Stan Bowman is back in the NHL.

On Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers introduced the 51-year-old as their new general manager. That’s where the conversation started on the latest summer edition of Leafs Morning Take. Indisputably, it was a controversial move by the Oilers, who according to several sportsbooks like Bet365, are considered the betting favourite to win the 2025 Stanley Cup right now. Naturally, we broke down the Oilers roster and how it compares to Toronto’s. On paper, we both agreed that it’s closer than people think. That said, the big difference could be Edmonton’s uncanny depth up front. Needless to say, Brad Treliving has some work to do.

Presented by Greta Bar YYZ, we dissected Connor Dewar’s brand spanking new one year deal worth $1.18 million with the Leafs. Personally, I think the 25-year-old has the ability to bring a little something, something to the bottom-six. I thought he was supremely underrated in Minnesota. At the very least, there’s no question Dewar will get an opportunity to impress the new coaching safe.

Ditto for Pontus Holmberg. He’s another guy that will firmly be on the bubble to make the squad as training camp approaches in September. Furthermore, Holmberg was fantastic against Boston in the post-season. He did a great job antagonizing Brad Marchand. For the most part, consistency and reliability is what you want for those type of players.

Meantime, after that, we fielded some questions from the YouTube/Facebook chat. We talked about where Mitch Marner should play, how much different the lineup would look like if Easton Cowan can make the team, and how we feel about the crease (Woll/Stolarz) heading into the season.

Leafs Morning Take will return on Tuesday, July 30^th. Nashville Predators blue liner and former Leaf (twice) Luke Schenn will drop by the show again for another appearance.

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