Many questions for the Toronto Maple Leafs have to be answered before the season opener one month from today. How many rookies will Mike Babcock choose to keep on the roster? Will Joffrey Lupul get a chance to make the club or mysteriously disappear as Stephane Robidas did at the end of training camp last year?
With the franchise go without a team captain after trading Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa last February or will they name someone for the Leafs centennial season?
Team President Brendan Shanahan did not rule out the possibility of someone being named before the start of the regular season, but with the influx of youngsters and Toronto in the midst of a roster transition, there are not many realistic candidates.
“It’s something we’ll probably get together on — Lou(Lamoriello), myself, Mike Babcock — and talk about a little bit more when we get closer to camp,” Shanahan said to the
Sun’s Lance Hornby last month.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly has leadership abilities, but may be too young at 22 years old to take on that responsibility, but there have been some speculation that veteran Brooks Laich could be an option.
The 33-year-old forward is respected in the locker room, handles the media well (as was apparent after being acquired from Washington before the trade deadline last February) and has thought about being in a leadership role for the Blue and White, but has not been approached about taking on the role with the young Leafs.
"I used to write school papers on being captain of the Leafs,”
Laich said at the club’s annual golf tournament in Milton, ON. “but I've had no discussions on that (and have) not been approached."
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One of the more interesting stories of training camp may be whether veteran winger Brandon Prust can earn a professional contract with the Leafs, the team he idolized as a boy in London, ON.
“I always watched the Leafs growing up and always dreamed of playing for the Leafs and putting on the blue and white jersey.” Prust said to reporter
Dhiren Mahiban. “That’s one of the reasons I kind of chose Toronto. I knew my heart would be in it and it would definitely bring that passion out in me.”
The 32-year-old winger is known for his work ethic and toughness and put together five straight seasons of over 100 penalty minutes in New York and Montreal, but injury concerns and skating ability plagued Prust in Vancouver, who waived and sent him to the American Hockey League after scoring one goal in 35 games.
The veteran has been working with Leafs skating instructor Barb Underhill in hopes of being able to improve enough to possibly make the club and play on the club’s fourth line.
“It’s just little tweaks in little things that, if you can make natural, if you can practice enough, you can think about it you can change some things.
Prust said. “Obviously (I’m) not going to turn myself into the fastest guy in the week, but little things to get me to the puck quicker, little things that can make me move better laterally – they’re going to help me in the long run.”
The factor in Prust’s favor is head coach Mike Babcock’s emphasis that his club needed to play with more toughness at the end of last season. Toronto only added forward Matt Martin and acquired winger Kerby Rychel from Columbus to address those needs.
Toronto only has two spots under the NHL 50-player professional contract limit and signing Prust would take up one, as well as taking up space on the NHL roster that could go to a young forward such as the feisty Rychel or the more skilled Connor Brown.
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