Simmonds earning shot at bigger role
COACH AND CAPTAIN PRAISE WINGER FOR HIS COMPETITIVENESS AND EFFORT
play well, get a promotion. That process has unfolded for Toronto Maple Leafs winger Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds rode the right side on a line with captain John Tavares and William Nylander at practice on Tuesday, and while that could change before the Leafs play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, there’s no doubt that Simmonds legitimately has worked his way into the top-six conversation.
The big forward scored in each of the Leafs’ first three games of a fourgame trip through Alberta last week, with two goals coming on the power play.
“He was a real standout for us,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said after a lengthy on-ice workout at the Ford Performance Centre. “He has lots of jump, he looks quick, he’s competitive, he’s around the net, he found a way to score.”
The Simmonds move was one of several as the Leafs had their first full practice following their western sojourn.
Centre Alex Kerfoot didn’t participate, though he was on the ice earlier with Joe Thornton, who continues to work his way back from a rib injury. Keefe said Kerfoot is day to day with a minor ailment, adding that it’s a situation similar to what Auston Matthews (who missed one game with a hand problem) experienced a couple of weeks ago.
Kerfoot will be evaluated again on Wednesday.
Nic Petan was added to the main group and skated on a fourth line with Jason Spezza and Travis boyd; dressed in grey sweaters, usually worn by forwards not in the top 12, were Alexander barabanov and Adam brooks.
Pierre engvall centred Jimmy Vesey and Ilya Mikheyev, while the top line of Matthews between Zach Hyman and Mitch Marner remained intact.
On defence, Travis dermott was reunited with Zach bogosian on the third pair, pushing Mikko Lehtonen to the fourth pair with rasmus Sandin.
“With the lines, we haven’t made any decisions about what we’re going to do as we go into the next game,” Keefe said. “We’ll make decisions on what we want to do with our lines to counter (what the Canucks might do).”
Simmonds has earned the shot with Tavares and Nylander. The latter noted some chemistry after one practice, and Keefe saw it as well.
Simmonds has been putting in the work to help result in his production.
“He has learned to really value the development sessions that we have, whether it was in the off-season or during the season,” Keefe said. “We had a development session with him before practice (on Tuesday) and (on Monday) he was one of our players that had the option (of not going on the ice) and he wanted to come in and get some extra work. There’s all positives surrounding Wayne.”
In the bigger picture, Keefe wants to see an uptick in pace, which would presumably would lead to more pressure in the offensive zone. The Leafs’ 7-2-1 record through their first 10 games is admirable, but Keefe is striving to see some offensive gaps filled in.
“In particular on this past trip, we saw a pretty dramatic reduction in our pace and how much we had the puck, and how much we played on offence,” Keefe said. “That’s not a choice of ours.”
The Leafs finished last season at 52.03 per cent in possession at five on five, good for sixth in the National Hockey League. before NHL games on Tuesday, they were 16th at 50.8 per cent.
“We want to be a better defensive team and more consistently defend better,” Tavares said. “At times, when you do that, you’re also not going to get some chances to go your way. We’re just trying to find that right balance as a group.
“With the depth and the skill sets that we have, there’s a lot of trust and belief in what we’re doing.”
And as for the chance to play with Simmonds, Tavares, whose four goals have all come on the power play, is all for it.
“He just loves to compete, he loves getting in the dirty areas and being involved,” Tavares said. “He knows how he has to make his presence felt and what makes him a consistent player on a nightly basis. He knows how to be productive in all areas of the ice.”