Welcome to another edition of Weekly Sports Thoughts! As usual, we will start a review of the week that was with a little tribute. This week, in honour of Bob Cole's final game in Toronto, we thank Bob Cole.
Bob Cole is the voice of Hockey Night in Canada. For entire generations, Bob represented the sport of hockey, and helped many children fall in love with it. I specifically remember one of the many Ottawa-Toronto playoff series, Bob was on his game for those. The Leafs would always beat Ottawa, and Bob would always have you at the edge of your seat. My favourite memory from the Battle of Ontario was the second Joe Nieuwendyk goal in Game 7 of 2004 where Bob got so excited that the second goal Nieuwendyk scored was so similar to the first, screaming "Nieuwendyk again...scores again". What a thrilling moment to be a Leaf fan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBdjZ0Tlv2I
Another absolutely fantastic moment was from the classic 1993 Kings-Leafs series. I don't remember watching this live, but it's even more special that I can watch a replay, know what will happen, and still be excited. It was crazy Game 6, the Leafs are trailing with about a minute left of the game. Wendel Clark comes in and shoots, he scores! Bob screams "WENDEL CLARK!" Absolute classic, and listening to it still gives me goosebumps. Just listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eliP-58PqOM
These were two classic moments from two incredible Maple Leafs teams. Which leads me to begin and discuss the current Maple Leafs, who will no doubt be right up there with those teams. And they took a major step this week in signing RFA Auston Matthews to a 5-year $11.667 million AAV. Was this a good signing? You can look at it and say sure it was, you get a superstar on your team for 5 years where he should get better and already is one of the best in the league when he is on his game. But truth be told, everybody has this recent slump he was on plaguing their idea of what Matthews was actually worth. Ideally, the Leafs get him at 11.5M or less, but this isn't about our ideal world. Sometimes, you need to give in and spend an extra few one hundred K more than what you intended.
The attention has been on Mitch Marner since he is next on the signing list. Marner is a lifelong Leaf fan and has been expected to be the one to take a hometown discount. You can argue until now no player has taken that discount, and Marner shouldn't be obligated to do it either. But the real question becomes what is Marner actually worth? He currently leads the team in scoring and is their best playmaker. Marner's stock is on the rise daily, but he is not the main superstar of the Leafs: Matthews is. Would it be unrealistic for Marner to come in at 11 to 11.5M?
In reality, I think Marner's camp should take the hometown discount and protect this core so Marner's stock can truly rise. Marner is in a completely different circumstance than Matthews, Nylander and almost any other superstar Maple Leaf player: he is from the area. This is where it would make sense for private companies to buy stock in this kid and promote him. Pay him millions to be their spokesperson. Hypothetically, if Marner goes to Carolina, for example, he may get paid more $ but would never get the endorsements from Toronto. This is in addition to their salary. As Marner's agent pointed out, Marner is going nowhere. Why? Because it would be dumb to move from a team that clearly has the pieces to move forward and win. If taking 500K less means you get more shots at a championship which would lead to more endorsements, why wouldn't you take it if you're Marner. This should be a no-brainer, Marner only has to win by cooperating with Leaf management.
The real reason the Leafs are in this crunch situation is not John Tavares, it's Nikita Zaitsev. Zaitsev is currently being paid $4.5 million per season. Yes, he's their only right-handed D-man, but if you look at this team, he's the worst player on the ice most nights. Zaitsev is solidly overpaid, it would be a hope of mine that they look to move this contract. Imagine if you had a $2million right D-man in his place, I think it couldn't be any worse. It's these little things that cost the Leafs some dough.
As for the Leafs building partner, speculation has been running high with the Raptors in on Antonio Davis. I have learned from the team that Davis is out of the question. Masai Ujiri does not want to lose Siakam in any way possible just in case Kawhi doesn't stay. The question becomes if this team is good enough to win the way it's currently structured. I have hope Masai will make one move still that will benefit the team, I'm just waiting to see who.
Moving to Portugal, the big news this week was the Benfica away win over Sporting for the championship. Sporting is now 11 back of Porto and 8 of Benfica in the league. The play of João Felix has been insanely good, and he has the top teams in Europe after him. Felix is the best young player right at this moment, he is playing at an extraordinary level. I can't wait to see how he continues to progress. Benfica has progressed since Rui Vitoria's firing (surprise, surprise). Being within 3 points of Porto and with Braga within 4 this championship is wide open.
Sporting meanwhile has faded back to 4th and did not look good losing at home. However, earlier today they played a much better game and came away with a positive 2-1 defeat at the hands of Benfica, with the home leg of the 2-part semi-final for the Portuguese Cup in play.
Porto have begun to falter. A tie to Guimarães means the team suddenly has no gap and two teams on their heels. We shall see how they react to pressure.
Also, shame on you Belenenses SAD on this whole debacle with the team. The club had to borrow Setubal's stadium this week to play a home game. When I think of a team in crisis, Belenenses SAD is the one. And they're currently 7th in the standings, which is way better than expected.
And that is it for now! Let's see what the next week holds for us. Good night!
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