Back to Excited Hockey Podcast

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.