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Polak signed to PTO, Leafs confirm captaincy will be vacant |
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The Toronto Maple Leafs opened training camp at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, ON with a 73 player (41 forwards, 26 defensemen and six goaltenders) roster and one of those players was veteran free agent blueliner Roman Polak.
Polak agreed to a professional tryout contract on Thursday and has fully recovered from the broken leg that ended his season in Game 2 of the Leafs first round series vs Washington five months ago.
“(Roman) is an unbelievable man. He played real well for us (last season) and it was a big blow when we lost him, just because of our penalty kill alone and his physical presence.” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “He did everything right for us since I’ve been here. He needs this opportunity and we’re happy to have him here.”
The 31-year-old blueliner had 11 points (four goals and seven assists) in 75 games with Toronto last season and could have a good chance at earning a contract if he has not lost any speed after the injury.
“Roman has gone through some tremendous rehab, he’s just a great human being and a competitor.” GM Lou Lamoriello said. “He’s ready (to return) and he understands the situation and we’re delighted to have him here, (but) no promises, we’ll just wait and see what transpires during training camp.
With the departure of defenseman Alexei Marchenko to the KHL and the likely return of winger Carl Grundstrom to Frolunda of the SHL after training camp, the Leafs have two vacant spots under the 50-man pro contract limit and the cap space to re-sign Polak if they think that the group of rookie defensemen in camp (Travis Dermott, Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen, Andrew Nielsen and Timothy Liljegren) are not fully ready to take on a spot in the top six.
In other news on Day 1 of camp, Babcock and Lamoriello confirmed that the club will not have a team captain this season, after some speculation during the summer that Calder Trophy winner Auston Matthews would be named.
“It’s not time. When it’s the right time, they’ll be a captain. If it was the right time, there would be a captain.” Lamoriello said. “Right now, where we are as a team, and the number of leaders we have in the room, we don’t think it’s necessary.”
The 75-year-old GM also deflected questions regarding his status with the club. Lamoriello is entering the final year of his three-year contract and Toronto has two assistants in Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas who are thought of as potential replacements, but the Hall-of-Famer has not shown any signs of slowing down and appears invigorated by the success of his young club.
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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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