Conor Timmins looked at his teammate, Joseph Woll, and bluntly presented him with an ultimatum.
The roar of over 71,000 fans at the Buffalo Bills’ Highmark Stadium was deafening. Timmins – a lifelong Bills fan born in nearby St. Catharines, Ont. – was decked out in a Josh Allen jersey and a Bills toque to celebrate his team playing the two-time defending Super Bowl champs, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs. And though it was Woll who organized a trip across the border for the Week 11 game, Timmins could not stand to see Woll wearing a Chiefs jersey.
“I told (Woll) I wasn’t going to sit with him if he didn’t take it off,” Timmins said with the kind of force you don’t often hear from the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman.
Timmins had the strength of the legendary Bills Mafia behind him.
“I’ve never seen an atmosphere like that. The tailgating, all the people outside the stadium beforehand, the flyover…every person in the 100 section never sat down,” Timmins said.
His Bills handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season. And Woll relented.
“(Woll) took off his jersey, eventually,” Timmins said.
Spend some time around Timmins this season and you’ll hear a lot more of that tone from the 26-year-old. Once on the fringes of the Leafs lineup, Timmins looks and sounds like a different player this season.
Coming into the season, the right-shot puck mover had played just 91 regular-season games over parts of five seasons. He’s now on pace to nearly match that in one season. His 16:45 ATOI is the highest in his three seasons in Toronto.
All four of his points have come at 5-on-5, putting him second in 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes among Leafs defencemen. And we can talk about Timmins not getting the hardest matchups in a third-pair role. But per Natural Stat Trick, among NHL defencemen with at least 200 minutes of 5-on-5 time this season, no blueliner has been on the ice for fewer goals against per 60 minutes than Timmins (0.9).
Brad Treliving wanted the Maple Leafs’ blue line to undergo a drastic overhaul this offseason. Did anyone realistically see Timmins becoming an everyday NHL defenceman under Craig Berube and a key part of that blue line?
“It’s surprising to everybody but me,” Timmins said.
Timmins has pushed back against popular perception. He has played all but two games for the Leafs. Once pegged as error-prone earlier in his Leafs career, he is playing a largely mistake-free game, making smart decisions on and off the puck.
If you were to rank the positive surprises through the quarter-mark of this Leafs season, Timmins’ play leaps toward the top of that list.
“Confidence, more than anything,” Berube said of what differences he’s noticed in Timmins. “I thought that in (training) camp, he won a job and he’s carried that forward.”
Let’s consider how we got here.
A healthy amount of training camp invitees meant there were no shortage of options at the buffet for Berube to choose from. A looming salary cap crunch meant some players would likely have to be waived. Timmins was pegged as a candidate to be put on waivers.
“I wasn’t paying much attention to that through the summer,” Timmins said.
Coming into the second year of a two-year contract ($1.1 million AAV), Timmins’ attitude changed. He chose to focus on the small details of the game or practice on that day. He purposefully blocked out thoughts about the future. Instead, he began breaking his game down shift by shift.
“That’s different from when I came into the league,” Timmins, a second-round draft pick in 2017, said. “You have these big plans and goals, and as those plans start to get dismantled with injuries and such, you realize that you’re not really guaranteed anything.”
With a clearer head, Timmins has been able to read the game much more accurately.
“Your career might take a different path than you expected. You have to learn to accept that and just control what you can control,” Timmins said.
Timmins has added new layers to his game.
“In terms of my puck movement, I could always find open lanes. Now, it’s a matter of when I don’t have those open lanes, it’s about trying to create lanes for myself through my skating,” Timmins said.
There is equal parts Zen and aggression around Timmins that wasn’t there in seasons past. Yes, we’re talking about seeing a sliver of a player’s personality when they speak to the media. But in the past, Timmins would often appear slightly reticent when speaking in front of reporters. He might have stumbled here and there to deliver thoughts.
Now?
“You have to have a strong self-belief,” he said.
That belief is being bolstered by assistant coach Mike Van Ryn. To spend any time around Van Ryn is to come away from it feeling more uplifted about the world around you. Van Ryn’s boisterous positivity is contagious. It’s rubbed off on Timmins.
“(Van Ryn) reinforces the things that have made me successful: Continuing to stay strong with my competitiveness, my battle and making the open play when it’s there,” Timmins said.
That’s exactly what Timmins is doing. He separated himself from other defencemen vying for a top six role, such as Timothy Liljegren, by making plays quicker and more effectively to start the season. The second-guessing in his game with the puck is gone. Ironically considering he’s playing under Berube, Timmins is throwing fewer checks than last season. Instead, there’s noticeably more vigour in his defending as he uses his brain to break up opposition plays.
“(Timmins) isn’t the fastest guy, the strongest guy, but he makes plays: Those seam passes,” Nick Robertson said. “Part of it is opportunity. And he’s taking advantage of his opportunity.”
So what’s the lesson here? Patience is crucial with players? That the Leafs player development model can actually work?
Or that Timmins is just a good defenceman, full stop?
There’s no shortage of credit to go around for Timmins’ early season play. Behind the scenes, many bolstered his confidence. Berube saw something in him and stuck with him. Treliving kept him on the roster instead of waiving him. Even Kyle Dubas deserves props: If Timmins can continue playing as he has, the 2022 one-for-one deal to acquire Timmins for Curtis Douglas looks like a masterstroke. Douglas has yet to play an NHL game.
But Timmins himself is the one who shut out the noise and made the most of his opportunity.
“Sometimes you just have to stick with it. It’s going to take time to figure everything out,” Timmins said. “Life’s not fair. You’re not guaranteed anything.”
What happens next for Timmins could be just as fascinating as his early-season ascent.
Cast things ahead to the playoffs: Yes, Jani Hakanpää and Simon Benoit offer the reach and penchant for physicality that makes them fits for the postseason.
But have either fully gained the trust of Berube that Timmins enjoys right now? Neither offer the ability to provide some sneaky offence in tight games that Timmins can.
Timmins is staying healthy. Can that remain the case? Will his puck-moving and confidence be enough to put him into the playoffs for the first time in Toronto?
Timmins will also still be under team control when his current deal expires. Should Treliving bet on the results he’s seen, believe there’s more growth to come and ink Timmins to a lengthier contract?
Or is another short-term deal on the cards? That would allow the Leafs to hedge their bets and see more of Timmins’ in a regular role before determining what role he could fit long-term. That also creates the possibility Timmins’ UFA value becomes too rich for the Leafs.
Timmins is defiant.
“That’s not on my mind at all,” Timmins said. “I’m just trying to earn my spot every day.”
It doesn’t matter that he is playing the best hockey of his career, without any indication of his long-term future. Timmins is used to it and has learned from it. The darkening clouds of uncertainty that would sometimes gather around Timmins’ locker room stall haven’t been seen all season.
Timmins looks and sounds different this season. And the Leafs are better off because of it.
“I just find this so enjoyable,” Timmins said. “It really is the best job in the world.”
(Top photo: Mark Blinch / NHLI via Getty Images)
