The Toronto Maple Leafs looked as if the Florida sun sapped all the energy out of them, as they put forth their most lackadaisical and disinterested effort of the season in a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
The Leafs were thoroughly outplayed and outhustled from the opening faceoff by the lowly Panthers, who propelled 48 shots at goaltender Jonathan Bernier. Bernier was the sole reason that Toronto remained within striking distance, as the embattled netminder thwarted Jonathan Huberdeau and Scottie Upshall on breakaways and allowed only Tom Gilbert’s power play goal to get by him after facing 37 shots in the first 40 minutes.
“We didn’t really have anything going other than one person in the lineup who was outstanding for our hockey club and that was our goaltender.… Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said following the lopsided loss. “We just didn’t seem to have any jump or any passion to play the game and that’s kind of mind-boggling right now.…
Jesse Winchester extended the Panthers lead to 2-0 early in the third, but the Leafs finally showed evidence of a pulse, as David Clarkson scored his fourth goal of the season in his first game back after missing eight games with an elbow injury. Toronto had a couple opportunities to tie the game, but the coup de grace came with less than seven minutes remaining, as Shawn Matthias stole the puck from Cody Franson and beat Bernier on the short side to reestablish Florida’s two goal lead.
Carlyle pulled Bernier with just under three minutes left in regulation for an extra attacker, which quickly resulted in Marcel Goc’s empty net goal. The loss ended Toronto’s three game winning streak and was their third straight loss on the road, but is another in a series of puzzling lapses of effort for the young club.
Toronto is under .500 on the road(10-12-5), has lost all three road games against Eastern Conference bottom dwellers Florida and Buffalo and were blown out 6-1 in Carolina and 7-1 in Dallas last month.
“We haven’t played well on the road.… Carlyle said following practice in Tampa on Wednesday. “The one issue for us is that we’ve had too many lackluster games where we don’t seem to be involved in the game to the level that is required to get points.…
The Leafs will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday before returning home for their final game before the Olympic break, a Saturday night contest against the struggling Vancouver Canucks. Lightning star center Steven Stamkos is targeting Saturday’s game against Detroit for his return after missing over three months with a broken fibula, but Carlyle indicates that it is possible that the Markham, ON native could be cleared by Tampa’s medical staff in time to play on Thursday.
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The Leafs may be preparing to sort out some roster dilemmas before 3pm on Friday, when NHL rosters freeze for nearly three weeks due to the Sochi Olympics. TSN Insider Darren Dreger reported late last week that Toronto may have interest in moving winger Nikolai Kulemin this week or before the March 5th trade deadline.
The 27-year-old Russian is one of four unrestricted free agent forwards that GM Dave Nonis has to decide whether to keep for the remainder of the regular season and try to sign before July or trade at the deadline to recoup draft picks and/or prospects.
The Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran reports that the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers could be a good fit for Kulemin, who will likely be looking for more than his current $2.8 Million salary and could use interest from the KHL to leverage more money from the Leafs or other NHL teams over the summer.
Pittsburgh has also long been rumored to have interest in Kulemin due to his connection with Penguins star Evgeni Malkin and GM Ray Shero is looking to add a winger before March 5th due to the loss of Pascal Dupuis for the season.
Any haste to move Kulemin for salary cap reasons may be unnecessary, as center Dave Bolland appears not to be ready to come off LTIR before the Olympic break.
Dreger reports that the Leafs are hoping to speak with Bolland’s representatives in the near future to get a gauge on how much he is looking for on a contract extension. If the number is workable, Toronto will try to get the two-time Stanley Cup winner signed before the trade deadline or before the summer, but if the demand is too great, there is the possibility that Nonis will shop Bolland as well.
The line that the Leafs may be trying to draw is the $4.2 Million salary that center Tyler Bozak signed for last July. Bolland was impressive in his 15 game stint before being injured, but is likely to be a second/third line center for the Leafs next season and Nonis may not want to set the precedent of paying the Mimico. ON native that much with Nazem Kadri being an RFA after next season.
Forward Jay McClement is a valuable role player to Carlyle and should not be costly to get re-signed, but Mason Raymond is on a pace to score more than 20 goals and will likely be looking for a hefty pay raise from the $1 Million salary he signed for as a free agent invitee last September.
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Listen to the latest edition of Leaf Buzz with former player agent, broadcaster and Toronto assistant GM Bill Watters, as we discuss the maturation of Phil Kessel, the contract of Dion Phaneuf, the goaltending situation and many more Leafs issues:
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