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Jul 29, 2023

Lightning Round: Sergachev sets the record straight

Leafs fans got angry at Mikhail Sergachev when an interview he did in russian was roughly translated to be a lot harsher than his words were intended to be. Simply because of the volume of Toronto

Leafs fans got angry at Mikhail Sergachev when an interview he did in russian was roughly translated to be a lot harsher than his words were intended to be. Simply because of the volume of Toronto fans the words got blown out of proportion (I’ll say as someone who lives in Toronto I actually barely saw it on my socials, which probably means the people I ignore were probably the loudest culprits in this).

Sergachev released a translation from himself in English clarifying what he said.

Mikhail Sergachev takes to Instagram to clarify false translation from an interview he did in Russian with Sport24.The false translation: “Wow, [Toronto] wins one series in 19 years then immediately loses. They deserve no credit. No other team would celebrate such a thing.” pic.twitter.com/syvPr6JjIC

He started by saying “everybody chill,” followed by the correction that the Leafs didn’t play dirty to win their series in six games, but the injuries that happened played a part and helped them win (as someone on both sides, this is completely true).

Next, he said there’s no reason to celebrate winning one round if you get bodied in round two. Also true! No self-respecting fan who isn’t just being a territorial ogre would agree. Mikhail Sergachev has won Stanley Cups, it’s not a shock that to him that’s the bar for success. And it should be the bar for any fan of a contending team (this is where I make a joke about the Ottawa Senators because their GM once said their ultimate goal was making the playoffs — keep dreaming, Pierre!).

That’s the whole story. Fanatics being fanatics. Pounding chests and showing teeth over some flat words. I just know I’d never be caught dead saying, “hey, don’t disrespect my team! We won a playoff round!” And I’m a Leafs fan, too. For crying out loud.

Tom Wilson, 29, is the owner of a new seven-year contract extension worth $6.5 million per year. Nice legacy deal to one of the most dangerous (not a compliment) players in the league.

NEWS: The #Caps have re-signed Tom Wilson to a seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension beginning with the 2024-25 season.

A story in the mainstream Canadian media followed the action to raise the age of body checks in minor hockey from 13 to 15 in order to significantly reduce youth concussions at a time while their brains are still developing.

Not to be rude, but I’m pretty certain Erik Cernak won’t have one of the worst contracts in the league in two years. For one, GMs are going to hand out much dumber money to much worse players next summer. That’s also point two and three. I mean, putting Cernak, Severson, and Parayko in the same article as Seth Jones is a take. Even if they lost a step, all three are good defensive defenders.

The Penguins were hit hard as Jake Guentzel will be out for at least 3 months following surgery.