New Maple Leafs winger David Booth is looking for a new beginning after three injury plagued seasons in Vancouver and hopes to play on the Leafs top two lines.
“I don’t really talk to management and say ‘oh, I need to play there or I want to play here’.” I think that is something you come into training camp and you earn that spot.” the recently signed Booth said to Sportsnet FAN 590’s Brady and Walker show Thursday. “That is a goal of mine to come in and earn that spot and I believe I can do it. It’s going to be tough, but I think that this creates a healthy team, where guys are competing and then once the season starts, you are ready to go.”
Booth scored nine goals and 10 assists in 66 games for Vancouver last season and signed a one-year, $1.1 Million deal with Toronto after Vancouver used their final compliance buyout to clear the 29-year-old forward’s $4.25 Million salary off the books.
“This past year I was struggling a little bit, got hurt in training camp and wasn’t able to(play) during the whole training camp.” Booth said. “After not playing a whole season…..only 12 games….and then starting a little behind, it just took me awhile with the speed of the game, but I thought I was playing really well at the end of the season.”
Booth’s speed and offensive tools would appear to be a better fit on the Leafs second line with Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri than David Clarkson, but the Detroit, MI native has missed 72 games with a variety of injuries and may not possess the durability to handle the increased minutes of a top-six role.
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It wouldn’t be a day in Leaf Land if someone was not discussing the possibility of a major NHL star coming to the center of the hockey universe.
The column by
Adam Proteau of the Hockey News> earlier this month regarding Markham, ON native Steven Stamkos emulating LeBron James and returning home when his contract expired in 2016 generated so much fervor that the superstar center had to address the speculation this week, which was trumpeted by the Lightning via the club’s Twitter feed.
“We’ll see what happens. It’s a couple years away,” Stamkos said to Stephen Whyno of Canadian Press on Wednesday. “Right now I’m focused on what I have to do to win in Tampa, and I think we’ve really established ourselves as a team that can compete in upcoming years. For me, that’s the important thing is getting a chance to win. It looks like we’re going to have that chance for a couple years.”
Stamkos stated that he is focusing on winning with Tampa Bay, who added free agents Brian Boyle, Evgeni Nabokov and Anton Stralman, traded for defenseman Jason Garrison and re-signed former New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan.
“We have a good thing going down in Tampa,” Stamkos said. “We have a great owner, we got a great GM in Steve Yzerman and we got a good young team. I want to win, and hopefully I can do it in Tampa.”
The speculation will not stop until Stamkos signs an extension with Tampa or goes to free agency in the summer of 2016, but his comments did not do anything but leave the door open and feed into the hope of Toronto fans that he could be a Leaf in a couple years.
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Craig Custance mentioned in his “Summer Trending” roundup
ESPN.com Wednesday that the Maple Leafs could be the front runner for Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock if he doesn’t re-sign in Detroit after the upcoming season.
The two-time Olympic gold-medal and Stanley Cup winning coach has been cryptic regarding his future in Detroit and might be open for a change in venue after spending nine years with the Wings, but any interest from Toronto would be conditional on head coach Randy Carlyle being out of the picture.
Carlyle agreed a two-year contract extension in May, following the dismissal of assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon, but his future as coach hangs in the balance depending on how successful the Leafs are after a late season swoon cost them a second straight trip to the playoffs.
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