Leafs’ depth up front could lead to interesting times for Brown
Sporting a nifty 20-goal season on his resume, Connor Brown could be rewarded with fourth-line duty on the 2017-18 Maple Leafs.
That possibility isn’t keeping Brown awake at night as the dog days of training camp firmly settle in.
“I don’t think I will find a permanent spot (on any line),” Brown said following practice Thursday.
“I think I’ll be moving around, much like last year, which I’m fine with. That’s what I see.
“As soon as you start looking at things from afar, and saying I should be playing here or there, that’s when you are worrying about things out of your control. I am just trying to play as well as I can and focus on winning hockey games. Everything else takes care of itself.”
The idea that Brown might start on the outside of the Leafs’ top nine forwards speaks to the club’s depth up front. In his first full season in the National Hockey League in 2016-17, the Toronto native proved his worth, scoring 20 goals, assisting on 16 others and developing into a dependable penalty killer.
Leafs coach Mike Babcock knows what he has in Brown and recognizes the asset that is the latter’s versatility.
With the addition of Patrick Marleau, the Leafs appear to be set on their top three lines. Babcock reiterated on Thursday he has no interest in taking Zach Hyman off Auston Matthews’ line and perhaps replacing him with Marleau. The best bet could be that Brown eventually takes the spot of Leo Komarov on a line with Nazem Kadri and Marleau.
“He doesn’t figure that he is the 10th forward,” Babcock said of Brown.
“I don’t think he is either. We will get all that figured out.
“Brownie is a good player. He is going to play. Whether it is going to be on the power play, penalty kill or regular shift, wherever, he will find a place to play.”
Babcock then took a playful poke at the reporters gathered around him in the Leafs dressing room.
“This is all going to work itself out, all the speculating right now,” Babcock said.
“I know you have to have some stuff to write, but there is nothing to write.
“This is what you should be writing: They haven’t worked hard enough.”
The coach could be on to something there. The Leafs were outplayed in a pair of pre-season losses earlier this week against the Ottawa Senators.
Next on the overly busy pre-season schedule is a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night at the Ricoh Coliseum, with a rematch against the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday night at the Key Bank Center.
Babcock, apparently, won’t have to worry about Brown.
“I would not say there is frustration, especially with how deep our team is,” Brown said.
“I’m sure I will be relied upon on the penalty kill, maybe on the power play, so I am sure my minutes will come. You can’t get away from yourself. That’s when you get in your own head and things get tough. I come to the rink, have fun and keep all that other noise away from it.”
And where Babcock earlier in the week singled out players such as Calle Rosen, Travis Dermott, Jake Gardiner and Marleau for their positive impact in pre-season games, he name-dropped another player on Thursday.
“(Carl) Grundstrom looks like a real hockey player to me,” Babcock said of the forward. “Every day he has the puck, every day he skates faster than everyone else. Every day he is more physical and every day he shoots the puck in the net.”