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UPDATE: Leafs win Cowen's arbitration + Trade winds and Babcock chimes in

December 7, 2016, 10:34 AM ET [348 Comments]
Lucas Neilson
Blogger •Atlantic Division Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
UPDATE:

The Maple Leafs have won the arbitration hearing against Jared Cowen and will not have to worry about Cowen taking up a contract spot. The Leafs currently have 48 contracts and free up 650,000 in salary cap for the 2016/17 season but will take a 750,000 cap hit next season.

The arbitrator ruled there was no evidence Cowen was unfit when the Maple Leafs bought him out. Cowen never played a single game for the Leafs and another piece of the puzzle to the Phaneuf trade is out the door, good riddance!

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Looking at the standings in the Eastern Conference I am absolutely shocked that every single team is above .500 and the difference between first place and last place is a mere twelve points.

The Maple Leafs has a couple games in hand on most teams in the East and if all goes well they will continue to stay in the hunt. With Enroth being placed on waivers and Ramo being signed on a PTO, the picture becomes a bit clearer in Leafs Nation. Obviously Enroth wasn’t getting the job done and Babcock doesn’t want to burn out Andersen in his first year as a Maple Leaf.

There has been some chatter about the Leafs looking to trade one of their young forwards for some defensive help. Nylander? Kadri? Van Riemsdyk?

I’d not only be surprised, I’d be livid if the Leafs management decided to move any of these players. Now is not the time to panic or force the hand, the Leafs team must be looking at risk management as well as logic involved when making bold trades. The last thing we need is a Hall/Larsson type trade just as we start gaining traction. Making the playoffs this year is not important, what’s important is progressing forward game after game as a team and for the young guns to become comfortable at the NHL level with some success along the way. As the team gets a taste of winning, adding the proper pieces will eventually happen. Shanahan, Babcock and Lamoriello need to fully assess this new look Leafs roster for a good chunk of the season before making any rash decisions.

More than likely I can see the Leafs standing pat for majority of the season and as trade deadline nears they will likely sell off a player or two. Last year Lamoriello was quick out the gates making his moves before the frenzy begun as the deadline approached. Obviously we have quite a bit of hockey before this occurs, but that’s likely when the Leafs will make their move.

With the amount of salary dollars opening up after this season, Toronto will have plenty to throw around if they want to sign a quality free agent defenseman. My hope is they gun for someone they can slot into the first power-play and help out in the top four being responsible on the back end. Shattenkirk in the blue and white certainly tickles my fancy.

Patience is the key and with this ace management group I have faith they will continue the trend down the road they have been traveling; the path to glory.

Babcock has been quite vocal with the media this season when it comes to discussing his players and their abilities. He’s certainly not one to take any crap from the media-circus that takes place in Toronto and that’s just another thing you have to love about big Babs.

Babcock on Nylander:

“He’s played good for us, We’ve been playing him and getting him on the ice a fair bit. Willy is a guy who can generate offence for us. We’d like him to generate more at five on five, we think he can. We’re just trying to help him, just like all the other young guys, to get better.”

Obviously we’ve seen Nylander bounce around a bit as of late. Babcock wasn’t exactly thrilled with Nylander a few games back when Willy decided after pre-game skate that he wasn’t going to be able to play. Coach Babs would like to see his rookie be tougher and play through times like these, he gave him some razzing and had him playing on the fourth line but ultimately moved him back to where he belongs beside Matthews. Willy has been excellent on the power-play but it looks like the coaching staff would like to see more production when he’s playing even hockey (5 on 5).

Babcock on Gardiner:

“I just think he’s a way better player than he was a year ago. I don’t know if that is confidence, or just getting older, or just being solid without the puck, but Jake is a real important player for us. He generates offence and doesn’t spend a whole lot of time in his own zone. He can play against good players and he’s getting better defensively every day. We think he’s an important part of our team.”

Jake is one of those players who can impress me nine times out of ten that he touches the puck, but that one time he screws up is often an ugly one. At the end of the day, I agree with Babcock that Gardiner is playing much better this year, especially after the first ten games when the team settled down and Andersen took charge between the pipes.

Gardiner has done a great job at keeping the puck out of the Leafs zone, his skating and outlets have been quick and crisp. If Gardiner can continue to focus and reduce the bone-head plays he will certainly be quite the asset for the Leafs going forward. He really does help the Leafs create offense with his outlet abilities.

Babcock on Hyman:

I think Hyman’s an impressive player. He works every single day. I’ve been saying that all along. I think he’s good. I think if [Connor Brown] and him played on the power play they would have a lot more points, but we use them on the penalty kill. We think that’s important. They’re dominant penalty killers. They work hard every day. They’re part of the drive train of your team and will be for a long time.

Hyman is the type of player Babcock loves, so is Connor Brown for that matter. But Hyman has been an excellent penalty killer and grinder on the Matthews line, doing his best to get the puck on the stick of number 34. I’ve wondered myself if perhaps someone with a bit more offensive touch would be beneficial to Matthews, but the way this line has been playing (all rookies), I’m quite content and impressed with their production. How many of us really thought Babcock of all coaches would ice an all-rookie line, including our number one pick Auston Matthews? I know I sure didn’t, I figured he would have wanted Matthews to learn from a veteran.

It’s not always the top goal scorers who are important on a successful team in the NHL. As we’ve seen with the Oilers over the years, you need some grit with your talent to ensure success. Hyman and Brown both have the grit and determination to go with their talents. With the number of penalties and goals scored on the power play, we all know how vital it is to have quality penalty killers in today’s hockey era.

Let’s hope Hyman can keep digging as hard as he is, because Matthews’s goal total is climbing and like it or not Hyman’s work ethic is a part of that success.

Jared Cowen day: verdict to be determined...stay tuned!

Leafs will be taking on the Wild at home tonight, enjoy the game!

Thanks for reading.
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