MLHS’ Anthony Petrielli joined Sportsnet Tonight to discuss the Maple Leafs’ first 55 games, the power play, and the level of aggressiveness that’s justifable at the trade deadline.
Petrielli’s summation of the Leafs through 55 games:
They have put themselves in a good position to potentially win the Atlantic Division, but they need some outside help, and they need some of their top guys to stay healthy and elevate down the stretch.
They need another quality forward, and they need another legitimate NHL defenseman, at a minimum. But there are pieces you can be encouraged about — mainly their goaltending, Chris Tanev being really good, and OEL being a quality defenseman. They still need to add a little bit more. They’re not deep enough.
Petrielli on whether the Leafs are in a position to push in their chips at the trade deadline:
I think it needs to be a player with some term attached to his deal. They’re not selling the farm to bring in Brock Nelson, even though he is a really good player, on an expiring deal. If they are going to trade one of their few quality prospects or a future top draft pick — their top pick this year is Florida’s second, which borders on a third-round pick — it needs to be for someone who is not watching out the door in the summer, the way it played out with Ryan O’Reilly or Nick Foligno. It needs to be someone who has some term and is not going to be there for one run.
They have earned that kind of consideration where they would look at someone who helps them not just this year but potentially next year and the year after that. I don’t think they’ve earned enough to say, “Let’s start trading these guys and go all in for this year specifically.”
Petrielli on the team’s depth-scoring issues and Max Domi’s underwhelming season to date:
It is basically the same team that led the league in goals last year. They lost Tyler Bertuzzi, and that’s it. Matthew Knies already has more goals than last year. Bobby McMann already has more goals than last year.
If you look at it on the flip side, Auston Matthews is pacing to score half of what he did last year — he is pacing around 34 goals after scoring 69 last season, which is literally cut in half. That’s big.
Max Domi is just not producing. His nine goals were not a ton last year, but he did have 47 points, and he was quite productive down the stretch. That line with Bertuzzi and Matthews allowed them to spread their offense out a little bit more.
Domi has been an awkward fit this year. It is unclear where he should play or who he should play with. Having him with Matthews just made this makeshift second line that they tried with Nylander, Tavares, and Marner awkward. It didn’t work. It was only a couple of games, but it didn’t look good.
Part of the question is how to put Max Domi in a better situation, but at the same time, how does Max Domi start playing simply better hockey? He has to wear some responsibility here. He is not pressing offensively. He is not going to the hard areas of the ice. He is not shooting enough.
For a player this talented to have the point and goal totals that he does, he has to own it and play better.
Petrielli on whether the goaltending and defense are where they need to be for a deep playoff run:
The goaltending is, yes. They are not going to touch their goaltending, and why would they? Between the two of them, they can find solutions. They are both really talented goalies. I know they don’t have the longevity and the established pedigree, but in terms of talent, you have to feel great about the tandem.
On the other hand, the defense needs a guy. I don’t think a team with legitimate Cup aspirations has a defense where you are playing two of Conor Timmins, Simon Benoit, and Philippe Myers every single night in the playoffs. They are not good enough. It might sound a little harsh, but they are not legitimate, established NHL defensemen on a night-to-night basis who you can trust over a long playoff grind. They need another guy with a little more experience and someone who has established themselves in the league as a proper, regular contributor.
I think they thought Jani Hakanpaa would be that guy. Maybe they still do — there is technically still time left in the season, so it can’t be ruled out entirely — but short of him coming back, those are three really inexperienced guys in their mid-20s. They are not high pedigree players. To me, they need another guy there.
Petrielli on the state of the team’s power play through 55 games:
There are some awkward fits in terms of the personnel. You can see they are constantly moving players around to get them in different spots on the ice because you can tell they don’t really know where guys should be, necessarily.
It eventually led to this five-forward unit. Seemingly, none of Matthews, Marner, or Nylander were going to play down-low or in front of the net on a consistent basis, so they have spread them out all up top in almost an umbrella. I know it is a 1-3-1 formation, but those three are at the top of the formation.
At times, it feels like too many guys for only one puck. At the same time, they have been fairly hot on the power play over the last month and a half. Since Christmas, they are fifth in the league. They have been trending up to where you want them to be, and some of that comes as Matthews missed a little bit of time and when Marner missed a game in which the power play popped a couple. You can see that once you remove a single guy, such as when Matthews was out earlier in the season, the power play picks up, is a little more direct, and there is a little bit less passing and a little more shooting.
Ideally, you want all of the top guys clicking together; you want all of the best shooters and the talent all together, so it is on them to figure out the best way to shoot more and funnel pucks to the net.
You are starting to see it pay off a little bit with the five forwards. It is a dangerous unit. The big question: Florida leads the league in shorthanded goals, so are you going to play against their PK with Mitch Marner playing defense and William Nylander and Auston Matthews up high? You are going to play some high-talent teams. We saw the troubles against Carolina in January when the Hurricanes scored a shorthanded goal.
Can they do it against the good teams in the playoffs, or are they going to be a liability that forces you to go back to Morgan Rielly on the point? What is the domino effect of it?
Petrielli on the significance of the division race down the stretch:
I think winning the division matters. You want to play the “easiest” team possible. They are still playoff teams, but the difference between playing Florida or Tampa in the first round compared to, let’s say, a Detroit team that has been hot but isn’t a deep-run playoff team as constructed is significant. Potentially, in the second round, you’d be playing the winner of a Tampa-Florida series, which you would hope would be a big battle. It is a big difference.
I’d like to see them make a big push for the division. You don’t have to go crazy about it, but it would help.
