To Be A Toronto Sports Fan

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The Maple Leafs have been defined by their defensive play this year and it is the goalies that have stood out so far. Stolarz and Woll have been in the upper echelon of NHL goalies all year and since Stolarz got hurt, Woll has picked up the slack. Going into this season not much was expected on my behalf from these two. I just hoped they stayed healthy and kept the team in games. Stolarz has been out for a few games now and should return soon. Woll has had a couple of minor injuries this season, but he has been fantastic.

Honourable mention goes out to Chris Tanev and Jake Mccabe who have been very solid. Morgan Rielly unfornately has been bad and there is no other way to put it. He has almost as many points as the aforementioned defencemen and he plays a far more offensive role. Rielly is also a -15 which is inexcusable on a team that is as good and that scores as much as the Leafs do. It is probably safe to say that Rielly has been the most disappointment Leaf this season because a lot of people were hoping a huge season from him, especially starting the season with Tanev as his D partner. OEL and Timmins have also been mainstays back there and Benoit has been serviceable.

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The forwards have been led by Marner and Nylander with Matthews being injured for a large chunk of the year. Marner is having his best season as a Leaf and Nylander is up there in goals. Tavares has also had a very solid year and here's hoping he and Marner both sign long term soon. Nylander started the year up there in goal leaders, but has taken a little step back. He should still wind up with more than 40 goals and with Matthews missing as much time as he has, will lead the team in goals. Marner might set a career high in points and Tavares is on pace for a 30 goal season which is fantastic for him.

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Matthew Knies has also looked good this year playing mostly on the top line with Marner and Matthews and on the second power play unit. Like Tavares he should also top the 30 goal mark which is excellent for the second year power forward. Disappointments up front have been Pontus Holmberg who continues to be the most useless player on this team. He literally does nothing but fill up a roster spot and why he has not seen extended time in the press box or gets sent down to give someone a chance is beyond me. Nik Roberston also has not done much this year and Domi has been mostly cold this year, but their line with McMann has shown some offensive promise over the past month or so. Let's keep it going boys!!

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The many faces of Scottie Barnes. I expected the Raptors to be bad this year and tank for a shot at at Cooper Flagg, but what really annoys me about this team is how unprofessional they have been on the court this year. I am by no means a basketball expert when it comes to defensive and offensive sets, but I constantly see this team not excecusting basic things on the floor. That is not even the worst thing about this team however. The antics of Quickley and Barnes are sadly laughable. When Quiickley hits a 3 her frequently goes down the court skipping like a fool. I am not sure what this proves. That he has a youthful personality? Those sort of antics are reserved for superstars such as Curry and Trae Young so please I.Q stay in your lane. Sheesh! I have also seen Scottie do some childish things on the court, but these are more in the moment of the game and I am not too upset about those.

To be honest with the Raptors being as bad as they have been, I have not watched as many games as I perhaps should have. They are a difficult watch after all and most games are blow outs and I want to be entertained. Things could be different if the team was healthy all year and Grady has had a solid second year season, but this team is in full rebuild mode and it will be years until I get excited about this team again.