The Detroit Red Wings defeated the (mostly) Toronto Marlies 4-3 Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, wrapping a merciful bow on the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ eight-game pre-season tour (4-2-2).
Toronto’s undrafted Max Ellis and Tommy Miller enjoyed a fine night in their home state of Michigan, each scoring a goal and adding an assist. Bubble centre Fraser Minten put forth another decent showing, his sixth of the exhibition season. And we were reminded, once again, that an NHL lineup should trump an AHL lineup.
OK, enough with the tune-ups.
Let’s trim these rosters and play for points already.
“You’re definitely ready to turn the page and get going,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Here are a few things to keep in mind Thanksgiving weekend as the Maple Leafs get their dressing room and salary cap in order ahead of Wednesday’s home opener.
Toronto’s waivers come down to the wire
Leaving camp compliance to the last minute, the Maple Leafs have waited until Sunday to place their bubble players on what has been a hectic waiver wire these days.
Expected cuts-slash-callups like Pontus Holmberg, Nick Robertson, and Mikko Kokkonen are exempt from waivers and easy to stash on the farm.
Happy camp surprises Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan can simply be returned to their junior clubs, though Minten would make a 23-man roster on merit.
The cap-crunched Leafs, however, should only be able to keep 20 or 21 in the fold.
“We’ll see. It’s a huge step, and obviously preseason is not the same as the regular season,” Minten told reporters in Detroit postgame.
“Either way, I’m happy. I think I left everything I could on the table.”
The injured Conor Timmins (lower body) and Dylan Gambrell (concussion) are not exempt from waivers nor ready to play anytime soon.
Third-string goaltender Martin Jones; blueline hopefuls Simon Benoit, William Lagesson and Maxime Lajoie; and fringe forwards Sam Lafferty, Kyle Clifford and Bobby McMann do require waivers.
And fourth-line left wing Noah Gregor (PTO) has yet to sign a contract.
Keep your eyes glued to the wire at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT Sunday, the final opportunity for clubs to place players on waivers and have them clear prior to the submission of opening rosters.
Jones, in particular, will be a source of waiver anxiety, as the Leafs would love some veteran goalie depth available should injury strike.
Final cap-compliant rosters are due Monday by 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.
“How it all shakes out in the end remains to be seen,” Keefe said. “But what’s clear is we have players that are coming. Some quicker than we thought.”
Klingberg on track for opening night
John Klingberg — the blueline’s major off-season addition and new power-play toy — should have the greenlight for Wednesday’s opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
The defenceman’s training camp was interrupted when he suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury in his first pre-season game Sept. 25, then aggravated it in his second, on Sept. 27.
After a week off the ice, Klingberg is again practising in full and made a pitch to play Saturday, only to be denied by the Leafs medical staff.
With Klingberg adjusting to a new partner and new system, missing a chunk of camp isn’t ideal. He could be a little rusty.
“I got bruised up a little bit and then I tweaked something, but all good now,” Klingberg assured reporters. “I understand both sides. Myself thinking playing [Saturday] wouldn’t be a problem, but it would also be stupid to do something that makes me lose even more time. I’m going to listen to the doctors. They’re smart enough to know.”
Expect Klingberg to the right of safety net Jake McCabe when the season starts.
Samsonov shakes it off
Starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov left Friday’s practice in pain after taking a high shot from Calle Järnkrok near his collarbone.
Samsonov is Wednesday’s projected starter despite a shaky training camp. He dropped his stick no less than three times but escaped with a scrambly 4-3 overtime win over an AHL-heavy Detroit squad Thursday at home.
“There are some things there we want to get him to tighten up on for sure,” Keefe said.
Samsonov has never started more than 40 games in a single season but will be given every opportunity to carry the load for Toronto in yet another contract season.
The 26-year-old netminder has been paying special attention to his footwork in his sessions with goalie coach Curtis Sanford.
“I want to win the Stanley Cup,” Samsonov said. “That’s it for me.”
Top line still developing chemistry
Tyler Bertuzzi was signed ostensibly to be a gritty left-wing upgrade from Michael Bunting to hound pucks and bang the crease on Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s dazzling first line.
“He has a weird way of getting pucks back,” Marner told reporters. “It’s like a Neanderthal out there sometimes, and it’s awesome to have on your team. Especially recently it seems on the forecheck, he’s getting a lot of those pucks back or making a loose puck for F2 [another forward]. It’s just been great in that aspect. For us, it’s just knowing that if he is the first guy in there, usually a puck will be hanging around the feet.”
Bertuzzi scored unassisted Thursday against the Red Wings, his original Original Six team, but the newly formed trio did not connect for an even-strength goal in any of its three pre-season games.
Keefe believes Bertuzzi’s comfort and pace has improved through camp, and the coach was encouraged by the O-zone time they generated late in Thursday’s win. Certainly, there is another level to reach for this high-expectations trio.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be like snapping our fingers quick and easy,” Marner said. “It’s never like that. It takes a couple days to even get back acquainted, really, with Auston.”
For all the Dogs (and Domi’s dad)
Tie Domi walked out to the stage with fellow Toronto icon Drake on Friday to kick off the rapper’s two-night concert at Scotiabank Arena October’s Very Own Arena.
Tie’s son Max, who gifted Drake a Canadiens sweater back in 2018, was in the building appreciating his father’s shine.
“He deserves it. He gave his heart and soul to the city, just like Drake does. It was great to see. They’re good buddies. It was awesome. He was pretty excited about it, and he looked good up there,” Max said of Tie.
“He’s the man.”
One-Timers
Rough night for Holmberg, Gregor, Kokkonen, Lagesson, and Lafferty, who each finished minus-3…. Nice showing by senior Marlie Kyle Clifford: two assists and a plus-2. A great voice of leadership to have in the minors…. Backup goalie Joseph Woll wrapped up his first proper NHL camp. He battled an illness and both his appearances ended in losses. Woll gave up seven goals on 54 shots through less than 90 minutes of work…. Despite playing just three games, Timmins finished as the Leafs’ pre-season points leader (six).
