BUFFALO — The night Ryan O’Reilly was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe could barely fall asleep.
The head coach’s mind seldom stops churning over line combinations and optimal situational deployment in the quietest of times. But with 27 games to tinker with brand-new toys before the final exam, and a sudden influx of centre depth unseen in these parts since the Nazem Kadri days, Keefe’s synapses buzzed with whiteboard possibilities.
The coach’s first option, we feel safe in predicting, will not be his last.
But that doesn’t make it any less compelling.
O’Reilly’s first two games — a smack-around of lottery-bound Montreal and a humbling by lottery-bound Chicago — were spent centring star forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares, who has been nudged to left wing.
The reasoning behind the decision was twofold.
Foremost, it allows O’Reilly (also fine on the wing) to balance the chaos of jumping into his fresh team with the comfort of skating in his regular position. Plopping the new guy alongside two established leaders also eases the transition and makes O’Reilly feel top-six importance as the Leafs head into their stretch run.
Second, it gives Keefe a peek at something he has long been curious about but, until this point, has not been blessed with enough strength up middle ice to try: John Tavares, left winger.
The sample size is small and rushed, but through 24:34 together at even strength, Toronto’s new-look second line has been outscored 3-1 while generating 41.6 per cent of expected goals. They have, however, generated more scoring chances than their opposition (21-15).
“We feel maybe just a hair off at times,” Tavares admitted Tuesday morning in Buffalo. He’s hopeful the third time will be the charm.
“O’Reilly has been really positive, considering the circumstances of when the trade happened and right into a tough back-to-back. So, I think there’s been some really good things and obviously some areas we know we can be a little better, a little sharper.”
While we fully expect Keefe to roll with four centres he trusts against Tampa Bay in Round 1 — the balance of Auston Matthews, Tavares, O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari up the gut could give opponents fits — the Tavares experiment is an intriguing one.
Keefe and his captain have had multiple conversations in past off-seasons and heading into training camps about the possibility of transitioning the 32-year-old to the left flank.
Tavares says the topic didn’t arise this season until Saturday morning, when O’Reilly was already on a flight from St. Louis. Tavares was happy to accommodate.
“He’s adjusted fine,” Keefe says. “I’ve gone back and watched all the shifts for that line in two games, trying to see if there’s… some difficulty or anything like that. I don’t see that. He’s handled plays on the wall really well.
“He’s done a really good job, first of all, of embracing it and going with it. And the advantage is, it’s less of a workload. You don’t have to skate as much up and down the rink and getting all the way back. So, to that end, I think there’s some advantages for anybody that plays on the wing that can help them on offence especially. Just to have a little extra gas in the tank.”
Bam. That’s the key.
Tavares will be the first to admit that footspeed has never been his strong suit. So while he has worked diligently with Toronto’s development staff to improve his stride and explosiveness, Father Time doesn’t take days off either.
The move-to-wing idea sprung from big-picture conversations about how to best evolve the 1,000-gamer’s effectiveness as he moves into the later stages of his career.
Certainly, there is no shame in versatility. Tavares’s contemporary, Steven Stamkos, prefers centre, too, but has had some great success when used on the flank.
And Tavares himself reminds us that he and Stamkos skated on Ryan Getzlaf’s wings during Team Canada’s gold-medal run at the 2016 World Cup.
During Tavares’s 28-game stint for SC Bern in the 2012 lockout, he played exclusively wing. He ripped 17 goals and piled up 42 points.
“This is something that we would’ve wanted to try at some point. And I just like the ability to go right to it here now. And as I told John when we first made this move, it’s not going to be a one-off or anything like that. We’re going to stay with it for a little bit and give it some time to come together,” Keefe said.
“They look to me like a group that’s close to breaking out.”
O’Reilly agrees: “We’re close. Soon, we’re going to start to take off.”
Tavares understands that Keefe wants to experiment with a variety of combinations and looks ahead of the post-season so there will be a greater willingness and comfort to “flip on the fly” during a series when injuries occur or if a certain line is getting shut down.
That part excites Tavares. So, too, does the chance to deepen his chemistry with Marner and link with a centreman with O’Reilly’s hockey sense and battle level.
“Some pretty good players. So, just want to continue to get better, and I think it’s an opportunity where I can look to thrive in this position,” said Tavares, who is still adjusting to meshing his own identity with this new responsibility along the boards.
The trick?
“Making sure I’m not getting too stuck on the walls and (still) finding those opportunities to come off and create chances,” he said. “Getting to the net and into the middle of the ice to create chances and get my looks.”
Yep, this is just one look. More will be coming.
One-Timers
Despite having a day off the ice Monday, the Maple Leafs made Tuesday’s morning skate optional. Superstars Matthews and Marner were the only ones to take the option. Explains Keefe: “As we looked over the last three seasons, our results haven’t been nearly as good in this situation with the mandatory skate. So, it’s really just trying something different and putting it in the hands of the players in terms of taking what they need here this morning to make sure they’re ready for tonight.”
Defenceman Rasmus Sandin did skate but will sit a second game with an undisclosed minor injury. He was seen with his shoulder wrapped. Sandin will practice Thursday and may be available Friday versus Minnesota.
Ilya Samsonov is feeling better after dealing with a stomach bug over the weekend. “It was a hard day on the s——,” the goalie revealed Sunday night.
Maple Leafs projected lines in Buffalo Tuesday:
Bunting – Matthews – Nylander
Tavares – O’Reilly – Marner
Engvall – Kämpf – Järnkrok
Aston-Reese – Acciari – Kerfoot
Rielly – Holl
Brodie – Timmins
Giordano – Liljegren
Samsonov starts
Woll
