The Maple Leafs held an optional practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Sunday.
Darren Raddysh cracks a small smile when informed that a couple tweets he and Connor McDavid sent to each other in 2012 were dug up by Leafs fans and reposted following Saturday night’s Leafs win in Edmonton.
“Back in junior, you know, using Twitter and Instagram when it first came out, it was pretty cool,” said Raddysh, who was teammates with McDavid in the Greater Toronto Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League. “And when I did sign [with the Leafs], I did see those again. That’s always funny when people go through old stuff like that. It’s just something that’s part of hockey, I guess.”
Raddysh, who signed an eight-year deal with his hometown team in the off-season, and McDavid aren’t exchanging messages as frequently these days.
“If we see each other around in the summertime, we’ll say hi and we’ll catch up,” the 30-year-old Leafs defenceman noted. “I know our parents were pretty close over the years after we moved on from each other. But, yeah, when we see each other during games, we’ll say hi. If we catch each other after the game, we’ll talk for a little bit. But we kind of just do our own thing now, and everyone’s got their families and everything.”
Raddysh saw quite a bit of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Edmonton’s top line on Saturday. And in the eight minutes Raddysh and McDavid shared the ice in 5-on-5 play, the shots were even and the Leafs outscored the Oilers 2-0.
“It was fun,” Raddysh said of the assignment. “I think everyone knew the challenge we were up against, going against those two guys. They’ve had a great start to the season, and I think it was pretty much a whole team effort, everyone making sure they’re being hard on them and trying to limit their time and space and coming out with the win.”
McDavid (33 points) and Draisaitl (23 points) are first and second in NHL scoring this season.
Since Chris Tanev went down with an upper-body injury on Oct. 10, Raddysh has been taking on the tough matchups for the Leafs alongside Jake McCabe. Earlier this week, head coach Jim Hiller acknowledged he is a little bit surprised that Raddysh, who is better known for his offensive game, has been able to handle the hard minutes so well.
Raddysh, who leads the Leafs in average ice time (23:42) and is second in blocked shots (20), is not surprised, though.
“I know what I’m capable of,” he said.
Raddysh is plus-four in seven games since Tanev got hurt. The Leafs are 4-2-1 in this stretch.
“I take pride in not getting scored on,” Raddysh said. “I think I’ve tried to be good at that over the years and maybe sometimes I do get knocked a little bit for that, but I know what I’m capable of and try to do my best every time I’m out there.”
Raddysh picked up his sixth assist of the season on Saturday, but is still looking for his first goal. Does that bother him?
“No, no, I don’t think so,” he said. “That’ll come. I think as long as the team’s winning, I’m just trying to help out as best I can. That’s all I can do.”
Raddysh recorded 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Troy Stecher led the Leafs in ice time on Saturday (24:21) and is taking on top penalty-kill unit duties with Tanev out.
“Obviously the minutes have increased, but I haven’t really changed my preparation or my focus,” the 5-foot-11 defenceman said. “I’ve always believed in myself. I know I can play at this level, at a high level, and I’ve shown that throughout my career over 11 years. So it’s nice the coaching staff is trusting me right now and giving me a lot of opportunities and I’m trying to make the most of it.”
Stecher is averaging 20:48 of ice time in seven games since Tanev went down, which is second on the team and up from 17:38 in the first six games.
“He’s been great,” said captain Auston Matthews. “Just the energy that guys bring, he’s definitely at the top of the list or one of the guys at the top of the list, just coming to the rink every day and having fun and competing ... He brings a lot of passion each and every night and it’s something that we all appreciate.”
Stecher is also chipping in offensively. He scored in the final minute of regulation to help the Leafs beat the New York Rangers 5-4 on Thursday before adding another game-winning goal on Saturday against his former team.
“Obviously, it means a lot,” said Stecher, who was claimed off waivers from the Oilers last season. “Played parts of three years here and a couple long playoff runs with them and a lot of friendships on the other side, so it was nice to get one offensively for sure.”
“He gives you everything he has,” said Hiller. “The great part is that when you see him score two big goals like that, the guys just love it because he’s not known for that ... He never takes a day for granted, so it’s great to see him score big goals on top of everything else he does.”
When the game was hanging in the balance early on Saturday, Stecher was a big part of killing off two Oilers power plays.
“They’re just really desperate,” Hiller said of his penalty killers. “We know we’re spending some time in our zone, the team is moving, and they’re making good plays, and it’s just a lot of desperation. I see shot blocks and guys diving for pucks. There’s a lot going on right there right now. Against this [Oilers] power play, which I know well, they challenge you more than anybody. I just love the desperation.”
The Oilers are converting on 35.1 per cent this season, which ranks second overall.
Toronto’s streak of 30 straight kills came to an end when Draisaitl scored in the third period, but by then the Leafs had the game well in hand.
“They have so many different looks,” Stecher said. “It’s really hard to kind of pre-scout. So, more than anything, you’re trying to find tendencies in your own system that you think are going to work against what they do. A lot of the time, they’re just kind of freewheeling with Connor and Leon and, I mean, I’ve had experience playing here and it’s almost impossible to cover Leon when he’s on the goal line. Like, what are you going to do? [Have] a guy stand in the corner and then it’s a 4-on-3? So they’re going to get their looks, and [Anthony Stolarz] made some big saves when there was a breakdown. But, overall, we did a really good job of limiting them.”
The Leafs have only allowed two power-play goals this season and continue to lead the league in penalty-kill percentage (95.2).
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Tanev accompanied the Leafs on this road trip and took to the ice on Sunday alongside the team’s scratches from the Edmonton game.
“I see he’s doing some 1-on-1s, you know, not heavy contact, but those are important steps,” Hiller noted. “So we’re happy to have him doing that.”
Tanev is not necessarily expected to play during the trip, which continues on Monday in Calgary before concluding with games in Seattle on Wednesday and Vancouver on Saturday.
“We just thought because he can do a little bit more, we wanted him to have him out here with the team, with our coaches, skating with our guys and getting him closer to the team environment,” Hiller said.
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The Leafs needed only 16 seconds to make good on their one power-play opportunity on Saturday. Kirill Marchenko passed the puck from down low to Raddysh at the point. Raddysh then teed up William Nylander for a one-timer.
“A lot of our goals so far have been really on broken plays, been more kind of improvisational plays,” Hiller said. “I liked that one. We zipped it around and we hit seam, seam, over, one-timer. That’s how you draw it up. That’s how you’d like to see it go in. So that was one of the rare ones where we actually just executed out of different spots. So that helped the guys feel good. But there’s five really good players out there and they just seem to be able to find things right now.”
The Leafs are clicking at 30.2 per cent on the season, which is fourth overall.
“Yeah, it’s so nice,” said Marchenko, who leads the team with eight power-play points. “I’m happy to be in power play, in this unit especially. It’s nice because we have, like, all five guys who can score right away and we have a big skill there and we need just one opportunity to score and we will score it. It’s so nice and so happy to be part of that. But I don’t think we need to, like, celebrate that. It’s a long season and we need to grow up and keep moving.”
Despite losing John Tavares to injury on Oct. 15, the top unit has continued to roll with rookie Gavin McKenna joining the group.
“I love it,” Marchenko gushed. “I just love it. Just try to talk with guys, try to find the ways how we score the goals. And I like to see the different ways how we score the goals. It’s not only one play. We just try to use all guys on the ice. Everybody can score and it’s so nice. I think it’s why it’s so dangerous for another team, because Matthews can score, Willy can score, Gav can score, Raddysh have unbelievable shot, and me personally can score too, and it’s so dangerous. And because we have one extra guy, we need to just find one extra guy on the ice. That’s it.”
Six different Leafs have scored on the power play so far this season. Marchenko leads the way with four man-advantage markers. He scored a career high nine power-play goals with the Blue Jackets during the 2023-24 season.
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Nylander sealed Saturday’s win with an empty-net goal, which was the 300th of his career.
“It’s just a step on the road,” he said. “It’s nice to score 300 but, I mean, don’t want to stop there.”
The goal moved Nylander past Rick Vaive into sole possession of sixth place on the franchise’s all-time list.
“I hope he gets another 300,” said Hiller. “That’s what I’m thinking about. You know, he’s had a great career so far, been a real popular Leaf, but I think he’s got lots left. So, that’s what I’m more focused on.”
Nylander will look to push toward another milestone goal – he’s 32 behind Ron Ellis for fifth on the Leafs list – on Monday at the Saddledome, which is a special place for his family. Nylander was born in Calgary when his dad Michael played for the Flames.
“It’ll be a fun one,” the 30-year-old Swede said. “This building’s got some character. I mean, I was here when I was born watching my dad play, so it’s been a long time. I think the new one will be really nice, but it’ll be a fun, exciting last game.”
Nylander scored his second career hat trick in this building during the 2024-25 season. He has produced four goals and 11 assists in 13 career games at the Saddledome.
“This building’s been around for a while and it’s fun coming into older buildings and playing there,” he said. “So it’s special.”
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Marchenko was not aware that this is the 44th and final season for the Flames at the Saddledome.
“Oh, really?” he said. “Of course I don’t know anything about that. What’s going on? What’s going on?”
A new arena is being built.
“Why do we play here and not in the new one?” Marchenko wondered.
Well, the new building isn’t ready yet.
“Ah, ok, ok,” he said. Marchenko doesn’t have any favourite moments in the old barn.
“It’s a good arena,” the 26-year-old Russian said with a shrug. “I don’t care much about arena. I care more about my game, team game and opponents. I know the Calgary Flames are a good team, have great guys there, young core. But like, arena, yeah, if I play here [with Flames], maybe it’s like big memory, but I play here four times.”
Marchenko is more focused on building chemistry with new linemates Nick Paul and Nylander. While the power play is producing, Toronto’s new look second line has yet to connect on the same goal since Tavares went down.
“We all haven’t played together before,” Nylander noted. “We’re just getting going, I feel like.”
Shot attempts favoured the Oilers 14-6 in the 12 minutes the line played on Saturday, but Hiller sees potential for the trio moving forward.
“Willy and Marchenko are very dynamic offensively,” Hiller said. “Both great skaters, great shot, there’s a lot there and then I like Pauly in between. He can make plays and you know spends time playing a little more defence than the other two and sometimes you need that to make up a line. You need the different parts. So Pauly does a good job that way for us.”
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Leafs fans made their presence felt on Saturday in Edmonton.
“That was a playoff game, the atmosphere there,” Raddysh said. “It was pretty cool to see. Playing in Tampa, you know, we did have a good following, but playing in Toronto now, when you’re on the road, it feels like you’re at home sometimes. There’s a big following out here and, you know, it’s always nice to see when you have your fans on your side.”
Leafs and Oilers fans competed in the crowd with duelling chants as the players went at it on the ice below.
“It felt like a home game for a little bit,” said winger Vinni Lettieri, who was experiencing just his second road game with the team. “The Leaf chant was bigger than the Oilers chants.”
A blue wave is expected to take on the C of Red on Monday in Calgary.
“Oh, wow, I’m really surprised,” said Marchenko, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade from Columbus on the eve of the season. “It’s unbelievable because it’s so many guys who support the Leafs and I’m really happy for this.”
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The Leafs cancelled practice on Sunday opting for rest amid a busy schedule. Toronto is in the middle of a nine games in 16 days stretch, which started Oct. 13 in Utah.
“After the long day of travel [Friday], and a hard-fought game last night, with our strength and conditioning team, we can still get what we would get on the ice as far as getting their heart rates where they need to be and that sort of thing,” Hiller said. “Sometimes, just not having to go on the ice and put the gear on is a good benefit, too.”
Sergei Bobrovsky did take to the ice on Sunday to put in some work alongside the scratches from Saturday’s game.
Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 25 shots in his last start on Thursday against the New York Rangers. Despite picking up the win, it was Bobrovsky’s worst save percentage game of the season (.840).
“They had some pretty good looks in that game,” Hiller pointed out. “So, I mean, save percentage, for me, that can be deceiving at times. He’s fine. We like our goaltending tandem. I think we said that when the season started. I’ll say that now. I’ll say that all season. Those are two proven veteran goaltenders that I think give us a great one-two punch.”
Bobrovsky was not available to the media on Sunday.
Stolarz turned aside 30 of 32 shots on Saturday to earn his fourth victory in five starts this season.
“We did a pretty good job for the most part, but they had some real high-leverage shots and opportunities and he was able to make those saves,” Hiller said. “That was really important for us. When we did break down, he was there.”
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Lines to start Saturday’s game:
Cowan - Matthews - Roslovic
Marchenko - Paul - Nylander
McKenna - Sissons - Lettieri
Duhaime - Blueger - MacEwen
McCabe - Raddysh
Rielly - Stecher
Mermis - Ekman-Larsson
Stolarz
Bobrovsky