Leafs embracing challenge ahead
‘We want to exceed last year,’ forward Kadri says. ‘We don’t want to be a one-and-done type team’
As the Maple Leafs opened training camp Thursday at the MasterCard Centre amid growing expectations, it was worth noting the team’s list of accomplishments for the 2016-17 season was rather quite long.
From an unexpected playoff appearance and Auston Matthews’ Calder Trophy-winning 40-goal season to a rewrite of a 100-year-old franchise’s rookie records, there seemed something for everyone to get excited about.
This year, there are important new faces — veterans Patrick Marleau, Dominic Moore and Ron Hainsey — that send a signal the Maple Leafs are about winning, not rebuilding.
“Teams know the Maple Leafs are serious now,” centre Nazem Kadri said. “We want to hang with the best and we certainly believe we can do that.
“You want to exceed your expectations as a team. You want to establish yourself and solidify yourself as one of the best teams in the league. That’s what we’re working towards. With the systems in place and the core guys we have on this team, we could make some noise.”
On a day when players were poked and prodded by medical and training staff prior to being poked and prodded by media looking for any nugget of anything new, most Leafs tried to temper the enthusiasm around the team.
Some were reminding those that would listen that nothing had been won, that the team clinched a playoff spot last year in the 81st game of an 82-game season and lost in the first round. Still, expectations are higher.
“We’re going to embrace it, we’re going to take the challenge,” Kadri said. “We want to exceed last year. We want to get into the playoffs. That’s a goal for us. We don’t want to be a one-and-done type team.
“We think with our youth, and speed and skill — and we do have some physicality and some grit to us — we’re built to make a playoff run. That’s what we want to do.
“We’re all here to win. Despite goals, assists, whatever points, just getting those wins and exciting the city and fans and having something to look forward to is what we want to do.”
The biggest news nugget on the first day of training camp was that the team will go another year without a captain. There’s no rush, obviously, but it does feel like only a matter of time before Matthews — now entrenched as the franchise centre the team longed for — gets the letter.
“The sky is the limit for him,” Kadri said of Matthews. “That’s the honest truth. He’s a great talent. A special player you don’t see every generation. He’s a humble kid. He works hard. He’s liked by his teammates. Everything with that, good surroundings in the locker room, good staff, he can really take it to the next level.”
Matthews believes he has room for improvement.
“I think I can be more assertive at times,” Matthews said. “Wanting the puck more. Trusting my skills. There are things you can work on.”
If Matthews does reach another level along young talents Mitch Marner and William Nylander, the general feeling is that the Leafs, barring injuries, will be better this year.
“The growth of all those guys is immense, to say the least. Their confidence and their swagger now com- pared to a year ago is much different,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “We’ll see how their game evolves, we’ll see what happens this year. Let’s just keep them healthy and working hard.”
Throw in the additions of Marleau, Moore and Hainsey, and even Babcock sounds excited.
“They will improve us overall,” Babcock said. “They’re all good players, they’ll bring different things. We’re an improved team, talent-wise, experience-wise. We’ve done more and now we’d like to take a step and we think these guys, because of the men they are, because of the players they are, will help us.”
So there’s no surprise there’s a great deal of excitement about this upcoming season.
“The fans are smart, they see what we see and they probably would like everything to happen right away,” Babcock said. “We’re all like that, immediate gratification is what the world is all about, but usually it’s not like that, you have to keep getting better and better.
“We like our situation, we like our fan base, we think we have the best hockey city in the world, for sure. Being a Leaf is a special thing again and we’re all lucky to be that.”