Smart, aggressive roster moves give Maple Leafs best chance in daunting playoff bracket

5 7 minutes read

VANCOUVER — Behind closed doorways, the talks have been sincere, the priorities set in advance.

Deep into one other comparatively clean and profitable common season, Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs recognized the areas they might higher set themselves up for the Japanese Convention playoff gauntlet.

Dimension. Checking. Nastiness. Desperation. Defence. Expertise. Depth.

In headline-snatching waves, Dubas flung futures so as to add versatile two-way forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from St. Louis; speedster Sam Lafferty and cycle-stuffer Jake McCabe from Chicago; then hit chief and nostalgia king Luke Schenn from Vancouver and power-play quarterback Erik Gustafsson from Washington.

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These are deep and decided and imply hockey golf equipment which have trudged the trail and won’t be expert to loss of life.

However because the new-look Leafs confirmed Thursday in Calgary, grinding out and locking down a 2-1 highway win in a Darryl Sutter kind of sport, coach Sheldon Keefe noticed the best third interval of his tenure.

Dubas noticed a glimmer of a commerce deadline effectively accomplished, a bunch higher suited to springtime.

“Slightly bit extra aggressive with a bit of bit extra sacrifice. Prepared to place themselves on the road to win pucks. Do the correct issues defensively that aren’t essentially the fanciest or the sexiest issues in the sport — however they contribute to profitable,” Dubas mentioned in Vancouver, after Friday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline handed.

“I simply sense that with the gamers we’ve added, and likewise with the expansion of a number of the guys internally, we’re simply much better in that realm.”

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The catch, in fact, is that Tampa Bay (Tanner Jeannot) and Boston (Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnet Hathaway) received higher in that realm, too.

However the Maple Leafs — a company that gave the impression to be without end in search of the subsequent Nic Petan, Denis Malgin or Tyler Ennis — have churned most of all.

“The fellows we’ve added convey tons to our workforce. Plenty of character. Plenty of grit. Plenty of versatility. Plenty of expertise,” Keefe mentioned.

“We’d have doubled the quantity of kids we’ll be bringing into the household rooms for residence video games. That speaks to the expertise that you simply’re bringing in.”

If the household room feels the patter of mini sticks, the dressing room feels the giddy ripple of administration shifting the earth.

“We’re all in,” O’Reilly mentioned. “That’s an thrilling factor. We’ve received an amazing workforce right here and numerous good items, and it’s time to place in the work and begin constructing it.

“You simply really feel it. That sense that, hey, we’re constructing one thing. We’re seeking to go the gap.”

After tweaking his prime six and backside six, left defence and proper defence, Dubas mentioned he was proud of the roster he has handed to Keefe for a stretch run and past.

And, sure, that features the fellows in masks: Ilya Samsonov, having fun with a profession 12 months; Matt Murray, quickly to be coming back from a prolonged ankle harm; and prospect Joseph Woll, as promising a third-stringer as you’ll discover.

“I’m very assured in our goaltenders,” Dubas mentioned. “How assured are you that they will do it in the tip and pull by means of? Matt has accomplished it in the previous. And there weren’t actually different guys obtainable which have. And we consider in the potential of Ilya and Joe each.”

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Some puzzled if the GM would deal from a blue line that now runs 9 NHL our bodies deep, however the cap area continues to be open to signal prime prospect Matthew Knies and give him a glance earlier than playoffs.

And the recency bias of getting to plug holes in November when a string of accidents to the again finish struck prompted Dubas to take Gustafsson over a secondary, decrease draft choose from the Capitals in the Sandin commerce.

“We’ve had some arduous instances in phrases of who’s been obtainable for our D. I’d slightly have the fellows and kind by means of a bit of little bit of competitors,” Dubas mentioned.

Watching his gamers intently, on and off the ice, Dubas trusts that the leaders will welcome in all these contemporary faces, that they will deal with the turnover understanding that change is meant for the higher.

“We have now to let it settle and let these guys roll. We’ve addressed what we predict they want. Now let’s allow them to and the coaches get to work,” Dubas mentioned.

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The architect can now take a breath earlier than the subsequent stage of hysteria — the watching and hoping — units in.

Dubas has modified his imaginative and prescient. He believes he has constructed probably the most aggressive model of the Maple Leafs doable, from what the market offered.

“We all know how arduous it’s going to be. The simplest approach to put it’s: Exhausting issues are arduous,” Dubas mentioned.

“It’s a troublesome highway, and we all know that. However I feel understanding that’s essential for our group. We want that as a result of we’ve got to indicate we will overcome that. And we’ve got to push by means of.”

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