Day two of Maple Leafs training camp finished up today in Nova Scotia
Links below and in the comments section throughout the day.
Saturday Links:
- Luke Wilmshurst: The Michael Grabner Trade: A look at asset and roster management (MLHS)
With Grabner, Toronto not only got the best player, they also didn’t lose any top prospects, gave up no draft picks, and solved the problem of being up against the maximum contracts limit. Overall, the trade was a win for Toronto. It also sets up an attractive future trade opportunity at the deadline, at a minimal cost.
I - James Mirtle: Maple Leafs draw enormous crowd for ‘intense’ Babcock’s first practice (The G&M)
“There’s going to be a lot of attention to detail,” Lupul surmised. “We’re trying to keep the pace of the practice high because that’s how we envision the pace of our game being this year.”
I - Damien Cox: Who these Maple Leafs turn out to be is anyone’s guess (TheStar)
Instead of having a star player seemingly reluctant to embrace either leadership or the team concept, or at least ambivalent about it, there’s the sense Leaf camp is filled with players dying to impress Babcock and Lamoriello, of players hungry and desperate to earn a contract or stay in the NHL.
I - Shawn McKenzie Halifax welcomes Maple Leafs with wide open arms (Sportsnet)
[Video] As Shawn McKenzie reports, Maple Leafs training camp has come to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and to say that the east coast locals are excited, would be a major understatement.
I - Ryan Lambert: Ray Shero already showing he’s no Lou Lamoriello (Puck Daddy)
The Devils, for once, exploited that inefficiency instead of being one of the teams creating it, probably because Shero actually listens to what New Jersey’s own analytics guy, Sunny Mehta, has to say. Lou Lamoriello, it seems, never did.
I - AP: Pittsburgh Penguins don’t care about Phil Kessel’s past with Toronto Maple Leafs: ‘Guys who can score like that aren’t easy to come by’ (National Post)
“We’re excited to have him,” Crosby said. “I think (Malkin) and I are both going to see some time with him. We’ll see what happens, but regardless of who he plays with, he’s a great player. Guys who can score like that aren’t easy to come by, so it’s nice to have him and we’ll see how things end up.”
I - Mike Brophy: Maple Leafs’ van Riemsdyk embracing enhanced role (NHL.com)
“Becoming a leader is something you earn over the course of the year,” van Riemsdyk said. “You don’t just come in and say, ‘I’m a leader.’ You do it with how you act and how you go about your daily business and how hard you work. I’ll never be an overly rah-rah guy, but I’m a guy who works hard and does things the right way every single day.”
Collage of interviews from Toronto Maple Leafs Training Camp yesterday: James Reimer, Michael Grabner, Joffrey Lupul, Peter Holland, Mitch Marner, Stu Percy and Mike Babcock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysGqnHFys_c
