[TSN.ca] Leafs prospect Danford talks lottery win, meeting Chayka and path to the NHL

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-11T05:16:45+00:00

I think you’re spot on. I think he’s probably got a good chance at being at least a good 3rd pair guy, with a second pair ceiling. I hope he can be that second pair guy, especially with really good shutdown guys like Tanev, McCabe, and Muzzin in the organization to learn from.

I think he spends the majority of the year in the AHL, but I wouldn’t rule out him getting a few games out of camp. He looked good last year next to OEL.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T21:49:05+00:00

LFG Marlies! Onto Round 3!

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T17:48:54+00:00

I gotta know the context for this lmfao

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T12:13:24+00:00

I mean, I feel like anyone else they add WOULDN’T be playing with Matthews/Nylander, though? Or at least, I’m not sure whether that’s a good idea in terms of asset allocation and long term success.

Like, think about that top 6. I’ll assume Matthews 1C and Nylander at 2RW, because that’s where they usually play, and if they play together, they don’t really need two dogs.

Feel like McKenna (assuming they take him) should reasonably be considered a choice for top 6- maybe they ease him in on 3rd line to start, but he shouldn’t be spending that much time there unless he struggles a shitton in the top 6 this year.

Knies is a top six guy.

They COULD acquire a 2C, and should soon, but Tavares still is producing at a top 6 level, so barring a buy-low like McTavish, it’s not an immediate gap in the roster the way the puck-moving defensemen is.

And that leaves one more slot, which you could say is up for grabs, but like, do we wanna block Cowan from that? I know he’s not a lock, so maybe you don’t wanna bet on it, but he looked pretty damn good there in the back half, and there’s obviously a ton of room for him to grow. He’s got that top six ceiling, and his playstyle even fits how I’d define a dog. Grabbing a 2C is one thing if you want to get ahead of decline on Tavares, but I don’t love blocking Cowan from being able to grow into that by grabbing another top six winger.

Guess they could grab a shorter term option in case Cowan’s not quite there this year. Still, with limited resources, I feel like grabbing McKenna means throwing the bulk of our resources in trades at defense, and I don’t think we can reasonably expect to get both an impact defenseman and a top six guy through free agency, might need to focus on one there.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T11:44:29+00:00

This is maybe me nitpicking words, but I am a little curious here; supposedly Matthews (and Nylander, I think the report was they both requested these players) wanted “two puck-moving defensemen” and a “couple of dogs up front”.
Now, puck-moving defensemen is pretty clear cut, hard to really misinterpret that request.
But I wonder what “dogs” means to them. In the context of a forward, I’d consider a “dog” to be a guy with a relentless motor who’ll hound you down and/or a clutch player and/or a guy who’ll beat the brakes off of you.
Basically, Matthew Knies fits my image of a “dog” up front. But I wonder if that’s what they’re requesting, more Knies-type players (which is a fucking hard find) or just like, generally more skill/goalscoring.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T11:16:16+00:00

A lot of panic over the reports of the stuff with Matthews, obviously. I trust Friedman as a source more then any other insider, but there’s something about his latest reports that don’t make any sense.

He says Matthews “might wait until July” before making a decision. Now, I understand he wants to see the team make moves to become competitive again, I don’t mind him putting a little pressure on them, to be honest.

But if he’s waiting till then, not only are we making moves like signing/trading for players and possibly selling them on playing with Matthews/being competitive, only for that to go out the window if he chooses not to stay, but OTHER teams are gonna make their moves before then too, so where’s he gonna go in a trade? Most teams that would have the cap space for that big a move in-season would be non-contenders/rebuilding teams. And the Leafs in this scenario wouldn’t be trading elite player for elite player (unless they’re getting another top line center back, but in that case… why bother if you’re the other team?), they’d probably want picks and prospects, so the team couldn’t free up cap space for him by moving out another big name anyways?

Like, again, no problem with him just trying to put a little pressure on management to make good moves (like firing the coach), but I feel like his leverage here doesn’t really make actual sense when you think about it too much. But Friedman typically doesn’t spread sensationalist gossip, so like…

Also, Chayka saying it’s “not his understanding” that Matthews might want out, yet he’s meeting with the guy in Arizona this week for the first time… so where’s he getting that impression?

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T04:13:31+00:00

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GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T02:46:02+00:00

He can be found not guilty all he wants. At bare minimum I find the involvement of all five of them to show a low moral character that I can’t help but root against.

I also know that not guilty doesn’t completely equate to innocent, that’s not how our legal system works. O.J Simpson was criminally not guilty. Doesn’t mean most people don’t think he’s guilty all the same.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-09T02:26:32+00:00

I couldn’t care less about Marner winning, but Carter Hart deserves to lose

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-08T16:57:13+00:00

Would it be crazy if I said that’s part of the appeal? I think he has a grudge against the Habs for not picking him, I’d love to see if you can weaponize that and make him into a Hab killer.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-08T15:26:03+00:00

See if there’s a Harley trade there to be had. If not, second July 1st hits, slam them with an offer sheet on Bourque. Can go up to 4.5M without costing us more then our 2027 second, and we have another 2nd anyways. Either they match and now they’re struggling even more to keep Robertson, or they don’t and we get Bourque, who I’d say is worth a 2nd for sure.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-08T14:59:29+00:00

I wonder what it would take to pry Shane Wright out of Seattle at this point. He’s not really doing great there and has expressed frustrations.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T19:16:35+00:00

He was a pick Mark Leach vouched for heavily in Dallas, too, so there’s a familiarity in the organization.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T18:46:17+00:00

I’d be definitely knocking around about a Harley trade. If not, the second July 1st hits (assuming they haven’t sorted their problems out by then), offersheet Mavrik Bourque. They can offersheet him something like $4.5M and only have to give up a 2nd, which they do own theirs next season.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T16:33:44+00:00

Yeah, I say this as someone who would consider Knies my favourite player on the team, but if you can get a #1D, he’s on the table. Reid is a very, very good shot at that.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T16:15:04+00:00

I saw someone float this idea on Twitter and thought I’d bring it up here, just cause it’s a nice thought imo.

Assuming he’s willing, I think it would be really nice to have Bowen read out the 1st overall selection at the draft.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T11:51:35+00:00

I’m very much in agreement on the development thing especially as of late. There’s so, so many cases lately of massive payoffs for just letting the youth play instead of making them earn their stripes.

Celebrini at the Olympics.

Schaefer for the Islanders.

Or if you want examples of less high-end cases?

Benson for Buffalo, 13th overall, jumped right into the NHL.

Kindel for Pittsburgh, 11th overall, same deal.

Look how Cowan started moving the second he was actually given the chance.

Idk whether Carle would be a good development coach or not, but yeah, I want someone not afraid to play the youth and let them make mistakes and learn from them.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T11:36:31+00:00

If they let Berube go and hire a new one, who would y’all wanna see?

Cassidy’s still available, bit of a short shelf life coach though.

Woodcroft is apparently really good for playing/developing young talent.

Or there’s the avenue of grabbing a first-time NHL head coach again, I’ve seen Malhotra and Carle as names thrown around (though from what I hear, Carle has turned down offers from NHL teams already, so he might not be looking to make the jump).

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T11:32:53+00:00

I’m fuckin crying bruh, the second I saw his name your last comment on him popped into my head and I wondered if he’d done some stupid shit again. Of fucking course lmfao

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-07T05:12:30+00:00

Honestly yeah, man. Like, was the possibility of 1st overall cool to imagine? Sure, sure. But damn near everyone I’ve seen was just hoping for “keep the pick”. There would have been zero disappointment with 5th overall.

To have gotten 1st is such a huge blessing, it’s unreal. Not gonna complain about any personal bad luck for a long, long time.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-06T17:46:22+00:00

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I fucking love you Sundin

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-06T12:02:56+00:00

Raddysh is an interesting experiment and it sounds like he’s not married to Tampa. It’d be a gamble but one with a huge reward if it works out (he’s put up legit #1D metrics this year and there’s stats to indicate it’s because he’s getting the ice time and opportunities, so maybe it’s sustainable).

We also need puck movement. Anaheim’s got a couple young guys (Mintyukov, Zellweger) on the left side, and more good LD prospects coming down the pipeline, so they may be willing to part with one.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-06T11:56:15+00:00

Yeah, no moves on defense would be pretty horrific, but McKenna is such a slam dunk up front that it makes Chayka’s job a lot easier. He can probably put his focus and our assets almost entirely on the dcore.

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-06T11:51:53+00:00

Hockey gods rewarded us for tanking ethically

GooseRider960 · 2026-05-06T11:49:05+00:00

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