The Toronto Marlies eerily mimicked the parent Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Western Conference Semi-Final, as the Grand Rapids Griffins rallied from a two goal third period deficit with three goals in the final 10 minutes to win 4-3 at Ricoh Coliseum on Tuesday and eliminate the Blue and White from playoff competition.
Carter Ashton and Paul Ranger gave Toronto a 2-0 first period lead and the teams exchanged goals in the middle frame, with Tomas Tatar cutting the lead to 2-1 and Will Acton re-establishing the two goal cushion just 37 seconds later.
Grand Rapids outshot the Marlies 31-18 in the game and began to turn the tide early in the third, as forward Triston Grant laid out Toronto’s Jerry D’Amigo with a center ice check. The Griffins tied the game with goals from Jan Mersak and Tatar within 28 seconds of each other and capped the comeback as Luke Glendening cashed in a Drew MacIntyre rebound with just over four minutes remaining in regulation time.
Marlies coach Dallas Eakins expressed pride in his team after the game, in the wake of a very challenging season dealing with wholesale roster turnover due to the NHL lockout and the lack of an ECHL affiliate.
“Our group has been through a ton, starting with the lockout and the way our team was structured then and once the lockout ended and how we had to battle every night to get points.” Eakins said
In spite of the loss of Nazem Kadri, Matt Frattin, Mark Fraser, Keith Aucoin, Leo Komarov, Ben Scrivens and Mike Kostka to the NHL for the entire second half of the year and the call-ups of Joe Colborne and Ryan Hamilton late in the season, Eakins was able to lead the Marlies to a 43-23-3-7 record and second straight North Division title.
Eakins believes there are some players on his roster that are on the cusp of challenging for an NHL job as soon as next season.
“I think everybody has taken a step forward and now the next guys to see what they are gonna do are the (Jerry)D’Amigo’s, Carter Ashton and Greg Scott.”
Whether Eakins will be in Toronto to coach these players is an open question, as he deflected a question about his future following the game.
“I’ve got contract time left and I haven’t really put much thought into anything.”
Eakins signed a three year contract extension with the Marlies last June, which included a clause that did not allow him to take an NHL job during the season, but with the season now complete, he is free to entertain any offers.
That contract stipulation and the abbreviated NHL season not being sufficient to convince NHL GM’s to make changes may be stumbling blocks to Eakins earning a head coaching job next season.
Buffalo and Tampa Bay changed bench bosses in season, replacing Lindy Ruff and Guy Boucher with internal candidates Ron Rolston and Jon Cooper, Colorado appears to be close to signing Hall of Famer Patrick Roy to replace the fired Joe Sacco and Dallas GM Jim Nill appears to be looking at former Thrashers and current assistant Curt Fraser or Texas coach Willie Desjardins for the job vacated by Glen Gulutzan.
Peter Laviolette, Claude Noel, Kevin Dineen and Mike Yeo appear to have dodged the bullet and the only jobs opportunities that could open up are Vancouver and New York, if each organization believe that change from Alain Vigneault or John Tortorella is necessary, but those jobs are more likely to go to an experienced coach like Ruff, rather than a first time coach like Eakins.
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Yahoo’s Dmitri Chesnokov reported comments from Leafs forward Leo Komarov on Tuesday made during the celebration of Dynamo Moscow’s KHL Championship that he has held contract talks about possibly returning to his former club.
“Won’t hide it, I’ve held negotiations with Dynamo, but I’m waiting for an offer from Toronto.”
The 26 year old Komarov was drafted by the Leafs 180th overall in 2006 and played four seasons with Dynamo before signing a one year, $1.2 Million deal with the Leafs in May, 2012. He split time between the Toronto Marlies and Dynamo during the NHL lockout, but played in 42 regular season games and 7 playoff games for the Leafs and was an impactful contributor as a penalty killer, checker and general irritant.
Translations of Komarov’s interview posted on
Pension Plan Puppets indicate that the Estonian born forward was engaging in playful banter with the Russian reporters.
“My contract with Toronto is over. There are negotiations about coming back to Dynamo. Maybe. Or I could go to Australia, I think there's a hockey league, too.”
In spite of Komarov’s offensive shortcomings, his relentless hitting and antagonism towards the opposition was a valuable commodity for the Leafs. If GM Dave Nonis responds with the security of a two or three year deal and a slight pay increase, then it is highly likely that the pesky forward will be back.
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