Finally, it’s here.
The start of training camp arrives on Wednesday for the Maple Leafs and the rest of the clubs across the National Hockey League, with one goal in sight for each of the league’s 32 members: The Stanley Cup.
For some teams, those aspirations will be nothing more than a pipe dream.
For others, and you can put the Leafs in that category, that aim will be realistic.
Of course, in Toronto, the issue of winning in the first round of the playoffs has to be solved first, as the spring of 2023 will mark 19 years since the Leafs most recently advanced to the second round. There’s other business to take care of first.
A look at some of the areas of interest that are bound to pop up once the players hit the ice on Thursday:
• Given what he wound up accomplishing in 2021-22, it’s easy to forget that superstar Auston Matthews missed camp and the first three games of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist. We’ll get this out of the way now — we expect Matthews to score 60 goals again, and we don’t have to say that will happen only if he stays healthy through 82 games. Matthews hit the milestone despite missing nine games, winning the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. With Michael Bunting to his left and Mitch Marner to his right, Matthews centres one of the best lines in the game. Any idea that coach Sheldon Keefe takes Marner off the line and put him with captain John Tavares is foolish. There’s little sense in messing with the Matthews trio.
• The biggest story in camp, and in the months that follow, will involve goaltenders Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. Each of the newcomers has plenty to prove, and if one doesn’t settle into a groove as the starter, potential trouble looms. Still, it’s worth noting that the Leafs last season managed to set franchise records with 54 victories and 115 points despite inconsistent goaltending. Toronto’s .900 save percentage (in all situations) was 22nd in the NHL, and among teams that went to the playoffs, only Washington (.898) had a lower save percentage (at five-on-five, the Leafs were 27th in save percentage). Team defence was not a concern, as the Leafs were 12 in shots against during five-on-five play. Murray and Samsonov don’t necessarily have to be spectacular, but they will have to instil some confidence and then take another step once the post-season starts.
• The off-season injuries reportedly suffered by defenceman Timothy Liljegren and winger Pierre Engvall will get plenty of attention. If the Leafs are as deep as they like to think they are (and there is good depth), however, neither absence in camp should put a big dent in the team’s aspirations. At forward, it may mean that Nick Robertson gets a greater opportunity, perhaps in the top six. It’s a tough way to start for Liljegren, who improved through last year and put his minor-league tenure in the past. Liljegren’s absence leaves Justin Holl as the lone right-handed shot on the blue line, and as long as Liljegren is out, expect Victor Mete and Jordie Benn to duke it out for the sixth spot. Whether Liljegren’s injury expedites a new contract for Rasmus Sandin, who remains in a stalemate with the team, is debatable.
• Back to Tavares, who turned 32 on Tuesday. A point of emphasis during the off-season for the Leafs captain has been to get quicker, or more efficient, on his feet. There were pockets of inconsistency for Tavares and William Nylander last season — though Nylander recorded 80 points for the first time in the NHL and Tavares was not far off with 76 — and it would take some pressure off the Matthews line if Tavares and Nylander built some greater chemistry going once pre-season games start on Saturday. Will Keefe keep Alex Kerfoot on the left side on the second line or does Kerfoot get moved to the third line to play with David Kampf, and, presumably, Calle Jarnkrok? In some regard, there will have to be a replacement of the 21 goals (in 53 games) scored by Ilya Mikheyev, who signed with Vancouver.
• Jake Muzzin led the Leafs in shorthanded ice time last season, and Toronto was eighth on the penalty kill at 82.1%, but the veteran defenceman will be the first to acknowledge his season was not up to par. Injuries limited Muzzin to 47 games, and considering his competitive nature, you can bet the 33-year-old will be in the hunt to get his game back to the proper level. For now, it’s an aging Leafs defence corps as a whole. With Liljegren hurt and Sandin unsigned, only 28-year-old Morgan Rielly, whose eight-year, $60-million US contract kicks in, is under the age of 30. There’s no superstar in the group, but experience and savvy will be among the assets that carries the corps.
• May the fight for a job on the fourth line begin. It’s a long list, one that includes newcomers Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Adam Gaudette and Zach Aston-Reese (in camp on a PTO and a player that we expect to earn a contract), incumbents Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford, and Toronto Marlies hopefuls Joey Anderson, Alex Steeves, Bobby McMann and Curtis Douglas. Pontus Holmberg and Denis Malgin arrive from Europe with sights on a depth role. The more competition, the better. One guarantee is that the players who start on the fourth line in the regular-season opener in Montreal against the Canadiens on Oct. 12 will have earned it.
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