The Toronto Maple Leafs opened training camp with medicals on Wednesday and will begin on-ice workouts on Thursday in advance of a season that could determine the course of the franchise’s future after five straight opening round playoff eliminations. GM Kyle Dubas, head coach Sheldon Keefe and a number of players spoke to the media, but a number of questions still remain unanswered.
Dubas spoke of the club not dwelling and moving past the first round loss to the Montreal Canadiens, reiterated his confidence in the Leafs core group, and that the possibility of losing his job has not affected his approach to the task at hand.
"We can look back and learn from it, but we only control what we do today and everyday moving forward. I don't think we can hide from it and run from it. I just think that we have to do everything we can as an organization to be ready for when those moments come again, that we're as prepared as possible and I have full faith in everybody in that room that they are going to be ready to roll." Dubas said. "The other part of that is we can't allow our focus to get distracted (in) the long run. We have to stay focused in the future, because of the division we're in. If we allow our focus to slip, and we're not dialed in on being at our best everyday, we're going to we're going to put ourselves in a tough spot."
The Leafs GM indicated that center Auston Matthews will not be a full participant in camp. The club’s leading scorer’s wrist began acting up when he began ramping up workouts in August and it became necessary to have it addressed surgically. Dubas expressed optimism that Matthews will be ready for the start of the regular season next month.
Dubas said that he expects that goalie Jack Campbell and newcomer Petr Mrazek will work together and compete for playing time, and also indicated that rookie Nick Robertson (who played well in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament last weekend), Nikita Gusev and Josh Ho-Sang (brought in on PTO’s) will be given a full opportunity in camp to play with the best players and earn a spot on the roster.
Both Dubas and defenseman Morgan Rielly were hesitant to offer anything regarding the status of negotiations on a new contract, as the Leafs longest tenured player enters the final year of his deal. J.P. Barry represents Rielly, but is also the agent for unsigned Canucks RFA's Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, and based on what Dubas said this morning, the agent's focus is more on the unsolved situation with Vancouver at this point.
"That's a personal matter for Morgan and a private one for us, but I think every team that's trying to contend is going to be dealing with those types of situations with the flat cap, where you have players coming due and you want to see where things go throughout the year with the cap." Dubas said. "As we did last year with our players that were UFA's, we'll keep them private until we have to make an announcement on them one way or the other."
Head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed the assignments for the coaching staff, with veteran assistant Dean Chenoweth assuming the defensive and penalty killing responsibilities (previously handled by Dave Hakstol) and Spencer Carbery taking over the power play duties from Manny Malhotra, but Malhotra will remain part of the staff.
Former Jack Adams winner Paul Maclean is still part of the coaching staff, but is in more of an advisory role after having hip surgery in the off-season.
Notes from players
John Tavares – The Leafs team captain is completely healthy and recovered from the hit that knocked him out of the playoffs, passing a physical in July. Tavares said he “really badly” wants to be on Team Canada for the Beijing Olympics next February. The 31-year-old suffered a knee injury during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Rielly (on the contract negotiations) – “"My approach (with the media) is that I don't really want to discuss it publicly. To be honest, that's between JP and Kyle, and I'm just gonna take care of myself. I totally understand it's a question that's worth asking and I'm not trying to disregard it by any means, because I think about it too. But I'm just gonna go about my business. Prepare for the season, I feel great. Kyle and JP will talk privately and I'm just going to worry about what I can do and that's play hockey and play well and the rest will take care of itself.”
Mitch Marner – worked on his shot over the summer to take advantage of the scoring opportunities he often gets on the power play. Has focused most of the summer on moving past the playoff loss and not dwelling on it.
Matthews – “I’ve been skating, it’s coming up on six weeks since I’ve had surgery, that was the timetable. I’ll get the splint off and progress into regular hockey stuff. Right now. I’ve been skating on the ice and trying to keep up my cardio.”
Jack Campbell – Has played against tandem partner Petr Mrazek in junior, internationally and in the NHL, says that they have talked over the summer and that they have a mutual desire to win. Campbell says that he would love to stay in Toronto, but is focusing more on the season and not his impending free agency.
William Nylander – Was wearing a mask and is not fully vaccinated at this time, but will be before the beginning of the season. His current status will not prevent him from participating in camp activities.
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