Maple Leafs Full Media Availability | Pre Game @ Florida Panthers | December 02, 2025

Maple Leafs Full Media Availability | Pre Game @ Florida Panthers | December 02, 2025

with a big hit from uh coach yesterday. I hope he’s all right. Uh yeah, I wasn’t expecting that one, but luckily it was just my head that caught him, not my shoulder. See if he would have gone down there. Yeah, he said he had a cracked rib from a collision with Piran in St. Similar. Yeah. Well, I I only caught him with my head, so I It could have been worse if our big bodies collided. Yeah. Game against a divisional rival. Does it matter? I mean, every game matters, but because it’s a divisional rival, does it matter just a little bit more like the classic four-point game center? Absolutely. I think we take uh you know, division games very um Yeah, they do matter more, frankly, because it is that four-point swing and uh where we are at the standings, we got to collect every point we can right now and um you know, keep this road trip going the right uh right direction. What sort of emotions does it conjure up when you face a team than not? Yeah, certainly. Um, more emotion. Um, you know, you want those points even more. Uh, especially, you know, like we just spoke about just against a division rival and, um, a team that’s knocked us out in the playoffs. So, um, yeah, there’s definitely more emotion and more jam involved. What do you remember most about the series last year? Tight, close. Um, you know, this cup champs, so uh, it’s always a tough night against them. What have you liked about, uh, the way Troy Stench has played? I think he’s been great ever since he uh you know came here and you know hopped in hopp in the lineup right away. He’s been a good good climbing presence for us in the back end. He’s been skating. He’s been making strong plays, defending hard. Uh I liked our game together um in pit. I thought we used each other well. We supported each other well. Um moved the pucks quick. We didn’t spend much time in our end and when we did, we uh defended hard. So um yeah, like his game a lot. Are you a little bit more comfortable on the left side than the right side? I’ve played enough on both sides. So, I’m willing and ready to play whatever we need from uh from me on that uh in that sense. What did that game look for the way you played out seven different goal scores just like what does that do for the team coming into this one? Yeah, I think uh certainly should give guys confidence. Um I felt that uh you know our puck play in general is a little bit better and you know we’re making plays through throughout the ice whether it’s Dzone zone, offensive zone, shooting the puck. Um thought we defended well, Beast played well. uh got a power play goal. So yeah, it was one of those games where you want to uh you know build off it for sure. I know it’s a you know a tough start. Marett was saying yesterday anyone who thinks that they’re out of the playoffs 25 games in need to find a new job like but I’m wondering how you balance the urgency uh with with where you’re at versus stay calm as well. Yeah, I I think uh you know I’ve spent quite a few years in this league now, so I’ve um I’m pretty good at managing my uh emotions as far as not getting too high and too low. I think um you got to do your best to, which I do a fine job of tuning everything else out. Um all the noise of uh whether it’s you guys or outside noise in general of um panic levels, I guess. Um, I focus on the guys in the room and making sure that we’re ready to play every night and doing what I need to do to be make sure I’m ready to play every night and uh, you know, just continuing to try to build our game. I think like you spoke about 25 games in and um you know we still haven’t uh you know quite put it together for a couple weeks in a row and that’s what we’re building towards and uh we’ve all been talking about this road trip and you know now we’ve we’re a few games into it and you know a couple games left on this road trip we need to finish real strong and uh use that as momentum and confidence as it continues to build for us. Is that where that um mindset comes from? Is that just through preparation so that you can stay Yeah. Yeah. I think over the course of your career, you add things to your repertoire and um in my opinion at the best I’ve learned over the last few years and you know 3, four, five years as I’ve been established in this league is just of managing my my mentals and um the ups and the downs of a season whether it be injuries or poor play or really good play and then you you know you lose it for a couple games whatever it may be of just trying to be even keel and um you know be a good leader in that sense of for our room and uh be a steady presence every night and consistent for our group and competitive and that’s uh you know the things that I focus on that help me um you know just be focused every night and and be very present is kind of the mindset I always I try to use and you know look not look too far ahead not look too far behind and you can know you can kind of get in some trouble when you start doing that so I’m very present Marian’s off to to a great start for them this season yeah I’ve been doing it my whole career um he’s a he’s a hell of a competitor um great player very emotional player too um for them and throughout his career. So um yeah, it’s no surprise that he’s off to a good start and um looking forward to a good battle tonight with him. Simone, what have the last kind of 72 hours been like for you? Uh high emotion. Uh but no, I I needed to attend a family matter and the team gave me uh the okay for it and I really appreciate it. Now it’s back to business. Craig said that they didn’t want to push. Obviously, we don’t want to talk about crazy. It was a funeral. Yeah. My my father-in-law passed away, so I wanted to be there for my my girlfriend obviously and support her. Uh it’s not it’s not an easy thing. So, yeah. Uh first game against these guys since the playoffs. What are you expecting? What’s this game going to be like? It’s going to be intense, right? We we’re both tight in the the standing here. Every point matters, so I’m sure they’re going to come hard. Uh but we will as well. How much do you use what happened last spring as motivation when you face these guys? It’s obviously something that you keep in back of your mind. Uh it’s it’s still sour. Obviously, we’re so close uh to go to the next round there. So, it’s something you keep in mind and just try to use it uh at your advantage. Is there a lesson from how it played out last year that you guys can draw upon? Yeah, I mean it’s they they play the same system and stuff, so we know what to expect. They play hard. They come they come hard at the D and they dump dump a lot of puck. So we we got to expect that obviously but it’s not a surprise. It’s just they just play hard. How different do you think it might be without those are guys who clearly significant there? Yeah. I mean yeah they have a lot of injuries as well. Uh but uh they they’re still a really good team. Uh you know like they have a good player. They play a tight system. Uh so I don’t think uh we got to focus on who’s not there. I think we just better focus on who’s playing tonight and that’s it. Carlos going to be out an extended time. Like how how would you describe the challenge of you know a big chunk of games without him? Yeah. No, we got we got to step up as the decor. You know, we got to play tight. He’s a big part of our identity and you know like nothing we can do about it, right? We just have to play. we have to play and we got to come up with those with those wins. Talked to you a few days ago and you talked about trying to get that kind of knife in in the teeth kind of approach back. Have you felt like you you’ve taken steps with your game? Yeah, I I think the last two games were were better in that approach. I was a little bit more on my toes. Uh, you know, but you don’t want to do too much, right? You don’t want to put yourself in bad spots. I was just trying to keep things simple, being hard to play against, and just letting the play come to me. How’s this group kind of use this adversity? I imagine everybody goes through it. Yeah, but everybody uses it differently. You guys use this adversity to bond or gel or become more connected. Yeah, I mean for sure when you when you go through adversity as a team, there’s two things can happen. Either you you you build character as as teammates and you you go through it together and it just it’s it’s beneficial on the long term or you just give up. I mean like but I don’t think it’s it’s part of our mindset. I think everybody’s on board to build a character to use that as positivity I guess so when hard things goes especially in the playoffs because it’s just a swing momentum right so we can maybe use those moments and take it under advantage to to come up like harder you know they are missing a lot of guys but they have Sam Bennett who seems to be kind of heating up lately what’s the challenge like I’m wondering net front boxing out a guy like Sam Bennett he plays really hard I mean I in the playoffs last year like we we all know how he plays. Uh, you know, you got to be hard on him. Yeah. You kind You don’t want to let him tip the spots and have some time in front of the net. He’s a really good player, right? So, you got to respect his game and just be hard on him. Push-ups for Oh, if you didn’t score on the shooter tutor, you had to you had to get down and get a five. But, uh, not many guys were doing that. Okay. What are you What are you expecting tonight? Uh, playoff rematch. What are the emotions going to be like? Yeah, it’s uh these divisional games are so important. It doesn’t matter what time of year. Um I think the points are so important. We’re kind of I don’t know in the same spot, I guess. Uh throughout. So, it’s a it’s going to be a quick game. They play fast. We know their game. They know our game. And um we’re going to have to be on our toes right from the right from the puck drop and and uh play a really hard game and uh make it hard on them. So, uh yeah, it’s uh it’s going to be fun. Both sides are depleted. Injuries, everybody goes through it. of you guys as a group kind of managed it or you know taken this adversity and used it to your advantage. Yeah, there’s no uh no surprise that we’ve dealt with with a fair share of injuries and um it’s cliche but uh guys got to step up in certain roles and and uh play bigger roles and um guys are are going to continue to have to do that throughout the year. It’s it’s uh it’s hard to uh to get everyone back at the same time and everything like that. So, it’s uh it’s hard, but uh guys have to have to step up and take a little bit more responsibility and um I think uh some guys have done a a good job of that. In your experience, how much does the hatred from a playoff series spill over into regular season games the next year? Um I would say a little bit for sure. Yeah, I think uh you battle so hard um in those playoff series. I saw it a little bit uh uh with Philly in in Pittsburgh and and things like that, but uh yeah, it definitely does. I think uh probably not as much as it used to, but uh definitely does for sure. So, it’s uh yeah, we don’t like them. I don’t think they like us and and uh that’s good. Shan seems to kind of like you guys. He was defending you yesterday in the media saying 25 games in, you guys are still a good contending team despite the adversity. And what do you make of that? Uh yeah. Uh, I have no really comment on on him. Do you have some trips locked and loaded? You know, you guys like to engage. I’ll uh I’ll wait till uh I’ll wait till something happens. What What was uh your perspective on what happened with Malcolin at the end of the game on Saturday? Yeah, we’ve been going at it for uh 10 years. So, um I got him with a a cross check earlier and um I was reaching for the puck and he knows what he’s doing there. So, got a little fired up and um but he plays hard. He’s he’s a Hall of Famer, you know. He’s uh he’s an unbelievable player. He’s uh he’s hard to play against and he’s a big body. So, he caught me uh he caught me there and kind of had a couple words for him and and uh that was it. You you bring so much to the table obviously beyond any sort of offense. I’m just wondering how much it weighs on you when the puck’s not not falling in that end. Yeah, I think uh you want to provide offense and you want to be a part of it. So, um yeah, there’s there’s certain uh moments and and things like that, but uh penalty kills been pretty good and and uh felt comfortable there. Um but I need to provide offense at the same time. It uh I have two two breakaways in Washington. They don’t go in. Uh it’s important. It’s important when you get those chances, you got to make the most of them. But uh getting a couple looks and uh once they start falling, hopefully it kind of uh gets it going a little bit, but yeah, definitely want to create and and provide offense and help these guys out. Uh can’t be your top guys all the time. Missing a chunk of training camp in the beginning of the season. Just how impressive is what Joseph Ball’s done since he’s hopped into Yeah, he’s been unbelievable. Um, I said it before, but just a great guy. A guy you want to play in front of. Uh, you want to go to battle with. Um, just a genuine human being who who uh puts a lot of work into himself and his body and everything like that. He’s a great pro. So, he’s uh he’s been unbelievable for us uh since coming back and and uh he’s given us a chance every night. Uh even in Montreal when he gets pulled, I mean, he’s he was unbelievable still. So, uh, we’re going to need him to to be that good for us, uh, on a lot of nights and and, uh, hopefully we can give him a little bit of run support like we did in, uh, in Pittsburgh and and, uh, and help out. Couple big hits involving the coaching staff at practice yesterday. I’m wondering your experience, have you bumped into a coach at in a practice over the years? And No, I haven’t, but Chief was letting Cber know that he was a big boy and uh, keep his head up, but uh, news he took a nice spill there. He was uh, I saw the slow-mo of it. I was trying trying to keep it together, but he was sliding down the ice. But, uh, no. Yeah, you got to Tone’s a big body. Tone’s a big body, so you got to No bicycles on the highway. Newsy made it into the film session. That’s exactly right. Head up changes for tonight. No. Well, Ben will go in for Yeah. Yeah. That’s it. What do you see from Myers at another shot? Obviously, the right hand shot, I’m sure, is part of it, but Yeah. I know he played he was obviously playing quite a bit there and then uh we we we took him out and then put Mermis in but u I thought he had a strong game the last game and like I said that it’s you know he’s the one of the right hand shots we have available and um I just like the puck movement a little bit better. Um you know I think Mermis has done a great job for us but it’s more about the hands than anything. Any word on Carl? Yeah, it’s going to be extended time. Got to get something done. So, uh, didn’t go the way we thought and so he’s going to be out for a bit. So, surgery surgery for him probably. Is there anything new on Stolars? Has he has he been back on the ice back home? No, he hasn’t been on the ice. So, um, no real improvement there either. What are you expecting from tonight’s game? It’s a playoff rematch. both teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Like, what is tonight going to be like, do you think? Well, it’s going to be like we always play Florida. We know how they play and we know what type of game it’s going to be that their game’s not going to change. And and we just got to build off last game. We did a lot of good things with the puck and we’re going to have to do that again tonight. And, you know, even looking back to the playoffs last year, we had some real good success against them in that series and and then not some not so good success. So, there’s certain things that we can do tonight that uh will give us success and that’s what we’re going to focus on. How much did like the few days between games kind of help with with like a load management for someone like a Joseph Wall? Well, it does for sure and some other guys that play quite a bit of minutes and um coming off a back to back and three and four. So, um it was good. I thought we had a good practice yesterday, you know. Um the good day before and um thought, like I said, practice was practice was good yesterday. It was a intense and um guys worked. So be an optional skate this morning and get ready for a big big match tonight. Two points or two points, but do they matter just a little bit more within the division? Oh, for sure. You know, I mean, it’s uh it does. No doubt about it. They’re important games. We all know that. How about Chris Tanniff? Is he skating at home? Yeah, he is. Um again, he’s going to have to get looked at here soon, I think, again. And um see where he’s at. And he’s skating though. Uh feels okay. And we, you know, I don’t have no real update other than that on him. What was the big takeaway from the playoff series last year? What do you want your group to either remember or have learned from that? Well, I think you know when you look at game six, the patience we played with and um you’re going to you need that against this team. They’re going to you got to beat the pressure, right? And it’s going to be a lot of pressure everywhere and you got to be patient at times and manage the game, manage the puck and we did that really well in game six and in game seven. We we got impatient in the second period and it cost us. It really did. That’s what it boils down to in my opinion. You know, we got to check hard tonight. We got to be on the right side of things tonight and and you’re not always going to have the plays that are there. They’re not going to be there all the time. So, it’s about managing the game, managing the puck, and staying patient. All right.

Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit, Scott Laughton and Head Coach Craig Berube address the media ahead of tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers.

00:00 Jake McCabe
04:53 Simon Benoit
08:38 Scott Laughton
13:47 Craig Berube

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