LEAFS HAVE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AT CAMP
SEVERAL NEW PARTS FOR HEAD COACH KEEFE TO DEPLOY IN A SHORTENED NHL SEASON
Finally, it’s here: Toronto Maple Leafs training camp, 2021 abbreviated edition. Happy New Year, indeed. We’ll take what we can get during this pandemic, including a 56-game National Hockey League regular season slated to start on Jan. 13.
The Leafs will undergo medicals at the Ford Performance Centre on Sunday, followed by the start of on-ice sessions on Monday.
You might have been privy to the news that general manager Kyle Dubas was a busy man in the months that followed the Leafs’ qualifying round loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, reshaping the bottom half of the forward group while adding a top defenceman in TJ Brodie.
The Leafs’ nucleus is intact and, as such, Toronto is considered by many to be the favourite to win the all- Canadian North Division.
But what would the start of camp be without pressing questions?
Some of the Leafs’ issues on our mind as we get geared up for the NHL’S return:
HOW WILL COACH KEEFE MAKE THE ADDITIONS WORK AT FORWARD?
Specifically, how will players such as Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds and Jimmy Vesey be worked into the lineup?
There probably has been a little too much hand-wringing over this.
When you have a top six that includes Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, captain John Tavares, William Nylander, Zach Hyman and Ilya Mikheyev, what comes next on the third and fourth lines shouldn’t be keeping people up at night.
We would assume that Alex Kerfoot gets moved back to the wing and probably, Jason Spezza resumes his role as the centre on the fourth line. Will Thornton, at 41, have the stamina to be an everyday third- line centre? Vesey will be on the wing on the third line, we presume. Fact is, Dubas has built a cupboard stocked with forward depth.
The challenge for Keefe will be finding combinations that work immediately, more or less, once the games start. If not? Consider that the group waiting in the wings would include Pierre Engvall, Alexander Barabanov, Joey Anderson, Travis Boyd and Nic Petan. There’s going to be hunger on the taxi squad.
IS THERE ANY WAY BRODIE DOESN’T PLAY ON MORGAN RIELLY’S RIGHT SIDE?
Unlikely. The Leafs liked Brodie for many reasons, and high on the list was Brodie’s strong pairing with Mark Giordano with the Calgary Flames. Brodie is the guy Rielly has been waiting for since, well, his early days with the Leafs.
The bigger question for the Leafs on the blue line is similar to what we’re going to see up front. You have Rielly-brodie, and Jake Muzzin- Justin Holl. Then, a third pair including two of Travis Dermott, Zach Bogosian and Mikko Lehtonen (with apologies to Rasmus Sandin).
Dermott will have some motivation after signing his qualifying offer, while Bogosian will be looking to build off some good Stanley Cup minutes with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lehtonen has been pencilled in for power play work. Something will have to give in camp.
WILL NICK ROBERTSON MAKE THE CLUB?
The odds last summer weren’t great for Robertson, even coming off a 55- goal season with the OHL’S Peterborough Petes. Yet Robertson, who has since turned 19, not only cracked the roster for what turned out to be a brief Leafs post- season appearance, but made an impact. His determination hasn’t waned and now he has some experience to go with it. Even taking into account the depth at forward, we will be surprised if Robertson doesn’t find a way to stickhandle his way through it.
WHAT NEW LOOKS CAN WE EXPECT ON SPECIAL TEAMS?
There are improvements to be made on the penalty kill, as the Leafs were 21st last season at 77.7 per cent.
Defenceman Cody Ceci, gone to Pittsburgh in free agency, led the Leafs in short- handed ice time. Each of the next six Leafs in that category return, beginning with stalwart Jake Muzzin. There could be an increased role for Rielly, who came in at just under two minutes last season.
Brodie was fourth among Flames defencemen in penalty- killing time, and considering he is unlikely to get much of a look on the Toronto power play, it could become a bigger role for him with the Leafs. The Leafs will also need to replace Kasperi Kapanen’s time on the PK, which averaged one minute 39 seconds. Perhaps Engvall, who is capable, or Vesey, gets a longer look. We figure Bogosian will factor in as well.
Frederik Andersen’s save percentage in his 52 games while the Leafs were on the penalty kill was .857; only three goalies who played in at least 52 games (Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck and Carey Price) had a better number.
On the power play? We’ll be curious to see if assistant coach Manny Malhotra has any inclination toward making a change to the No. 1 unit ( Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander and Rielly). Does Simmonds get a look with that group, perhaps replacing Nylander at net-front?
With the second unit, Thornton will slot in, Simmonds as well if he is not with the top group. If Robertson makes the roster, he’s going to get a shot. And don’t forget Spezza.
The Leafs tied for fifth on the power play last season. They’ll tell you, though, there is potential for greater success.
WILL CAMP BE THE START OF SOMETHING GOOD FOR FREDERIK ANDERSEN?
If we had to bet, yes. He’s in a contract year, he’s coming off an up-and-down season and he heard the talk of a possible off- season trade that never happened.
Never mind that Andersen is a soft- spoken man. He will have it on the front- burner to rebound and help take the Leafs far.
And if not, Jack Campbell is a solid No. 2.