Choice cuts on Leafs’ block
By Monday morning, Mike Babcock will be barking at the Maple Leafs in their first regular season practice.
But that first required some Sunday evening surgery to the bloated roster, presided over by general manager Lou Lamoriello. It’s not a simple matter of cutting nearly 50 players down to 23, as Lamoriello and his head coach want to leave themselves as many options as possible for the start of the NHL season and beyond.
This precursor to the season can be an unpredictable period around the league with surprise demotions, promotions and a little waiver-wire witchcraft ahead of lineup submissions Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Leafs, for example, had defenceman Stephane Robidas drop out of sight a couple of years ago after he was looking good in pre- season games with what Robidas said were complications from a broken leg. His removal helped their roster and cap squeeze at the time.
But with the Leafs having improved by leaps and bounds the past two years, making the playoffs and now picked by many for a long spring run, here are vital decisions the hockey department was working on ahead of Monday.
GOAL
IN: Frederik Andersen, Curtis McElhinney.
Both starter and backup are ready judging by pre- season performance. That’s vital with Andersen’s projected high workload and the veteran McElhinney facing another year of long stints without game action followed by tough back-to-back assignments.
QUESTION MARKS: The starter for the Marlies still has to be determined, either last year’s playoff surprise Kasimir Kaskisuo or a healthy Garret Sparks. And do the Leafs look at a depth move via waivers? The Wings placed Jared Coreau there Sunday, a sixfoot- six stopper whom Babcock liked in his Detroit days and the winner in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout.
DEFENCE
IN: Jake Gardiner, Nikita Zaitsev, Morgan Rielly, Ron Hainsey. The wear and tear on the 36-year-old Hainsey, who is currently paired with Rielly, is the only potential concern down the road. Fiesty Connor Carrick was kept out of Friday’s game that featured the projected NHL lineup, but looked fine Saturday when a secondary group completed the team’s exhibition schedule.
QUESTION MARKS: Carrick had been playing a bit with Calle Rosen, one of two Swedish newcomers with Andreas Borgman. The fresh- off- the- boat Scandi- navians were a tandem Friday in Detroit and either the fluid Rosen or muscular Borgman is expected to stick. Zaitsev stepping right into a difficult position to master, directly from the KHL, has no doubt got the brass thinking the Swedes might duplicate it. Otherwise, one or both start the year as Marlies.
Martin Marincin, called out by Babcock earlier in camp to embrace his future, seemed to earn approval with his last outing against the Canadiens Wednesday and stayed with the Leafs’ NHL practice group.
It was vital Roman Polak get into a game to show his broken leg has healed, but he’s on a PTO. At best, the club can park him in reserve until it sees how the kids perform unless another NHL team has interest.
Timothy Liljegren had a tough act to follow in Auston Matthews as a No. 1 pick who moved directly to the Leafs. He’ll be kept on the Marlies or returned to Sweden. Travis Dermott and Andrew Nielsen have come far, but like Liljegren, they need more seasoning and regular ice time, rather than watching the Leafs from an NHL press box.
FORWARDS
IN: Matthews, Marner, William Nylander, Nazem Kadri, Zach Hyman, Patrick Marleau, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, Connor Brown, Matt Martin, Dominic Moore.
Lots of scoring, but the ability to play well defensively is a tenet of Babcock’s that will get more attention this year.
QUESTION MARKS: From the excitement of a role in the 2017 playoffs to a possible trip back to Ricoh Coliseum, it would be tough for Kasperi Kapanen to swallow. But he knows the reality of being eligible for easy demotion versus Josh Leivo, whom the Leafs protected in the expansion draft and are fearful of losing on waivers. But keeping Leivo, who could contribute more offence if the opportunity arises, makes it hard to maintain Eric Fehr as a spare, even though the latter is showing he still has some moves after recovery from a badly broken finger.
The Leafs invested in Moore to replace Brian Boyle as a fourth- line centre and provide the wisdom gathered i n an 11- year career. But Babcock was very high on Miro Aaltonen’s potential to do many of those on-ice chores. If he doesn’t survive the cuts, the Finn won’t be far off.
Gritty winger Carl Grundstrom seemed to lose steam toward the end of camp and does not have a Marlie option if the Leafs don’t play him. As for Nikita Soshnikov, his injuries last season and subsequent lack of playing time are now catching up as the line for jobs grows longer.