10 Thoughts on Life and the Toronto Maple Leafs

Thought #3: What my ideal lineup would look like.

Just before we transition away from the roster conversation, let’s compare who would slot in where in my ideal lineup against what I actually believe will happen.

My ideal lineup:

Robertson – Matthews – Nylander

Hyman – Tavares – Marner

Kerfoot – Thornton – Mikheyev

Simmonds – Spezza – Barabanov

Rielly – Brodie

Muzzin – Holl

Lehtonen –Bogosian

Dermott

Andersen

Campbell

What I think will happen:

Hyman – Matthews – Nylander

Mikheyev – Tavares – Marner

Kerfoot – Thornton – Simmonds

Vesey – Spezza – Barabanov

Rielly – Brodie

Muzzin – Holl

Dermott – Lehtonen

Bogosian

Andersen

Campbell

In the end, it probably makes little sense to sit here debating who plays where at the end of October with still probably more than two months before the season starts again. And likewise, with such an uncertain season coming up, the Leafs lineup will most likely be changed 100 times before the playoffs begin again.

Thought #4: How are the Leafs loans doing in Europe.

Currently, Toronto has two key players on loans in the KHL, Mikko Lehtonen and Egor Korshkov, where both have been playing some of the best hockey of their careers. Lehtonen, as a defensemen, is back-boning Jokerit’s blueline, and sits 10th league-wide in points, with 8 goals and 16 points in 14 games.

Korshkov, a 6”4, 214 lbs winger, has really found his scoring touch in Russia. Leading Lokomotiv with 12 points in 16 games this season, Korshkov looks like he is finally panning out to be the big, power-forward, scoring winger Toronto would enjoy.

While Lehtonen will surely be able to make an impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster this season, Korshkov will probably have to really impress in camp if he wants to factor into the Leafs bottom six mix, but even then, the experience he is gaining currently leading his team and playing a huge factor in their success may prove too valuable to pry him away from Russia.

Thought #5: Ilya Mikheyev took less money.

According to his agent, Dan Milstein, Mikheyev and Kyle Dubas had already agreed on a previously higher cap hit than the one he signed of $1.645 million. The reason for the winger’s concession was he wanted to help the organization be able to fit under the salary cap ceiling when the 2020-21 season starts and not force the Leafs to have to trade out anyone else in the process.

Therein lies the reason why Kyle Dubas can afford to pay four players such a large sum of their available cap space. Finding players who are willing to play for less who can also contribute to the teams’ success in a higher capacity than their cap hit would suggest has been the mantra of the Dubas Era. Having inked depth players such as Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Spezza on below-market value contracts has allowed the Leafs to maintain their “studs and duds” approach.

Immediately following the Mikheyev signing, naysayers argued the “pay-cut” was a publicity stunt pulled off by his agent to appeal to the fanbase and improve the Russian winger’s standing among Leaf fans. They suggested Mikheyev never took a pay-cut and the $1.645 he agreed to was always going to be the value on his contract.

My question is how does this make any sense at all? There is no need for Mikheyev to pull off a show like this. He is already beloved by anyone who watches this team. Following his first career NHL game, after scoring his first career NHL goal, all Mikheyev wanted to talk about in his post-game presser was how he loves soup. Leafsnation instantly fell in love. His popularity grew even further when in a mid-season game against the Oilers, Mikheyev scored a goal from in tight, destroying the in-net camera, and later genuinely apologized for breaking it.

Thought #6: Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star.

A few days ago, Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star published an article titled “The Maple Leafs’ salary gap could divide the dressing room if the stars don’t earn their keep”. His premise was the difference in salary among Toronto’s star forwards in comparison to their depth players will cause a stir in the locker room.

Feschuk argues, once the Leafs “Big Four” take notice of Mikheyev’s contract, their reaction would negatively affect the locker room.  Do you really think a guy like John Tavares, the well-respected and adored captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, could have someone in the locker room dislike him? During the 2019 offseason, the Leafs were faced with a lot of roster turnover and it was Tavares, before the captaincy, who was the one to welcome all the new faces. Tavares texted Alex Kerfoot immediately following the trade and organized a dinner with him and Tyson Barrie soon after the former Avs landed in Toronto.

Someone who goes out of his way to take care of his teammates in such a sincere and compassionate manner I find it hard to believe would have some of his players hating him. Similarly, Mitch Marner has proven to be the happy-go-lucky, positive attitude this team has needed several times over the last couple of seasons.

Remember, when Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas were preparing to deliver the inevitable news coach Mike Babcock had been fired, they were on a road trip with the injured Marner remaining in Toronto to rehab his high-ankle sprain. The team felt his presence should be felt around the locker room with such apprehensive news on the way, so MLSE flew the assistant captain out to Arizona so he could be the motivating and upbeat spirit the Leafs needed at the time.

I find it really hard to believe you will find someone in the Leafs locker room with negative things to say about the Leafs captain or alternate captain.

Thought #7: The Leafs “grit” additions are not going to drastically change their play.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen Kyle Dubas bring in grittier players, mostly in the form of Wayne Simmonds and Zach Bogosian. While I am a massive fan of both signings and believe both will make positive contributions on and off the ice, I want to warn fans to temper their expectations.

This team will ride and die on the backs of their big stars and are not going to suddenly change their playstyle due to two new additions. In terms of “grit”, this Toronto Maple Leafs roster will largely resemble that of last year’s team. Simmonds will be replacing the departed Kyle Clifford and although Bogosian brings a lot to the table that I like, he is unlikely to play every game.

So how much can you count on the Leafs style to change from adding a bottom-six winger and a 6th or 7th defensemen? I argue not a whole lot from their on-ice play, but off-ice is where you will see the Leafs reap the rewards.

Keefe mentions how he wants to make the current Leafs “harder to play against” regardless of the additions in free agency. This remains the point Leaf fans should be focusing on. Simmonds and Bogosian will surely play their role in transforming this team, but this team will not become harder to play against without the buy-in from the top-down, starting with the “Big Four”.

Another wrinkle not getting enough attention is countless times on the broadcast, on-ice reporter Ray Ferraro would mention how the Leafs bench did not look “lively” and when they were down, no one stepped up to rally the bench. I would bet the complete opposite will happen in 2020-21.

How could you possibly have a quiet bench with the voices of ‘Jumbo’ Joe Thornton, Simmonds, and Bogosian joining this roster? The Toronto Maple Leafs bench will definitely look a lot livelier and louder come 2020-21.

Thought #8: Healthy competition with so much depth.

For as long as I can remember, the Toronto Maple Leafs have never been this deep at all three positions. I believe one thing that has been missing from previous training camps may have been the healthy competition that comes with deep franchises.

Take this Travis Dermott quote for example:

While what the newly resigned defensemen is saying applies to every aspect of this roster, the sentiment remains the same: players are going to challenge themselves and challenge each other to be the best Maple Leaf they can be because they know if they do not perform, there are two or three guys behind them, working their ass off, itching to get into the lineup.

I expect most, if not all, players who do not have a guaranteed spot in Keefe’s lineup to come motivated and determined to camp, looking to take a strangle-hold on their position. Couple this with the fact Dermott signed a one-year, prove-it deal, and he is atop my list of players to watch for in training camp.

Thought #9: Stop saying this is Brendan Shanahan’s offseason!

The lamest thing I’ve seen on Twitter this offseason is the idea that Brendan Shanahan, who himself often played the hard-nosed style of hockey the Leafs are criticized for lacking, is finally stepping in for the first time as Leafs president and is really the one orchestrating the signings of the grittier Simmonds and Bogosian.

This is obviously a situation where people don’t like one guy (Dubas) so when he does something they can’t complain about, they have to find a reason to justify it to themselves.

People are leaning into this belief Kyle Dubas only builds his team in the mold of speed and soft skill. However, if you look at how he has modeled his teams dating back to his days as Marlies GM but especially as GM of the Soo Greyhounds, both franchises played the hard-nosed, hard to play against style he wants his current team to play.

Dubas outright believes a team should have a high compete level night in and night out, in addition to having the high-end skill Toronto has. It seems people are unable to give Dubas credit when it is due.  The Leafs have added both Muzzin and Clifford prior to this offseason, and the Leafs GM is on record many times saying he seeks players who can be gritty and play, but that those players are rare and hard to find.

It is abundantly clear Dubas has always envisioned his team being built how the 2020-21 Leafs will be built and no matter what happened in the 2020 playoffs, he was always working towards making his roster look a little different.

Thought #10: One last thought 

During the NHL’s pause, I wrote about five areas where I would like to see Toronto Maple Leafs players improve upon. Recently, I wanted to revaluate and establish a new five areas where I would like to see improvement, but with such heavy roster turnover, I decided to hold off until I see what the 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs look like in game action.

So with that on hold for now, here is a little sneak peek at one of my five: Auston Matthews’ one-timer/slapshot.

Could you imagine Matthews with an Ovechkin-esque one-timer? He is already one of, if not the, best goal scorer in the league with the deadliest wrist shot in the league. The terror the Leafs superstar could wreck on opposing teams’ defense would be breathtaking to watch play out.

A player already with that resume, at only 23 years old, who is only improving – oh boy. We have seen Matthews take drastic steps in creating a potent one-timer/slap shot. In comparison to 2018-19, in roughly the same amount of games (68 vs. 70), Matthews increased his number of slap shots from 11 to 43 this past season (stats; NHL.com).

Will Matthews take an even bigger step in 2020-21? Only time will tell but it is certainly fun to fantasize about just how good Matthews and the Leafs alike will be if he can add to his already spectacular repertoire.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs offseason pretty much over, we can shift our focus and look forward to next season. And that just about wraps up this week’s edition!