Preseason has officially started, and the new NHL season is only a week and a half away.

While there were some positives to draw from the Leafs’ split-squad games against Montreal, it would also be fair to call the overall display rather sobering. It also served as a stark reminder of just how important intra-division play will be.

One of the more notable changes under the league’s new 84-game schedule is that teams are now guaranteed to play all seven division rivals four times per season, compared to the previous split of three or four meetings.

Last season, the Leafs were a rather dreadful 7-15-4 against their division foes. Notably, they were swept by a mediocre Detroit team, while Buffalo took seven of a possible eight points from them. In fact, the Leafs posted a winning record against two of the other three divisions, and against the Central, they were dead even at 8-8-0.

Many factors contributed to where the Leafs finished last season, but getting absolutely worked inside their division was one of the biggest. Now they’ll play those teams even more.

Adding an interesting wrinkle is the player movement within the Atlantic over the offseason. The Leafs added Sergei Bobrovsky and Darren Raddysh from division rivals, who replaced them with Jacob Markstrom and John Carlson, respectively. Toronto also traded for Nick Paul while helping fill Tampa Bay’s backup-goaltending vacancy by sending Dennis Hildeby the other way.

On paper, Tampa is already feeling some of the effects of trading Paul. Yanni Gourde is out until roughly Christmas, and its 3C appears likely to be either Zemgus Girgensons or Connor Geekie, who spent almost the entirety of last season in the AHL. Perhaps Geekie is ready to pop now—he did have a very good year in the American League—or perhaps the Lightning have a big hole in their lineup for the first half of the season.

Clearly, neither Tampa Bay nor Florida wanted to pay Raddysh or Bobrovsky. Both are good organizations and had valid reasons for those decisions, but we can see the flip side, too. Bobrovsky is a Hall of Famer, and several Panthers players have discussed his importance to their success on and off the ice. Raddysh just turned in a genuine top-pairing-calibre season, and with the rising salary cap, he didn’t sign what looks like an especially prohibitive contract.

We can argue the pros and cons of Raddysh versus Carlson or Bobrovsky versus Markstrom, but that’s not the point here. At a time when division play has never been more important, a potentially significant factor in the final standings will be the movement within the Atlantic based on explicit decisions each team made. For the Leafs’ sake, they should hope all three players arrive with a fairly sizable chip on their shoulder after their old organizations effectively decided they weren’t worth keeping.

As a team, the Leafs have to be much better in these matchups. Most of the Atlantic is running back a roster similar to last season’s, whereas the Leafs effectively turned over half of their NHL team. Toronto is also the only team in the division with a new head coach. The good news is that while the Leafs play Montreal and Ottawa in two of their first three games, they have only one division game over the following 14 (against Buffalo).

It looks like the Leafs are in the league’s toughest division. Last season’s Stanley Cup finalists in the west would not have made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference with their point total. If the Leafs played in a different division, I would feel pretty good about their playoff chances. In the Atlantic gauntlet, the margins will be razor-thin, and the Leafs will have to be much better against their division rivals.

Note: There are no notes today based on the two preseason games, as I already laid those out over the weekend if you haven’t read them yet.

Quotes

Jim Hiller, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach

“I will draw it back to the spirit of the team and the commitment. If everybody does everything together and feels good about it, there is room to play different styles within that. That is not job one. Job one is to get the team to play, thrive, and be excited to play whatever style or system there is.

“I’ve done a bunch of different things. I’ve coached with coaches who have tried things a little bit differently. We will experiment with all of that, but I don’t think I could tell you exactly what this system or that system we’re going to play at this point. We’re early.”

— Jim Hiller, when asked what style the Leafs will play

“I don’t know if I would be the one to answer how I would describe my style. If you asked the players or players who have known me, they would probably give you a better answer. It might be different from what I think.

“What I think I do well is talk to the players. I like the players, and I really respect the players.”

— Jim Hiller, when asked about his coaching style

It is early, and I don’t want to jump on the coach before his team has played a real game, but I find it genuinely bizarre that he can’t articulate the type of style the Leafs will play or who he is as a coach. They are a week and change away from opening the season after undergoing significant change. They need someone in charge who is direct and can quickly bring the operation together, rather than someone beating around the bush with noncommittal generalities. Again, it is early, but I would be lying if I said this hasn’t caught my attention already.

“From our side, we have been consistent with Matthew that he is an important part of our team. Like you said, he is a really unique player.

“When we think about winning games when it matters, having players who are good along the walls and around the net front, can play a physical game and finish checks, but also have the talent and skill level to make plays and score goals, is pretty hard to find.”

— John Chayka on the idea of trading Matthew Knies

Chayka is right that Knies possesses a unique collection of tools, but he wasn’t physical last season, and he certainly wasn’t physical in his first preseason game. We can argue that it was only preseason, but I saw other power forwards around the league playing physically, including Juraj Slafkovsky getting involved in scrums and hitting the Leafs’ goalie, and Brady Tkachuk fighting. That is the game for that style, but Knies has rarely played it lately, if at all. This is a big season for Knies, and I’m eager to see how he performs.

“It has been a lot of fun getting to know each other and having him at the house, around my family, and around each other.

“I have said it a few times already: Hopefully, I can do him a lot of good, but I know it is going to do me a lot of good as well.

“He has an incredible future ahead of him. I am excited for him to get started officially today and tomorrow and experience each step of the way. It is always exciting.

“Whether it is me, Auston, or many of our other veteran players, we want to support him along that journey and get to be a part of it with him.”

— John Tavares on Gavin McKenna living with him this season

We have to give Tavares credit. He has opened his home to a number of young players, including McKenna, Easton Cowan, and Matthew Knies. He is a consummate pro worthy of recognition.

Tweets of the Week

Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs vs. Panthers, Game 6
Photo: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

This clip has been making the rounds, and for good reason. Matthews’ skating popped in his first preseason game, which is a sign that his knee is feeling good and that he is being more assertive while carrying the puck in general. He really struggled to create his own shot last season in the absence of Marner. That was never a problem early in his career, but he clearly grew reliant on Marner’s playmaking over time and now needs to adjust by becoming more assertive with the puck.

It is still early. Last preseason, Matthews and OEL executed a beautiful give-and-go for a goal against Ottawa. It clearly meant absolutely nothing once the real season started. Still, Matthews’ increased skating speed is a notable reason for optimism—not because it absolutely means he is 100% “back,” but because it suggests he is healthy.

It is unfortunate that William Villeneuve is out long-term and unable to attend training camp. He had a strong season for the Marlies last year and, for me, would have been in the mix to push for a depth roster spot. Given his absence, the PTO for Nick Blankenburg makes even more sense.

This is a cool tribute, and the logo looks great at center ice. I hope the organization as a whole does a much better job of highlighting and honouring its traditions. It has really struggled with this, including with the easy wins.

One example has always bothered me: At the Leafs’ home opener, the 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums perform, which is awesome. But hardly anyone knows about it, and it isn’t even highlighted on TV. This tradition is closing in on 100 years; the group has performed at every Toronto Maple Leafs home opener since November 12, 1931!

Five Things I Think I’d Do

Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies
Photo: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

1.  I think I understand why the Leafs have arranged their top six as they have. Matthews and Roslovic have history, and Knies has played on Matthews’ line for years. The same can be said of Tavares and Nylander, and the Leafs obviously want to give McKenna talented linemates without placing him on the top line. In that sense, I get it.

In every other sense, though, I don’t agree with it. I was hoping for something fresh rather than the same base as last season. We know Roslovic isn’t a true top-six forward. This is his sixth team before the age of 30 for a reason. He is talented, and the flashes can be tantalizing, but he has ultimately never won his five-on-five minutes. At best, the Leafs are hoping he starts hot, as he has over the past few seasons, to buy time for others down the lineup.

The Tavares line as currently constructed will be good with the puck and produce some great moments, but it isn’t equipped to defend or forecheck effectively enough to maintain possession. No contender will be overly concerned about that line because it will have proper depth and two-way players to match against it. Collectively, the top six is almost all skill. Nick Paul and Easton Cowan aren’t exactly prime Wendel, but at least they bring some bite and physicality to the group. I would sooner watch one of them in the top six than run a top six that is pretty much all skill.

We’ll see how long the Leafs stick with these combinations. I’m sure they don’t want to move the lines around early and would prefer to give them time to gel. That is partly why I would have turned the units on their head instead of defaulting to familiarity out of the gate.

2.  I think the Leafs are one of the only teams in the league that actively avoid playing their top center and winger together, and I absolutely would reunite them. Matthews and Nylander might not be a natural goal-scorer/playmaker combination, but they are a natural lefty-righty pairing who can both score and set each other up. They played together for literal years early in their careers and were very good alongside each other.

In the three seasons Hiller spent with the Leafs, this duo outscored opponents 76-47, owning nearly 62 percent of the goals scored during their five-on-five minutes. Only Hyman spent more time with Matthews over those three seasons.

I think part of the problem is that they no longer play together, but on the odd occasion—particularly when the team is desperate—they are reunited, and everyone expects them to magically dominate. It doesn’t work that way. They need time to gel and establish a credible baseline rather than being tossed together and expected to dominate out of thin air.

I would keep them together until American Thanksgiving and give them a long runway to figure it out, as most elite players tend to do when paired up—especially if Matthews is skating as well as he did in his first preseason game.

3.  I think a defense alignment of McCabe-Tanev, Rielly-Raddysh, and OEL alongside the winner of the Stecher/Andrae/Blankenburg competition is a perfectly fine place to start.

I would have liked to see McCabe and Raddysh together, in part to ease Tanev’s role, but these pairings generally make sense. I’m certainly not going to criticize the Leafs for reuniting one of the league’s better shutdown pairings.

While I know everyone is ready to throw Rielly to the wolves, I’ll again point out that, before last season, he won his five-on-five minutes in eight straight seasons. He is also younger than OEL and generally capable of logging more minutes per game. I would start there, too.

As for the final spot, we’ll see who wins it. There is still a game to play and over a full week of practice remaining. It is up in the air at this point.

4.   I think the Leafs should be hawking the waiver wire and possibly looking to get ahead of it by offering a late-round draft pick to jump the queue. Any young and interesting player is likely to be claimed before Toronto’s turn. The Leafs are fifth in the priority order based on last season’s standings, and teams such as the Canucks, who hold top priority, are eagerly waiting to see who hits the wire.

PuckPedia has a list of the players who are newly waiver-eligible, and some of them will clearly hit the market. A few young players to monitor include defensemen Scott Morrow and Ethan Del Mastro, as well as forward Ivan Miroshnichenko.

The Leafs still need to inject youth into their defense corps, while Miroshnichenko’s right-handed shot would fill another need; Toronto currently has only three right-shot forwards at the NHL level.

5.   I think the other position to consider is goaltending. Anthony Stolarz is injury-prone, while Sergei Bobrovsky just turned 38. If either misses time, the next recall is Artur Akhtyamov. Fair enough—he turns 25 on Halloween, and eventually, it is sink-or-swim time for him. After that, though, it is slim pickings.

The Leafs seemingly rate Samuel Hlavaj, who is next in line, despite the fact that he has never played in the NHL and has not been particularly good in the AHL, either. He was good at the Olympics, but they can’t hang their hat on a short tournament.

Considering how likely—almost certain—it is that the Leafs will have to turn to their third-string goaltender at some point, they should ideally carry a veteran hedge in the organization à la Martin Jones. I would still be searching the market for one.

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