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The End Of The Road, Vesey Wins Hobey Baker; Leafs Vs Devils

April 9, 2016, 1:47 PM ET [832 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Toronto Maple Leafs will come to the end of their 82-game odyssey in Newark on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, the franchise that Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello led for 27 seasons and selected Brendan Shanahan second overall in the 1987 NHL Draft.

The only consequence of the game for Toronto is determining whether they finish 29th or 30th in the NHL standings. Should the Leafs lose in regulation, they will have a 20% chance of winning the draft lottery and will be guaranteed to draft no lower than fourth overall.
If they win or earn a point in an overtime or shootout loss, Edmonton will win or earn a point in their season finale against Vancouver for Toronto to finish last.

The contest will be a battle of struggling goaltenders, as rookie Garret Sparks will be opposed by Cory Schnieder in the season finale. The 21-year-old Elmhurst, IL native has lost four games in a row and a .893 save percentage in 16 games.

Schnieder was making a strong case for a Vezina Trophy nomination until he suffered an MCL strain that kept him out of action for a month. The Devils tailed off after trading Lee Stempniak at the trade deadline and shutting down Mike Cammalleri, going 3-6-1 in the last 10 games, while the All-Star goalie has lost six straight starts.

2015 top pick Pavel Zacha will make his NHL debut on Saturday, in what could be the final game for Devils all-time scoring leader Patrik Elias. New Jersey will also insert recently signed NCAA products Miles Wood and Steven Santini into their lineup.

Wood is the son of former Leaf forward Randy Wood, who along with Santini were free to sign with New Jersey after Boston College was eliminated by Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four on Thursday.

Only one lineup change is expected for Toronto, as Leo Komarov returns after missing 12 games with a lower body injury. The feisty Finn skated with rookie William Nylander and veteran Michael Grabner at the morning skate.




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Harvard University’s Jimmy Vesey was named the 2016 winner of the Hobey Baker Award on Friday, but comments from the 22-year-old forward and father Jimmy Sr. (a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs) did not provide any clarification where he will sign when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in August.

''There are 29 teams I can look at, and I’ll find the best fit for me.’’ Vesey said to the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont .

Speculation following the decision to become a free agent hinted that the Boston Bruins and Maple Leafs were the leading contenders for his services, but Vesey Sr. indicated that he would counsel his son to not sign with his hometown team, but also said that his job as a scout for the Leafs would not impact on where his son plays.




The comments made by Vesey Sr. were offered as the opinion of a father and were worded carefully to avoid any appearance of tampering on the part of him as a surrogate for the Maple Leafs, but if the Crimson forward signs with Toronto, it is a distinct possibility that the Nashville Predators will file or use the threat of filing tampering charges.

Preds GM David Poile indicated that he will continue to try to get Vesey signed and will not trade his rights before August 15th, but it is highly possible with 20 picks at his disposal in the next two drafts, that Lamoriello will try to broker a deal for Vesey’s rights so that the Preds do not end up empty handed and to avoid the mess of a tampering charge.




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