Bob McKenzie discusses the current holding pattern for the Leafs’ GM search, Frederik Andersen sits down with Darren Dreger at the World Championships, Curtis McElhinney reflects on his strong 2017-18 campaign, and more in the links.
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Bob McKenzie on Maple Leafs GM search (TSN1050)
Bob McKenzie joined Leafs Breakfast to discuss the latest on the Leafs‘ GM situation, whether Mark Hunter is likely to stay around if he isn’t named GM, and more.
On whether there are any updates about the Leafs GM situation:
Not a heck of a lot lately. I feel there is still a perception out there that Kyle Dubas is the frontrunner with Mark Hunter as the other internal candidate, but obviously, the longer it goes on, you start getting more and more rumours about, “Brendan Shanahan is considering this,” or, “Brendan Shanahan is considering that.” Some of those are just rumours floating around out there. But for now, based on what tangible information we have, we seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern. We will see if some of these rumours come to fruition, or whether what we assumed to be the case coming out of it – and that is that it was much more highly likely that replacement for Lou Lamoriello will be internal.
On whether Mark Hunter would look for other opportunities if he’s passed over for the GM’s job:
Only Mark Hunter would know for sure, but certainly, the perception out there is that Hunter would very much want to be the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He might even expect to be the next General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs based on his years in the business and what have you. If he doesn’t get it, and Kyle Dubas did, would he be prepared to stay on? Only he has the answer to that question. From the outside looking in, a lot of us would think that would be doubtful long-term. You don’t give jobs up, and depending on your contractual situation, you’ve got to chart out what it is you want to do for yourself. I think – and this is just an opinion, and I think a lot of people share the opinion – there would be a definite possibility that if it’s Kyle Dubas for the General Manager, Mark Hunter might pursue other opportunities. That’s just speculative at this point.
Mark Hunter has got a lot of boosters in the game who believe he is qualified to be a GM in the NHL and that’s ultimately why he took the step of why he left what was a comfortable situation with the London Knights. He’s still the owner and he’s still very much involved in the London Knights franchise, but he was hands on every minute of every day in arguably the most successful — on and off the ice — franchise in junior hockey in Canada, and he started to work for the Leafs and do his thing there – ostensibly, I believe – because he wants to be a GM in the NHL. If it’s not going to be in Toronto, well, he’s going to look for his best opportunity to do it somewhere else. All of that stuff sort of comes out in the wash as we find out what goes on here.
On what he’s heard about the meeting between Mike Babcock and Auston Matthews in Arizona last week:
Nothing specific other than Mike Babcock, from what I understand, was going to Arizona to visit the Brett family – the Bretts own the Spokane Chiefs from when Babcock was there. They’re down in Arizona, being baseball people and all. Babcock was going down there and while he was there he was going to talk to Auston Matthews. I think, when a coach talks to a player in the offseason, it is interesting on a couple of levels: 1) It’s a fairly normal process, especially for an organization that is trying to get better. It’s an evolutionary process as you challenge the players to get better and the players challenge the coaches to get better. Sometimes these off-site, off-season meetings help further those causes on both fronts.
I think he’s also planning to go to Denmark and talk to Freddy Andersen, and if he wants to talk to Mitch Marner, he doesn’t have to go very far. I would assume that is part of the off-season regimen Babcock is going to follow here because, at the end of the day, the Leafs did not have a successful season. They had a great regular season. They didn’t win in the playoffs. They came up short. They’d like to have gone deeper. The question becomes: How do they go deeper in the playoffs, and how do they get better as a team and individually, the players and the coaches? The answer is going through what I just talked about – that evolutionary process where players can challenge coaches to think outside the box and coaches can challenge players to be better. Ultimately, that’s how you get better.
Dreger Café: Andersen believes Leafs are growing into a Cup contender (TSN)
Frederik Andersen sat down with Darren Dreger on an off-day at the World Championships in his home country to discuss the season that was and the team’s Cup contender aspirations.
Andersen on his meeting with Babcock:
I think it’s just getting a look at how the summer is going to be. We’re continuing to build in Toronto and I think he’s so hands-on that he wants to make sure we all do our part. He doesn’t want to be at the Worlds, obviously, but he sees an opportunity to come and look at some players and obviously meet with the guys here.
Andersen on learning from the Game 7 loss:
The team perspective is huge. We were able to reset mid-series. We didn’t get the start we wanted and we figured out kind of how we wanted to play and do some adjustments. Obviously, in Game 7, it can go either way. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way. Those are things that are motivators for the summers. Those wins that we had were great moments and something you want to chase and get back to.
… We’ve come a long way in the two years I’ve been here. It’s really a fun thing to be a part of. I know we have a lot of special talent here.
Marlies sweep Syracuse, punch ticket to Eastern Conference Final (MLHS)
Dmytro Timashov scored his fourth power play goal of the playoffs and now has seven points in nine postseason games. Ben Smith, Chris Mueller and Pierre Engvall also recorded their seventh points of the playoffs.
What should the Leafs do with $25-million in space this summer? (The Athletic)
James Mirtle of The Athletic points out that Dougie Hamilton fits the needs of the Leafs perfectly, but that the Flames aren’t going to give him up cheap and could demand one of the Leafs’ top-flight young right-wingers in return.
McElhinney talks pressures of playing in Toronto (Sportsnet)
Curtis McElhinney joined Fan 590 to discuss playing for Canada at the World Championships, missing the chance to square off against Frederik Andersen versus Team Denmark, the season that was in Toronto and the challenge of keeping the backup job going forward.
McElhinney on missing out on the chance to play against Frederik Andersen at the other end vs. Denmark:
That certainly would’ve been fun. The schedule, with the way it is set up with the three-in-four, aren’t really Freddy’s specialty games just in terms of the workload. We’ll see as the tournament progresses; maybe they’ll move on and we’ll get the opportunity again.
McElhinney on a very successful 2017-18 season for him individually:
I think it was just a matter of understanding the team. Toronto has been a team that, for the last year and a bit, is capable of scoring three or four goals a night. For a goalie, that makes your job a little bit easier. In terms of the scheduling as well, with Mike, when I am going to play — there are no questions. Those back-to-back situations and maybe a few games at the end of the year to lighten Freddy’s workload. It’s just been one of those roles where it’s clearly defined when I’m going to go and I know I’m going to have the run support when I go in there. It has made things a little bit easier. It’s been a fun place to play for me.
McElhinney on having Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard putting up great numbers behind him on the depth chart:
When they added Pickard earlier in the year, it added another threat there and it makes you think twice about it, but I’ve been on a lot of teams and I’ve been in that situation before where you get pushed out by someone younger and maybe a little bit better. It’s kind of nice to have that pressure. With everything in Toronto, there is plenty of pressure already, but knowing you’ve got a couple of guys that are younger and some of them have pretty good experience, it’s nice. It’s a good asset and quality for the organization to have as well.
The Leafs search for a right defence upgrade, Part 1 (The Athletic)
Ian Tulloch of The Athletic looks at John Carlson, Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Ellis and Jacob Trouba as marquee FA and trade options, respectively, for the Leafs’ right-handed defense need.
