Toronto Maple Leafs: Marlies Notebook – Roster Shuffling

What a week for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Welcome to year two of Toronto Marlies Notebook! If you’re new here, allow me to fill you in.

Marlies Notebook is a year-long series I embark upon while working the Toronto Marlies beat, providing you with a deep dive into all the various happenings around the team, as well as the individuals who play for it.

Published on a weekly basis, Marlies Notebook won’t be the only piece from my Marlies coverage, as separate pieces will supplement it, but it’s nonetheless an overview of the week that was before peering into what could be.

Boy, does it ever feel good to be back. So, without further adieu, let’s get to it.

Sam Gagner is a Marlie

Didn’t see this one coming.

As the waiver wire claimed its final round of victims on Monday morning, Canucks centre, Sam Gagner, made a somewhat surprising appearance amongst the expected casualties.

Sure, Gagner had slogged through his own lacklustre 2017-18 campaign, a disappointing regression from his breakthrough in Columbus the season prior, but few expected the Canucks to cut bait on him so soon, just a year removed from inking the 29-year-old centre to a 3-year, $3.15 million AAV contract.

Alas, Jim Benning had apparently seen enough, and so here we are. Sam Gagner is a Marlie.

Which begs the question; how did he end up here?

Well, Gagner is a local boy, hailing from Oakville, Ontario, who recently laid familial roots down in the area with his wife and two young sons. An unexpected relocation is far from ideal for any young family to grapple with, let alone when the expected landing spot is a potentially temporary one in Utica, so the Canucks opted to do Gagner a favour.

They sent him home.

The decision to loan Gagner over to the Marlies stands to absolutely be the most positive outcome of a wholly negative situation. Not only will Gagner remain closer to his family than ever before, he’ll enter an environment conducive to the rehabilitation of his stalling career, surrounded by a cutting-edge development staff and contending-calibre roster.

It’s a win-win. Or, at the very least, the closest a scenario can get to one when both parties fall on the losing end. When the dust settles, Vancouver still has the option for future use of Gagner by retaining his recall rights, while Gagner ultimately heads to where his services will be of value.

It’s an example of compassion, one rarely seen from a largely heartless business.

Shifting onto the ice now, it’s the Marlies who undoubtedly emerge as the real winners here.

On loan, Gagner will be joining a team with a specific reputation, one built through repeatedly acquiring misfit toys and deploying them in the manner best suited to their individual talents. And make no mistake, Gagner still has talent.

As detailed in this phenomenal and informative piece by The Athletic’s J.D. Burke, the Canucks – and stop me if you’ve heard this one – failed to use Gagner correctly. Shocker.

The bulk of Gagner’s production from his resurgent year as a Blue Jacket, according to Burke, came on the man advantage, specifically via his role along the half wall which allowed Gagner to truly maximize his unique playmaking ability. Not to mention, the Blue Jackets had further resigned themselves to the reality of Gagner’s usage reaching the point where it necessitates sheltered minutes, and his time under John Tortorella symbolizes that to its arguably most effective extent.

Only, here’s the difference. Blessed with a cavernously deep roster, Columbus could afford to shelter Gagner. Vancouver could not.

Want to guess whose roster is also pretty deep? That would be the Marlies’, and I’d bet money on Sheldon Keefe currently salivating over the vast possibilities of where he could slot Gagner in lying before him.

Strictly at the AHL level, Gagner’s arrival leaves a heavy impact in its own right, elevating the Marlies’ centre depth from merely suitable to unquestionably elite. Alternative options down the middle lie in Adam Cracknell, Chris Mueller, Adam Brooks, and Josh Jooris, and even when factoring in Frederick Gauthier‘s inevitable demotion once William Nylander signs, it gives Keefe 5 different pivots with varying degrees of NHL experience to use at his disposal.

Brooks, expected to take a noticeable leap in his sophomore year, can now be eased into a featured role, while a host of veterans will be allotted maintenance days in an attempt to stave off the wear and tear of a full season.

There’s essentially no downside to this move from a team perspective. Even Gagner himself stands to benefit from a showcase stint for the AHL’s most heavily covered franchise.

PTO’s

Unlike its parent league above, the AHL opts not to enforce a strict roster limit, instead allowing teams to carry as many players as they want so long as they adhere to the rules limiting the use of veterans.

This is of particular note for the Marlies.

Wrapping up the preseason with a host of players still on their training camp PTO’s, the lack of a capped roster essentially negates the Marlies’ need for any to be let go. In fact, there are a collection of notable names on the bubble, names who could offer value down the line.

Take Ryan Sproul, for example.

The 26-year-old right-shooting D has logged separate stints with the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively, attending Flames training camp this year on an NHL tryout before ultimately walking once Calgary began to whittle down its final roster.

Sproul’s connection to the Soo, namely to Keefe and Kyle Dubas who he spent his entire junior career playing under, saved him from opening the 2018-19 season unemployed.

“I was sitting home with nothing,” explained Sproul, following the Marlies’ 5-4 preseason loss to the Syracuse Crunch.

“Got the call two or three days ago to join the Marlies. I live just up the road in Whitby, so I decided to come here and see what I can do.” 

The addition of Sproul carries with it the potential to leave a far greater impact than his last second PTO suggests. With Justin Holl and Martin Marincin both surviving the final round of Leafs cuts on Monday, the Marlies’ formerly untouchable blueline depth took somewhat of a hit as a result, particularly on the right side.

Timothy Liljegren, Jordan Subban, and Vincent LoVerde are the current trio of options at the moment. And while they’re certainly a talented bunch, its nonetheless a risky group for the team to stake their blueline on, especially with Liljegren still developing, Subban a reclamation project, and LoVerde’s veteran status suiting him best for the occasional night off.

Behind those three is a bevvy of ECHL lifers headlined by Alex Gudbransson. Do you see my point?

Sproul even took the ice for the Marlies’ final preseason game on Tuesday, performing admirably for someone playing on a completely foreign defence pairing with no time to acclimate himself to the team’s systems. Rather than playing it safe, Sproul actually took some worthwhile risks, commendably attempting Liljgren-esque stretch passes while, for the most part, appearing positionally sound, save for an ugly goal against.

At the very least, Sproul gives the Marlies options, which is all anyone can really hope to glean from a PTO.

The New Goaltending Situation

Welcome to the Kasimir Kaskisuo Era, folks.

Yes, with Calvin Pickard and Curtis McElhinney riding out of town on the waiver wire, the 25-year-old now stands likely to split goaltending duties with veteran netminder Jeff Glass, who the Marlies signed earlier this morning. Funny how much can change in a day, isn’t it?

As serviceable as the Kaskisuo and Glass duo projects to be, they’re nevertheless a marked step down from last year’s formidable one-two punch of Pickard and Garret Sparks. Then again, who wouldn’t be?

It’s impossible to overstate just how important the two were. In fact, their lack of drop off between each other quickly became arguably the Marlies’ most valuable asset, handing them a luxury few AHL teams could even dare to match.

As you’re all aware of by now, Sparks put together a campaign so successful, it rocketed him into the role of Leafs’ backup despite a lacklustre preseason, while Pickard, in turn, followed him up with 33 games of a borderline .920 save percentage.

Take either of them away, and the Marlies don’t win the Calder Cup. No one-two punch? No dice.

Kaskisuo is an interesting case in his own right, as Pickard’s arrival last season forced the Marlies into loaning him over to the Chicago Wolves as a means of finding him actual playing time. Certainly, Kaskisuo did the best he could considering the circumstances. His .914 save percentage in 28 games with the Wolves stood well above the AHL’s average, while the Marlies sought to bypass the distance gap by sending their former goaltending coach, Piero Greco, down to see Kaskisuo once a month, ensuring that his development wouldn’t stagnate.

In his first game wearing Marlies blue in over a calendar year, Kaskisuo clearly felt right at home.

https://twitter.com/davidnestico200/status/1047231546439204865

Glass, on the other hand, makes his own return, having spent a 2-game stint with the Marlies during the 2016-17 season. Stability, mind you, is the main selling point here. Glass enters now as a veteran, whose closet is filled with jerseys from the 11 different teams he’s suited up for since turning pro back in 2005.

Yeah, eleven.

Regardless of where Glass lands from year to year, he rarely, if ever, fails to deliver on his typical rap sheet; a mid .900’s save percentage, 25-40 starts, and a dependable presence. As a matter of fact, dependability is exactly what the Marlies need at the moment to steady their period of rapid turnover.

Few options on the market would be better suited to it than Glass.

Then again, all of this means nothing in the event Pickard or McElhinney hit waivers again and the Leafs opt to claim them, immediately sending them down to fill the role they’d otherwise been pencilled in all along to play.

Thanks for reading!

All stats courtesy of hockeydb.com & hockeyreference.com

All gifs & footage courtesy of Leafs Nation Network