Murray and Jarnkrok shine in overtime win versus Ottawa: Game Highlights

The Leafs didn’t have their best on Saturday night yet they came out on top. Matt Murray made 48 saves, Calle Jarnkrok potted two and the most snake bitten player on the roster may have got off the schneid by scoring the game winner. Below are the highlights from the game.
Jake McCabe opened the scoring with his first goal as a Leaf. He made a nice stretch pass to John Tavares to start the play. Then he cleaned up a Mitch Marner rebound to make it 1-0….

🔵 HIS FIRST AS A BUD!! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/PBWGpYr0Pg
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 18, 2023

 
The Senators tied it up with a lucky one late in the first period. Erik Brannstrom’s point shot deflected twice and bounced over Murray. Julien Gauthier got credit for the goal…

The blooper bounce off the draw beats Murray 😯 pic.twitter.com/27xYB2tjr3
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 18, 2023

Murray kept the game tied with an athletic pad save on Shane Pinto. Gauthier set him up with a beauty cross ice pass but Murray shut the door…

Murray makes the toe save on Pinto pic.twitter.com/IGDeiiy39H
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 18, 2023

 
Tim Stutzle continued his breakout season with a shorthanded goal early in the second. The Sens’ superstar sniped one through the legs Timothy Liljegren and put Ottawa on top…

Tim Stützle shorty alert! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mmNvNf386H
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 19, 2023

The Leafs weren’t behind for long. Marner tied it up before the penalty ended. He beat Mads Sogaard with a wrist shot short side to even it up 2-2…

A magical response 🪄 pic.twitter.com/anlDTfSfKN
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 19, 2023

Jarnkrok got on the board midway through the second. Auston Matthews teed one up for him and he blasted it past Sogaard. 3-2 Leafs…

HOLYYY CALLEEEEE!!! 🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/lYPY6gr4Lh
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 19, 2023

 
The Matthews to Jarnkrok connection did it again in the third period. Matthews feathered a pass through Thomas Chabot on the 2-on-1 and Jarnkrok buried his second of the night to put the Leafs up two…

STAY HOT, CALLE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EebnZxKqCX
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 19, 2023

The Senators would not quit though. J …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

7 players that the Toronto Raptors gave up on too soon

7 players that the Toronto Raptors gave up on too soon

The Toronto Raptors have one of the best front offices in the league. Masai Ujiri and his staff have uncovered a ton of hidden gems, including Pascal Siakam in the late first round and signing Fred VanVleet as an undrafted free agent. Toronto made the playoffs just five times in 18 years before Ujiri arrived, […]
7 players that the Toronto Raptors gave up on too soon – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Tyler Watts / Raptors HQ

International Free Agent tracker: Blue Jays add six Venezuelans and an intriguing Brazilian pitcher

One of the year’s best days is here, as we’ve officially started the International Free Agency period.

As more signings become announced, I’ll create a new section for each player. Let’s start with the big fish of the class.
Enmanuel Bonilla
It was announced on Sunday morning that the Blue Jays have officially signed Enmanuel Bonilla, a top prospect in the 2023 IFA class.

Source: #BlueJays agree to a $4.1 million deal with OF Enmanuel Bonilla, #7 on Top 50 Int’l Prospect list. The team has not confirmed. https://t.co/A3Ar3oTG3N
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) January 15, 2023

Ranking as Blue Jays Nation’s 20th-best prospect, Bonilla has an intriguing hit tool and some of the best power in the class. Moreover, he may have the tools to stick in centre field as he’s rather athletic and has a strong arm, but he could move to a corner outfield, likely right field.
The 16-year-old ranked as MLB Pipeline’s seventh-best available prospect in their Top 50 international ranking for 2023l. Fangraphs ranked him as their 11th-best prospect, while Baseball America ranked him as their fourth-best available prospect.
Per Jesse Sanchez, he signed for $4,100,000, meaning that the Jays have $1,184,000 remaining in bonus pool money.
Update #1:
The signing on Enmanuel Bonilla was to be expected, but below is a list of the first batch of prospects that have officially signed.

Add C Juan Rosas 🇵🇦to the list
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) January 15, 2023

Sports Illustrated’s Mitch Bannon was the first to tweet this out, and it was officially confirmed by the team on Sunday afternoon.
Andersson Barvosa:
With a lot of these guys, scouting reports are going to be nearly impossible to find. However, I got pretty lucky and found some video, as you can watch below.

Andersson Barvosa from 2021.
Courtesy of Bendecidos Sport on Facebook.#BlueJays pic.twitter.com/h6VuYczqK8
— Brennan …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Recapping the five best Toronto Maple Leafs goals of 2022

Recapping the five best Toronto Maple Leafs goals of 2022

The best part of this time of year is looking back at all of the incredible goals scored — by the Maple Leafs and every other team in the NHL.

Today, though, brings an all-Maple Leafs highlight reel, and 2022 had some of the best goals that I’ve seen from Toronto in a long time. We were able to see vintage John Tavares, Auston Matthews’ dazzling hockey IQ, and even a special goal from Pierre Engvall.
There were a lot of amazing goals to go through for this top five and it was very difficult figuring out where to place them. But I tried my best, and that’s all that matters, right?
Here are my picks for top five Maple Leafs goals of 2022. Enjoy!
5 – Morgan Rielly vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (February 17th, 2022)

An end-to-end masterpiece.
Rielly has scored a goal like this before, back in 2015, and I’d say that goal was even better than this one. Either way, though, it’s always fun when the 28-year-old can go end-to-end like this.
It’s an incredible individual effort.
4 – Pierre Engvall vs. New York Islanders (January 22nd, 2022)

We don’t often get Engvall goals, let alone highlight-reel ones.
This buzzer-beating dangle was far from what a lot of us expected to happen on this play. The 26-year-old is usually using his deceptive speed and strength to find the back of the net, and when he scored this, a lot of people were shocked.
I, personally, didn’t think Engvall had it in him to do this the NHL level. And it makes it even better that the goal was a buzzer-beater.
One of the goals of his career for sure.
3 – Mitch Marner vs. Florida Panthers (April 5th, 2022)

This goal might’ve been number one if not for Matthews and Tavares.
We usually see Marner as a magician with the puck, but as the years go by, he’s slowly solidifying himself as a goal-scorer too. The 25-year-old has three Panthers players on him, yet he somehow still finds a way to get by them all.
Marner even lifts the stick of MacKenzie Weegar just in time to go al …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Raptors show love to Pascal Siakam with assistant coach hire

Raptors show love to Pascal Siakam with assistant coach hire

The Toronto Raptors are fortunate to have one of the best players in the league at their disposal in Pascal Siakam. When you have a player capable of being such a dominant force, it’s only natural that the organization will have to go out of its way to make sure some of his close associates […]
Raptors show love to Pascal Siakam with assistant coach hire – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Raptors: Realistic projections for Scottie Barnes in second season

Raptors: Realistic projections for Scottie Barnes in second season

The Toronto Raptors made one of the best draft picks in franchise history when they were somehow able to turn the seventh-best lottery odds in the 2021 NBA Draft into the No. 4 overall pick and Florida State star Scottie Barnes. Toronto’s versatile forward beat out Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham for Rookie of the […]
Raptors: Realistic projections for Scottie Barnes in second season – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

3 more Raptors moves that would give Toronto an A+ offseason

3 more Raptors moves that would give Toronto an A+ offseason

The Toronto Raptors are still trying their best to lure Kevin Durant away from the Brooklyn Nets, but they shouldn’t completely neglect the rest of their offseason checklist in order to accomplish that goal. With Summer League coming to a close soon, the roster could use a little nip and tuck. Toronto still has a […]
3 more Raptors moves that would give Toronto an A+ offseason – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ