3 Toronto Maple Leafs who will surprise during Training Camp
Which Maple Leafs player will turn heads in the preseason?
As the NHL preseason is now currently in full flight, the Toronto Maple Leafs have their eyes once again firmly set to compete for the Stanley Cup this upcoming season.
During the past offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs were key players in the free agent market, picking up some big names such as Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to boost their lineup.
On top of that, they made important changes to management, including bringing in Cup-winning head coach Craig Berube to help bolster their chances at winning. Adding all that to a returning cast of players, the Leafs hope that their newly formed core will bring greater success heading into the 2024-25 season.
In the midst of all the happenings, the Maple Leafs will also be looking for some possible standouts during training camp. That way, they could ultimately provide a surprising boost to the lineup and potentially become key contributors to the team over the course of the season.
3 Toronto Maple Leafs who will surprise during the preseason
So which players could become the surprises in this year’s version for the Leafs? Let’s take a look at three candidates that will turn some eyes in training camp and become unexpected difference makers for the team going forward.
Max Pacioretty
Max Pacioretty was signed to a professional tryout by the Leafs just recently in their search for some viable candidates to help fill their left wing position heading into the season. Adding Pacioretty seemed like a no-brainer for the club as after all, he was a former 30+ goal scorer and 60+ point-getter and had actually accomplished it five times during his NHL career.
For a Leafs team that had lacked some crucial secondary scoring last season, Pacioretty could provide a big boost in that category. However, having been hit with major injuries the past couple of seasons that saw him miss a significant amount of games, it has affected his overall play to some extent, as he has recorded just 7 goals and 26 points during the past two seasons.
But if Pacioretty can somehow revert to his prior dominant offensive form, the Leafs could hit the jackpot with this PTO. So far, he has impressed during his first preseason game, recording two goals and one assist with six shots on goal playing alongside John Tavares.
Look for Pacioretty to keep working hard and surprise everyone by continuing to be productive throughout training camp and officially earn a permanent spot with the Leafs heading into Opening Night.
The downside here is that he's going to get a longer look from the coach than the team's more important young players. The Leafs can't seem to help themselves from blocking out their young player's development.
Anthony Stolarz
One of the Toronto Maple Leafs under-the-radar signings this past offseason was the inking of goalie Anthony Stolarz to work in tandem with Joseph Woll for this coming year. As a seven-year veteran in the NHL, Stolarz has served mainly in a backup role with many teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and most recently the Florida Panthers.
Despite his limited playing time, having never played more than 28 games in a season and 108 total games in the NHL, Stolarz has fared quite well in the role, having posted a solid 43-31-9 record with a 2.68 GAA and .915 save percentage for his career.
More importantly, he is coming off his best season of his career with the Panthers last season, going 16-7-2 with a stellar 2.03 GAA and .925 save percentage in helping Florida to their first ever Stanley Cup win.
In addition, Stolarz has been relatively healthy for his career, with just one major physical injury since 2018. He has never been really given a chance to have a run in net to be a potential starter. But with both Woll and Matt Murray having their fair share of injuries the past couple of seasons, there is a high possibility Stolarz could be thrusted into a starting role over the course of the season.
However, he won’t need to wait for that if he manages to put up the same stellar numbers he has done throughout his career during training camp. With both Woll and Murray off to a sub-par start in the first preseason game, it has open the door for Stolarz to take the net and run with it,
Jani Hakanpaa
Because of the uncertainty of his recovery from his knee injury during the offseason, the signing of Jani Hakanpaa wasn’t made official until just recently by the Maple Leafs.
As a hulking six-foot seven, 222-pound defenseman, it gives the Leafs a huge, big-bodied player in the back end that they haven’t seen in ages. Hakanpaa won’t be stuffing the offensive stats sheet. After all, he has recorded only 15 goals and 45 points in 288 games in his NHL career.
However, as a traditional defensive defenseman, Hakanpaa has the ability to average over 100 blocks, 200 hits and 18 minutes of ice time over a full season. As a result, he ultimately can provide tremendous value at the defensive end of the ice. Not only can he help clear out bodies from the front of the net, he is also strong in his positioning to help keep pucks out of the net as well. (All stats from hockeydb.com and hockey-reference.com).
Why did the Leafs need him when they already have absolute monsters Phillipe Myers and Cade Weber competing for jobs? Both of whom are younger, cheaper and healthier?
Reports currently show that Hakanpaa's recovery from his knee injury is going well and that he could be joining the Leafs for practice hopefully some time later this week.
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Even though the Leafs defensive corps appear to be already set with Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit and Timothy Liljegren as their projected starting six, as a proven smart and effective NHL veteran in the past, look for Hakanpaa to impress enough in preseason to challenge for a starting spot in the Leafs lineup.