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Leafs rumoured to be signing a second Swedish defenceman, Marlies even up Eastern Conference semifinal series vs. Syracuse, Morgan Rielly downplays the immediate need for a captain, and more in the links.


Leafs Links

Report: Maple Leafs to sign Swedish defenceman Philip Holm? (MLHS)
Turning 26 in December, Holm finished at the top of the SHL in plus/minus at +24 while playing alongside another soon-to-be Leaf (according to reports out of Sweden), Calle Rosen, for Vaxjo HC. The pairing — both left-handed shots, but Rosen played the right — was viewed as one of the most reliable defence partnerships in the league on the best regular season team in the SHL.

Morgan Rielly joins the guys on OverDrive (TSN1050)
OverDrive host Bryan Hayes and co-hosts Jeff O’Neill & Jamie McLennan were joined by Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly to chat about a variety of topics from awkward pictures to the outlook for the Leafs going forward.

[Not having a captain] is really not a big deal for the players in our room. We’ve got 20 guys that approach each day the same way. We try to be the best teammates we can be to one another and the best people we can be. When you have a group that has that approach and that attitude, I think it makes it easier to not have the one guy at the forefront. That mentality comes right down from the coaching staff. We all come into work with a good attitude. We’ve got a lot of good guys and we all really like each other. That really goes a long way.

Come training camp, we’re not sure what the team is going to want to do, but we’re all very comfortable with one another. We’re comfortable with what we had going on this year. I think that we have a good leadership group moving forward… When that time comes, we’re going to be ready for it and it’ll be a big step for us.

Dreger: Leafs looking at European FAs for organizational depth (TSN1050)
TSN Hockey analyst Darren Dreger reports from Dreger’s Cafe to discuss Tyson Barrie’s injury at the World Championship, what changes are required for the Capitals success, and which European free agents may fit into the Maple Leafs off-season plans.

The truth is, the crop — as I understand it — isn’t as good as it’s been in past years. Babcock did acknowledge off camera that there is no Nikita Zaitsev that they’re eyeing right now, but there is enough interest in a couple of players that, organizationally, they think might be able to help. We always think of the Zaitsev example and how he jumps right into the NHL and is an impact guy. It’s not just about that. Sometimes you can just add some organizational depth, whether they play in the American league or, if they’re fortunate enough to crack the Leafs lineup, that makes some sense, too.

Steelheads’ Hague dreams of Leafs calling his name (Toronto Star)
Hague said he had Kitchener Rangers season tickets until he was drafted by the Steelheads, adding it would be great if the Leafs pick him: “My dad played Junior B hockey and I’d go to Leafs skates with him when I was a kid, when we had the chance … if the draft does work out that way, it would be a dream come true.”

How much wiggle room is there in the 50-man limit? (PPP)
This is too tight. The Leafs have long-term development needs, prospects to sign, and while some of those contracts will not count against the 50-man roster (players in junior are usually exempt from it) they need the flexibility to make trades, sign free agents and improve the roster. That flexibility needs to be an ongoing thing. They don’t want to start the season without at least a couple of spaces free.

Toronto Marlies hold serve at home, even series against Crunch (MLHS)
– Rich Clune’s goal was his first in the playoffs since his memorable Game 7 winner last Spring against Albany. “It’s good to see him get rewarded,” said Keefe. “Obviously, things didn’t go well for us the last time he played for us, and this was a chance for him to get back in for another crack at it. To score shortly after they made it 1-0 was big, and to have it be Dicky is good for us… we kind of got rolling after that and took over the game.”

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle helps change the script in Game 7 (LA Times)
Ritchie, usually valued more for his physical presence than his skills, was on the ice for that shift because coach Randy Carlyle, so adept at making in-game changes, had reconfigured his lines in the second period to put Ritchie in what had been Rickard Rakell’s spot alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. “That’s one thing that Randy’s always been effective with, making in-game changes,” Getzlaf said. “He has a great attention to detail throughout the game and that’s what he’s here for.”

Malamud: Ovechkin isn’t the type of player who can carry a team (TSN1050)
Russian Sports Writer Slava Malamud joined the Scott MacArthur Show about his harsh tweets regarding the future of star Alexander Ovechkin and another playoff failure.

“Alex Ovechkin is a tremendous hockey player. Let’s get that out of the way. He’s a very fun guy to be around when he’s in a good mood. I’ve seen him over the years in a variety of moods. I’ve seen him very happy, deliriously happy. I’ve seen him very morose. I’ve seen him depressed, and I’ve seen him drunk. That covers the emotional range of all Russian males, right there. I know that he can be an extremely fun player to be around. I know his teammates love to be near him. I also know that he is a little thin-skinned, that he does not take criticism very well at all. He never really blames himself for anything. He does not have that ability. I don’t think he’s very reflective of himself.

In particular, I remember the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver when the Russian media spent two weeks hyping him up with this great confrontation of Ovechkin vs. Crosby. “It’s going to happen in the final!” It wound up happening in the quarterfinal. After this disastrous game against Canada, out of nowhere, he comes out to the media – not because he wanted to, but because we made him stay there. He goes on this tirade about the media and this being our fault. At this point, nobody had anything bad to say about Ovi. All of the Russian media was all-out gaga about him. He just blew us out of the water with that rant. It was crazy. We sort of wrote it off as Ovechkin being very upset. Later that day, he went to Russia house and broke some fan’s camera and he got really drunk.

These things happen. You’re disappointed; you’re a young kid. But I’ve seen this from him more than once. I’ve seen this tendency. He was brought up always being praised and always thinking that he is the best out there. Everyone – from his very first head coach when he was eight years old and could barely skate, to the national team coaches – has had nothing but the greatest things to say about him. I don’t think he’s capable of critically appraising his own performance and his leadership qualities. I think that is a big problem. I think this is why he is not the type of player who can carry you over the hump and carry you to glory. I think Crosby is. Look at the players in the past – look at Dominik Hasek in Buffalo, who carried a horrible team to the Stanley Cup Finals. You look at Patrick Roy. Even Pavel Datsyuk – tremendously reflective player, very sober and very well grounded. I don’t think Ovechkin is that kind of guy.”