Mike Babcock was pleased that his club earned two points in the season opening 3-2 overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens, but the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach was less than enthralled with the work ethic and effort put forth by his club in their debut at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
“Don't get me wrong, I like winning. That's why you play the whole game, that's why you came here tonight. Real nice play by our guys in overtime, we hemmed them in, we changed, we were fresh, came with speed.” Babcock said after the game. “I just think when the other team is on top of you and they're hungrier than you and they're winning more 50-50 battles – part of it is execution, part of it is work, part of it is if you don't come back and stop, you go by, it's hard to execute.”
The Leafs were saved from a disappointing loss by the goaltending of Frederik Andersen and the firepower of their center corps, as Auston Matthews scored with the man advantage in the first period and at 1:01 of overtime for the game winner, and John Tavares scored his first goal in Blue and White to put his new club in the lead late in the second period.
“I don't think we played our best, I don't think we played in (Montreal’s) zone enough or as much as we'd like to. They competed and they skated well, put some pressure on us. It seemed like we were fighting the puck a bit. We just seemed to mishandle it a few times.” Tavares said. “That's the way it is to start the season – it's still a little warm outside and those things you can't control. We just have to be more sure of ourselves and play a little bit of a quicker game.”
As part of the post-game analysis for every Leafs game this season, there will be a section titled “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” that will briefly recognize the key contributors and aspects of each night’s performance.
UP – Auston Matthews – If the season opener is any indication, it is going to be a big offensive year for #34. The opening power play goal displayed his patented toe-drag and snap move on Carey Price and the game winner was a quick conversion of a Patrick Marleau pass right inside the far post.
UP – Frederik Andersen – The Leafs goaltender has struggled in his first two Octobers in Toronto, but was definitely in mid-season form on Wednesday, stopping 34 of 36 shots.
DOWN – Ron Hainsey – The veteran blueliner was up to the task of playing on the top pairing in the first half of last season, but had a significant drop off in his play in the second half and during the playoffs.
Hainsey’s struggles continued during the exhibition schedule and cost the Leafs in the opener, as he was directly responsible for Arturri Lehkonen’s opening goal and was partially at fault for Andrew Shaw’s tying marker late in the second. Should the 37-year-old start fading in the final year of his contract, it will put more pressure on Toronto GM Kyle Dubas to find an available top-four D prior to the February 25 deadline.
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If the purpose of Brendan Shanahan’s comments on Wednesday about the young Leafs players taking less to keep the gang together were in hopes of shaking things up in the negotiations with William Nylander, the restricted free agent’s reaction was more indicative of a longer impasse.
Nylander, who is still in Sweden awaiting the completion of a new contract, indicated to Swedish outlet Aftonbladet on Thursday negotiations between the Leafs and agent Lewis Gross are ongoing, but there is a divide on the number of years and salary the 22-year-old will get on an extension.
"In the end, I have to take care of myself and do what I and my agent thinks is right.” Nylander said. “Especially if it’s about several years to come. I need to think long term. It’s my own future it’s about."
The Leafs are not about to cave on the price point on the winger with the contracts of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews up next summer, and from all indications, Toronto is insisting on a long-term deal in the $6 to $6.5 Million range, while Nylander is looking for a contract in excess of $7 Million per season.
If Toronto continues to rack up wins early in the season, the pressure to get a deal done will increase on Nylander, who is losing money every day he remains unsigned, but it also brings into question whether the organization will reevaluate the winger’s place in their future plans even if after he agrees to a new deal.
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