Ritchie’s status is complicated
Re-acquisition of Brooks makes quick return to NHL less likely
Nick Ritchie was clearly uncomfortable and unhappy answering questions about his new life as a Toronto Marlie.
“It’s hockey, so it is what it is, and it’s just nice to get out and play,” said Ritchie, who scored in his Marlies debut on Wednesday.
“They’ve got some good guys here and good coaching staff, so it’s good that way.”
The words were fine, but the body language said otherwise as he was asked what he thought went wrong with him and the Maple Leafs. “There’s a number of things. Probably won’t have enough time to get into that.”
His answers were short. The shortest being a simple “no” when asked if he was looking for a fresh start with another NHL team. He answered as he walked away.
And he shouldn’t be happy. This is not how he mapped out the next step in his career when he signed a two-year, $2.5-million (U.S.) contract to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. The once highly-touted first-round pick from Orangeville was getting his chance with his hometown team, who’d courted him and considered him their prized free agent signing of the summer, a cheaper version of Zach Hyman with more offensive upside.
It’s another hometown product — Scarborough’s Michael Bunting — getting the shifts with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner while Ritchie failed to fulfill the promise of his considerable size and talent on any line with the Maple Leafs. Ritchie had two goals in 33 games with the Leafs.
And now his journey back to the NHL could become more complicated pending the fate of Adam Brooks, who is clearly a Sheldon Keefe favourite. The Maple Leafs re-acquired Brooks off waivers on Wednesday and put him right back on waivers on Thursday, hoping he clears, so he can be sent to the minors until called upon in the playoffs.
Buying out Ritchie is unlikely, since the cap savings are negligible. Finding a trade partner is the more likely route, with Calgary and Anaheim said to be interested, though the Leafs might need to throw in a sweetener, like a prospect or draft pick and/or retaining some of Ritchie’s salary.
In one light, keeping the underachieving Ritchie around for the first half of the season has come with more costs than just the salary cap space he consumes. Not only did the Leafs initially lose Brooks to waivers (he went to Montreal, then to Vegas) because there was no room on the Leaf roster, but they also lost Michael Amadio to waivers (he went to Vegas and signed an extension) and then allowed Kirill Semyonov to return to Russia (he’s on Russia’s Olympic team at the moment).
All three centres would have given Keefe more roster flexibility, but the investment in Ritchie was too high to give up on him too soon.
Now with the trade deadline (March 21) a bit more than a month away, the Leafs are desperate to find a taker for Ritchie and a home for Brooks.
“We didn’t want to lose him (Brooks) initially and to have this chance to bring him back is intriguing, especially when you look at what we’ve gone through for this season, particularly with our centre-ice depth,” said Keefe, citing the losses of Brooks, Amadio and Semyonov. “Our management team believes in Brooks. I do as well. He played some really good hockey for us last season. I’ve coached him for a long time.”
The Leafs drafted Brooks in 2016 and developed him through the Marlies. He has played a handful of games for the Leafs the past few seasons and with the Canadiens and Golden Knights this season. The Knights put him on waivers because they needed to create salary cap space for Jack Eichel’s return. But Brooks has an injury of some sort as well. The Knights didn’t say publicly what it was, and Keefe said he’s not aware of the nature of the injury. It might be enough to scare off other teams from putting in a waiver claim.
The Leafs sent defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the Marlies to create the salary cap room for Brooks for one day. It appears to have been a paper move. Liljegren did not appear on the Marlies official roster on the AHL website, nor did he appear at Marlies practice.
Though Ritchie’s body language and terse responses suggested he wasn’t happy being put in this spot, his first game with the Marlies and his attitude around the team suggests he really does just want to play hockey.
“He’s a mature guy who handles himself very well behind our doors and on the ice and in the game,” said Marlies coach Greg Moore. “He’s handled himself very well and he’s worked hard and he’s been a great teammate to the group. We’ve benefited from his presence and his experience. He’s been great to us.
“He got his game going last night. He contributed offensively. It was a full team effort. He added in a lot of ways. So I think he’s doing the right things by coming here, having the right mindset and working on his game.”
We didn’t want to lose (Brooks) initially and to have this chance to bring him back is intriguing, especially when you look at what we’ve gone through for this season, particularly with our centre-ice depth.
LEAFS COACH SHELDON KEEFE