THW's Maple Leafs News

THW's Maple Leafs News for 03/20/2021

March 20, 2021

The latest Leafs stories from The Hockey Writers.

 

03/20/2021 edition:

By The Old Prof on Mar 19, 2021 02:26 pm

As the Toronto Maple Leafs prepare to host what promises to be a very different Calgary Flames team coached by the iconic Darryl Sutter tonight, a number of things have been happening around the team. The loss of Jimmy Vesey on waivers to the Vancouver Canucks might make a number of Maple Leafs fans happy – many didn’t see him contributing much to the success of the team, but it leaves a space in the team’s four forward lines to fill. It seems that Alex Galchenyuk might be filling that place in lineup.

As well, young Swedish defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been promoted to the team’s active roster. Could this be an opportunity to give him a chance on the team’s third paring or might he be shopped as part of a trade package? General manager Kyle Dubas did suggest (a) that he was looking for forward help coming into the April 12 trade deadline and (b) that he was willing to trade a good prospect to improve the team. There are rumors that Liljegren might be that prospect.

The Maple Leafs take a 3-1-0 record against the Flames into the game tonight; however, as I say, the Flames – except for the trouncing at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday – look like a different team since Sutter took over as coach March 4. They play at a faster pace and seem more determined in the games I’ve watched.

In this edition of Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at some of the changes headed into the game tonight.

Item One: Timothy Liljegren Is on the Team’s Active Roster

On Wednesday, Timothy Liljegren was put on the active roster. He hasn’t yet made his season’s NHL debut, and he might not play tonight. It’s often tough these days to tell what’s a move on paper and what means that a young player will be part of the lineup for an upcoming game.

More interesting perhaps is this move in the light of Dubas’ announcement that he would be willing to trade a top prospect to bring in a “piece” that he believes might help put his team over the top. (I put quotation marks around the word “piece” because as I write this post it strikes me that we so often treat young players as things instead of people – but that’s another post one day).

Interestingly, Liljegren is one such piece. The others that I see include Nick Robertson, recently-drafted Rodion Amirov, and defenseman Rasmus Sandin. As for the 21-year-old Liljegren, he’s been in the Maple Leafs’ organization for a while now but he’s still young. And, more to the point, he’s getting better and he might be seen by another team to have an up-side. He’s scored a goal and added six assists with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this season.

The word is that Liljegren looks ready for prime time. He’s been quite steady on the defensive end and is working to add that offensive aspect that will make him truly a two-way defenseman. Plus, he eats up minutes and has averaged more than 22 minutes per game with the Marlies. All this to say that a team might find him very attractive at the trade deadline to move a “rental” the Maple Leafs’ way.

Item Two: The Fate of Alex Galchenyuk

Most call-ups from the Marlies hit the taxi squad and then wonder if they’ll play or sit the game out. It looks as if it might be different for Alex Galchenyuk. With Liljegren and Alexander Barabanov, Galchenyuk was reassigned to the Maple Leafs’ taxi squad on Wednesday.

Then, in a quick move up the ladder, during Wednesday’s practice Galchenyuk moved straight from the Marlies to the team’s second line with William Nylander and John Tavares. That’s quite a jump for Galchenyuk and the questions for Friday’s game and after are “Will he start on the team’s second line?” and “Will he stay that high in the lineup?”

Hockey insider Chris Johnston noted that he’s found it interesting that Sheldon Keefe says the team still sees Galchenyuk as a player who can produce offence, who can make plays, and who can score goals. Reports suggest that Galchenyuk’s taken his opportunity at redemption with the Maple Leafs seriously and has been a hard worker in the AHL.

Galchenyuk has played well with the Marlies and the Maple Leafs have to hope he’s started to regain his mojo that has taken a beating over the past few seasons. It’s obviously that putting Galchenyuk with Tavares and Nylander is a plan to push him back into the offensive-contributor column. If that’s possible, the team would have another useful weapon.

Here is how the forward lines look as a result after practice on Wednesday:

Item Three: Jack Campbell Looks Ready to Rumble

Jack Campbell’s lower-body injury seems to be healed enough that he’ll be ready to play a game on Saturday. Campbell hasn’t played since Feb. 27 because of his lingering injury.

After Wednesday’s practice, when coach Keefe was asked if Campbell would be ready to play on Saturday, he reported “It’s really looking that way. We’re trending in the direction of him being ready to play this weekend.”

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

I’m a sap for a reclamation project like Galchenyuk (as I was for Vesey). I’m hoping to see him play with a couple of strong offensive player just to see how he’ll do. All season, coach Keefe has tried to find that sixth top-six player.

Certainly, Zach Hyman can do the job; but, to me, he’s looked awesome having and leading his own line. I’m looking forward to how the new line combinations do this weekend.

By Alex Hobson on Mar 19, 2021 09:26 am

Back in February, speculation had started to circle around the Toronto Maple Leafs that general manager Kyle Dubas was in the market for a top-six winger to play alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. I wrote a piece around that time on why I believed the Leafs could be in the market for a guy like Los Angeles Kings winger Alex Iafallo.

With the Kings now fighting for a playoff spot, the thought of that seems a little less likely, albeit not out of the picture. A few other names that I considered included the Anaheim Ducks’ Rickard Rakell (who my colleague Peter Baracchini wrote a piece on) and the New Jersey Devils’ Kyle Palmieri. I also floated the idea that the Leafs might take a chance on a reclamation project, someone like the Vancouver Canucks’ Jake Virtanen.

Another name that popped up as a reclamation project was Alex Galchenyuk, who was with the Ottawa Senators at the time. The Senators promptly placed him on waivers, and then when he cleared, traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes along with Cedric Paquette for forward Ryan Dzingel. And then, all of two days later, the Leafs acquired Galchenyuk for Egor Korshkov and David Warsofsky.

I’ll be honest, when the Leafs acquired the former third overall pick, I was skeptical. Galchenyuk was struggling in Ottawa (but then again, who wasn’t?), and only had one point in eight games. Surely this couldn’t have been the top-six winger Elliotte Friedman and all of the other analysts were talking about?

Here we are a month later, and the Leafs have yet to make a trade. Granted, while I don’t think Galchenyuk is going to be the only acquisition the Leafs make this season, I do think that he holds some untapped potential that we may not have seen when they first acquired him.

Easing Him In

When the Leafs pulled the trigger on the trade for Galchenyuk, I thought the cycle would proceed as follows – they would try him out on the fourth line in place of Jimmy Vesey for a few games, he would see limited success, the Leafs would acquire a legitimate upgrade to the top six and he would be flipped once again at the deadline.

But seeing the way the Leafs have handled him since the trade leads me to believe that they might see him as a legitimate contributor to the offense. He had never left Canada between the time when he was traded to Carolina and the time the Leafs acquired him, so there was no quarantine or any other delays. He spent a few days doing 1-on-1 drills with coaches, and then the Leafs assigned him to the AHL.

In six AHL games, he registered eight points while getting reps on the top line alongside Alexander Barabanov and Nic Petan. One thing to note is that this little stint with the Toronto Marlies was the 27-year-old’s first-ever time in the AHL. Once he left the OHL, the Montreal Canadiens brought him into the NHL and that was that. And while he didn’t become the No. 1 centre I’m sure the Habs were hoping for when they drafted him, they did get some pretty productive seasons out of him.

His career season came in 2015-16 when he put up a career-high of 56 points and 30 goals to go with it. After the Habs traded him to Arizona for Max Domi, he put up 41 points in 2018-19 for the Coyotes. Then, he found himself traded once again when the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired him in a package for Phil Kessel. He saw a dip in production, putting up only 17 points in 45 games, and found himself on the move yet again. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild in a package that saw Jason Zucker head back the other way.

The point of that whole recap of his career is that Galchenyuk has always seemed to be a guy people expect at least 20 goals and 40 points out of. Every single team he played for after Montreal seemed to be a “fresh start” and each team hoped that he would become the guy the Habs expected to get when they drafted him.

But the Leafs aren’t in a position where they need him to step in and be “the guy”. They’re more than covered when it comes to help on offense. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Nylander, Tavares, the list goes on. And the fact that the Leafs are taking all of this extra time to ensure Galchenyuk gets his confidence back could be setting him up for legitimate success.

In Dubas’ press conference with Sportsnet, he said that Galchenyuk has been “outstanding” in the AHL and that they’ve made a conscious effort to take every step to get him back to a level they know he can produce at. Not all players will respond to a trip to the AHL the way Galchenyuk did, especially somebody in his situation where he was once a high draft pick and expected to be an NHLer until he retired.

But Galchenyuk responded well. He put up over a point-per-game in his conditioning stint and now he appears to be ready to make his Leafs debut. He’s been getting some reps on the top power-play unit and he’s been taking some rushes on the second line with Tavares and Nylander.

Overview

We can revisit this article in a month and see if I was onto something or if it ended up being completely irrelevant. But think about it. You go from playing for one of the worst teams in the NHL in limited minutes to playing for one of the best teams in the NHL, in their top six, alongside an established veteran and star in Tavares and one of their most skilled forwards in Nylander, who have 26 and 24 points respectively.

I don’t think the Leafs are expecting the Wisconsin native to step in and become the 30-goal scorer he was in 2015-16. But I think they have more faith in him than other teams and fans alike may have, and they’re taking advantage of the week off to get him ready for some game action. And if he can even be half the player he was five years ago, then maybe their answer for a top-six winger lies internally after all.

By The Old Prof on Mar 18, 2021 03:53 pm

There’s always a chance that when an NHL team puts a player on waivers that another team will pick him up. It couldn’t have been a total surprise to Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas that Jimmy Vesey was quickly grabbed by the Vancouver Canucks yesterday after he was waived.

Vesey’s Move Was Speedy by Everyone Involved

In fact, after the Maple Leafs placed Vesey on waivers, the Canucks jumped quickly. At the same time, Vesey wasted no time making the four and a half hour (450 km) drive east on the 401 from Toronto to Ottawa. Part of Vesey’s speedy move was to comply with the NHL’s rules about quarantine and isolation.

Probably also part of Vesey’s reason for speed might have been because, as a player who was getting fourth-line minutes in Toronto, Vesey was probably anxious for the chance to get more ice time with the Canucks.

The Maple Leafs also wasted little time. Quickly after Vesey had officially departed, the team moved Alex Galchenyuk to the big club and partnered him on the team ‘s second line with William Nylander and John Tavares in practice. The NHL is a business, after all.

Why the Maple Leafs Waived Vesey

On Tuesday, when Dubas spoke with media about the state of his team just over halfway through the regular season, he spoke about having to put Vesey on waivers. The main reason he offered was that he felt he needed to increase the team’s roster flexibility, especially with backup goalie Jack Campbell and forward Wayne Simmonds soon to return to the team’s roster.

In the video below, the Maple Leafs general manager outlines his reasoning behind putting Vesey on waivers, and explains why it was partly based on salary cap juggling.

Kyle Dubas Outlined Two Specific Reasons for Placing Vesey on Waivers

Specifically, Dubas was asked: “Was placing Jimmy Vesey on waivers today a cap-related move or is there something else at play there?” In his answer, Dubas outlined two reasons for the move.

First, Dubas named increased competition as a key. He reported that he felt earlier in the season when the team had “placed a number of guys who now comprise our fourth line on waivers or sent them down, I thought it was really good competition.” Dubas named Adam Brooks Nic Petan, Travis Boyd, and Joey Anderson as examples. In fact, he also named Jason Spezza (and Vesey) as part of that group.

Dubas believed that, when all the different players who had played in fourth-line roles were coming in and out of the lineup, the competition that was created really fueled great performances from those players.

Second, Dubas suggested that the salary-cap issues also had created this need. He noted that “when Campbell came off of LTIR and back onto the roster but now has been sort of day-to-day here since the game in Edmonton, it has sort of limited what we can do in terms of players coming on and off, especially because we don’t have much waiver flexibility with those guys on the lower end of the roster.”

Dubas did say that the organization was looking to “increase our flexibility on roster” and also added that “Campbell and Simmonds get closer to a return, we do have to do some juggling with the cap situation.”

Why the Canucks Picked Up Vesey

Thomas Drance, a senior writer with The Athletic, tweeted after Vesey was picked up that he believed Vancouver’s decision to grab him made sense. He noted that Vesey was a “competent, NHL-level middle-six forward” and that was something the Canucks needed. In addition, Vesey’s contract was a good one for any team.

Drance’s assessment was that Vesey was a “Nice get, actually, and perhaps a sign of some modest, enhanced flexibility?”

Vesey Was Ready, But Didn’t Play on Wednesday Night

After making the drive from Toronto to Ottawa, at first it was reported that Vesey would be making his Canucks’ debut in Wednesday’s game against the Senators and would skate on the team’s third line. However, as it turned out, although Vesey skated on the third line during warmups, he likely won’t play in his first Canucks’ game until Friday.

Driving Fast to Fight COVID-19’s Ticking Clock

An interesting aspect of Vesey’s move was the rules that had been laid down by the NHL about player movements in the time of COVID-19. Specifically, because the Canucks picked up Vesey in Ontario (he’s already in Canada) and because the drive was less than five hours (four-hours and 30-minutes), Vesey didn’t have to quarantine or isolate.

The NHL’s rules note that, if a player who’s been called up or is moving teams can get to his new location in less than five hours by car – and drives himself, he would remain exempt from the league’s isolation protocol. Vesey did just that. (from “Canucks’ newest addition Jimmy Vesey faces race against COVID-19 clock,” Patrick Johnston, The Province, 17/03/21).

Vesey’s Future with the Canucks

Because Vesey drove to Ottawa to join his new team Wednesday, he’ll be an option for the two-game back-to-back series with the Montreal Canadiens on Friday and Saturday in Montreal. Fortunately, he won’t have to complete the NHL’s mandatory quarantine.

With Vesey, the Canucks have added a winger who can play on their second or third line. The 27-year-old Vesey has only scored five goals and two assists (for seven points) in 30 games with the Maple Leafs this season; however, he’s likely to get more time on the ice in Vancouver. It will be interesting to see how well he might do in a more full-time role.

By Jim Parsons on Mar 18, 2021 01:45 pm

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Anaheim Ducks have apparently set their ask for forward Rickard Rakell. Not every team is keen to pay the price. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still favored to be active players before the deadline and New York Islanders’ GM Lou Lamoriello essentially admitted his plan is to use his newly found cap space to add a player. The Buffalo Sabres may talk to Taylor Hall about his no-move clause and could the Winnipeg Jets take another swing at the rental market?

Ducks Want Huge Haul for Rakell

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that if the Ducks are going to trade Rakell, the current ask is a young, experienced NHL player and a first-round pick. While Rakell is not a rental and he’s having a productive season (19 points through 30 games), that’s a hefty price.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that the Calgary Flames inquired on Rakell, but balked at that price. Friedman also believes that price may be too rich for the Maple Leafs, even though GM Kyle Dubas has said he’s willing to trade a top prospect to land the player he needs.

It is expected that the market will favor buyers and if the Ducks want to move Rakell, they’ll need to lower their ask. At the same time, reports suggest the Ducks aren’t shopping the forward, merely taking calls. He could absolutely stay put and Anaheim is fine with that.

Lehner Clears Up Rumors

Lehner is back with the Golden Knights but there was a bit of a shadow hanging over his return, many wondering what had taken so long. Some speculation was that Lehner’s previous struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues was keeping him out longer than expected.

Lehner spoke with the media and revealed that this was not the case and that he was not only was rehabbing his lower-body injury, but had also suffered a concussion. The goaltender added that he typically wouldn’t have explained why he was out or spoken much about his injury but he felt the need to clear his name. He was disappointed he felt the need to defend himself.

Sabres to Ask Hall to Waive No-Move Clause?

When asked about his feeling towards re-signing Taylor Hall, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that Sabres GM Kevyn Adams was open-minded on the idea. He said he has a good relationship with Hall’s agent Darren Ferris and they would be talking. Then LeBrun noted: “Translation: Would be shocked if Adams doesn’t talk to Hall/Ferris about a potential move. Hall has full NMC so ball is in his court.” LeBrun later said on That’s Hockey!: “To me the idea that they had earlier in the year where Taylor Hall would sign an extension to stay in Buffalo, to me that’s out the door now in my opinion, even though the Sabres won’t confirm that.”

The Sabres season has been a disaster and if the team can get something out of moving Hall to a contender, they might try. There’s been some talk about Hall to the New York Islanders and Sportsnet’s Luke Fox also listed Hall among his top-seven pure rental targets for the Maple Leafs.

Other Leafs Targets

Beyond Hall, Fox also suggests that Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf, Buffalo’s Eric Staal, Columbus’ Nick Foligno, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund and Los Angeles’ Alex Iafallo could be targets for Dubas. The Sportsnet Staff reports that a mid-season slump raises speculation that the Toronto Maple Leafs may just go all-in this trade deadline.

There is a bit more talk lately that Palmieri might be on Dubas’ radar and there’s still plenty of chatter Toronto and Nashville might do business.

Islanders to Use Cap Space

GM Lou Lamoriello admits he’ll use his $5.5 million of LTIR space to find a replacement for sidelined winger Anders Lee and The Athletic’s Arthur Staple believes the Isles’ first-rounder in this year’s draft is most likely in play. Staples writes:

Spending assets for a forward or two who come off the books after the season just seems the simplest course for Lamoriello to take, and there are seemingly enough impact options already on the market to make that a worthwhile play.

source – ‘Five things to know as the Islanders aggressively try to fill the Anders Lee injury void’ – Arthur Staple – The Athletic – 03/17/2021

Jets to Take Another Swing Before Deadline?

While it hasn’t always worked out for them in the past, Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet writes that the Jets might try again to add at the deadline. Who and what they go for really comes to price and fit. Noting that adding a rental versus a player with term changes what he’ll need to spend, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said:

But as far as the UFAs, we’re hopeful that we can continue to do business as usual, whether it’s in a pandemic or not. I think the hard part is the flat cap moving forward. That makes it very uncertain how to allocate the different resources. So as far as that goes, we’ll try to make it as ‘business as usual’ as possible.”

By The Old Prof on Mar 18, 2021 10:49 am

If anyone was wondering whether the Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas would trade a top prospect if the right deal presented itself at the trade deadline coming on April 12, 2021, the answer came without a blink of an eye. YES!

Kyle Dubas spoke with the Maple Leafs media on Tuesday and answered questions regarding his thought process going into this year’s NHL Trade Deadline. Most insiders believed the team was looking to make a move and Dubas confirmed those reports. He then added even went further to suggest that a trade might be happening sooner than many thought.

In the video below, the Maple Leafs GM discusses where the team’s focus lies with the trade deadline approaching. During the interview, Dubas made three key points: the team is most focused on (1) acquiring forward depth, (2) looking more for a rental player, and (3) that he’d be willing to trade a top prospect at the trade deadline.

At Trade Deadline, the Maple Leafs Would Look at Everything

When asked how he would improve his team at the upcoming April 12th deadline, Dubas noted that he thought the organization would “look at everything.” He added that he doesn’t, “go in transfixed on any one area in particular;” furthermore, he noted that he would make any move “that could improve our team at any position that’s possible.”

During the interview, he noted that over the summer the team tried to make its defence and goaltending “a little bit more stable,” but it came at a cost. He lost good forwards. He specifically noted that “we had to move out some forwards that were good forwards for us in order to add on the back end.” Obviously, he was speaking about Kasperi Kapanen, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Andreas Johnsson, who was traded to the New Jersey Devils.

He also noted that he isn’t “precluding anything at this point, but I’d say most of the conversations are focused on forwards right now.”

Would Dubas Trade a Top Prospect?

The interviewer then asked Dubas, “Would you consider trading a top prospect this year to improve your team.” Dubas’ answer was one-word. “Yes!”

Whether that is likely or not, who knows. However, it’s the only acceptable answer Dubas could give. He’s not going to limit his organization’s ability to make a move because he’s unwilling to consider any trade possibility. The organization is doing its job building up a stockpile of prospects, but no one in that group right now seems to have the talent of Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner. Thus, they’re tradable.

How Will the Salary Cap Influence the Team’s Choices at the Trade Deadline

Dubas then spent some time talking about how the era of COVID-19 impacted the Maple Leafs’ decision-making at the trade deadline. Dubas noted that, given the likelihood that “knowing that the cap is going to stay the same … anything that’s added that has an obligation” makes him blink.

Then, Dubas dropped a surprise for me. He added that “usually you’d put a premium on getting a player that has future years,” which is what he noted that the team did with Jake Muzzin and Jack Campbell. However, he added that the trade deadline “is a little bit more complex this year, knowing that very likely it’s going to be at $81.5 million again.”

Dubas then noted that “anything that we take from next year’s allotment impacts a number of different things as you can well imagine.” The impact is that in the era of COVID-19 “it’s a rare time where probably a rental is a better fit.”

Dubas’ Bottom Line Is?

However, his bottom line is that “if it’s (a trade) something that we feel can improve our team long-term, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

Interesting. What Dubas is saying is that he’s happy enough (currently) with his defense and goaltending. However, if the organization is going to make a trade it would likely be at forward. And this interview was prior to having Jimmy Vesey picked up from waivers by the Vancouver Canucks. In that light, his comments make even more sense.

In the meantime, Alex Galchenyuk has moved up from the Toronto Marlies to skate in Wednesday’s practice on the team’s second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. There are surprising things happening with the team’s roster, and those surprises might be far from over.

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