‘That line has to be better’
As Babcock mulls final roster spots, Kadri line seeks greater chemistry
TORONTO — Training camp nearly has run its course and Mike Babcock wants more.
Specifically, the Maple Leafs coach yearns to see something consistently substantial from the Patrick Marleau-Nazem KadriLeo Komarov line.
“I thought early (Kadri) was really going good,” Babcock said Thursday after the Leafs practised at the MasterCard Centre.
“That line has to be better. I told them all that today. That group can be way better, way quicker, way more diligent. They have to upgrade. We need Naz to be really good for us to be effective. That group has to find some chemistry and get going.”
The chances appear to be solid that Kadri and his linemates will have another opportunity to find cohesion when the Leafs visit the Detroit Red Wings at the new Little Caesars Arena on Friday night in the first of backto-back pre-season meetings between the clubs.
Babcock said he will use “more of an NHL lineup” in Detroit and that goaltender Frederik Andersen will play the full game.
When the teams meet on Saturday night at Ricoh Coliseum in the pre-season finale for both, Babcock indicated that defenceman Roman Polak will make his exhibition debut. Polak is in camp on a tryout, attempting to make a full comeback after breaking his right leg during the playoffs this spring.
Babcock’s assessment of the Kadri trio isn’t overly surprising. While Babcock is evaluating who would be best suited to be the fourth-line centre and the sixth and seventh defencemen, the bench boss has stressed the importance of his everyday players being fully ready when the puck drops in the season opener next Wednesday in Winnipeg.
Kadri was asked about the chemistry with Marleau before Babcock met with reporters.
“I think it has been great,” Kadri said. “It’s fun. I enjoy playing with a player like that. He’s smart, he can score, he is experienced. I’m trying to read off him and get a better understanding for how he plays and how he wants to play.
“I’ve learned that when he gets the puck in the corner or in open ice … sometimes you tend to want to go support your winger and be a little bit closer to him, but Patty, I think you got to give him some space.
“He’s a big, strong guy, he can beat guys one-on-one so in order for me to read off him, I have to get into areas where I can be a threat offensively to score.”
It’s possible observers of the first practice group on Thursday got a better handle on the final Leafs roster.
There was no change in the top three lines, while Finnish rookie Miro Aaltonen again was between Matt Martin and Connor Brown on the fourth line.
A fifth line had Dominic Moore centring Eric Fehr and Josh Leivo.
Martin Marincin was partnered with Connor Carrick on the third defence pair, while the fourth was Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman.
Hopefuls Kasperi Kapanen, Nikita Soshnikov, Ben Smith and Travis Dermott were with the second practice group.
“Especially on defence, the competition is better than I expected, players are better than I expected,” Babcock said. “Up front, we are just trying to figure that out. Some guys don’t need waivers, other guys do (in order to be sent to the Toronto Marlies). Sometimes that makes it easier to make decisions.”
Moore, Fehr, Leivo, Smith and Marincin must clear waivers. Aaltonen, Kapanen, Soshnikov, Dermott, Rosen and Borgman do not require waivers to be sent down.
The final 23-player roster has to be submitted to the NHL by 5 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
“Lots of times when you send a guy down he doesn’t hear a word you say, because he is just mad he is going down,” Babcock said, “and then a week later when you talk to him, you try to make it clear when you have a good attitude and you work hard every day, things turn out for you.
“When you don’t, things don’t go the way you want. The best players are going to play on the team. We might not always get it right in the short term, but we will get it right.”
Decision more challenging
Big whoop.
More or less, that was Mike Babcock’s reaction to the NHL’s board of governors approval of a rule change that will see a team penalized two minutes if an offside challenge on a goal is unsuccessful.
“The league made the rule and league didn’t like it,” the Maple Leafs coach said. “So what they did was they put it on the coaches now. It’s all right. Whatever, doesn’t matter to me.”
While Leafs video analysts Adam Jancelewicz and Jordan Bean could feel the pressure, ultimately it will be on Babcock to decide whether to challenge.
“You’re trying to get that right and your game is on the line, it’s going to be a tough decision,” Babcock said. “Can you imagine how much heat it’s going to put on the poor guys in the video room? (The NHL) thought (challenges) happened too much in the league. They put it on the coaches. That’s it.”