Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier makes a diving save during third period NHL action in Toronto, Saturday, Oct.12, 2013. The Leafs won 6-5 in overtime. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn ????????????????????????????????????
Ex-Bruins coach named Team Canada assistant for 4 Nations Face-Off
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy holds up the Stanley Cup after the Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Knights won the series 4-1.AP
Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy was named as an assistant for Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The event, which includes the United States, Sweden and Finland along with Canada, will take place in February 2025.
The former Boston Bruins coach will be one of four assistants for Canada working alongside Jon Cooper — who was named the head coach of the team in June. Dallas Stars’ Pete DeBoer, Dallas assistant coach Misha Donskov and Vancouver Canucks’ Rick Tocchet are the other assistants.
Jack Eichel, also of the Golden Knights, will play for the U.S. and be teammates with Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Boston captain Brad Marchand will be reunited with his former coach as a member of Team Canada.
The full rosters will be released at a later date, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hampus Lindholm be named to Sweden’s roster and Jeremy Swayman join the United States.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will take place in Boston and Montreal from Feb. 12-20. NHL All-Star Weekend will not take place during the season. It’s a round-robin tournament that will consist of some of the represented countries best players.
Three of the seven games will be played at TD Garden, including the championship game. The first four games will be held in Montreal.
READ MORE: 3 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Have to Trade for Patrik Laine
The Toronto Maple Leafs “missing piece” just became available for trade last week.
And now that the Columbus Blue Jackets have Patrik Laine on the market, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to act.
This is a no-brainer for Leafs GM Brad Treliving: buy low on an a franchise player who has Hall of Fame talent.
No team should be more aggressive in their pursuit of Patrik Laine than the Leafs. There are three main reasons why, and I’ll outline them now.
3 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Have to Trade for Patrik Laine
1. The Leafs Need Depth Scoring.
The Leafs biggest problem has always been that they assume they have their offense locked up and they spend all their efforts making their team more defensive, harder to play against, bigger, etc.
It’s time for the Leafs to lean into their identity – a high flying goal scoring team full of talent.
The addition of a goal scoring talent like Laine, especially in a position where he won’t be asked to be a franchise player, will be incredible. The Leafs would have 4 x 40 scorers on their roster (Matthews, Laine, Tavares, Nylander) in addition to Mitch Marner, Nick Robertson, Max Domi, and Easton Cowan.
Let’s be realistic: The Leafs scored 2 goals or less in six of seven playoff games. In their one exception, they scored a whopping three times.
That makes it clear they need offense, but all they’ve done this summer is get less offensive by losing Tyler Bertuzzi and maybe Nick Robertson.
The Leafs biggest weakness has gotten weaker since they last played a game. They obviously need more scoring and Patrik Laine is the surest way to get it.
