Lou Lamoriello continues to work the phones, Brian Boyle set to debut in San Jose, Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak ready to return to the lineup tonight, and more in the links.
Leafs Links
“There’s a lot of irons in the fire and the Leafs want to make more moves” (Johnston)
Chris Johnston: “There’s a lot going on with the phone calls. I can tell you that much. Will it manifest itself in another move? That remains to be seen. But Lou Lamoriello, quite notably, didn’t speak to reporters after the Brian Boyle deal — a sign to me that he is working on some other things and the important aspect to remember here with the Toronto Maple Leafs is that they still have — this is after the Boyle deal — as much as $16m in cap space that they can take on at this deadline and use that to get another contract from another team that they don’t want, while the Leafs add back some draft picks that they could trade here, they’re kinda both buying and selling at the same time. There’s a lot of irons in the fire and the Maple Leafs want to make more moves.”
Weighing Up the Brian Boyle Trade (MLHS)
Brian Boyle is a solid player and the Leafs paid a fair price to acquire him. It would be tough to argue otherwise. If they don’t make the playoffs – which is a real possibility at this point in time – then it will be a needless trade unless the team is able to re-sign Boyle to stay in Toronto and save face. If they make the playoffs only to be a quick out, is it worth it for a rebuilding team to trade a good pick for a rental? Probably not, unless they can re-sign him afterward. If they make the playoffs with the help of Boyle, do some damage, and advance a round or two, is he worth it then? Absolutely.
Brian Boyle: A Q&A with Lightning Insider Erik Erlendsson (MLHS)
Erlendsson: “He’s played left wing when on Filppula’s line; a combination that was sort of thrown together around December, with Drouin playing right wing, as the injury bug really started to hit the forward group. Boyle started the season pretty much at center in a normal penalty kill rotation as a third-fourth line center, but has been locked in at wing pretty much since December. He has gone from a role player to a legitimate top-nine forward who can play in any situation, including being a net-front presence on the powerplay.”
Maple Leafs make statement by trading for Brian Boyle (Sportsnet)
The fact Lamoriello declined to speak with reporters after completing the deal hinted at the potential of more moves to come before Wednesday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. The Leafs have somewhere in the neighbourhood of $16-million in cap space available should they choose to make use of their long-term injury room and it’s believed they remain eager to do so. That could help them make an upgrade on the blue line, or restock the draft pick cupboard while taking on a bad contract, or perhaps even both. Everything seems possible now.
Maple Leafs’ Bozak has scary incident with hand (Toronto Sun)
Bozak was cut when he was slashed during the Leafs’ win in Carolina last Sunday. From there, it only got worse. “It was brutal,” Bozak said. “Every time we went on the ice (after the initial cut), it kept re-opening. I was sitting at home (later in the week) and my hand blew up and I had to go to the hospital. It was a little scary but we got it taken care of and it’s feeling a lot better now. It was a weird one for me. When you are playing so much and your equipment is not the cleanest stuff, that’s going to happen. I’ve seen it happen to some other guys in the past so I’m just happy it’s over.”
Why Brian Boyle is the perfect deadline addition for Maple Leafs (The Athletic)
If you gave head coach Mike Babcock the ability to create his own Frankenstein monster for a fourth-line centre, he would bring to life something that looks and plays exactly like Brian Boyle. The Leafs fourth line has been bad this season. The Leafs forwards on the penalty kill have struggled. The Leafs have been bad on faceoffs. Boyle solves all of those problems.
Brian Boyle fills immediate needs for Maple Leafs (NHL.com)
Boyle fills immediate hockey needs. He’s big at 6 feet 6, 244 pounds. He’s a bottom-six center. He wins faceoffs, kills penalties, blocks shots. But he is also an experienced, vocal leader. He has played 100 playoff games in stints with the New York Rangers and the Lightning, appearing in the Eastern Conference Final four times and the Stanley Cup Final twice.
Marner has full practice with Leafs in San Jose (TSN.ca)
On Monday, Mitch Marner completed a full practice with the Leafs for the first time since sustaining a suspected right shoulder injury on Feb. 15 in Columbus. Will he play on Tuesday against the Sharks? “I feel fine,” Marner said. “Obviously, it still goes through the trainers, they’re the ones who call it, but, as I stand here now, I feel perfectly fine to be in the game (Tuesday).” Marner felt the same way on Saturday. “Yeah, I thought I could’ve (played). It’s always a lively debate between trainers and players. They’re just doing their part, trying to keep you healthy for a longer part of hockey. There’s nothing you can do about it. They’re the ones who make the last call.” Marner practiced in his usual spot alongside Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk and was also in his usual spot on the power play during special teams drills.
