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The Toronto Maple Leafs have started to pare down their roster with less than two weeks to go before the regular season opener against the Montreal Canadiens. Recently signed prospect William Villeneuve was sent back to junior (St. John - QMJHL) on Thursday, and many who played in the Leafs 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators in Kanata, ON on Wednesday will also find themselves heading to the AHL Marlies camp.
The difficult decisions that will face GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe will be who to play alongside the top-six duos of Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner and John Tavares – William Nylander. Big winger Nick Ritchie appears to the choice to get the first look on the top line, and another new addition Michael Bunting is making a case to play with Tavares and Nylander after scoring a hat trick against the Sens.
"That's what he does. I've known (Michael) a really long time, and he gets himself into the scoring areas are great hands great sense around the net," Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. "He gets opportunities, he has the ability to score, he's as hungry as anybody to score. So for him to get off to this start in the preseason, is a tremendous sign for him and us."
The 26-year-old (dubbed "a greasy rat" by teammate Kurtis Gabriel) was signed as a free agent after scoring 10 goals in 21 games for Arizona last season, and scored all of his goals on the power play, and now leads Toronto with four goals in the pre-season.
David Kampf also scored for the Leafs, giving the mostly defensive-minded center two goals in the exhibition schedule. Keefe indicated that Kampf gives the club flexibility to play Alex Kerfoot on the wing if necessary, but that might not be what happens if Ritchie and Bunting are playing the left side on the top two lines.
Petr Mrazek was sharp in a 19-save shutout performance, and Josh Ho-Sang provided more ammunition for his bid for a contract, as the former Islanders first-rounder assisted on all three Bunting goals.
"For a guy like (Josh), he's got to come in here, he's got to get comfortable, which I think he's done a really good job of that." Keefe said. "A lot of that work was done before camp even began. Just the amount of time he spent in our facility, training, getting to know the guys and getting to know the staff in terms of strength coaches and trainers. So he's very comfortable. That's helped him get off to a good start. We've given them a good opportunity and played him with good players….that's helped. I think that he's in a really good spot right now."
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