When Mike Babcock accepted the position of Maple Leafs head coach, one aspect of the job he thought was important was to “make things safe… for players. That protection was on display after a 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Toronto held their own against the Penguins through the first 13 minutes of former leading scorer Phil Kessel’s return to Air Canada Center, but after a Michael Grabner breakaway attempt was thwarted by Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, Leafs netminder Jonathan Bernier let a soft David Perron shot through his paraphernalia for Chris Kunitz to score the opening goal and that appeared to destroy any momentum the Blue and White had.
Rich Clune’s major penalty at the end of the first and Eric Fehr’s short-handed goal early in the middle frame pretty much ended any serious resistance from the Leafs, who managed only 21 shots on Fleury in their ninth loss of the season.
“I didn’t think we responded very well after (the opening goal) and life’s about responding to adversity and life’s about doing things right. I believe we’re a way better hockey club than that.… Babcock said following the game.
I believe you have a responsibility as a good pro to bring it every day and when adversity hits you dig in a little bit harder and you stay with your structure and you stick with the program. I didn’t think we gave our fans that tonight at all. Obviously, I’m disappointed in myself. I’m the coach. I’m supposed to be in charge and be steady on the rudder and give them guidance.…
Babcock’s guidance is not the reason for the club’s struggles through the first 10 games. In fact, it is quite remarkable that the Leafs have been in all but two of their 10 games and have shown more effort with the remnants of the roster that collapsed in the second half of 2015 and a collection of short-term veteran placeholders.
The Leafs coach is immune to blame in his first year and can effectively take some of the heat off of his players. “Teams that you want watch and the teams that you’re proud to be associated with, they just keep coming, no matter what happens they got people who step up and respond. That wasn’t us (on Saturday).… Babcock said. “So to me, we got some serious work to do, but the mental side is as big as the physical side, because tonight we got in our own way and we’ve seen that a few times this year.…
It appears that Toronto is approaching this season as an 82-game training camp, with Babcock attempting to determine who can be part of the Leafs future and who will be moving on.
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News and Notes
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that Russian defenseman Nikita Zaitsev is bound for the NHL next season after the expiration of his KHL contract and that a number of teams (including the Maple Leafs) may have interest in signing the 24-year-old blueliner.
Headlinezzzzzzzz -- https://t.co/vmFmMfu76C
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 1, 2015Philadelphia, Calgary, Vancouver, Los Angeles and perhaps other NHL clubs have the right-handed shooting defender on their radar, but Zaitsev visited Toronto last June and Team President Brendan Shanahan went all out to impress the defenseman.
“I can’t sign anything now but I visited (the) Leafs and was pleasantly shocked by the reception. Zaitsev said to reporter Igor Eronko. “‘I visited (the) Leafs office and the arena, locker-room, talked to GM and the head coach and was very impressed. (The) Leafs were the only team that had a real big interest in me. I did some tests during the visit.… Zaitsev said. “‘I want to leave the KHL as a winner and I’ll spend the year in Russia to be absolutely prepared for the NHL.…
A likely determining factor for the Russian defenseman will be which team can give him the best opportunity at playing time, since any deal he signs with an NHL team will be an entry-level contract with performance bonuses.
Toronto being a team in transition with potential spots on their roster open gives them a possible advantage.
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Damien Cox did his best to dispel rumors of discontent between Tampa superstar Steven Stamkos and head coach Jon Cooper, indicating that the 2008 top pick has played most of this season at center after being shifted to the wing for the majority of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Stamkos has yet to sign an extension with the Lightning and that fact has veteran hockey scribe Stan Fischler pondering openly about the Markham, ON ending up in Toronto next season.
A perfect storm would have to occur for Stamkos to end up with the Leafs, most importantly him wanting to be the centerpiece franchise player in Toronto. If the 25-year-old is looking to be paid on par with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Tampa Bay may not be in a position to pay him that with new contracts for Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman on the horizon.
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Marlies forward Connor Brown suffered a fractured foot in Friday’s 6-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins at Ricoh Coliseum. The 21-year-old had four assists in eight games for the Leafs AHL affiliate and it is unknown how long last season’s leading scorer will be out of the lineup.
The victory also included an ugly incident between Tyler Bertuzzi and Marlies rookie Kasperi Kapanen, in which the Griffins forward knocked Kapanen to the ice with a slew foot. Bertuzzi was suspended for two games, but Toronto’s Sam Carrick was suspended for three games for abuse of an official.
Tyler Bertuzzi with a disgusting slew-foot on Kasperi Kapanen in the AHL last night... https://t.co/KxES8YT5Y7 (Pathetic)
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) October 31, 2015Toronto followed up Friday’s victory with a 3-2 overtime win in Albany on Sunday. Marlies team captain Andrew Campbell scored his career-high fourth goal of the season and new addition Mark Arcobello scored twice, including the game-winner 20 seconds into overtime.
The win moves Toronto into first place in the AHL’s North Division with a 7-3-0 record.
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Maple Leafs ’15 second round pick Jeremy Bracco is making the decision to leave Boston College for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers look like a smart one.
.@MapleLeafs prospect Jeremy Bracco scores his 1st OHL goal #tmltalk https://t.co/eK28a84Eyy
— OHL Vines (@OhlVines) November 2, 2015Bracco scored two goals and an assist in a 5-3 victory over the Guelph Storm on Sunday, giving the 18-year-old forward six points (2G, 4A) in three games.
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