Blake’s Takes: Toronto Blows a 3-1 Lead

Just like the Golden State Warriors, the Maple Leafs have blown a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Is it the Drake curse?

Regardless, the Maple Leafs couldn’t get it done. I’m sure the entire hockey universe will be talking about this for years to come. That is this week’s first take.

My other takes highlight some of my favorite moments from Game 1 between the ‘Avs and Golden Knights. That game alone provided two worthy takes. My last two takes are a surprise. Keep reading for some great hockey content.

Happy Tuesday!

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Blake’s Takes: The 2021 NHL Playoffs Are Underway

We are in the midst of the first round of the 2021 NHL Playoffs. Some teams have already been eliminated, and some teams are still fighting for their playoff lives. Regardless, this is what we’ve been waiting for. 

This week’s takes will focus on a few of the most notable postseason storylines, including a noteworthy suspension, a serious injury, and an unsurprising playoff standout.

Happy Tuesday.

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Blake’s Takes: The Week of Tom Wilson

This was one of the more exciting weeks in the NHL. The main headline was the drama surrounding Tom Wilson wreaking havoc on the New York Rangers. Wilson was a one-man wrecking crew, cross-checking and punching guys every chance he got. I’ll go into detail about his high-profile week and why his wallet isn’t as light as it should be.

Outside of Wilson, some of the league’s brightest stars reached historic milestones. If you think hard enough, you can guess who those players are. Keep reading for a great edition of Blake’s Takes.

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Blake’s Takes: 2 Goals, 2 Retirements and a Milestone

This was an action-packed week in hockey. Two notable players decided to retire, which was sad. However, we did see a milestone from a veteran and a first goal by a rookie. As usual, I’ll highlight one of my favorite plays from last week, provided by one of our usual suspects.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Enter Jack Campbell

This week’s column is much more upbeat than week’s past. I’ll highlight one of hockey’s best stories unfolding in Toronto, as well as our first big trade before the deadline.

My other takes involve two top prospects and my favorite goalie mask I’ve ever seen.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Rangers Waive DeAngelo

It was a rather calm week in the NHL. That doesn’t mean I don’t have five awesome takes for you. In this week’s column, I’ll share with you one major surprise around the league, one of the funniest things I saw, and a few of the best goals I saw this week. You can thank me later.

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Blake’s Takes: Winnipeg and Columbus Make Blockbuster Trade

In this week’s column, I finally caught up on all of the signings I couldn’t report in the past weeks. I’ll touch on those transactions and one notable injury. My favorite story this week involves my favorite team and a fight between two best friends.

Oh, and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets completed a monster trade this week. I’ll lead with that.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: The Reverse Retro Jerseys Have Arrived

Last week and Monday were exciting days off the ice. The hyped reverse retro jerseys were finally released and they shook Twitter. In this week’s column, I’ll share my takes on my favorite and least favorite Reverse Retro jerseys!

I’ll also touch on a few smaller storylines across in the NHL and even one in college hockey.

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Blake’s Takes: More Free Agency Madness

In this week’s column, I’ll look at some of the major free-agent signings of the last few weeks. So much happened around the league during the first week of free agency that I couldn’t cover everything in my previous column. 

In addition to free agency news, I’ll highlight one of my favorite new uniforms released in the last few weeks. Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: The Playoffs Are Set

Sunday night marked the end of the Qualifying round and the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The most important takeaway of that sentence is that the NHL has succeeded in building a bubble to protect players and staff from COVID-19. Because of that, the odds that a Stanley Cup champion will be crowned in 2020 look higher than ever.

The Qualifying Round was exciting and upsets were plentiful. In this week’s column, I’ll revisit some of the most notable matchups of the Qualifying Round and a few other interesting tidbits from the last week.

Keep staying safe everyone.

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