The Toronto Maple Leafs play the L.A Kings tonight.
After a bad game against the Senators – but one in which they still almost managed to pull out a victory – the Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Los Angeles Kings tonight at the A.C.C.
The Kings have won four straight and seem to be revitalized under new coach John Stevens. The Kings are one of only three teams ahead of the Leafs so far this season. Tampa Bay and St. Louis are the others. The Kings, who have won two recent Stanley Cups (2012, 2015) have also missed the Playoffs two out of the last three years, despite putting up stats that say they are among the NHL’s best teams.
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Tonight represents a good test for the Leafs because unlike the Senators, the Kings are actually one of the teams the Leafs will need to beat in order to prove they are legit contenders.
The Kings are the only team in the NHL not to have lost a game in regulation so far.
Eric Fehr
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Eric Fehr on waivers. Fehr has to clear to go to the Marlies, and the Leafs are probably hoping that someone will take the contract off their hands after signing Roman Polak yesterday.
Fehr was in competition with Dominic Moore for the role of fourth line centre, and Moore has beat him fair and square. After playing four games each, Moore was a 53% player while Fehr was just 46%. Moore has two goals, Fehr zero.
Honestly, if they both kept playing those numbers would probably eventually even out as there doesn’t seem to be much to pick between them at this point. The Leafs could use an upgrade on either of them.
Calle Rosen
The @MapleLeafs announced today that the hockey club has loaned defenceman Calle Rosén to the @TorontoMarlies (AHL). #TMLtalk
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 23, 2017
You can count Calle Rosen among the nearly half-dozen players the Leafs have who are better than Roman Polak but who will sit because they signed him. Dermott, Marincin, Rosen, Neilson or Liljegren (not to mention Carrick and Borgman) are all superior to the newly signed defenseman, but the Leafs have not yet made Kyle Dubas their full-time general manager, so this what you get.
In four games, Calle Rosen actually led the Leafs with a 58% CF rating while he was on the ice. Definitely a small sample size, and he’s for sure not playing the toughest competition, but he is bordering on making the team dominant while on the ice.
I see no reason why he should be taken off the team, he definitely earned his spot. It’s a bit sad because not only does this make the Leafs a worse team, and with Martin continuing to play ahead of Leivo and Kapanen in the AHL as well, it sends a message that things other than performance dictate whether or not you get in the lineup.
Next: Should Leafs Aggressively Try to Improve?
Stats from naturalstattrick.com