Tyler Bozak’s power play goal with 2:25 left in regulation, an exciting overtime and the Leafs center’s lone tally in the shootout provided patrons at the Air Canada Center a bit of entertainment, but the Maple Leafs 4-3 shootout victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday was a sloppy contest laden with mistakes.
The pair of Eastern Conference bottom dwellers traded goals in the first; Johan Larsson and Tyler Ennis for Buffalo, Brandon Kozun and Leo Komarov within 21 seconds of each other for Toronto.
Matt Moulson gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead midway through the middle frame and Buffalo held that advantage until late in the third, when defenseman Mike Weber’s delay of game penalty led to Bozak’s tying marker.
As observers of the Sabres can testify, living through the dismantling and reorganization of a club has been aggravating and challenging at times, but Buffalo appears on the precipice of reaping the rewards of a dark period in their history, with young first rounders Zemgus Girgensons, Nikita Zadorov, Ramsus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart as potential building blocks and the likelihood of adding either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel being added to that group at the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, FL.
The Maple Leafs are about to enter this dark zone with the expected teardown of the current roster to come this summer and that will mean enduring performances as bad as the 8-26-3 record put forth since mid-December. That kind of record will be necessary for Toronto to be among the worst teams in the league to draft the Reinharts, McDavids or Eichels of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Drafts.
Tickets for Sabres games were once difficult to find, but the stands at First Niagara Center have rarely been filled over the last two years, unless the Leafs came to town. That may change with the additions of Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, the addition of Reinhart after his sterling performance at the 2015 World Junior and the addition of a young potential star in this June’s Draft.
The optics of empty seats may not be as severe in Toronto, as the population of the hockey metropolis is nearly 10 times the size of Buffalo, but ticket demand and the mark up of the secondary market are likely to decrease for Leafs games as they struggle to win in the next few seasons.
According to the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley, hundred of tickets for the Leafs-Sabres game were available on the club’s website and tickets on Stubhub were being sold at discount rates.
Indications are that the Leafs will not be rushing young prospects like 2014 top pick William Nylander or OHL scoring champion Connor Brown up to the NHL and allow them to develop in the AHL, which means that the burden of replacing Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, Bozak and Joffrey Lupul will fall to James van Riemsdyk, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly next season.
Young pros like Josh Leivo, Sam Carrick, Matt Frattin, Andrew MacWilliam and Petter Granberg from the Toronto Marlies who have not been given a long look in the NHL will get a chance to make the NHL, free agents similar to Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik will be signed to short-term deals for the purposes of filing the roster and then being swapped for draft picks at next year’s deadline and big moneyed veterans(like Stephen Weiss from Detroit in the rumored Phaneuf deal) will be taken back in trades for cap relief.
The next few years will not be pretty in Leafland and fans who are hoping for a quick turnaround and return to respectability are lying to themselves.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. DALLAS 70(67) 7. NEW JERSEY 66(67) 6. COLUMBUS 60(66) 5. TORONTO 60(68), 4. CAROLINA 58(65), 3. ARIZONA 50(67), 2. EDMONTON 47(67), 1. BUFFALO 44(67)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(8.5%) Down 1%
Wednesday’s Results: The three point game was not good news for both Buffalo and Toronto in their quest for draft positioning. The Leafs move into 26th place ahead of Carolina in the overall standings and are tied with Columbus with 60 points, but the Jackets have two games in hand and Carolina has three games in hand on the Leafs
Buffalo is just a precarious three points behind the Edmonton Oilers for dead last in the league.
Games To Watch: Dallas vs Carolina, Columbus vs Detroit, New Jersey vs Colorado, Chicago vs Arizona
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The Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman TJ Brennan from the Toronto Marlies on Thursday in advance of the club’s three-game Western Canada weekend road swing.
The 25-year-old winner of the Eddie Shore Trophy(the AHL’s answer to the Norris Trophy for best defenseman) was obtained from Chicago for Spencer Abbott on February 25 and has one assist in five games for the Toronto Marlies.
The Leafs were carrying only five healthy defensemen before the recall of Andrew MacWilliam on Wednesday and since they will not have the convenience of having their AHL affiliate close by in Alberta and British Columbia, they recalled Brennan to give the club an extra blueliner in case of injury or sudden illness.
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter
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