Chunky little guy who scored goals.
Toffoli tears up track since joining Habs
— Mike Futa tyler toffoli, on nhl’s the second-leading scorer, goal
Mike Futa remembers the first time he watched Tyler Toffoli play hockey. And the former assistant GM of the Los Angeles Kings also remembers the first scouting report he ever filed on him.
“Chunky little guy who scored goals,” said Futa, laughing.
Toffoli was around 10 years old back then. And the Scarborough, Ont., native was playing on a stacked Toronto Jr. Canadiens club that included former NHLER Devante Smith-pelly and John Mcfarland, who would go on to become a No. 1 overall pick in the Ontario Hockey League draft.
Like most scouts, Futa was there to see Mcfarland, the can’t-miss-prospect. But each and every time, Futa found his eyes wandering over to the chunky little guy with the big shot, who wasn’t all that fast and who wasn’t particularly dynamic with the puck, but who seemed to know where to be on the ice and finished every game with a goal or two.
“I was always leaving the rink thinking about Ty,” Futa said. “The kid just scored, you know what I mean? You’re talking 85-90 goals.”
The 28-year-old Toffoli is no longer chunky. But he is still scoring goals. And once again, he’s doing it in a red, white and blue jersey that once again looks good on him.
As of Tuesday, only Toronto’s Auston Matthews had more goals than the nine that Toffoli has scored in 12 games with the Montreal Canadiens. That natural goal-scoring ability is why Montreal, which has an 8-22 record out of the gates, signed Toffoli to a four-year contract with a Us$4.25-million cap hit last October.
And it’s why Futa, who is better known as “Uncle Mike” to Toffoli, initially drafted him to Los Angeles the 47th overall pick back in 2010.
“He dropped to the second round because people questioned if he could skate at the next level,” said Futa. “But I always thought Ty could score 30 goals every year.”
Except, Toffoli hasn’t scored 30 goals every year. He reached the 30-goal mark only once in his career. And it came in just his third season in the league. By that time, Toffoli already had won a Stanley Cup for a team that had won twice in three years, but was now in the beginning of a transition.
“The biggest thing — and it’s not just Ty, it happened to a lot of the guys — is when you get the ultimate prize out of the gates, you take things for granted,” Futa said. “In fairness, good for Ty. But you always have to remember why you got that rock star status is because of what you did on the ice.”
When the Kings drafted Toffoli in the second round, there was no rock star status. Some wondered if he had the speed to keep up at the NHL level. Others were more concerned about his body.
“He comes in and I always said there’s these kids when they come into training camp, who are either shirts or skins,” said Futa. “The ‘shirts’ are the kids who are really uncomfortable. Ty seemed to be in that camp. He was overwhelmed.
“Darryl Sutter kicked him in the stones and sent him down. It was like, ‘Hey bud, there’s still work to be done.’ ”
Toffoli spent two more years in junior, where he combined for 109 goals and 208 points in 133 games for the Ottawa 67s. The following season, he was named the American Hockey League’s rookie of the year.
“Then, all of a sudden, Sutter put him with Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson and the rest is history,” Futa said. Well, it should have been. After scoring 31 goals in 2015-16, Toffoli managed 16 goals the following season. A year later, he had 24 goals. Then, just 13.
With the Kings rebuilding, Toffoli was moved to Vancouver last year in what amounted to a wake-up call. He ended up scoring six goals and 10 points in the final 10 games of the season, and followed it up with two goals and four points in seven playoff games. But for reasons only Canucks management seems to understand — and is probably now regretting — Toffoli wasn’t given a contract extension.
And if you don’t think Toffoli didn’t take it personally, consider that eight of his nine goals this season have come in five games against the Canucks.
“I understand that he’s scored a lot of goals against the Canucks and he got on a bit of a roll there, but he’s a smart player,” said Canadiens head coach Claude Julien. “His hockey sense is really, really good. He sees the ice well. Even on our power play, he has the puck sometimes under pressure and he always seems to make the right plays.
“I’ve liked his start, hopefully he keeps getting better and we keep getting some consistency out of him.”
Futa, who’s watched Toffoli each step of the way, likes it too. And he believes the best is yet to come.
“I’m just so happy for him,” Futa said. “I asked him the other day: ‘How does it feel to lead the league in scoring?’
Toffoli’s answer: “It’s early.”