Jeff Marek sees no evidence the Leafs are ready to make a run: Leafs Morning Take

You never know, but this might be what changes the course of the Maple Leafs season.

For the first time since their seven-game battle last spring, the Leafs and Panthers are set to battle each other. Strangely enough, both teams have the same number of points (25), while Florida has one game in hand. Before December 2^i.ethis is a sneaky big game.

Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be a Leafs/Panthers matchup without Brad Marchand sharing his latest thoughts on the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs. “If people think they’re out of a playoff spot this season, they need to find a new job… with the media attention and fan support, things are blown way out of proportion… They’re still a good contending team,” Marchand told reporters Monday. Again, when did Brad Marchand become the voice of reason in Toronto? This man is an all-time troll, and honestly, he’s running the show in this town. It’s wild. If you were to look up the definition of “rent-free,” you would find a photo of Marchand. He also knows exactly what he is doing.

So this is stop No. 5 of 6 on the Leafs list of six in a row away from Scotiabank Arena. Through four games, they are 2-2-0. The road record is still very ugly (3-7-0). Toronto has just seven regular-season wins in 25 games. Yes, it was a turbulent start. That said, no one is talking about the Panthers – for obvious reasons – even though they are aligned with the Leafs. A point in this game would tie Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is currently on a nine-game point streak, with Tom Kurvers for the longest point streak by a D in franchise history. He was on fire.

Then Jeff Marek from The Sheet joined us to discuss everything. First, he addressed Marchand’s comments before diving straight into Leafs/Panthers. Marek’s stance on the Leafs hasn’t changed. He hasn’t seen anything yet to indicate a turnaround is coming anytime soon. And that’s completely fair. Additionally, he discussed where this team is, whether they can turn things around, and the prospects of bringing in Bruce Boudreau to help with the power play. Finally, he weighed in on this weekend’s “Fire Berube” buzz. To be clear: he thinks it is far too early to think about such a step.

Then be sure to come to the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. In addition to offering a full Leafs/Cats recap, former Panthers GM and head coach Doug MacLean will once again stop by the podcast.