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Lou Lamoriello joined Sirus XM’s The Power Play with Scott Laughlin and Corey Hirsch to discuss the team’s play through six games, Frederik Andersen’s early struggles, some of the standout players on the Marlies, and the play of Matt Martin so far this season.


You knew that there would be nights like last night, I’m guessing. You’ve got a very young hockey club and there are going to be some ups and downs and ebbs and flows. Was that just kind of one of those nights last night, do you think, that this team is going to go through once in a while? 

Lou Lamoriello: You never like to go through those things, but, as you said, we’re a relatively young team and we’re extremely pleased with all of our young players, barring none of them. Except for last night, there wasn’t one game that we played that we could not have won going into the third period ahead. Right now, we just need to get ready for the next game. It’s very early in the season. We’ll take it from there.

Would you say you guys are ahead of where you [thought you’d be] or are you right where you expected to be in terms of your team and development at this point?

Lamoriello: I think we’re a little ahead. I think what we’ve seen from our young players, and how they’ve developed and how they’ve accepted the responsibilities they’ve been given… but you always have tongue in cheek. It’s only a half a dozen games right now. It takes a little while. We’ll have a better understanding of who we are and where we’re at after ten or fifteen games. To answer your question, I’d like to think we’re a little ahead.

There has been so much talk about Frederik Andersen and the goaltending situation. A lot of what transpired in Toronto in goal happened before you got here, before Frederik Andersen arrived on the scene. That being said, he is struggling right now. What do you need to see from him in order for the team and he himself to regain that confidence?

Lamoriello: First of all, I don’t know what transpired in previous years. I wasn’t here. Each and every one of us believe in Freddie. We signed him long term. We’re extremely comfortable with that. His history, as far as the type of goaltending he is, we believe he’ll work through this. He’s working at it. Sometimes you go through these things. That doesn’t make you a bad goaltender. That doesn’t put the blame on you. There are situations that happen prior to different pucks that go in where you’re the last one. We have total confidence in him. Mike is coming right back with him tomorrow evening. He’ll be there when he’s needed.

You mentioned guys struggling. When you were in New Jersey, you were blessed to have Cory Schneider. You made that deal with Vancouver that worked out well for the Devils. But you had Marty Brodeur for 16, 17 seasons, or whatever it was. Even those guys, I’m sure, struggled along the way. How much do you think the injury, in that Olympic qualification game for Denmark, really set back Frederik Andersen to start the season?

Lamoriello: There’s no question it set him back. But you don’t look for excuses. Right now, we’re well into the season. In other words, whether he has to catch up, or whether he has to play through something with the way he’s feeling, that is what has to happen. We’re not about excuses, nor is he. That’s what I love about him. He’s stood right up, took responsibility, and just came right to work today and worked extremely hard in practice. It becomes a topic, understandably, but I don’t agree with it because it’s a team. You win together, and if things don’t go right, it is about each and every one of us.

What has impressed you the most about Auston Matthews? Maybe something that you didn’t expect necessarily.

Lamoriello: I did see him out in the World Juniors. I had seen him prior to that, certainly, and then I went to the World Championships in Russia. What I saw then was the poise and the maturity and how he carried himself on the ice. Very detailed and focused. That’s what I’ve found him to be here. He wants to be the best. He works at it. He’s very confident; very comfortable in his own skin. I think that that’s been probably the most impressive. I don’t know about a surprise, but it’s the most impressive since I’ve first seen him.

Nikita Zaitsev got together with Morgan Rielly last night. I think Leafs fans are excited about that pairing over the long haul for Toronto. What have you seen from Zaitsev so far? A kid that came into the World Cup and said, “yeah, I’m going to make the Leafs. I look forward to the NHL.” Tell us about Zaitsev.

Lamoriello: Once again we saw him in Russia. We went out right after the World Juniors. One of our scouts, Jim Paliafito, has been following him for the last couple of years, and Mark Hunter. He looked poised in the KHL and then the same in the World Championships, and then of course here in Toronto when he played in the World Cup games. He is not a surprise. He is a little older for a rookie. He’s going to turn 25 this week. He’s an all-dimensional type of defenceman, so he’s a complete player. As I said earlier, between Nikita and Connor Carrick and Hyman and Brown and Marner and Nylander, and of course you mentioned Matthews, that’s a very impressive group of young players who have done extremely well. The key is them sustaining it over the long haul.

We know that Milan Michalek is with the Marlies right now and Ben Smith was picked up off of waivers and brought back to the organization. How much of what has transpired had to do with the play of Connor Brown, where you had to find a spot for this guy who was a great player, an OHL scoring champion, but clearly very quickly has earned the trust of the coaching staff.

Lamoriello: No question. He did last year when he came up in the latter part of the year. He did extremely well, and then we had him go back with the Marlies to make a run with the type of team they had. He’s picked up right where he left off. He’s opened the eyes. He pushes the pace. He works extremely hard. He never takes any second off. We’re getting a look at him playing with Kadri and Komarov. It’s a process we’re going through. There is some experimenting at different times. We are here to win, but we do have to find out about what our players can and can’t do, especially the young players.

With the Marlies being there right in Toronto, is there anyone down there that has really impressed you so far?

Lamoriello: I’ve seen them three times already because they’re right in the city. Kapanen has played extremely well. Leipsic has played well. Gauthier. Rychel. We’ve got quite a few young players there. I’ve been very impressed with a couple of young defencemen – Nielsen and Dermott, who just came out of junior – and a couple of people who we had up last year. Valiev. I think the organization has done a tremendous job of drafting and complementing the type of players that you need to put a team together. This was prior to me coming in here last year. It’s very exciting for the Toronto fans and certainly for our hockey club in the future. But, as I said, there is a plan. We are not going to rush it. We have some outstanding veterans. Unfortunately, we’ve had to make a move with a couple of them, but they could be right back here for the right reasons with what we’re trying to do.

I want to ask you about Matt Martin. He’s played six games now. He doesn’t look like the same player that he was with the Islanders. Again, it’s a very short body of work. I guess we all have to assume it’s going to take some time to address to a new situation because he was such a focal point with the New York Islanders. Do you see his game starting to come around a little bit?

Lamoriello: He’s played extremely well, so I don’t know what you’re saying. He’s done exactly what we’ve expected him to do. He’s actually killing penalties also. The style we play – he’s adjusted to that, but he gets right in the middle of things. He allows our young players to play with his presence there. He’s just a tremendous human being off the ice and on the ice as far as a team guy. We couldn’t be more elated to have him here. We’re pleased with the way he’s playing. We’re pleased with what he’s doing. He does a lot of little things that I think go beyond notice. We’re comfortable.