[Maple Leafs Wave] Luke Schenn reflects on his time with the Leafs
Luke Schenn reflects on his time with the leafs #leafsforever
"I'm really happy I got the opportunity. I always kind of dreamt of coming back and playing in Toronto. And obviously, you know, I didn't think that would be a possibility, especially when you're going through… pic.twitter.com/xTxuWB9Vkm
— Maple Leafs Wave (@LeafsWave) September 16, 2023
by dgiwicmeofuwbzpaofkj
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“I’m really happy I got the opportunity. I always kind of dreamt of coming back and playing in Toronto. And obviously, you know, I didn’t think that would be a possibility, especially when you’re going through waivers and you’re looking at it and you’re like, “Well, they passed on me again. I think that they could use a physical defenceman, but they passed on me again. So it’s probably never going to happen.” And when it finally happened, I was just really grateful for the opportunity.”
Well, I’m a big believer in – I think they’ve got a great culture there. And I think that the guys that they’re building around are only getting better, and those experiences only help. You look at Tampa when they won. They lost out in the playoffs a bunch of times – in the finals, in the semifinals, in the first round – and eventually they got over the hump. You need the experience to eventually get there. Auston Matthews is a total pro. Mitch Marner, I know he takes heat at times, but he puts up 100 points, plays at both ends. I’d put him on my team all day. He’s an unbelievable guy. Morgan Rielly, he’s a true No. 1 (defenceman).
You’ve got (William) Nylander. You’ve got John Tavares. He’s a great captain and puts in the work; like, it’s an unmatched sort of thing. So they got all the right pieces and they’ve got some good depth guys, too. It’s obviously a tough market, but the guys in the room, they want it more or as much as anyone in the league. They obviously have a great group of guys there, and I was impressed with the culture that they’ve built there since my first go around.
Wish we could have had him back this year 🙁
I think this year I’m really going to be looking at adjustments made, especially with the coaching staff. I’m kind of done thinking about whether any core player is working as hard as they can. They are. They’re all working hard and they all want to win. From everything we’ve heard and from what I’ve heard personally from some friends who work there, they all put in the work.
We need to focus on the deployments and the decisions the coaching staff makes. To me, that’s make or break. We know they’ll make the playoffs. To separate from the pack we need to have a coaching staff that actually makes good decisions and adjusts as needed. That is the major thing that’s holding us back.