CUTTING TO THE CHASE
Tricky decisions dangle on Leafs blue line with season opener in Winnipeg looming
The Maple Leafs will carry 14 forwards, seven defencemen and a pair of goalies when they open the NHL season on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.
That meant at least another few hours of uncertainty, especially on the blue line, where the status of Roman Polak and three excellent Swedish defencemen — Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman, and Timothy Liljegren — remained undecided late Monday.
All four were included among the 10 defencemen retained after the training camp roster was cut to 26 players Monday morning.
Those cuts also left 14 forwards, all of whom are considered NHL-calibre — but not all 14 will play to start the regular season.
Liljegren, the Leafs’ first-round pick in June, had an excellent camp and skated with the Marlies Monday despite surviv- ing the latest cuts.
“There’s no decision on Liljegren yet,” Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello said Monday.
“He’s here with the Marlies, or he can go back (to his Swedish Hockey League team). He’ll practise with the Marlies and we’ll make a decision in a short time.”
Polak’s status seemed even less clear. The classy veteran has been working hard to make himself NHL-ready once again after suffering a devastating leg injury in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last April — a broken leg, requiring 13 screws to repair.
Polak appeared in one pre-season game on Saturday night against Detroit, a victory on its own.
“There’s a chance Roman will stay and practise with the team for now,” Lamoriello said. “He asked us to come back and see what happens.
“He’s not back to where he was (last season), but to be where he is right now is amazing. It shows the kind of competitor he is. He and I will meet . . . and make a decision.”
Lamoriello also faces a tough call on Rosen and Borgman, who were signed on the same day last spring after some detailed scouting work by Leafs director of player development Jim Paliafito.
With Liljegren apparently headed toward the Marlies, Rosen and Borgman could wind up in the sixth and seventh defence slots. Rosen’s versatility — he can play both the right and left side, and he’s a terrific skater — gives him an edge, but Borgman’s physical presence is also a strong asset, especially with Polak still in rehab mode.
In the meantime, it appears they will use veteran forwards Dominic Moore and Eric Fehr in some kind of platoon for the fourth-line centre role.
Josh Leivo, who has been NHL-ready for the past two seasons, is also among the group of 14 still around. But Lamoriello said Leivo is involved in a “numbers game” for now.
“He’s here because we like him, and we believe in him. He’s an NHL player (but) he may have to wait his time and go from there.”
The fact that Leivo has non-waiver options makes a decision on his status much easier. The fact that Fehr and Moore and must be waived to be sent to the Marlies, meanwhile, helped solidify their place on the NHL roster for the opening of the season.
“Fehr and Moore, they know the league, and that’s what we decided to do,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.
“If a move is needed, we’ll make it. I don’t know if it’s a platoon (with Fehr and Moore) or what. . . . We’ll sit back and watch them play for now.”
The players on the bubble might have their fortunes decided by waivers and options.
That’s the reason why young play- ers with options such as Miro Aaltonen, Nikita Soshnikov and Kasperi Kapanen were sent to the AHL Marlies.
“We expect (Aaltonen) to play in the NHL,” Babcock said.
The same reasoning was behind the decision to place promising young defenceman Travis Dermott back with the Marlies.
“He’s a real good player,” Babcock said. “He’ll start down there and work his way up.”
There were no other question marks or surprises in Monday’s moves, which also included the following players being sent to the Marlies: Frederik Gauthier, Justin Holl, Andreas Johnsson, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Tobias Lindberg, Mason Marchment, Trevor Moore, Andrew Nielsen, Michael Paliotta, Dmytro Timashov and Rinat Valiev.
Veteran centre Colin Greening was one of a half-dozen players placed on waivers — they’ll likely be assigned to the Marlies if they are not claimed. The others were Vincent LoVerde, Chris Mueller, Kerby Rychel, Ben Smith and Garret Sparks.
Meanwhile, Carl Grundstrom was reassigned to Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League, largely due to a stipulation in his contract that guarantees European players not selected in the first round will be returned to their clubs if they do not make the NHL roster.
After making the cuts, Lamoriello and Babcock pointed out that some decisions remain before Tuesday’s roster deadline, and that the roster will continue to take shape as the season progresses.
For instance, Moore or Fehr will likely centre a fourth line with wingers Matt Martin and Connor Brown.
Babcock added that Brown, who had an impressive rookie season last year, isn’t likely to stay on that fourth line all season long.
“We’ll play him on (the power-play and penalty-killing units), and I don’t think he expects he’ll stay there (fourth line),” Babcock said of Brown.