Back to Excited Hockey Podcast

We discuss the Leafs loss to the Panthers, and the major questions facing them this offseason

On this episode, we discuss the Leafs beating the Sens in Round 1 (1:30) and preview the Toronto / Florida series (1:01:45)

We preview the Leafs vs Sens series, talking about each teams' strengths, weaknesses, and give our predictions

Episode 217 - Reviewing the Season So Far by Arvind, Acting the Fulemin

Welcome to another episode of Back to Excited. Today, we finish our look around the league, covering another set of 12 teams. Timestamps: Philadelphia Flyers [1:50] Pittsburgh Penguins [14:37] San Jose Charks [29:13] Seattle Kraken [43:15] St Louis Blues [56:02] Tampa Bay Lightning [1:03:20] Toronto Maple Leafs [1:19:05] Utah Hockey Club [1:40:22] Vancouver Canucks [2:00:45] Vegas Golden Knights [2:22:58] Washington Capitals [2:31:23] Winnipeg Jets [2:41:10]

Today, we go through the middle third of the league alphabetically, and review their offseason moves, along with their outlook. Timestamps: Edmonton Oilers [1:00] Florida Panthers [30:00] Los Angeles Kings [43:21] Minnesota Wild [1:02:24] Montreal Canadiens [1:11:55] Nashville Predators [1:24:34] New Jersey Devils [1:43:57] New York Islanders [1:52:35] New York Rangers [1:56:04] Ottawa Senators [2:03:43]

Welcome to Back to Excited's annual offseason review, where we go through all 31 non-Leafs teams, and discuss how they changed over the summer. In part 1, we go through teams alphabetically from Anaheim to Detroit. Timestamps below: Anaheim Ducks [4:09] Boston Bruins [17:27] Buffalo Sabres [35:05] Calgary Flames [59:10] Carolina Hurricanes [1:08:43] Chicago Blackhawks [1:28:30] Colorado Avalanche [1:43:44] Columbus Blue Jackets [1:52:18] Dallas Stars [2:02:23] Detroit Red Wings [2:13:14]

Today, Fulemin and I do our deep dive of the Leafs' offseason, including the following: A recap of the players, coaches, and front office members who have left the team [0:55] The hiring of Craig Berube [26:43] The re-signings of Max Domi [33:38] and Timothy Liljegren [37:59] The acquisitions of Chris Tanev [42:58], Oliver Ekman-Larsson [59:31], Jani Hakanpaa [1:09:31], Dakota Mermis, and Philippe Myers [1:15:33] The Joseph Woll extension [1:18:40] and Anthony Stolarz signing [1:22:45] The RFAs the Leafs still need to sign (Nick Robertson, Conor Dewar) [1:27:45] The Marner trade the Leafs didn't end up making [1:39:25] Is this team better? [1:48:16]

Episode 212 - Deja Vu by Arvind, Acting the Fulemin

Episode 211 - Mailbag! by Arvind, Acting the Fulemin

Welcome to another episode of Back to Excited. Today we discuss the Leafs signing William Nylander to a contract extension, as well as some trade targets that might be of interest if the Leafs decide to bolster their defensive group.

Today, we discuss the Leafs after their first 20 games of the year, and where things have gone well, poorly, and everything in between.

Welcome to the final episode of our annual offseason reviews. Today we discuss the following teams: Pittsburgh Penguins [0:43] San Jose Sharks [40:24] Seattle Kraken [48:43] St. Louis Blues [1:05:16] Tampa Bay Lightning [1:11:21] Vancouver Canucks [1:22:50] Vegas Golden Knights [ 1:33:16] Washington Capitals [1:38:26] Winnipeg Jets [1:45:00]

Episode 207 - Around the NHL (Part 2 of 3) by Arvind, Acting the Fulemin

Welcome to another episode of Back to Excited, where we do our annual offseason review of every NHL team. We've split it up into thirds this year, and still managed to go for 2.5 hours on 12 teams! Timestamps are below: Arizona Coyotes [0:30] Anaheim Ducks [20:05] Boston Bruins [32:32] Buffalo Sabres [46:20] Calgary Flames [58:05] Carolina Hurricanes [1:09:41] Chicago Blackhawks [1:22:10] Columbus Blue Jackets [1:30:48] Dallas Stars [1:39:19] Detroit Red Wings [1:49:07] Edmonton Oilers [2:07:59] Florida Panthers [2:15:28] You will notice that we completely forgot to do the Colorado Avalanche... we'll add them into one of the future versions.

Today we discussed: The players who departed the Leafs this offseason [2:13] The new extensions and additions, including: David Kampf [20:30] Ryan Reaves [35:35] John Klingberg [47:55] Tyler Bertuzzi [1:00:26] Max Domi [1:06:16] Our overall assessment of the offseason

We chat about the end of the Leafs season for the last time.

We do a belated preview of the Leafs and Panthers series

We go through the Leafs' first series win in 19 years!

Today, we go in-depth on the Tampa Bay Lightning, breaking down their strengths, weaknesses, and all their players in advance of their series against the Leafs.

Welcome to another episode of Back to Excited. We've hit 200 recorded episodes, and to celebrate, we have a long mailbag for you all to dive into.

Today we discuss: Early thoughts on Jake McCabe [6:45] Early thoughts on Noel Acciari [12:45] Early thoughts on Sam Lafferty [15:53] Early thoughts on Luke Schenn [23:10] The Leafs 11/7 experiment [34:08] William Nylander's next contract [48:02] The gap between Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner [1:00:13] Some bad takes, including James Reimer refusing to wear a Pride jersey [1:08:55]

Today we go in depth on the Leafs' deadline moves. Timestamps: Ryan O'Reilly's injury [2:50] Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty acquired [6:26] Rasmus Sandin traded [23:22] Pierre Engvall traded [33:30] Luke Schenn acquired [43:42]

Today we discuss: The deal which brought Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Leafs [0:25] Other trade targets (Jake McCabe, Max Domi, Vladislav Gavrikov) [35:09]

Today we discuss the rental market including: Bo Horvat - [2:46] Timo Meier - [4:53] Ryan O'Reilly - [47:00] Vladimir Tarasenko [1:12:39]

Today we discuss Kyle Dubas' offseason moves. Timestamps: Calle Jarnkrok - 5:16 Nicolas Aube-Kubel - 14:06 Zach Aston-Reese - 20:02 Denis Malgin / Dryden Hunt - 25:41 Rasmus Sandin / Timothy Liljegren - 29:50 Connor Timmins - 36:57 The Goalies - 43:25 Laughing at the Oilers - 57:45

Today we discuss: The Leafs play over the past few weeks [1:44] Morgan Rielly's play this year [4:53] The poor season of the Florida Panthers [26:26] Luc Tardif's comments after the World Juniors [47:46]

Today we have a mailbag for your listening pleasure, featuring questions about indie rock albums, Leafs trade targets, and the best possible NHL lineup!

Today we discuss the Leafs 2018 draft in general with a focus to the players who are in the NHL or NHL adjacent now. Timestamps: Rasmus Sandin [4:59] Sean Durzi [14:09] Mac Hollowell [24:15] Filip Kral [35:08] Pontus Holmberg [39:48] Complaining about people who wonder why teams don't just cover Ovechkin on the power play [48:10]

Today we discuss: The Leafs' defensive injuries and their impressive play keeping it together despite them [0:45] The Connor Timmins trade [15:37] Auston Matthews' shooting slump this season [23:30] Whether the referees are in the Leafs pockets [35:35]

Welcome to another episode of Back to Excited. Today we discuss: Matt Murray's strong performances since his return from injury [4:01] This disappointing season of Rasmus Sandin [9:11] Do we think forwards are more impactful than defensemen [20:35] Has our opinion of the Leafs' ceiling changed at all this year [34:45] A quick glance at the rest of the Atlantic Division [39:23] Non-hockey topic: we revisit Chris Johnston's terrible crypto take in the wake of FTX going up in smoke

Today we discuss: A deep dive into the Leafs win against the Bruins, including the Bruins changed style from this season, and how it interacts with the Leafs' strengths and weaknesses [3:30] The general strength of the Bruins this year, and the disastrous decision to sign Mitchell Miller [22:53] The Ilya Samsonov injury, and where the Leafs go from here with their goaltenders [45:06] The hot start of Rasmus Dahlin, and his growth from highly touted prospect, to possible draft disappointment, to possible Norris candidate [49:12] The early season success of the New Jersey Devils [1:00:04] Luke Fox's terrible article about the Leafs [1:04:18]

Today, topics include: The Jake Muzzin injury, and Rasmus Sandin's promotion [0:35] Nick Robertson isn't going back down to the minors [13:01] Is Auston Matthews okay? [17:56] Were we wrong about the Leafs fourth line of Aston-Reese - Kampf - Aube-Kubel? [21:44] The manic Toronto media [31:18] ESPN's NHL Top 100 list [39:17]

Today we chat about our takeaways from the first three games of the NHL regular season, including the rejuvenated John Tavares, the Matt Murray injury, and the Leafs strong special teams.

We go through the Leafs projected lines and defense pairings for the foreseeable future in depth, including our expectations, where we're confident, and where we're not. Timestamps: Top line (Bunting - Matthews - Marner) [2:30] Second line (Malgin - Tavares - Nylander) [13:12] Third line (Aston-Reese - Kampf - Aube-Kubel) [26:16] Fourth line (Jarnkrok - Kerfoot - Engvall) [33:34] Top pair (Rielly - Brodie) [39:07] Second pair (Muzzin - Holl) [42:09] Third pair (Giordano - Sandin) [45:46] Goaltending [50:02] A brief discussion about where the Leafs are projected to land by various statistical models [52:35]

Today we discuss a variety of topics related to the questions facing the Leafs as they head into training camp and the preseason, including: The ongoing contract negotiations with Rasmus Sandin [2:05] The enduring hole in the Leafs lineup at second line left wing [30:47] Whether there will be a goaltending battle during training camp [55:55] The return of the bad take of the week [59:32]

Today we discuss the remaining NHL teams and their offseasons. Timestamps: Kadri / Monahan trades - 1:30 NSH - 8:28 NJD - 18:37 NYI - 36:40 NYR - 43:18 OTT - 55:26 PHI - 1:11:13 PIT - 1:20:22 SJS - 1:28:05 SEA - 1:33:59 STL - 1:44:07 TB - 1:53:42 VAN - 2:04:31 VGK - 2:14:14 WSH - 2:20:52 WPG - 2:26:09

Today we review the offseasons of the teams from Anaheim to Montreal. Timestamps: Anaheim Ducks - 3:00 Arizona Coyotes - 20:20 Boston Bruins - 36:41 Buffalo Sabres - 46:50 Calgary Flames - 53:23 Carolina Hurricanes - 1:07:04 Chicago Blackhawks - 1:21:09 Colorado Avalanche - 1:34:33 Columbus Blue Jackets - 1:43:34 Dallas Stars - 2:00:00 Detroit Red Wings - 2:14:49 Edmonton Oilers - 2:29:25 Florida Panthers - 2:40:35 Los Angeles Kings - 2:48:05 Minnesota Wild - 2:54:03 Montreal Canadiens : 2:59:56

Today, we go through the Leafs offseason in full and chat about what we liked and didn't like about it.

We discuss the Leafs G7 loss to the Lightning, and where the Leafs go from here.

We chat about Game 6 and what to expect from Game 7

We discuss the Leafs huge Game 5 win, featuring standout performances from the Big 4 and Jack Campbell

We go through the Leafs' Game 2 loss, discussing special teams, penalty differentials, and adjustments we'd make if we were Sheldon Keefe.

We chat about the Leafs dominant Game 1 performance and what to expect from the series going forward.

We take listener questions about the Leafs, the NHL and life itself

Today we discuss: Why an NBA-style play-in would be a bad idea in the NHL [1:30] Some of the Stanley Cup Contenders who are not in the Atlantic division (Carolina, Colorado, Calgary, Minnesota, St. Louis, Edmonton) [25:20]

Today we discuss: Auston Matthews' amazing goalscoring run [0:33] Justin Holl's quietly good season [20:33] Evaluating the thought process behind Kyle Dubas' least successful moves [29:45]

Today we discuss: Our initial impressions of Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell [1:15] Why a William Nylander trade might actually make sense this offseason [24:30]

Today we discuss the Leafs' moves at the trade deadline. This includes sending Travis Dermott to the Canucks, Alex Biega to the Predators, and most critically, acquiring Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell from the Kraken for a bevy of draft picks.

Today we discuss the Hart Trophy race, and whether Auston Matthews deserves it over the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Igor Shesterkin, and Connor McDavid

Today we discuss: The Leafs goaltending issues [0:45] Teams we were wrong about in the pre-season [32:01]