Steve Simmons calls Matthews leading PP a ‘disgrace to hockey’: Leafs Morning Take

How hot are the Toronto Maple Leafs?

That’s where the conversation started on Thursday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take. The wins against Pittsburgh and a depleted Florida squad were great, but the Canes are a different animal. They are 8-3-1 on home ice and, furthermore, they are well rested, having not played since Sunday. Joseph Woll will be called. We’ve had quite a bit of discussion about how the Leafs should deploy their crease, because as we know, these guys can’t play every game anymore. Will Dennis Hildeby play against Montreal on Saturday evening? We’ll see!

Meanwhile, this will be the sixth and final stop in Toronto’s series of road games. Through five games, they are 3-2-0, and given the way they’ve started the journey, you’d hit that record any day of the week and twice on Sundays. We talked a lot during the episode about Toronto’s terrible power play. Through 26 games, they are 10-for-65. With all that star power they possess, that’s unacceptable. The power play is killing this team. That said, the PK has been a bright spot over the past five games since Scott Laughton returned to the lineup. Led by Woll’s awesomeness, the Leafs have killed 13 of their past 14 penalties. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how their bottom six play after their impressive night in Sunrise. The Joshua-Roy-McMann trio wants to put things in order for the third time in a row and really gain some serious traction.

Afterwards, Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons graced us with his presence. Not surprisingly, he was ripe with hot takes and candor. After considering the win against the Panthers, Woll’s stellar play and Stecher’s emergence, Steve went HARD on Toronto’s vaunted power play. He called Matthews running the power play an embarrassment, and honestly, his reasoning makes a lot of sense. He’s one of the top scorers in the world, he should be put in a position to shoot that puck. Finally, Simmons touched on the depth pieces and their overall importance to this team. He wants to see it on a consistent basis from Roy, Joshua and others. In the meantime, he’s a big fan of what Scott Laughton brings to the table.

One show left this week. Then be sure to come to the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We’ll recap Leafs/Canes, and look ahead to Saturday night’s home date with the Montreal Canadiens. Also, the AMAZING Scotty Bowman will be appearing on the show again.