Lou Lamoriello joined TSN 1050’s Overdrive to discuss Auston Matthews’ historic debut in Ottawa, the play of the seven rookies, and Frederik Andersen’s early struggles in net.
I just mentioned what Mike Babcock said after the game. How do you feel about those comments? You’ve been around the Leafs as long as he has. How was that night for you, watching it from above?
Lou Lamoriello: I could echo Mike words, because what we saw seven legitimate rookies playing their first night, some of which we had a knowledge of what we thought they could do last year when they came up. Others, we had the opportunity to see, whether in the World Championships or at different times during the summer. It was very encouraging, certainly, the way they handled themselves throughout the night. It’s extremely encouraging and I can see exactly where Mike was coming from.
Everyone is going to be talking about Auston Matthews, but were there other players? You just mentioned the rookies. Was it from top to bottom, everyone else that was in their first game as a Leaf that you were impressed with as well, outside of Auston?
Lamoriello: Absolutely. I don’t think I was not impressed with any of the seven. I was impressed with two young defencemen in Carrick and Zaitsev, and then I thought Mitch Marner had an outstanding game. What Nylander and Hyman did along with Auston on that line, and the way Connor Brown played… How could you not feel good about what they did their first night, and knowing the type of people they are and their commitment to the game? They’re going to go through their ups and downs. They’re young. It’s a long season. But it’s extremely encouraging.
You’ve spoken about this a lot over the offseason and throughout camp. Babcock has, Shanahan has — the idea of protecting the younger players and allowing them to find their footing in the NHL. Mike Babcock has come out multiple times and said, “Auston Matthews, as of now, is the third-line center. The kids are going to have to find their way.” No one is expecting them to play brilliantly every single night, but if they prove they are capable of big minutes and big opportunities, how do you hold them back? How do you continue to “protect them?”
Lamoriello: First of all, I think if you look at the scoresheet last night, they got some pretty solid minutes because they were playing well. One of our young players maybe had the most minutes as a forward, and it wasn’t Auston Matthews. I think the game will dictate what they get. Mike is the perfect coach for this type of a group, in my opinion, and — without question — you have to protect them because it’s a long season. There are a lot of experiences that they haven’t had yet and they’re going to go through. It’s getting them to be the best players that they can be over the long haul — not one game or two games or three games — and there are different times you have to make decisions because of that.
Obviously, the four goals from Auston Matthews were incredibly impressive. All you have to do is look at the game sheet after the game and say, “wow, that was one hell of a game.” But, as a hockey guy, you look at the details of his game. Why was he so effective last night?
Lamoriello: I think all of you were at the game, and what he did with and without the puck was exceptional. I don’t know if I’ve seen a better second goal that he had in the individual little aspects of it, starting outside the blue line and then the finishing. He had an outstanding night, there is no question, but his whole line did. I think Nylander and Hyman and the work that they did creating three of the four of those goals was exceptional if you watched the game over. I think you have to look at them collectively when you look at one.
How do you manage him, Lou, as a rookie? Obviously he is a superstar already. I know you had a rule in the past that rookies don’t talk to the media. This might be a special case. Just for him to come to the rink and enjoy being in the NHL and not have to deal with too much day in and day out…
Lamoriello: First of all, he’s extremely mature. I feel that way with just about with this whole group right now. I’ve said publicly that seeing the difference in Mitch from last year, coming in and watching him grow in London this past year, and the maturity he has right now… The way they’ve handled things individually, and certainly the way they’re handling it collectively – you see them together all the time – I think we have to make sure that we don’t hold him back totally. On the other hand, we allow them to grow and we allow them not to be distracted and not to get their priorities off kilter, which can very easily happen.
Obviously, there has been so much focus on this young core and these kids coming in. We’ve been talking for months now, about how Matthews is going to shield the other kids, but, quite frankly, the kids have really shielded the veteran players. We haven’t been talking much about the veteran players. The media has not been focused not much on the veteran players. Is that a positive, or would you prefer it to kind of shift and have your vets really be the focal point of this team?
Lamoriello: I think you’d always want your vets to be the focal point, and they will be. I think, because we have so many young players, they become the focal point… The exposure that we gave them last year when they were brought up and also in the playoffs with the Marlies. The players who were not here, whether it be Auston or Nikita, the success that they had in the Word Championships… It’s normal. On the other hand, we’re not going to get through it on young players. Our core players are the extremely more important players. What the youth will bring is more speed to our lineup, and certainly they have some natural talent. But experience is something that you don’t really know how important it is until you have it. That’s what you’re going to see and go through. The veterans that we have – I’m so impressed with the group we have here as veterans. Even though most of them are not old by any means, they’re solid character people. The additional people we’ve brought in are just the same. They look up to them. They are the people who guide them, the older players do. What I saw in training camp and how the older players – and when I use that, I should be saying ‘veterans’ – have spoken to them and how they’ve helped them and how they go to them on the ice… This is not a separation of young and old. You have veterans and rookies, is basically what you have. Quite frankly, I didn’t know what to expect having and seeing seven of them. I’ve never experienced this, nor has Mike, but the character of them I think is going to take care of whatever doubts we have.
What do you say to the fan base or the people who are asking about the transition period here for Frederik Andersen? I know he was banged up, he comes into training camp, and I didn’t think he had a great preseason. There were some bumps in his game and there were some bumps in his game last night. Is this a patient process? What is the thought process behind the scenes?
Lamoriello: I think, first of all, if anyone has seen Freddie play over the past few years and knew what he did in Anaheim… They did everything they could to keep him there, but it was impossible for different reasons. I knew exactly what their thought process was because we had spoken throughout the year. But he did miss training camp. He wasn’t just hurt. He was injured. He came back as quickly as he could. Whether he came back too soon, I couldn’t answer that. I’ll leave that up to our people and him. And then we put him right into a game, which he wanted to get in. Right now, he’s not on top of his game. We have no questions of what his abilities are and what he will be. He will be our number-one goaltender unless something we don’t see [happening happens]. We have no doubts on Freddie. He has not played the way he would like to play, but we have to have patience there because I think the worst person that could miss training camp is a goalie.
