Last-minute Changes, News and Updates ahead of Leafs vs Kraken

Some huge news. The Toronto Maple Leafs have just made multiple major moves ahead of the game tonight. And following a pretty disappointing loss in Calgary in which they lost Kirill Marchenko, Jim Hiller decided to make multiple changes, including one involving Gavin McKenna. We're going to break that down as well as a big update. Unfortunately, surrounding Kirill Marchenko as a timeline has been revealed. But there is one name that is nearing a return a lot faster than people think that we'll dive into as well. And it is a much needed defenseman. There's a lot to go over today. But before we get into it, a very quick reminder to hit that subscribe button. Darius, ton of news. Obviously, a very late game, so a later video for you all. Today, they play at, in like a few hours here, they play at 10 p.m. Eastern, which is absurd. Potential for a post-game live stream. Stay tuned for that if you guys are night owls. But let's start with this. It's the biggest piece of news of the day. So obviously, with Marchenko out, we didn't really know who was going to be promoted to the top line. And Darius, to be honest, it's a pretty surprising move here. Not because I don't think he deserves it. He's making two jumps, and they're moving Cowan down. So now it's Gavin McKenna on the top line alongside Matthews and Jack Roslovic. with Cowan Paul and Nylander on the second line and then the bottom four or bottom six rather remain the same and Zach McEwen's been insane here you're gonna notice Tanev as well which we'll dive into later big update on him but with Marchenko out which we'll dive into in a minute here McKenna gets the nod yeah and Zach McEwen funny you bring him up he's one of the best producers five on five in the entire league because of the minutes that he plays right now but uh he's been pretty good but like you said pretty big jump there he's moving up two lines and then Cowan moves down I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I think they are already know that Nylander and Gavin McKenna it's not that they don't work together but they're very similar and that they want the puck right so maybe they're just kind of trying to split it up there and just see what they have and move Cowan down maybe they can get that second line going to with Marchenko out and just give a little bit of juice to that second line and um obviously like you mentioned Marchenko we'll get into that and the specifics of that and he was also at the airport and some there was a funny uh you know rumor flying around yesterday with some people you know finding him at the airport so we'll definitely get into that but Matthews with McKenna um here's your chance kid right here is your chance like if you can make some magic happen this is going to be you know something that we got to watch for the next little while and you know a couple of guys are out due to injury for a couple weeks so make the most of this opportunity and one thing i'll say about McKenna too just watching him at times when he was on the second line and especially on the third line i think he's too skilled i i do i think he can actually make plays at a very high level so can he keep up with a guy like Austin Matthews and what Jack Roslovic's doing right now and play at that level i i don't know i want to see it we have to see it right but i think that he can and i think that's a big thing and i just when he's been playing on that third line with let Adrian Sizens it just feels like he's kind of you know he can't really make the plays that he wants to right like some of the guys are not getting to the areas that he needs them to be uh and he can't get to his areas because they don't really have the puck as you can see here right they're kind of getting filled in so i want to see what he's going to be able to do with a guy like Austin Matthews and and feeding him this is what we've been waiting for right like the whole time then the Leafs went out made some moves got Marchenko they changed the lines a little bit but this is what we've been waiting for so make the most of this opportunity if you're Gavin McKenna and I think it'll suit him a little bit better than what we've seen with him on the third line the last little while yeah it actually works kind of well now obviously you see Matthews against the Kraken he's been elite in his career you pair that with McKenna recently playing decent again his minutes have gone down he's been a lot basically just a power play merchant at this point when it comes to actually you know getting chances to score points because like you mentioned And his line mates are pretty, I don't want to say poor offensively, but relative to the top six, absolutely poor offensively. And why does this matter? Because Marchenko is now week to week So that was official We don't really know what that means though. Now, some people, like you mentioned, the rumor going around, people saying that it's only one or two weeks. Some are saying two to four. It's not the end of the world. Like at the end of the day here, hopefully he's only missing a few weeks, but the one area where it might be a pretty big loss is obviously on the power play because he has been a very good producer. They're fifth in the NHL. they're still first in the penalty kill even though went down four percent from the Calgary game but there is Marchenko's out week to week but there is a name who all of a sudden has moved closer to returning and that is Chris Tanev and Nick Caprioles is reporting as soon as next game yeah and to touch on Krol Marchenko one last time i think he's going to be out three weeks i think the next time we see him on the ice back with the leafs in a game will be three weeks obviously there was that whole thing on i think it was twitter yesterday that some fans found him at the airport he said i'll be back in two weeks he's flying back home to get treatment uh i don't know how you know valid that is or how true that is because obviously he's at the airport right like they're they were gonna fly to seattle anyway so um that is pretty interesting but a lot of the twitter doctors that like to analyze the plays are saying that yeah it's probably an mcl and he could be back in three weeks maybe maybe even two weeks it depends how uh you know the severity of it yeah exactly so we'll see uh big blow he's been unbelievable like no you know there's no other way around it like he's been unbelievable for this team so um they're they're gonna they're gonna miss him they're gonna miss him for sure and um you know that's gonna be tough especially with Tavares out too but next man up right next man up with Gavin McKenna so uh to Chris Tanev there I had a feeling like maybe he could get into this game against the Vancouver Canucks like I said it last week I was like is he really just coming on the road trip just for the camaraderie and to be around the guys that is one of the toughest things about being hurt obviously like you know being left at home and like Tavares is right now obviously he just had a newborn so it's a little bit different but if you're hurt and you're left at home like that does kind of suck that's one thing that people don't really talk about you know the process of being hurt but um I was thinking did he really just come on this road trip to just be with the guys it sounds like he was trying to work his way back into the lineup and he's not wearing a no contact sweater today at practice he's wearing a regular jersey so I don't think he's playing tonight but Nick Kiprios was saying like looks like Saturday he could be back and we know the way Chris Tanev is to the game that he got hurt you wanted to come back and play right so I think it's the Leafs doctors keeping him out you know just making sure that he's 100 to come back uh not to put you know pressure or dump on the Leafs doctors or anything they're just doing their jobs but um you know it sounds like he is very close to returning the biggest thing to watch now Nick and we mentioned this yesterday we talked about it a little bit can you rely on him to stay healthy now that is a major question mark the rest of the season yeah and they need him obviously and they're gonna have to find ways to win because you're without multiple top liners now Tavares and Marchenko two guys out of your top six the good news is I think their offense is going to be just fine The way they're playing, realistically, I know people are even talking about it kind of online. I don't know where I fall with it, but replacing Marchenko with Tanev, is that a net negative? Is that a net positive? Comment down below where you guys kind of view it, just given the fact that they need blue line help desperately. One other update as well here surrounding Dakota Joshua. He was recalled. No idea what's going to happen with him, right? He's not listed in the top in the lines. I mean, there's possibilities that he's in tonight. I think he might even play tonight. Yeah. So there is a possibility that he gets in now, which we'll have to see. And it does make sense when you look at the lines, like you do have, like he could replace Latta, I think probably, right. Or Bo Grew most likely like one of those guys. I'd actually prefer Dakota Joshua over Bo Grew, even though Joshua hasn't looked great. So it is, um, it is a pretty wild time right now, especially given the fact that the way that this team has operated all year has been very simple. The top six has been dominant. Your fourth line has come together. Your blue line has been pretty rough. All of a sudden now your blue line looks a lot better. You're without, or you get your, your best defenseman back soon in Chris Tanev. but you're missing two of your top six forwards. How will that actually work? I guess Tavares is the center, but same thing. How will that work with Gavin McKenna on the top line? I'm excited to see what happens because if McKenna sticks on that top line, I mean, we heard reports all along, Darren Dreger, Elliot Freeman as well, they want him to be a top liner. Maybe this process just got expedited a little bit. We've already seen Marchenko on the second line, so they're not married to that either. No, I think they can continue to move things around. And we don't know certain timelines. And what if somebody comes back and another guy gets hurt, right? Hopefully not, obviously, but that's the reality. of a season so um we'll see just make the most of the opportunity that's in front of you put one foot in front of the other we have a game tonight we have a game Saturday if you're Gavin McKenna great opportunity especially with the game in Vancouver that's really cool right so uh he has a massive opportunity here and uh what does this say by the way before we wrap up what does this say about the fourth line that when you have a ton of injuries the coach is just throwing guys in on the third line what does that say about your fourth line right like that's incredible what they've been able to put together and the fact that they're not because for years it was like somebody's hurt just call up a guy from the Marlies and throw them on the fourth line that's how it worked but they have like a defined role right now where they kill penalties they go out there they win their five on five minutes what does that say about the fourth line they've been doing some incredible work that it is the third line that they're just kind of throwing into the mix and into the blender and trying to figure that out so uh credit to those guys too we've been saying it all season to this point and Zach McEwen for the minutes he's playing he's doing really well man like I hope he continues they got in a fight last game so continuing to mix it up But we'll see who's in the lineup tonight. Apparently, Joshua, if he gets there in time, he could play. Also, Marshall Frye, Nick Blankenberg, both out multiple weeks. So, folks, let us know down below your thoughts there. Thank you guys for watching. We'll see you later.