What might seem true about the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster today probably won’t be true when the regular-season opener rolls around on Oct. 9.
But that doesn’t mean the opening days of training camp haven’t provided some way-too-early hints of what may be to come.
1. Not just a numbers game for Easton Cowan
I still think Cowan has a chance — an outside chance, but a chance — to climb his way into the mix for a roster spot with the Leafs, especially with the prospect of a return to junior on the table as an alternative. That’s if he plays this preseason like he might be ready to play in the NHL.
The earliest (and I mean earliest) returns suggest he may not be there yet, which isn’t exactly surprising given that Cowan only turned 19 four months ago. Cowan didn’t look out of place in Sunday’s preseason opener for the Leafs. He even drew a penalty with a burst of speed, which earned him a promotion to John Tavares’ line.
It’s more the behind-the-scenes stuff at camp that’s shined a light, for me anyway, on just how challenging his leap to the NHL really is.
During the first couple days of camp, for instance, Cowan often found himself going head to head with Chris Tanev in drills, the kind of defensive monster he never encountered in junior. Tanev mostly had his way with Cowan, who tried and tried but could not wind his way around or through the new Leafs defenceman. “You’re literally just trying to get a shot on net and try to get decent body position,” Cowan said. “It’s obviously a good challenge to go up against him, because you’re getting better, but it’s definitely tough for sure.”
As Leafs management looked on during an intrasquad scrimmage over the weekend, mind you, Cowan looked just a tad behind the pace. When the puck found his tape, he struggled to make a play before opponents swallowed all his time and space. He was frequently overmatched physically, another non-surprise for a teenager who’s only 5-11 and 185 pounds. Cade Webber, who, to be fair, is a giant at 6-foot-7 and 212 pounds but also not an NHL defenceman, had no trouble pushing Cowan off the puck at one point in the scrimmage.
“Lot of full-grown men out there, so it’s hard to win puck battles,” Cowan said.
“Junior to pro never is easy,” he added. “I’m just gonna keep going at it day by day and keep trying to get better.”
2. Room for Nick Robertson and Max Pacioretty?
Both are kinda here with the Leafs to do the same thing: score.
One has buried 355 goals in the NHL. The other has totalled 18.
Is it Pacioretty or Robertson, and not both? Not necessarily, especially if injuries emerge. Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies, Max Domi and Calle Järnkrok are all locks for winger jobs in the top nine. Bobby McMann feels likely to be there too, though he’s not established enough to be owed a job outright. He would also be a fit physically for fourth-line duty.
In short, with quality camps, both could conceivably crack the roster.
Yet there’s much to prove.
While the Leafs were pleased with how Pacioretty looked in the early days of camp, the 35-year-old will still have to a) remain healthy throughout camp with two torn Achilles’ injuries in the rearview mirror and b) prove he has something left to contribute after scoring just four times in 47 games last season.
Pacioretty’s foot speed is what I’ve been watching closely. That’s almost always the thing that knocks guys his age out of the league. It feels like even more of a threat for Pacioretty given those injuries.
He got the start he was looking for on Sunday, scoring twice on a line with Tavares.
Though he owns a contract already, Robertson’s climb to a roster spot feels steeper. He has no giant well of experience and success in the league to fall back on like Pacioretty does, nor was he drafted by the current Leafs GM. His best hope of winning a spot? Make a strong first impression on Craig Berube and establish the kind of trust that never totally materialized under Sheldon Keefe. Which, for Robertson, means taking care of the puck and keeping things square defensively.
He has to hope for — earn? — a long look in the preseason with the kind of linemates he needs to thrive in the NHL.
Last fall, Robertson drew Tavares and Knies as linemates in one preseason game and nabbed William Nylander and Domi in another. But in the remaining games he played, he drew Pontus Holmberg, Nick Abruzzese, Noah Gregor, Ryan Reaves and David Kämpf — and didn’t make the team.
Robertson practised Sunday on a line with Kämpf and McMann.
3. Same old PP1
The Leafs could still pivot in the preseason, but starting Morgan Rielly back alongside Tavares, Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at the start of the preseason sure suggests that PP1 will remain intact (for now, anyway).
Keeping Rielly stationed atop the unit is curious with Oliver Ekman-Larsson standing by. It’s not as if having Rielly spearhead PP1 hasn’t worked — the Leafs have the third-best power play in the league over the last four seasons — it’s just that his lack of shot threat up top detracts from the unit.
It’s what spurred John Klingberg joining the group to start last season, only for that to fail and Rielly to return.
Maybe the Leafs want to give the old look another chance with fresh perspective from Marc Savard in the director’s chair, with the opportunity to pivot to Ekman-Larsson if need be.
4. Where does Holmberg stand?
Holmberg didn’t make the Leafs out of camp last season, but became a second-half staple in Keefe’s lineup.
He played in all seven playoff games and played more than Robertson. Keefe liked his versatility, using him all over the lineup in all three forward positions and on the penalty kill.
Holmberg even played Game 7 on Matthews’ left wing.
Yet it’s easy to see a world with him initially on the outside of a Berube lineup. The new Leafs coach had Reaves and PTO signee Steven Lorentz on Kämpf’s wings to start camp, a huge and heavy trio that aligns with Berube’s proclivities and which could easily suit up together on opening night.
Holmberg doesn’t check the heavy box, nor is he someone Berube is likely to be familiar with given his limited experience in the league.
Where does that leave the 25-year-old? A 13th forward? Is there another spot for him in the lineup — alongside Nylander and Järnkrok, maybe? Is Reaves a lock?
Holmberg requires waivers and would likely be snatched if left available, so he figures to be around when the season starts, but his path to regular playing time might just be more challenging than it was.
Having said all that, Lorentz is already injured (but still skating and presumably not out long). And, in an admittedly small sample size of just under 60 minutes, the trio of Holmberg, Kämpf and Reaves dominated (72 percent expected goals).
Is that Berube’s starting fourth line?
5. Jani Hakanpää’s availability could swing plans on defence
Hakanpää wore a red jersey, signifying an injured player, during the opening days of camp and joined a group made up of prospects. Out of the mix, essentially, as he continues to recover from a knee injury that cut short his season last year in Dallas.
At the end of one such session on Saturday, Hakanpää left the ice and immediately struck up a conversation with Rich Rotenberg, the team’s director of high performance, as he walked back to the dressing room.
The expectation (hope?) is for the 32-year-old to join one of the two primary groups this week, though it remains to be seen if he’ll be available to play any preseason games. The Leafs have three games this week, none of which are likely to include Hakanpää, which leaves the final two exhibition outings with Detroit: Oct. 3 and Oct. 5. If Hakanpää can get into one of those games and demonstrate he’s ready(ish) for game action, his availability for the start of the regular season becomes more likely.
At which point the Leafs coaching staff would have a decision to make, assuming everyone else is healthy: Who plays with Hakanpää and where does that leave everyone else?
Hakanpää is a righty so he would presumably play with one of Jake McCabe, Ekman-Larsson, or Simon Benoît. Would that leave Timothy Liljegren on the outside? Benoît?
Still, this might all be moot if Hakanpää isn’t ready to start the year.
6. Towering defence
Hakanpää is the headliner here at 6-foot-7, but the Leafs defence as a whole is suddenly crawling with giants.
Chris Tanev is almost 6-3. Ekman-Larsson is 6-2. Webber is 6-7. Philippe Myers, a right defenceman who figures to play some games for the Leafs when injuries strike, is 6-5. Nicolas Mattinen, a 2016 sixth-round pick who spent last season playing in Germany, is back and 6-5.
None of this is an accident.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving is a big believer in, well, big on the back end.
(Top photo of Craig Berube: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)
