The Leafs sign four Europeans to entry-level deals, Bob McKenzie discusses the Leafs’ search for defense help and what they might be willing to pay, previewing the Marlies’ Eastern Conference Final matchup against Lehigh, ranking the Leafs’ past General Managers, and more in the links.
Latest MLHS Coverage
“One thing that stood out was Mike Babcock’s early interest”: Is Pär Lindholm the solution for the Leafs at fourth-line center? (MLHS)
Alec has more on the Leafs‘ Swedish center addition and where he might fit in Toronto.
Toronto Marlies vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms: 2018 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final Preview & Schedule (MLHS)
Mark tees up the meeting between the AHL’s top two regular season teams in the Eastern Conference Final.
Leafs sign four: Igor Ozhiganov and Par Lindholm signings official; Pierre Engvall and Jesper Lindgren sign entry-level deals (MLHS)
A rundown of the four signings the Leafs made on Thursday.
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Bob McKenzie on possible defense targets for Leafs (TSN1050)
Bob McKenzie joined Leafs Breakfast on Wednesday to discuss the Leafs front office situation moving forward, the market for defense, potential available blue liners in Carolina, and what the acquisition cost might be for the Leafs.
On the defensemen potentially available in Carolina:
Justin Faulk is one of a number of Carolina defensemen who may be available. The word out of Carolina is that they’re open to doing a lot of things. Doesn’t mean they’re committed to it, but they’re open to listening on basically all of their players outside of Sebastien Aho. You’ve got a rather unconventional but somewhat aggressive management group that is now headed by Don Waddell and Rick Dudley and Paul Krepelka and the new head coach in Rod Brind’Amour, and obviously, owner Tom Dundon at the peak of the pyramid probably calling a lot of the shots and being directly involved. Faulk is a guy who is probably available. I don’t know if Slavin and Pesce are. But there are a lot of defensemen who are available in Carolina.
You run into the same old problem if you’re the Leafs: Whether it’s Faulk, or Slavin or Pesce, or any of these relatively young defensemen that could bolster Toronto’s blue line, you know that Carolina is going to want a big return on them and they’re going to be looking at premiere assets the Toronto Maple Leafs have up front. I’m just not sure that the Leafs perceive their defense to be so woeful that they’re going to subtract a piece – whether it’s a Nylander, a Connor Brown, or any of the fixture pieces up front – to try to improve the blue line.
The blue line does probably need some attention. I don’t want to say it’s going to happen organically, but I’m not sure that necessarily a trade subtracting one of the key pieces up front is going to be the way to do it.
On whether the Leafs would part with a piece like Connor Brown in a deal for defense help:
Yeah, they might, for the right deal. But they’ve also got to be a little bit careful here. Unless we miss our guess here, there are some pretty big holes up front in this lineup. James van Riemsdyk – likely gone. Tyler Bozak – likely gone. Yeah, Kasperi Kapanen is going to move up the lineup and Andreas Johnsson should be a full-time player for them this year, and that is an area of strength for the Leafs – scoring wingers and good wingers that can play. But at the same time, Komarov will be gone. Probably, JVR will be gone. And you’ve got a hole at center. You’ve got to be careful about what other holes you create in your lineup trying to repair the defense.
Darren Dreger on the relationship between Babcock and Dubas (TSN1050)
On Overdrive, Dreger discusses the Leafs hiring of Kyle Dubas and how the relationship between him and Mike Babcock might shake out going forward.
It’s going to be a little bit different, of course. Babcock had a healthy amount of respect for Lou Lamoriello. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to go out of his way to push Kyle Dubas around, but Babcock for sure is going to offer his opinion on absolutely everything. The only way that relationship works is if there is a respect for the authority and Kyle Dubas has the leverage to make some tough roster decisions.
There is still some uncertainty as to whether or not there will be change. Is Lou Lamoriello going to land with the Islanders in some capacity? Is Mark Hunter going to stay around? From a management perspective, there is still some uncertainty. But in the meantime, Dubas has a plateful. I think they are going to continue to, if not kick tires, have a meaningful dialogue with at least one, two, or maybe all three top pending UFAs, maybe starting with Leo Komarov because we know how much Mike Babcock appreciates the game of Komarov. He made a point of how good he is and Tyler Bozak, and the fact that JVR does nothing but score goals. I’m sure he has provided a pretty healthy amount of opinion as to what Dubas should be doing first.
On Mike Babcock meeting with players so soon after the season and visiting their families’ homes:
It is a bit weird, there is no question about that. We don’t have to go through the whole Auston Matthews scenario again because he discussed that and described it essentially as a home run that he was able to spend time with Matthews’ parents. In Denmark, I guess it made sense to follow the theme. I was out for a walk with Ray Ferraro and we ran into Freddy Andersen as he was going to his parents’ house to meet Mike Babcock, who was there to meet with his parents. After the meeting with me at the Dreger Cafe, he was then going to meet with Kasperi Kapanen and he talked about spending time in Copenhagen with Nikita Zaitsev. Babcock has pretty much circled the wagons.
Ranking all 16 Maple Leafs GMs to come before Dubas (Sportsnet)
Sean McIndoe rates the Maple Leafs’ 16 predecessors to new GM Kyle Dubas, surprisingly slotting Brian Burke in just ahead of Lou Lamoriello on the basis of their workloads, time at the helm, and Burke’s work via trade. Cliff Fletcher, Punch Imlach and Conn Smythe make up the top three.
Marchment becomes menacing, unlikely playoff force for Marlies (The Athletic)
“He’s a big guy whose skating has come a long way, he’s got great skills but he’s also physical and competitive. When you couple all of that with his size, it makes a very interesting player and it makes him unique to this prospect group that we have,” Sheldon Keefe said. “I was really impressed with just how he took it upon himself to be that physical presence in the series. He really was a difference maker. He eliminated some guys from the series with some big hits where he just got the better of them.”
A look at the key Toronto Marlies Performers after two rounds (MLHS)
Complementing the aforementioned pair is rookie Pierre Engvall. The talented Swedish winger has quickly become a fan favourite with his scoring touch (three ES goals in the playoffs), but his game is built on more than just the skill and finishing ability. He’s heeded the words of Sheldon Keefe by playing with more of a physical edge, which sets him up to utilize his lanky frame and long reach to keep the puck alive along the boards and strip opponents on the forecheck.
The Leafs’ search for a centre, Part 1: The big-name options (The Athletic)
Ian Tulloch looks at some external options down the middle for the Leafs via trade and free agency, including Joe Thornton, Paul Stastny, and finally, retaining Tyler Bozak. The other option, of course, is transitioning William Nylander to the role and looking for more of a depth add that might not be as costly, but whether Mike Babcock feels Nylander is ready to be a full-time NHL center is another question altogether.
