The Fischler Report: The Leafs Have Gone Punchy
Skip analytics gobbledegook. Put 3 two-fisted sluggers out there and you'll scare the beehozis out of the opposition. That's what Conn Smythe's Leafs did to win three straight (1947, 48, 49) Cups!
Don't look now but the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to punch -- yeah, punch -- their way to The Stanley Cup.
This is no joke and it won't be for any of Sheldon Keefe's foes.
Before his team has played its first regular season game, new GM Brad Treliving figured out what his predecessor, Kyle Dubas, did not.
That Original Leafs patriarch Conn Smythe was right when he said, "If you can't beat 'em in the alley, you can't beat 'em on the ice."
Treliving's three nasty additions -- Ryan Reaves, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi -- not only can beat 'em on ice and in alleys but on top of Toronto's CN Tower as well.
Skip the analytics gobbledegook. Put three two-fisted sluggers out there and you'll scare the beehozis out of the opposition. That's what Smythe's Leafs did with Wild Bill Ezinicki, Bashin' Bill Barilko and Iron Vic Lynn. All they did was win three straight (1947, 48, 49) Stanley Cups.
With the absolute protection of Reaves' Rustlers, the Marners, Matthews, Nylanders -- maybe even Tavares, if he's in the mood -- will score goals like never before. I mean who's gonna dare lay a stick on Matthews knowing that there will be an instant Destruction by Domi? Plus pals.
It's not that the new Sluggos On Lake Ontario have just invented the
hit-first-ask-questions-last formula. Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider studied the Smythe Formula, stirred twice and out came Hammer Dave Schultz and the Broad Street Bullies… Click to continue reading this week’s Fischler Report
I'M JUST SAYIN’
* Virtually attached at the hip since the opening of camp, Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat are wondering who'll be on the wing once the serious stuff starts. How about Pierre Engvall?
* Advice to William Nylander: "Willie, don't you -- or your rep -- get stupid and push GM Brad Treliving too far with your 7-figure demands. Be smart; be part of the Cup year."
* Some in the Red Wings camp figure that seven more wins than last season will catapult them into a playoff berth. And I'll buy that.
* I see where Connor McDavid is coming from when he says he's gotta win a Cup to establish a "legacy."
* Nonsense! Hall of Fame defenseman Bill Gadsby played 20 NHL years and never won a Cup. Still, Gadsby, the Honest Blocker established a "legacy," as one of the all-time best blue liners.
* Jaro Halak is hanging out -- working out -- in Boston waiting for a major goalie opening. Why not Tampa Bay with Andrei Vasilevskiy out until December?
* Jim Devellano helped Bill Torrey build a 4-Cup Dynasty on Long Island. Now the Wings Exec V.P. tells me, "Long term dynasties are a thing of the past. We'll have more Cup winners on an annual basis."… Click to continue reading this week’s Fischler Report