After finding out Tyler Toffoli had been traded to the Calgary Flames on Monday, many fans were disappointed to see the flashy goal scorer leave town. Actor and comedian Jay Baruchel was one of them.
One would be hard-pressed to find a bigger Montreal Canadiens fan than Baruchel, a former Habs season ticket holder and author of Born onto It: A Fan’s Life, a memoir about his love for the organization.
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“I feel like a slight bit of heartbreak that Toffoli is gone,” Baruchel told Daily Hive. “I absolutely adored watching him play.”
Despite his offensive prowess, Baruchel says he will miss Toffoli mostly because of the player’s passion for the club.
“I love anybody that likes playing as a Hab,” said the NDG native. “There are plenty of guys who put on that sweater and you can tell they’re just earning a living. But then there are the guys who put on that sweater and you can tell it means something to them.”
“He (Toffoli) was a big part of whatever was good about the team that took us all the way — well almost all the way — last year,” explained Baruchel, who wished the player success with his new team.
“Something’s got to give and if he gets the chance to do another cup run on another team, because he certainly isn’t going to get with us this year, good on him.”
In the Toffoli deal, Montreal, which appears to be building toward the future, received a first-round pick, a fifth-round pick, 20-year-old prospect Emil Heineman, and 30-year-old depth centre Tyler Pitlick from Calgary.
Baruchel says he feels that the team is in good hands under new management.
“So far, (Jeff) Gordon and (Kent) Hughes, I really liked their approach. I like their transparency and I like what they say. They’re interested in the kind of team that they’re trying to build.”
The actor, who is currently on a press junket as the host of Prime Video’s world-famous comedy competition, LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, also chimed in on the Canadiens’ new interim head coach Martin St. Louis
“St. Louis has no victories yet, but there’s a good way and a bad way to lose. And the boys seem to enjoy playing hockey for the first time all f**king year. After years of Jacques Martin and Michel Therrien and all that sh*t, it’s nice to see somebody like him.”
Baruchel wrapped up his thoughts on the team’s future with a bold hypothesis.
“If St. Louis was coach a few years ago. I don’t know that P.K. (Subban) would have had been traded.”
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