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Training Camp – Day #16, Matthews, Marner on TSN’s Top 50 list

October 6, 2022, 7:00 PM ET [140 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The start of the NHL season for the Toronto Maple Leafs is less than a week away and once again the club is expected to have regular season success, but as with the last couple years, success will be defined by what they do in the postseason. How well the Leafs do will be linked to whether top liners Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner can repeat their 2021-22 production this season.

In their annual list of the NHL’s Top 50 players, TSN ranked the reigning Hart Trophy winner second behind Connor McDavid after scoring 60 goals and winning the Rocket Richard for the second straight season.

Marner was ranked 12th in the league after a career-high 97 points, behind Colorado’s Cale Makar (3rd) and Nathan MacKinnon (5th), Tampa’s Victor Hedman (6th), Andrei Vasilevskiy(7th), and Nikita Kucherov(8th), Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl(4th), Florida’s Aleksander Barkov(9th), Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (10th) and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby(11th).



An interesting note from SI’s David Alterfrom the Leafs practice in Gravenhurst, ON on Thursday, head coach Sheldon Keefe used winger William Nylander at center between Adam Gaudette and Alex Steeves and shifted Nick Robertson down to a line with rookie Pontus Holmberg and Denis Malgin. Kyle Clifford, David Kampf and Wayne Simmonds made up the fourth line, and veterans Alex Kerfoot, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Zach Aston-Reese, Pierre Engvall, and Calle Jarnkrok were extras, which could indicate that the battle for depth forwards will be front and center in Detroit on Friday.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on a recent 32 Thoughts podcast indicated that after the injuries to Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder – out six months) and Jordie Benn (high ankle sprain – three weeks minimum), the Leafs might have been looking at signing a defenseman that were on tryouts with other teams. Nathan Beaulieu (ANA), Scott Harrington (SJ), and Calvin de Haan(CAR) were all signed last weekend because Toronto was rumored to be seeking blueline depth.

Friedman went on to say that GM Kyle Dubas will likely sign forward Zach Aston-Reese to an NHL deal, but that the Leafs could be looking to deal one of their excess forwards for a defenseman who is waiver exempt or has already cleared waivers, to replace Dahlstrom as a veteran defenseman to play on the AHL Marlies.

Forwards that could be candidates for this type of deal are Joey Anderson (who has not had much of an opportunity during camp), Adam Gaudette or Denis Malgin, all who would have to clear waivers to be demoted to the AHL.

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