Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Bedford, Nova Scotia camped out and slept in cars to get a glimpse of their Maple Leafs.
While the temperatures in Southern Ontario are beautiful and summer-like, there’s a nip to the morning air that reminds us that fall is around the corner, and with that, hockey season has arrived. The games don’t start until October, but training camp is here and a few weeks of player news, transactions and evaluation is upon us.
Lou Lamoriello has already got down to work by implementing his tried-and-tested team rules. All the players are totally clean shaven and will be until they make the playoffs. All players arrived in Nova Scotia in suits and ties. Another “Lou Rule:” Team media will no longer travel with the players, management and coaching staff — a sharp departure from last season, when players were often left twisting in the wind. The head coach has reiterated that the he’s going to protect the players, and is instilling a pack mentality along with a strong leadership presence, starting with him. There’s a next to no information leaking from the management / coaching / players to reporters, as it’s shaping up to be a difficult season for the media to get a leg up on stories. Full lock-down mode is in effect.
Insane amounts of media coverage and the Toronto Maple Leafs go hand-in-hand. There’s a voracious appetite for all things Maple Leafs from the fans, but using last year’s PR disaster as an example, better care from the team, making it easier to play under trying circumstances during this rebuild/re-tool, will go a long, long way with the players.
Leafs Links/Tweets
- Brownscombe Michael Grabner Traded to Maple Leafs (MLHS)
Shanahan and Lamoriello have shed a bunch of Standard Player Contracts (now down to 45) by expelling a collection of inherited depth prospects here, and the flexibility – to go along with cap room – is undoubtedly valuable as far as any future player movement is concerned. On the flipside, there is obvious risk in trading away a group of five developing prospects aged 24 and under; while none of the players involved are considered premiere prospects, a few could turn out and provide value.
I - Staff Babcock Addresses Media Ahead of Camp (MLHS)
They’ve got to get way better defensively. I think everybody talks about Morgan Rielly and everyone knows he has elite upside and an offensive guy. But Gardiner, when I watch him, I think he should be a good player. So, let’s build him up. Let’s get him going. Let’s get him playing good. Let’s get him to understand that the faster you play defence the more you have the puck and the less time you have to spend in the defensive zone. That’s what we’re going to work on. I don’t how long this takes. Whatever time it takes, that’s what it takes, but those guys are important to us.
I - Staff Lou Lamoriello speaks to the media about Michael Grabner trade (MLHS)
As I said earlier, I haven’t seen enough or know enough about who we are right now. I think every one of the players – there’s a fresh start. I think that’s the most important thing. Hopefully people will come to the forefront that we aren’t even aware of. I like what I see, I like the way the players are, I like their interaction. There seems to be a tremendous, right now, relief in them that we’re going forward and nothing in the [past] is really there.
- James Mirtle: Ten things to watch for at Maple Leafs training camp (The G&M)
Can a very good coach elevate a roster with this many holes in it to greater heights? Can he get them to play hard, night after night, even if there are a lot of losses and growing pains? And how does a strong personality like Babcock handle the Toronto media spotlight, which can be a relentless experience for anyone?
I - Pierre Lebrun: Maple Leafs open camp with high standards (ESPN)
“Lou just wants us to be pros. Let’s look like pros,” goaltender Jonathan Bernier, one of the players in the meeting with Lamoriello, said in French on Thursday. “When you’re on the road, always wear a suit. Your haircut, your facial hair, all that stuff.”
I - Justin Cuthbert: Leafs’ Nathan Horton failed physical, not on training camp roster (The Score)
Though Toronto must pay out what’s left of his $37.1-million contract in real dollars, Horton will clear a major portion of the team’s salary cap as long as he remains on long-term injured reserve.
I - Michael Grange: Can Mike Babcock handle losing with Maple Leafs? (Sportsnet)
“It’s something that I definitely haven’t felt in the past few years,” said Nazem Kadri, just one of a long list of Leafs who could use whatever magic dust Babcock can sprinkle on them. “… We’ve had lots of conversations. Him basically telling me that I can be as good as I want to be and that the sky’s the limit.”
I - James Mirtle: Babcock grants Maple Leafs ‘clean slate’ as camp opens in Halifax (The G&M)
“The reason I haven’t done that is because things went so poorly,” Babcock explained of not going back and reliving the carnage that was the 2014-15 Leafs’ horrific 68-point season. “Why would I watch them be bad? It makes no sense to me. They’ve got a clean slate.”
I - Scott Lewis: Babcock: Phaneuf is captain of the Maple Leafs (Sportsnet)
“I think he’s got great intentions,” Babcock said of Phaneuf. “I think it’s an easy target when you’re the captain. We’ll give him a day off from you guys [media] a week, for sure. We’re going to look after him with structure and talking to him.
