Injury bug bites Leafs blue line again
Injury to Muzzin leaves team paper thin on the blue-line, so it’s up to the forwards to protect their no-name defenders
Does the league allow for an emergency backup defenceman?
Is there a 42-year-old sitting in the stands who can skate backward and chip pucks off the glass?
If so, you might want to call Kyle Dubas. The general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs could use all the help he can get these days after Jake Muzzin broke his hand in a game against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Or here’s an idea: Maybe Dubas should have acquired a defenceman at the deadline.
Brenden Dillon? Dylan Demelo? Zach Bogosian?
Any one of them would be a welcome addition right now. At least Dubas had the wherewithal to keep Tyson Barrie.
It’s not being a Monday morning quarterback to suggest the Leafs should have known Muzzin was going to break his hand a day after the deadline passed. Even before the injury, the Leafs were paper thin on the blue-line. Now, without Muzzin, Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci, the Leafs will try to hold down a playoff spot with a defence that features four players who have combined for 123 career NHL games.
Maybe this is for the best. Maybe this will be the thing that finally forces the forwards into backchecking.
If there was one thing to learn from Toronto’s embarrassing loss against Carolina the other night, it is that you play differently when you’ve got a Zamboni driver in net. The Hurricanes allowed just 10 shots once David Ayres got into the game because they knew every one of them had a chance of beating their emergency backup goalie.
The Leafs, whose defence has largely been plucked from the American Hockey League, now have to think the same way.
The forwards need to change their mindset. They need to protect their minor-league defenders. They have to play harder without the puck if Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren and Calle Rosen hope to have a chance against Florida on Thursday.
If they do that and actually win, then maybe when Muzzin, Rielly and Ceci eventually return to the lineup, this will be a different, more defensively responsible team than before.
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT
Best line about emergency backup goalie Ayres goes to Carey Price (via Arpon Basu of The Athletic): “I heard the Zamboni driver’s going to win the Vezina.” … This just in: Connor Mcdavid makes his linemates better … Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin had to love hearing Ilya Kovalchuk in his first news conference in Washington describe playing in Montreal as “one of the best decisions of my hockey life.” That’s the sort of compliment that could go a long way in attracting free agents in the summer … In the time it took you to read this, another Blue Jackets player just got injured … Best of luck to Patrick Marleau on trying to cap off his (Hall of Fame-worthy?) career with a Stanley Cup. I wish Joe Thornton had been afforded the same opportunity.
HERE’S ONE FOR YOU
Grit matters in the playoffs. And it doesn’t come cheap. Just ask the Tampa Bay Lightning, who after getting bounced in the first round of last year’s playoffs signed Patrick Maroon and then gave up a pair of first-round picks for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow before the deadline … The main reason why Coleman and Goodrow went for first-rounders? They are on cheap, controllable contracts. In the cap-crunched world every team is living in, that’s almost as important as goals and assists … After the dust settles, I’m predicting a Tampa Bay-versus-vegas final … Wayne Simmonds might be the kind of player Buffalo has needed for some time, but he arrived a couple of years too late. Simmonds has eight goals this year. He managed just one goal in 19 regular-season and playoff games after getting traded to Nashville at the deadline last season. There’s some significant mileage on his body.
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
One coach on why Barrie wasn’t moved at the deadline: “He’s not the kind of player teams want for the playoffs.” Ouch … Is there enough space on Robin Lehner’s neck for a tattoo of the state of Nevada? … Everyone knows Andreas Athanasiou can skate. Now, we’ll see if he can play a two-way game. The Oilers might need that more than goals … Sebastian Aho, who has 36 goals, has snuck into the Rocket Richard Trophy race with 11 goals in 11 games this month … I hope the Vancouver Canucks don’t regret not getting a “name” goalie at the deadline. If their playoff hopes die with Thatcher Demko, it could derail the 24-year-old’s confidence going forward … Am I the only one who thinks the Rangers could sneak into the playoffs? If so, it will be weird to see Henrik Lundqvist watching the games from the press box.
PAGEAU’S A KEEPER
Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion can talk all day about the many draft picks that he once again accumulated in yet another fire sale at the trade deadline, but losing Jean-gabriel Pageau was not a good look for a franchise that is becoming the NHL’S version of the Montreal Expos when it comes to retaining talent.
It’s one thing to draft and develop players. It’s another to keep them around.
The Senators haven’t been doing enough of the latter.
Kyle Turris left because he wanted a raise.
The same goes for Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone. And now Pageau, a hometown kid who began his hockey life in Ottawa as a bottom-six forward before working his way up to the top line, priced himself out of the city.
What’s the message to fans? What’s the message to players?
On the same day that the Senators cut ties with Pageau, the New York Rangers announced a seven-year extension for Chris Kreider. The reason for not trading him was simple: Kreider is someone worth keeping around for the rebuild. He’s a competitor. He’s team first. He’s a guy who sets an example with his play on the ice, as well as his work ethic off the ice.
Talk to members of the Senators and they say the same things about Pageau.
Bobby Ryan said he “kind of personifies what you want the Sens to be.” When told that Pageau had challenged a much larger Jacob Trouba to a fight after a nasty hit on his new teammate, Thomas Chabot laughed and said he wasn’t surprised.
“He’s such a big competitor and he’s going to do anything for his team. He’s always going to put the team ahead of himself.”
Those are qualities that the Senators will need going forward if they hope to go from a bottom-feeder to a playoff contender. Maybe one of the guys they pick up in this year’s draft can provide it.
That is before management sends them out the door because they asked for a raise.
HURRICANES GOING FOR IT
When the Carolina Hurricanes reached the conference final last year, GM Don Waddell told me the challenge was for the team, which hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back years since 2002, to keep the momentum going.
His moves at the trade deadline showed how serious he was.
It’s difficult to find another team that made as many improvements as Carolina, which added second-line centre Vincent Trocheck from Florida and defencemen Brady Skjei (Rangers) and Sami Vatanen (Devils).
Will it lead to a playoff spot? Maybe. Maybe not. As of Wednesday, Carolina was two points back of Columbus for the final wild-card spot, with three games in hand.
But like last year’s Blue Jackets, at least they’re going for it. At least their players know that management has given them every chance. That’s more than the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs or Calgary Flames can say.
There are two reasons for buying at the trade deadline: To reward the players or to rescue them. Waddell was motivated by both.
Following Saturday’s win against Toronto, in which Carolina lost defenceman Brett Pesce to an injury and had to rely on a 42-year-old emergency backup after both their goalies left the game hurt, Waddell said he couldn’t sit back and not do something to salvage the season.
“You watch what happened Saturday night and how this team responded to that situation. I can’t even think about what those players were thinking minus two goalies, minus (Brett) for most of the game,” Waddell told reporters following the deadline. “We owe it to those players to give them the best chance for success.”
That’s the kind of message that resonates with fans. And for a team that could be a dangerous first-round opponent if it finds its way into the playoffs, it’s something that can further motivate the players.