Maple Leafs Assistant GM Ryan Hardy discussed the Maple Leafs’ active offseason, integrating Gavin McKenna into the lineup, the addition of Sergei Bobrovsky, Nick Paul’s role, and much more on TSN Overdrive.
Can you take us through why this isn’t too much change? Why was it necessary to turn the roster as much as you did?
Hardy: Definitely, there are a lot of new bodies in. We looked at the depth of the group and just felt like (we needed) maybe a little more role definition, some guys with some center-wing versatility, guys who could kill penalties, and guys who could play physical when the situation called for it.
Maybe, in the years past, in some of these spots, we’ve had more top-six forwards who kind of found themselves in imperfect positions on the third or fourth line. We just looked at it and said, “Okay, with Cowan coming back as a young player with a lot of upside, skill, and talent, and now onboarding McKenna, it made sense to establish some clear role definition and have some flexibility within the group that we had.”
What is the expectation in terms of a role for Gavin McKenna early in the year? It could change, with some growth and some trials and tribulations. Where would you be penciling in McKenna for the role he’ll play to start the season?
Hardy: Again, Jim (Hiller) and his staff will ultimately decide this, but as we forecast it, it’s trying to put Gavin in a situation to use the gifts that he has, which are some really high-end playmaking skill and creativity, while also trying to accelerate the transition to professional hockey and set him up to hopefully, sooner rather than later, play playoff hockey. It is a bit of a different beast.
Gavin seems really self-aware and able to see some of the areas in his game where, probably, he’s been so gifted and so dynamic that he hasn’t even had to do some of the others. You saw some of that through his college season.
To me, it is about us, as an organization — with John, Mats, Jim and his staff — having a situation where Gavin can create offensively and do the things that make him special. If there are opportunities to play with different guys at different times and start rounding out different parts of his game, we want to have that flexibility, too.
What do you think about McKenna’s fit with Auston Matthews right away, or will it just work itself out throughout the year as he bounces around?
Hardy: Again, Jim controls the lineup card, but for me, with the departure of Mitch over to Vegas, that is a type of player who has done well with Auston in the past. Gavin’s line rush game and some of the interior players inside of possession — he’s got some unique gifts, and I think he would thrive with Auston.
Auston, as the captain and leader of the team, I know, for a fact, is really excited about some of these guys coming in. He would take it as a bit of a badge of honour to bring a young guy under his wing and help the team.
At the same time, I think it is very important with Gavin — and any of our young players — that the noise is really loud in Toronto. Sometimes, we sell these kids as if they are all the second coming. We have to be mindful that it is a teenager who will have his ups and downs in pro hockey. He will have stretches where, for the first time in his life, he will go a bunch of games without scoring a goal and [experience] different types of adversity.
We should be flexible and allow for some of that to happen, but also, because of the gifts that he does possess and the drive and passion that he has, I don’t think it makes any sense to say that if Jim felt it made sense to put him there with Auston, that it’d be something any of us would shy away from.
It is unique that there will be two other first-overall picks on the team. Have there been any discussions with Tavares or Matthews about the off-ice attention and supporting McKenna in all that comes with being a young star in Toronto?
Hardy: There have definitely been discussions about these types of things. Getting to know these guys over the years, Auston’s experience was a little bit different, obviously, getting drafted by the Leafs, whereas John came after a great career on the Island and came back to Toronto. I think Auston can shed the most light on what it is like as a number-one pick to get dropped into this market and the pressures that exist.
It is a little bit of a different time than when Auston, Willy, Mitch, Morgan, and all of those guys came through. That was a team that had burnt it down to the ground. Our team was a team that had been in the playoffs with Stanley Cup aspirations for a decade, and now we had an unfortunate season in some areas that allowed us to get the number-one pick. But we have a lot of great players in the prime of their careers.
Gavin is now getting dropped into a situation where maybe the support can be a little more robust, and it is not something where he has to come be the saviour. All he has to do is come and be the best Gavin McKenna he can be every day.
I am sure all of those guys who have the experience here can reflect back on when they were a bright-eyed 17 or 18-year-old, and all of this possibility existed, and all of the fame and fortune that came with it. They can help him work through that process. We all want players here who want to give everything and do everything they can to help us deliver the Stanley Cup to the fans.
For Gavin to have that support with the leaders of our team… John has done such a good job over the years with different players who have come in, by having them at his home or visiting with them in the summer. That is something I know he takes a lot of pride in, and a lot of our leadership group does as well.
The goaltending carousel has been significant. Dennis Hildeby and Joseph Woll are out, and Sergei Bobrovsky is in. How did you land on this decision and this goaltending room?
Hardy: Free agency is always difficult to predict. Over the last couple of seasons, the tandem of Stolarz and Joseph Woll, when everyone was healthy, was a really good tandem for us. If you look back on the versions of the team in the years prior, maybe, if we had those two guys — and maybe [Tanev], or a guy like that — maybe our fortunes could have been different. I think we had a great 1A/1B tandem.
Dennis is a great goalie who had been really developing nicely for us and played great in the NHL in the situation he was in this season. We had these four guys, including [Akhtyamov], of course, who were good.
There was the opportunity to bring in Sergei Bobrovsky, a guy whose training, preparation, and the way he takes care of himself is sort of legendary, and who has been a partner with Stolarz before. For Sergei to come in and join us as a guy with two Stanley Cups under his belt…
I thought it was cool. Gavin was asked about the number today. He deferred and referred to Sergei as a two-time champion, and he showed the respect there. The guys in our room have a presence like that behind them, and he and Stolie have had a great dynamic.
And there is the emergence of Arty. We don’t win the Calder Cup without the performance he had. That made a lot of sense. For the mentorship component of Bob and Arty, that is something that was built in as fellow countrymen. I am sure, when Arty was a boy, he looked up to Bob. That should be awesome for his development.
I just think it is so great for our dressing room to have a guy like that in there backstopping us. I think it will be a really good dynamic for those guys.
Every signing comes with risk. Bobrovsky is 38. Last year, it wasn’t a great season for him. What gives you the confidence that you will get the real Bob back and get full value for this contract?
Hardy: Goalie is always a little bit of a complicated thing to evaluate, but I think if you look at the team in Florida, they have been so good here in the last 10 full years, with a couple of Stanley Cups and going to the Finals the year before. Their team was a little bit different than ours this last year in that they were just absolutely decimated by injuries from start to finish.
You were kind of wondering, “Okay, if Barkov comes back, or if this happens at the end, could these guys sneak in and find a way?” When it tailed off and they started shutting guys down, you could tell that it was just a little bit of a different year.
To me, if Florida has their full complement of weapons in the lineup all year long, life is a lot easier for Bob. His numbers probably look way more in line with what they were before. For us, it is just about evaluating his body of work, his mentality, his makeup, and knowing how he takes care of himself and approaches the game. It seemed like a worthwhile bet for us to make.
Yeah, he is 38 years old, but we have seen guys, at that position especially, who have been able to go and get a few more good years out of them. We are hopeful that will happen. If there are a few ups and downs at different points, Stolarz has done a fantastic job for us, and we are really excited about Arty.
We believe in Bob, and we believe last year was a bit of a statistical anomaly, and that he’ll be himself and lead the way for us. We also have some support underneath him, and we’re really excited about it.
What kind of role do you foresee Nick Paul playing next year?
Hardy: It was one of those things that just kind of came together as the day was building. Nick can play with some skilled players when the situation requires it. He can play with some heavy players. He can be a real difficult guy to play against, as we have unfortunately seen in some signature moments in his career and tough moments for us.
We see a guy who can certainly play in the middle for us, can flex to the wing, and can play a bit of a different style if we had to do that. He has some versatility and special-teams utility. He has played all the different special teams before.
For us, it was more about a collection of guys, and Nick is certainly an important part of that. We have Sissons, who has played primarily center but has the wing versatility. Teddy Blueger. We already had Bo Groulx, who had some of that as well. Having just more of that for us was good.
As John (Chayka) talked about yesterday in one of the interviews, it is about building out the spine of the team. At different times, if we had an injury or lost a guy, we haven’t always had enough natural centermen to fill those spots. Now, with the way it is constructed this year — and even with some depth guys who may start with the Marlies and come up at some point — we have a lot of guys who can fill in down the middle of the ice, flex out to the wings, kill penalties, and play the power play.
That is something that, along with the pedigree, really attracted us to Nick when the opportunity presented itself. It is also always nice to bring a local guy home.
Matthew Knies has been traded 75 times in the last month in the rumour mill. Where do things stand with Knies? With his name out there to the extent it has been, has the front office been in contact with him?
Hardy: In Toronto, that is just kind of what you sign up for. Because of all of the protections that so many of our players have, when it sort of hit rock bottom in the middle of the season, everyone looks and says, “Oh, how are they going to make the team better?” That is one that has, for whatever reason, gained a lot of steam.
The reality is that Matthew Knies is a guy that players like to have, and he, as an individual, is a guy who helps you win the Stanley Cup. Every team needs guys like him to help you win the Cup. I understand why, around the league, teams would have interest, or that the media or speculation would be such that it would make sense for a lot of teams.
For us, he is a really important part of what we’re doing. He has some flexibility to play with Auston or play in some different situations. He is kind of built for the playoffs. For us, certainly, we are in contact with his group, as you always are with all of our players. But Matthew Knies is an important part of the Maple Leafs. Anything beyond that is really just speculation and fodder, I guess, that is entertaining.
Along those lines, is there a need for the organization to clear the air with Morgan Rielly? He has been here since 2012.
Hardy: I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think Morgan is a member of our team. I had a great meeting with Morgan at the end of the year. You keep most of that private.
Morgan is a great player. He has been a great player for the Toronto Maple Leafs for a long time, through a lot of different variations of this team. If you look at a lot of the records that exist for the Leafs, a lot of them have Borje Salming and Morgan Rielly. He is knocking on the door of 1,000 games. He is a wonderful teammate and an amazing guy. And he is a real good player, and has been a real good player for us for a long time. He has been a real good player in the playoffs for us over the years, and he is a special guy.
For me, you always kind of look at situations and want to find the best thing for Morgan and his family and the best thing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I think all of us, Morgan included, are more than happy to have Morgan as a member of this team. He is such a special guy and so important to what we’ve been doing and continue to do.
For me, I don’t think there is much discussion that needs to be had. Morgan knows how we feel about him. We know how he feels about the Leafs, the fans, and his teammates. It is just kind of business as usual, I would say.
On defense last season, it was difficult at times to transition or create offense off the backend. Darren Raddysh will help a lot, especially with his shot. Is that an area the club is really looking at — the transition, and moving the puck up to the skill in the top two lines, especially?
Hardy: Yeah, for sure. For John and Mats, that has definitely been a point of emphasis. Certainly, a lot of the time, you talk about getting the puck into the hands of the forwards, but even inside the line rush or the offensive-zone possession…
And using Morgan. Morgan is at his best when he is free, roving, using his skating, and creating. We want guys to be clean on retrievals, clean on exits, clean on entry, and able to enhance the offense. We don’t want to be in a situation where we have three forwards trying to create offense and two defensemen not. To be able to do that, you need guys who have the skill set, intelligence, and understanding of the situations in the game to execute.
If you look at Emile Andre, he has some of that transition play in his game. Certainly, Morgan has it. Oliver Ekman-Larsson. [Tanev], for a guy who doesn’t maybe get a ton offensively, his retrieval game and decisions with the puck are great. And [McCabe] is pretty clean with it.
We have a lot of guys who can do it, and then there is Darren Raddysh, who has the skill set he has. We have some young guys, too, who will come in and fight for a position. Certainly, as you said, it has definitely been a point of emphasis and is something we want to continue to build upon. It’s not at the expense of defensive play and connected play — we don’t want to be a bunch of one-dimensional “offensemen” — but that is certainly what we’re setting up to build.
