job of this capacity, and he's had big jobs running networks here in Canada and then on the European tour there as commissioner. I mean, those are big, big executive positions. So... should we be surprised that he's asking questions about specific hockey-related decisions? And I don't know what the answer is to that. I mean, the traditional hockey person, I know you might be that guy who goes, you know what, that's not his place. Ask questions before trade deadline day, and if you want to ask questions after, that's fine too. But don't necessarily stick your nose in.
See, again, the other thing here is, traditionally speaking, you guys would know this, but That's like a sanctuary, that room on deadline day, right? And you've got scouts in there and you've got all kinds of different hockey ops people in there. There has to be a freedom and an openness to have really tough conversations. Because look, I mean, my view if I'm in hockey operations of one of our players might be different than the guy sitting beside me. But that's a healthy conversation and it leads the general manager to make the decision that he needs to make.
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