Time to put the pieces together
Tavares joins the forward group led by young stars Matthews, Marner and … Nylander, maybe?
With John Tavares now co-headlining with Auston Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs will open training camp with 73 players on Thursday.
It could be 74 if William Nylander, a restricted free agent, signs by the time physicals begin at 9 a.m. at the MasterCard Centre. His name was left off the list of invited players.
In all, 40 forwards, 25 defencemen and eight goalies hope to land jobs with the Leafs, who will hold three days of training in Niagara Falls starting Friday before embarking on an eight-game preseason schedule.
Most of the hopefuls will likely be dispatched in short order to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, ECHL’s St. John’s Growlers or returned to their junior or European teams.
“It’s exciting,” goalie Frederik Andersen said Monday of having Tavares on the team. “He’s a natural superstar and a leader in the league. It’s a big honour to have him join us. It’s something we’re very excited about. “We added a great piece.” The Leafs set a franchise record for points last year but fell in the first round of the playoffs to Boston. They’ve been installed as Stanley Cup favourites by the Vegas oddsmakers, and have high expectations of themselves.
“The motivation is we want to win the last game of the year,” said Andersen. “That’s what keeps you going in summer. When you come up short, you look back and want to do better.”