Matthew Barnaby Says Leafs Won’t Win a Stanley Cup With Matthews as Captain: Leafs Morning Take

If this team has any chance of crawling out of this mess and making the playoffs, getting this one against Buffalo is key. Boston picked up a point on Monday night, meaning the Leafs are now six points out of a playoff spot. Buffalo, Boston and Montreal all have 63 points.

Jay Rosehill was back in the mix for Tuesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take, and it should come as no surprise that he had a lot to say. Before reflecting on Nylander’s penalty/bird flip, Rosey discussed Toronto’s tumultuous weekend. Just ten days ago we were talking sunshine and rainbows, now we’re talking scorched earth and deadline sales. It was embarrassment on the ice and distraction after distraction. This team is in trouble.

Anyway, Buffalo is in town. They have been playing with desperation and urgency for two months now. After his turbulent performance against Colorado, Joseph Woll gets a chance to redeem himself. So again, what was the point of activating Stolarz? Any way you slice it, the Leafs need this one badly. They have to dig deep and find a way. They’ve dropped four in a row, and as mentioned above, their aspirations of making the postseason are vanishing. Calle Jarnkrok will withdraw, Jacob Quillan will sit. No Nylander.

Meanwhile, Matthew Barnaby came out swinging – as usual – during his time with us. He was blunt, fair and honest in his assessment, taking direct aim at Auston Matthews’ leadership and even going so far as to suggest that the Leafs would never win a Stanley Cup with Matthews as captain. Barnaby also questioned the leadership core as a whole, saying the team comes across as lazy – and worse, comfortable with it. Barnaby has spared no one and has held both management and players responsible for the current mess. He also raised eyebrows about the Anthony Stolarz situation and wondered how Stolarz could get his own shot when he returned to the lineup. Finally, we talked about the red-hot Buffalo Sabres, what we can expect from them, and what has clicked for the franchise since the firing of their GM. Despite all the criticism, Barnaby still picked the Leafs to win tonight.

I look forward to explaining the game on Wednesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take. Also, Carter Hutton, former NHL goalie and co-host of Daily Faceoff Live, will stop by to discuss the crease and this disaster as a whole.