Friday FTB: lots to discuss

Late, but important, addition to the FTB. The PWHL's executive VP Amy Scheer shared the plan the league has for expansion. I found the full interview that I encourage you to watch below. Scheer has a degree in sports management and has been a business operations executive in women's sports for two and a half decades. She has worked for the PHF, WNBA, and MLS in New York and the northeast generally.

PWHL executive VP Amy Scheer, in an interview with CNBC Sport this week:

"Next year, we are expanding again. It's either 2-4 teams. If I were a betting woman, I'd say it would be 4 teams. And then I think we'll hold at 12 (teams) for a bit."
— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) November 28, 2025

The Montreal Canadiens re-claimed Sammy Blais off waivers, and sent him to the AHL as it seems they were the only team to put in a claim. Blais filled in while the Leafs were very injured up front and was placed back on waivers with the impending return of Matthews, Knies, and Roy. The consequence of waiving Blais is Easton Cowan stays with the Leafs in a role he's earned. And Cowan made good on that belief with a goal on Wednesday night.

Here's the full media availability after practice on Thursday. The Leafs play in Washington at 5:00pm for Thanksgiving.

There were a few stories from practice. The first being the buoyancy that Joseph Woll has brought since his return. He has been the exceptional presence on the ice.

The next topic was about Dakota Joshua's scratch on Wednesday and what he can do to be better. This is what Berube said, and you can listen to him say it above. "I just felt like he needed to get a reset, and sometimes that puts a little more fire in ’em, too,"

This post from MLHS has a transcript of practice, and features a bit more on Berube wanting to position Matthews so he's playing with the puck more. Matthews was part of the Nylander game-winner on Wednesday, and had 9 shots (6 scoring chances) in his return to the lineup.

I've been pondering what a healthy Leafs lineup looks like as well. The realistic one, the one I want right now, the one I want after a trade, and the one that's realistic after a realistic trade. I don't think any of those lineups are the same.

The Leafs are out of a playoff spot at American Thanksgiving, just over a quarter of the way through the year. Despite that ominous position, there's still half the season to go before the trade deadline, and the league is very flat right now, except for the Colorado Avalanche. Parity is good, it also ebs and flows such that the result is a big spread in results one year and a flat spread the next. Of the seasons for the Leafs to be bad, this is one where they can pull themselves out of. They just can't play the way they have been up to this point, but there are signs of change.

Craig Button has opinions about parity. I've given my thoughts on that already, and no I don't think it's a problem. I think it means the league is going to have competitive games every night. If you disagree based on some blowouts this week, then maybe they don't have parity? Up to you.