Sergei Bobrovsky’s gesture: The Maple Leafs’ culture will never change

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Sergei Bobrovsky’s gesture: The Maple Leafs’ culture will never change
Credit: Thomas Skrlj/NHLI via Getty Images

It's funny to hear about the “power of friendship” among the Canadiens players, but…

But I'm convinced that in 2026, if the guys on the team hadn't been so tightly knit, the team would have struggled to make it this far in the playoffs.

Same goes for the 2020 bubble playoffs, by the way. That team wasn't supposed to win a single round…

It takes more than that to go far in the playoffs, but it's one of the factors that helps the cake rise. It acts as yeast, basically.

You can have all the ingredients, but…

In Toronto, people are wondering if the new leaders (including Jim Hiller) will be able to find some yeast in the cupboard to help the team reach the next level.

But in any case, one thing is clear: Sergei Bobrovsky isn't My cooking analogy has to end herethe one who'll provide the ingredient to keep the team afloat.

Why do I say that?

Mainly because the infamous sequence where we see the goalie steal Gavin McKenna's rookie skate moment on the ice shows just how little the guys care about each other.

And don't tell me it's just because Bob is like that.

When he was in Florida with the Panthers, he didn't do that. On a team worthy of the name, he was a good teammate and gave the young players the space they deserved.

It may seem trivial, but the rookies' solo lap is something the young players look forward to. Some teams even go so far as to pay a fine to the NHL to allow the kids to skate without helmets.

And Bob (who saw McKenna give him his #72 this summer) decided it wasn't important.

The Maple Leafs need to make changes to succeed in the playoffs and to shift the team's culture. And on that front, the additions of Kirill Marchenko and Bob have their flaws.

The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Maple Leafs, who aren't publicly concerned that McKenna chose not to skate (in an optional practice) yesterday morning.


In a nutshell

– Ouch.

– Interesting.

– Hmm…

– New contract in Colorado.

– He wants to move on.

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