Jeff Veillette joins us this week to break down the Marlies' Calder Cup run (quick heads up: this was recorded before Game 6). 0:52 – Major storylines from the Calder Cup playoffs. 7:26 – Marlies’ advanced stats (courtesy of Jeff’s manual tracking) 20:49 – Goaltending (Sparks & Pickard) 35:37 – Trevor Moore and Pierre Engvall. 41:32 – Miro Aaltonen and Carl Grundstrom. 47:35 – Our undying love for Justin Holl. 53:09 – Jeff developing into a poor man’s Jason Allison. If you want to help suppo...
Jun 13, 2018•58 min
Jude MacDonald (@JudeLeafs on Hockey Twitter) joins me this week to discuss how our views on hockey have changed dramatically over the past few years. 4:33 – Our (ill-conceived) opinions during the Carlyle/Nonis era. 7:49 – My analytics origin story. 14:11 – The way we look at defencemen. 18:08 – Preconceived notions clouding our judgement. 22:24 – How I overvalued Corsi when I first learned about it. 27:46 – Writers who helped us change our views. 32:40 – Ineffective players we still root for a...
Jun 06, 2018•57 min
Gus Katsaros from McKeens joins us this week to take a deep dive into Toronto's systems, breaking down what they can learn from Vegas' success this year. 2:54 – What can we learn from Vegas’ systems? 9:41 – Comparing it to Toronto’s forecheck. 20:20 – Evaluating the Leafs’ DZ play. 32:55 – Toronto’s breakouts. 36:34 – Would moving Nylander to centre help with breakouts? 43:19 – Players we’re looking forward to seeing next season. If you want to help support the podcast, here's the link to our Pa...
May 22, 2018•49 min
Cam Robinson from Dobber Prospects joins us this week to preview the upcoming NHL Draft. 1st Round Defencemen 2:57 – Ryan Merkley. 7:16 – Bode Wilde. 9:54 – Nils Lundkvist. 12:20 – Best Player Available vs. the added value of a RHD. 14:17 – Calen Addison. 15:52 – Jett Woo. 17:28 – Rasmus Sandin. 1st Round Forwards 19:56 – Martin Kaut. 22:00 – Vitali Kravtsov. 24:22 – Dominik Bokk. 25:58 – Grigori Denisenko. 28:10 – Jonatan Berggren. 1:03:50 – Akil Thomas & Ryan McLeod. 2nd Round Prospects 32...
May 15, 2018•1 hr 7 min
Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey)from The Athletic joins us this week to preview the Leafs' upcoming offseason. 4:05 – Is Carlson worth the money? 11:30 – Other RHD Targets (Tanev/Hjalmarsson/Pysyk/Gudas) 16:03 – Rasmus Andersson. 19:09 – Greg Pateryn. 22:26 – Julius Honka. 31:06 – Patreon Podcasts! 34:57 – Should the Leafs pursue Tavares? 37:57 – 3rd line centre (Nylander, Bozak, or UFA) 48:05 – Does Leivo crack the lineup next year? 52:20 – Trading Matt Martin. 54:49 – PTO Forwards? 57:48 – The b...
May 12, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Jeff Veillette from The Faceoff Circle joins us this week to take a deep dive into the Toronto Marlies' roster as they head into their Round 2 of the Calder Cup Playoffs. 1:11 – Just how good are the Marlies? 9:00 - Their excellent depth on D. 14:45 – Carl Grundstrom. 17:53 – Miro Aaltonen. 23:14 – Pierre Engvall. 27:44 – Mason Marchment. 31:04 – Justin Holl. 47:46 – Garrett Sparks. 55:04 – Sheldon Keefe’s future. 1:06:08 - Patreon Podcasts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
May 03, 2018•1 hr 11 min
Theo joins us this week (for once) as we discuss the Leafs' heartbreaking Game 7 loss to Boston, what we learned from this season, and the Dubas/Hunter situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 01, 2018•1 hr 5 min
Anthony Petrielli from Maple Leafs Hotstove joins us this week to help break down this crazy TOR-BOS series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 24, 2018•45 min
Justin Bourne from The Athletic joins us this week to break down the anatomy of a 2-on-1, breakouts, and our undying love for Travis Dermott. Also don't forget to sign up for our weekly Saturday night hockey pool at Draft Kings – it’s only $3 and really helps support the podcast. Make sure you use promo code “IAN” when you sign up (it gives you a bonus voucher for the contest). The winner will get 5 minutes of airtime on the next podcast! 🙂 Sign up here: www.draftkings.com/promo-code Weekly con...
Apr 20, 2018•35 min
Andrew Berkshire from Sportsnet joins us this week to take a deep dive into the TOR-BOS series (which is starting to look competitive!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 17, 2018•36 min
Shawn Ferris from Hockey Graphs joins us this week to preview the upcoming series between the Leafs and Bruins. 1:38 – Line Matching. 19:43 – Toronto has played Boston well. 26:13 – Marchand’s shenanigans. 31:45 – Toronto’s PP vs Boston’s PK. 37:39 – Boston’s PP vs Toronto’s PK. 43:40 – Goaltending. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 11, 2018•54 min
Theo joins us (again!) to go through our grades for the Maple Leafs' defencemen in the second half of the season. 1:17 – Hainsey. 9:45 – Rielly. 15:05 – Gardiner. 21:02 - Leafs Geeks Hockey Pool Winner. 28:02 – Zaitsev. 35:07 – Dermott. 37:12 – Polak/Carrick. 46:13 – Andsersen. 50:27 – McElhinney. 51:46 – Babcock. Also don't forget to sign up for our weekly Saturday night hockey pool at Draft Kings – it’s only $3 and really helps support the podcast. Make sure you use promo code “IAN” when you s...
Apr 08, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Theo joins me (for once) as we go through our report cards for each Maple Leaf forward in the 2nd half of the season. 3:12 – Hyman. 10:57 – Nylander. 16:25 – Matthews. 25:08 – Marleau. 33:03 – Marner. 38:50 – Kadri. 44:20 – Brown. 51:53 – JVR. 54:38 – Bozak. 58:20 – Komarov. 1:04:11 – Plekanec. 1:05:49 – Kapanen. 1:06:10 – Johnsson. If you want to help support the podcast, you can sign up for our weekly Saturday night hockey pool at Draft Kings – it’s only $3 and helps me get out of OSAP debt! M...
Apr 06, 2018•1 hr 9 min
Kevin Papetti from Pension Plan Puppets joins us this week to break down the Leafs’ Top 10 Prospects (for fun we included guys like Dermott, Kapanen, and Johnsson) 1:57 – Travis Dermott (LD) 8:11 – Timothy Liljegren (RD) 17:55 – Kasperi Kapanen (RW) 26:27 – Andreas Johnsson (LW/RW) 31:11 – Leafs Geeks Hockey Pool Winner. 39:22 – Jeremy Bracco (RW) 47:11 – Carl Grundstrom (LW) 53:19 – Andreas Borgman (LD) 1:01:18 – Yegor Korshkov (RW) 1:07:18 – Pierre Engvall (LW/RW) 1:16:01 – Adam Brooks (C/W) 1...
Apr 02, 2018•1 hr 34 min
Arvind from Pension Plan Puppets joins us this week to break down the key decisions facing the Leafs this offseason. 1:14 - Is there some conceivable way to bring back JVR? 18:52 - Nylander's contract extension. 22:07 - Who's the 3rd line C next year (Nylander, Thornton, Bozak…?) 32:18 - The new Leafs Geeks weekly contest! 37:24 - Forecasting Toronto's 2018-2019 lineup. 55:54 - Just how good is Travis Dermott? Also don't forget to sign up for our Saturday night hockey pool at Draft Kings (use pr...
Mar 26, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Cam Robinson from Dobber Prospects joins us this week to break down some of our favourite players in the upcoming draft who might be available by the Leafs' pick (in the low-mid 20s). 2:56 - Ryan Merkley (5'11 RHD, Guelph, OHL) 6:53 - Jett Woo (6'0 RHD, Moose Jaw, OHL) 8:40 - Jared McIsaac (6'1 LHD, Halifax, QMJHL) 12:17 - Calen Addison (5'10 RHD, Lethbridge, WHL) 15:19 - Jesperi Kotkaniemi (6'2 C, Assat, Liiga) 19:16 - Dominik Bokk (6'1 LW/RW, Vaxjo, SHL) 23:25 - Grigori Denisenko (5'10 LW, Lok...
Mar 10, 2018•1 hr 7 min
Rob Wong from Sportsnet 590 The FAN joins us this week to discuss some of the biggest questions in Leafs nation lately. 1:21 - Nylander at Centre. 9:55 - Gardiner's resurgence. 17:48 - Zaitsev's struggles. 30:14 - Plekanec's role on this team. 36:40 - Getting Kapanen more ice time. 42:51 - How good are the Leafs? 53:36 - Would you rather face Boston or Tampa in the 1st Round? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 02, 2018•1 hr 8 min
TotallyOffside from Hockey Twitter joins us this week to debate whether or not the Leafs should trade JVR. There's a lot to unpack with this decision, so buckle up! If nothing else, I highly recommend listening to the closing arguments. Ian breaks down his case for trading JVR at 1:06:24, while TotallyOffside outlines the case for keeping him as an own rental at 1:09:54. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 25, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Dom Luszczyszyn from The Athletic joins us this week to break down the Leafs that we think are a bit overrated and underrated when you compare their results with fan perception. 3:23 - Dom: Dermott & Kapanen are Overrated. 10:29 - Ian: Matthews is (slightly) Overrated. 17:35 - Ian: Marleau is Overrated. 25:25 - Dom: Rielly is Underrated. 31:18 - Ian: Marner is Underrated. 36:00 - Dom: JVR and Bozak are Underrated. 40:26 - Ian: Gardiner is Underrated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Feb 23, 2018•53 min
James Mirtle from The Athletic joins us this week to break down what the Leafs should do at the Trade Deadline, as well as some of the key decisions they have to make this offseason. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 0:38 - How good are the Leafs? 10:49 - What should Toronto do at the trade deadline? 13:35 - Addressing the centre position in the offseason. 15:55 - Does Komarov come back next season? 19:31 - Babcock wants a 4th line centre...who's available? 25:04 - Finding a Top 4 RHD in t...
Feb 17, 2018•40 min
Andrew Berkshire from Sportsnet joins us this week to break down the Leafs using some of his proprietary metrics from Sportlogiq. 1:20 - What is Sportlogiq? 4:10 - What can the public do with microstats from private companies? 14:15 - How bad is Gardiner's turnover rate? 20:44 - Dermott's impressive play. 23:33 - Zaitsev's poor play. 27:27 - "The best forechecker in hockey" 36:41 - Shot Quality vs Shot Quantity. 46:25 - Matthews' ability to generate "Royal Road" passes. 52:29 - What should the L...
Feb 14, 2018•57 min
Dylan Fremlin from MapleLeafsNation joins us this week as we try our best to answer listeners' questions sent in over Twitter. Here's a list of the questions: 1:12 – Is Ian still confident in his 17-goal prediction for Hyman? 4:17 – Should Toronto use forwards on their “off-side” on the PP? 12:43 – What should the Leafs do at the trade deadline? 25:13 – If Toronto buy a centre the deadline, who are some potential targets? 35:06 – In 2-5 years, which teams in the East will give the Leafs the most...
Jan 30, 2018•1 hr 14 min
Scott Wheeler from The Athletic joins us this week to go through the Leafs' Top 10 Prospects and break down their seasons. Here's a list of the prospects we discuss: 2:30 - Players who just missed the age cutoff (Johnsson & Aaltonen) 9:46 - Timothy Liljegren (RD) 21:33 - Kasperi Kapanen (RW) 25:59 - Travis Dermott (LD) 30:56 - Carl Grundstrom (LW) 34:35 - Jeremy Bracco (RW) 39:50 - Dmytro Timashov (LW) 42:42 - Eemeli Rasanen (RD) 1:00:12 - Andrew Nielsen (LD), Jesper Lindgren (RD), and Josep...
Jan 23, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Gus Katsaros from McKeens, Maple Leafs Hotstove, and Rotoworld joins us this week to break down the Leafs' play in each zone to help explain why they've been struggling lately. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 1:08 - The Eye Test vs Analytics "debate". 7:38 - Why have the Leafs been struggling? 13:57 - Toronto's DZ play. 19:16 - The pros/cons of the "flip pass". 27:19 - Breaking down Gardiner & Zaitsev. 45:03 - Borgman's potential. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...
Jan 18, 2018•52 min
Justin Bourne (former Toronto Marlies video coach, currently writing at The Athletic) joins us this week to help bridge the gap between the eye test and the numbers when it comes to analyzing the Leafs' performance this season. Here's a list of topics we discuss: 1:12 - Travis Dermott's potential. 8:15 - Why have the Leafs been struggling with their breakouts? 14:44 - "Staying Above" in the offensive zone (OZ defence). 19:48 - Why you actually should play it "safe" late in a tie game. 23:39 - Th...
Jan 13, 2018•42 min
In the second half of our Midseason Report Cards series, we go through our grades for the Leafs' defencemen, goalie, and coach. Here's a list of the players that we discuss: 1:30 - Rielly 8:12 - Hainsey 13:15 - Gardiner/Zaitsev 23:11 - Borgman 30:49 - Polak 35:55 - Carrick 42:44 - Andersen 43:53 - Babcock 1:03:24 - Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 12, 2018•1 hr 9 min
This week we break down Toronto's forwards' performance at the halfway mark with our official Midseason Report Cards. Here's a list of the forwards we discuss: 4:14 - Matthews 8:32 - Nylander 15:24 - Hyman 18:44 - Marleau 25:10 - Kadri 28:51 - Komarov 34:07 - JVR 40:44 - Marner 46:31 - Bozak 52:56 - Brown 1:01:42 - Martin & Moore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 11, 2018•1 hr 11 min
Ryan Biech from Sportsnet650, The Athletic, and CanucksArmy joins us this week to break down our favourite players from the World Juniors. Here's a list of the prospects we discuss: 2:47 - Timothy Liljegren (Sweden, TOR) 9:08 - Elias Pettersson (Sweden, VAN) 12:34 - Alex Nylander (Sweden, BUF) 14:19 - Cale Makar (Canada, COL) 16:44 - Jordan Kyrou (Canada, STL) 22:08 - Sam Steel (Canada, ANA) 23:24 - Taylor Raddysh (Canada, TB) 30:14 - Joseph Woll (USA, TOR) 31:33 - Casey Mittlestadt (USA, BUF) 3...
Jan 02, 2018•59 min
Anthony Petrielli from Maple Leafs Hot Stove joins us this week to break down the Leafs' systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 25, 2017•1 hr
Prashanth Iyer from The Athletic joins us this week to break down the man, the myth, the legend: Mike Babcock. After 2.5 years of coaching the Leafs and 10 years in Detroit, Prashanth and I discuss some of the trends we've observed over the years. Here's a list of the topics we touch on: 1:27 - Grinders getting lots of ice time (Komarov, Abdelkader) 16:20 - Skilled players struggling to get minutes (Nylander, Hudler) 27:35 - Age bias (Kapanen/Leivo, Nyquist/Tatar) 43:46 - But, Babcock's still pr...
Dec 20, 2017•56 min
