Dan Riccio thinks the healthy scratch can help light a fire under Dakota Joshua: Leafs Morning Take

After their OT win in Columbus, the Leafs are in Washington for a funky Eastern start at 5pm on Black Friday before visiting Kyle Dubas’ Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

That’s where the conversation started on Friday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take when David Pagnotta filled in as co-host for Jay Rosehill. Naturally, we moved on to a segment about what happens behind the scenes. How motivated are the Leafs to make a trade? Who is available? Is Berube’s job on the line? Pagnotta looked at what might happen if the Leafs can’t find their footing.

Then we got a full game preview. The Leafs are in DC to take on a red-hot Caps team, who have won five of six. This will be a tough task. At the time of recording, we weren’t sure what the Leafs roster would look like. Dakota Joshua will withdraw. Plus, it seems likely that Max Domi could be a healthy scratch. To be clear, we agreed on that decision, if it ultimately happens. Bottom line: There must be accountability, both in the lineup and in the lineup. All in all, it will be fascinating to see how Joshua reacts to sitting out for one match.

Speaking of which, Dan Riccio from OFF THE ROSTER, The Nation Network’s new sports show, stopped by. Dan has lived in Vancouver for almost a decade and beat Joshua when he was with the Canucks. Riccio even admitted that Joshua needed to be poked and prodded, so perhaps the health bomb was a blessing in disguise. In addition to promoting the show, Riccio talked about Joshua, the Leafs and Canucks possibly making a deal, and what Brad Treliving’s mentality should be right now with the team struggling so much. All three of us agreed that this team should not be adding anything at this point.

Regardless, David Pagnotta will once again replace Jay Rosehill for Monday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take. Make sure you join us this weekend for a full recap of Toronto’s back-to-back. Additionally, Sportsnet’s Anna Dua will also drop by the show.