THIS GOAT PLAYS HERO FOR A NIGHT
GM Dubas praises the resiliency of group he’s going to the playoffs with
Leafs fourth-line centre Frederik Gauthier, who could have a little competition with the Leafs’ acquisition of Nic Petan on Monday, was part of the Leafs’ three-goal outburst early in the second period, which led to a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena.
“This is our group.” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas didn’t say it with an exclamation point, but he did say it with a great deal of confidence after the first trade deadline of his tenure passed on Monday. He acquired centre Nic Petan from Winnipeg, called up forward Trevor Moore from the Marlies and didn’t seem all that bothered that he didn’t add anything more of significance.
“The players in the room have shown the ability to be resilient throughout the year,” Dubas said. “As our experience grows and our maturity level grows, based on talent we have in the room, we have every belief this group can have a lot of success together.
“It’s just about going through those different experiences, riding the wave together, as we continue to go through it, and just sticking with this group, because it is a group we believe in very much.
“I’m excited to see how we handle the next month and a half as we continue to lock ourselves into a playoff spot and then get ready to roll with that.
“We’re through the deadline. This is our group.”
Inside the room, the Leafs were prepared for whatever Dubas might add or subtract.
“Obviously, we have a pretty good team,” centre John Tavares said. “We have a lot of guys making good contributions throughout the whole season. We have good depth. We made a pretty significant move with (defenceman Jake) Muzzin a few weeks ago.
“If that move is made today, it gets talked about. We have a very good hockey team. Whatever the case may be, we all feel management is going to do what they feel is the best thing for the hockey club. As a group, we’re just trying to take care of business in here.
“We believe in each other, believe in the group.”
Dubas made one small deal, acquiring Petan from Winnipeg for Par Lindholm. For a team whose weakness appears to be size, the Leafs actually got smaller.
Petan is five-foot-nine; Lindholm, six feet. But Petan is 23, with skill and more upside than Lindholm, a 27-year-old with one NHL goal who is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Petan will be a restricted free agent — “controllable” in the parlance of managers this days — with a chance to be an interesting piece on the periphery of a core that is roughly the same age. He was a frequent healthy scratch in Winnipeg, with two assists in13 games this season.
“The opportunity for him just hasn’t worked out in Winnipeg,” Dubas said. “He’s a player that fits the way we want to play. He’s got a lot of talent. We just feel we need to bring him in, work with him and maximize his potential.”
Moore may be the biggest beneficiary. A favourite of coach Mike Babcock, Dubas promised Moore would get a good long look.
It didn’t matter to Dubas that the Bruins were busy shoring up their forwards.
They added Marcus Johansson, a useful winger with some offensive upside, from New Jersey at the deadline, signed veteran Lee Stempniak on Sunday, and traded for centre Charlie Coyle last week. Toronto and Boston are likely headed for another first-round playoff showdown.
“We’re trying to build a team that can help us best win now and in the future,” Dubas said. “When you start building a team to only beat one team in the playoffs, you start to lose your way a little bit, lose what you’re about. Boston has their way of doing things, they’ve been at it a long time, they’ve been very successful. They’re a good team, a resilient team.
“(We will) continue to go about doing things our way, doing things the way that fits our vision and our plan and staying true to that, no matter what. Time will be the judge of that whether that’s the right way to do it. I don’t really pay much attention to them.”