Q: "Who was the player or players that were the emotional centerpiece of that Leafs team though that when you were there for two years?"
A: "Oh, Mitch Barner. .... for sure ..
... I thought Mitch Mitch was the energy and the, you know, he he brought the energy and the emotion to the game, I thought,
on a nightly basis and in practice, you know, um vocal guy, you know, chatted a lot on the bench, chatted a lot in
practice, brought the energy. Um, you know, if he he came back to the bench, he let guys know, you know, pick it up,
let's go. You know, he was um he was great. Um, I thought, um, I really enjoyed coaching him."
Q: "So, when he left, I guess then, not only did you lose the one of your offensive talents or your all-around talents, you
lost you were devoid of an emotional centerpiece."
A: "Uh, I thought we lost our emotional leader for sure. Um, you know, I thought that, um, and it was a big loss, not
only the player, but that side of it, too, you know, in the locker room, on the bench, in practices, things like that. I thought that he brought that
element. I thought he held guys accountable."
Q: "So, injuries were a big factor your second year there?"
A: "Yes"
Q: ""But, yes, that aside, ...
A: .... never really found that winger to play with Matthews.
um you know just the chemistry um of your number one line.
...
Q: "But injuries were huge. Tanev was a huge loss. Basically lost him for the year. Um he was a corner piece back
there in the back end and you know Mitch was the guy up front. He was the guy on on the back end, right? And you didn't have either one of them?"
A: "No."
