NASHVILLE – On the weekend by which the enterprise of hockey supersedes the motion on the ice, the Toronto Maple Leafs have stood idle (thus far) whereas the arms race throughout them reached a fever pitch.
And a daunting harm could have added to the strain on basic supervisor Kyle Dubas so as to add.
Previous to Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Predators in Nashville, Maple Leafs gamers had been discussing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s aggressive acquisition of younger 21-goal scorer Brandon Hagel out of Chicago.
Within the hours between morning skate and puck drop, the Florida Panthers — already probably the most explosive offence within the league — added the deadline’s crown offensive jewel: the Cup-chasing, 1,000-game-playing Claude Giroux, who handpicked his sunny touchdown spot. (Invoice “All In” Zito is on a first-round-pick spending spree, having acquired the coveted Ben Chiarot out of Montreal on Wednesday.)
In the meantime, the hard-charging Boston Bruins paid a king’s ransom (a primary, a second, a fourth, plus two gamers) to Anaheim for Hampus Lindholm, one of the best defenceman the rental market needed to provide.
As a lot because the Leafs gamers don’t see the purpose in obsessing over parts past their management, the Atlantic’s rush of imported expertise is not possible to disregard.
“They’re loading up, and so they’ve obtained some good gamers for positive,” Toronto’s Justin Holl stated. “Groups are going to go on to attempt to be one of the best workforce they are often.
“[Adding] is all the time good. However no matter what occurs, everybody’s simply kinda centered on what they will do on any given night time. That stuff is thus far out of out of our management, and we clearly have no enter in it.”
Mitch Marner considers the message a GM sends to his dressing room when he makes a big roster addition for the playoffs.
“It means he thinks of our workforce extremely,” Marner stated. “However on the similar time, we already consider our workforce extremely.”
Rightly so.
The Maple Leafs have probably the most environment friendly energy play within the sport, a top-five offence, and a vastly improved penalty kill. They’ve a Calder candidate in Michael Bunting and a Hart-slash-Rocket risk in Auston Matthews.
However their fragility on the blue line and within the blue paint has been uncovered over the previous two months, and sophisticated by weeks-long accidents to No. 1 goalie Jack Campbell (rib) and high shutdown defenceman Jake Muzzin (concussion).
Decrease on followers’ want listing was a top-six ahead. But an alarming harm to Ondrej Kase Saturday lower his purpose streak at three video games and should properly nudge Dubas to search out scoring assistance on the flanks.
As Predators ahead Matt Duchene rushed via the impartial zone with the puck on his blade within the second interval, a flat-footed Kase reached to get a bit of him, led along with his head and took a blow that spun him round and down. The collision didn’t seem malicious.
Disoriented, Kase scrambled towards the bench on his knees earlier than lastly attending to his ft and leaving the sport. Kase didn’t return, the Leafs introduced, resulting from precautionary causes, however his concussion historical past is of concern.
Dubas usually travels along with his workforce to highway video games however as an alternative despatched assistant GM Laurence Gilman to Tennessee whereas he hunkered down in a Toronto warfare room and labored the telephones.
The sticker shock on leases — by no means Dubas’s most well-liked goal — is jaw-dropping this 12 months, and we marvel how a lot final season’s aggressive however ill-fated leases of Nick Foligno and David Rittich have left the GM reluctant to dive into such high-stakes bidding.
To various levels, Dubas at the least explored buying and selling for Lindholm, Chiarot, Giroux, in addition to Josh Manson.
Darren Dreger reported that Dubas thought of a package deal cope with the Blackhawks to herald Hagel and Vezina-winning goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury however balked at a steep worth that might necessitate parting with blue-chip prospect Matthew Knies along with first-round picks.
Typically one of the best strikes are those you don’t make, they are saying.
And let’s not neglect: Dubas did get a leap in the marketplace by buying right-shot defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin from Arizona final month in a salary-dump deal. Lyubushkin is now taking part in alongside Morgan Rielly within the Leafs’ high pairing.
Toronto-born Mark Giordano stays a goal for the Maple Leafs. Ditto Jacob Middleton in San Jose. Will the asking costs come down? Will Dubas pay anyway?
The anticipation thickens.
“The place our workforce is at, I feel it is overstated,” coach Sheldon Keefe counters. “I do not see any type of rigidity or anxiousness and even dialogue about it. It is simply our guys going about their enterprise and give attention to every day. I do not assume it is a issue right here in any respect.”
Solely time will inform how nice an element will probably be.
Fox’s Quick 5
• Potential commerce chip Travis Dermott drew again into the lineup after three wholesome scratches. Factor is, he was scratched after what his coach termed his finest stretch of hockey all season. However Keefe had wished to present the Rasmus Sandin–Timothy Liljegren pair some solar.
“I feel it has been laborious, clearly,” Holl stated of Dermott’s incapability to stay. “He is dealt with it rather well. However I do know from expertise, it’s not enjoyable being out of the lineup. He is a extremely good hockey participant, so he clearly desires to play each night time.”
Provides Marner: “He is accomplished an important job of simply form of staying the identical man via it. He is an important man to have round along with his perspective.”
Regardless of being requested each Friday and Saturday, the Maple Leafs didn’t make Dermott accessible to reporters.
• Keefe on John Tavares tilting the ice and placing up three even-strength factors throughout his two-game rip as top-line centre with wingers Marner and Michael Bunting: “Perhaps one thing we are able to go to down the road.”
• The Leafs made positive to get Wayne Simmonds within the lineup for his 1,000th sport, the ceremony afterward and the Heritage Traditional. Since then, nonetheless, the proud veteran has been scratched for 3 video games straight.
Judging by how the previous Predator felt about his solely different benching this season — Nov. 13 on a back-to-back in Buffalo — we can not think about this example sitting properly.
“First time for me in 14 years I’ve been wholesome scratched within the common season, so it’s a little bit little bit of a tricky tablet to swallow,” Simmonds reacted in November. “If it’s as much as me, I’m taking part in each night time.”
• Wild stat: Solely six NHL defencemen have ever reached the 70-point mark in fewer video games than Roman Josi (72 factors in 59 video games performed): Bobby Orr, Dennis Potvin, Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch, Phil Housley and Al MacInnis.
Josi is the quickest D-man to perform the feat since 1992.
“He is a really distinctive and particular defenceman when it comes to what he provides offensively,” Keefe says. “As harmful as anyone within the league.”
• Random sighting in downtown Nashville: Me and George St-Pierre have been consuming at Shake Shack on the similar time. Can solely assume he obtained a double.
