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The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but will face the challenge of not taking one of the league’s worst clubs lightly, as the Leafs take on the Chicago Blackhawks at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
"Anytime you lay an egg, you want to come back and have a good effort, but really our focus is 'more like Friday and less like Saturday'. " Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. We did a good job (in a 3-0 shutout against Columbus) on the road. It was disappointing to come back and have two periods like we did to let (the 4-3 loss on Saturday) get away from us after taking control of the game in the first period. Friday's recipe was pretty good and we (are looking to) get back to that."
The Hawks have the worst record in the Western Conference at 16-31-5 and appear ready to ship out a number of players before the NHL Trade Deadline, including three-time Cup winners Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (who is currently on injured reserve). Chicago was shutout 4-0 in Montreal on Tuesday with backup Jaxson Stauber in goal, so it is expected that Petr Mrazek (5-14-2, 3.95 GAA, .885 save %) will get the start against his former club.
The Leafs welcome back Auston Matthews, who missed three weeks and five games with a strained knee, who was held out of the optional morning skate on Wednesday after practicing with Michael Bunting and William Nylander on Tuesday, and will healthy scratch defenseman Justin Holl in favor of Conor Timmins after a subpar effort against the Jackets. Ilya Samsonov (18-6-2, 2.32 GAA, .917 save %) will get the start, who is 15-2-1 at home this season.
The club placed Wayne Simmonds on waivers on Tuesday and the veteran forward once again went unclaimed. The maneuver was done with just over two weeks before the trade deadline to give GM Kyle Dubas and Asst. GM Brandon Pridham more flexibility before March 3rd, allowing the Leafs to bury Simmonds $900,000 salary in the minors and potentially bring him back for the playoffs when the salary cap is not a factor.
Currently, it appears Toronto will have around $2 million in cap room to work with before the deadline, and if Dubas is looking to make a big move, it will necessitate a combination of salary retention and/or the Leafs moving out salary.
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Rumor Bulletin Board
Between now and the deadline, we will provide bullet-point updates on rumors involving the Leafs. TSN 1050 morning host Carlo Colaiacovo reported on Tuesday that Patrick Kane (who has a no-movement clause and last week sounded disappointed after New York dealt for Vladimir Tarasenko) would waive his NMC to go to the Rangers or Maple Leafs.
"Based on people I've talked to, if Patrick Kane were to accept a trade somewhere, the two teams on his list are the Rangers and the Leafs..."@carlocolaiacovo shared an interesting nugget on First Up this morning regarding Patrick Kane.
— TSN 1050 Toronto (@TSN1050Radio) February 14, 2023
Should the Leafs be interested in Kane? pic.twitter.com/MS2H1jKz7T
There are significant roadblocks to a Kane to Toronto deal, including the future Hall-of-famer’s $10.5 million salary, and decreased production due to a rumored hip injury. If Kane had a list of one and could force his way to a particular club (similar to Claude Giroux prior to his trade to Florida last March), it would lower the price tag that Kyle Davidson could demand for the 34-year-old, but that would still mean the Leafs would have to clear salary even after Chicago retained 50% and perhaps trade with another club to retain another 25%.
It is possible that a larger deal could include defenseman Jake McCabe (who Toronto has been connected to), but you would have to accept the premise that Toronto would want Kane. That is questionable.
The Leafs are in desperate need of size and sandpaper over another small, skilled forward. Kane is a left-hand shot who plays the right side, which means that he would force either Mitch Marner or William Nylander to move to the left side. It’s also debatable that Kane would play on Toronto’s top power-play unit unless they choose the risky proposition of playing five forwards.
It is too coincidental that this rumor pops up when the Leafs and Hawks play twice in the five days. While it does make sense with Dubas reportedly looking for a top-six forward and with Kane’s connection to Matthews (they work with the same skills coach in the offseason), Toronto has other areas of need that are a higher priority.
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