The Toronoto Maple Leafs skated at Scotiabank Arena (Toronto game group) and Ford Performance Centre (Montreal game group) on Saturday.
Defenceman Chris Tanev did not notice the new look at centre ice at Scotiabank Arena.
“Oh, I didn’t even know,” the 36-year-old said with a grin. “There’s a new logo out there? I had no idea.”
To celebrate the centennial anniversary of the franchise choosing to change its name from the St. Pats to the Maple Leafs, the team is going with a rejuvenated version of one of the club’s original logos.
Tanev has more pressing matters on his mind these days. Saturday’s pre-season opener in Toronto marks his first game since getting hurt way back on Dec. 28.
“I wouldn’t say there’s nerves, but it’s just going to be different having not played in so long,” he said. “So just sort of feel the game out early and make sure I’m a smart player and doing the things that I’m good at.”
Tanev, who underwent core muscle surgery in March, was finally cleared to play again on the eve of training camp. He says slotting back in beside old partner Jake McCabe has helped him hit the ground running.
Through two practices and one morning skate at training camp, there doesn’t appear to be much rust.
“That first practice was a pretty tough practice,” pointed out head coach Jim Hiller. “A lot of skating, twisting and turning, contact, and he and I talked after that and he said he felt great. The thing that’s impressed me, we all know what a great defensive player he is, I thought he’s had really good puck touches for a guy who hasn’t had to play a lot of hockey over the last year or so. His puck skills were really good. I think that was a good sign to me that he’s feeling good and ready to go.”
Although there’s nothing quite like the speed of a game.
“I’ve done a ton of skating,” Tanev said. “So it’s going to be a lot of the quick plays and little plays under pressure that I haven’t experienced in quite some time. So be a smart player and move pucks and get up the ice and have a good stick.”
It’s been a long road back for Tanev, who delayed surgery at first because he hoped to be available if the Leafs made a playoff push.
What did he miss most about playing?
“Just competing,” he said. “I’m a competitive person and you grow up your whole life competing against other guys and chasing around the little black puck (chuckle). Yeah, it’s a fun game. It’s fun to be in the locker room and be with all the guys.
“I mean, when you’re hurt, you can sort of get alienated a bit. You’re on a different schedule than everyone. You’re not traveling. You’re doing different things. So you really don’t feel like you’re part of the team when you’re injured for a long period of time. So it’s great just to be back in the team atmosphere.”
Tanev also sustained a concussion and spine injury last season and was limited to just 11 games. The gritty blueliner could only watch as the Leafs fell to fifth last in the standings while allowing the second most goals in the NHL.
“He’s just an anchor back there, and he’s one of the big leaders in our team,” said winger Steven Lorentz. “He just does everything right out there. He’s taking hits. He’s giving hits. He’s just always in the shot lane, just stick’s always in the way, and he’s just a nuisance to play against.
“It’s obviously been frustrating not having him back there, but I know how excited and how amped up he is to get back in the lineup because he’s just such a competitor. That’s why he’s been at this for so long and he’s had such a good career in the NHL. He’s like a little kid at heart. He just wants to go out and play, and we’re all excited for him because we know how excited he is to get back out there.”
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Gavin McKenna is expected to start on the second power-play unit in his first NHL pre-season game.
“We don’t want to put extra pressure on,” Hiller explained. “If you asked him, he’d probably say, ‘I want to play 22 minutes. I want to run the first power play.’ And that’s exactly what he should say. But, for us, we just want to get him started in the NHL, see what it feels like, and then, you know, there’ll be a chance over time, whether that’s one game, two, 10, 20, where his role will increase in different areas. But, yeah, we just have a lot of good players so, fortunately, he doesn’t have to start there.”
McKenna joined fellow left winger Matthew Knies, who was the net-front presence on the top unit for much of last season, on the second unit at Saturday’s skate.
Free-agent signing Jack Roslovic lined up in the bumper spot on the top unit beside Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and point-man Darren Raddysh.
“[Roslovic] gets a little bit of an advantage there being the right shot,” Hiller said. “In a perfect world, you’re set up that way on your power play ... That doesn’t mean that that’s the only way you can run a successful power play, but I think when you’re asking, ‘Why is he getting that early opportunity there?’ I think the handed-ness helps him out.”
McKenna and Knies took most of their power-play reps alongside Bo Groulx, Tinus Luc Koblar and quarterback Emil Andrae on the second unit. McKenna and Knies also did get some reps with Raddysh, Matthews and Nylander later in the session.
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McKenna got the morning off from the media as the team eases the 18-year-old into his rookie season. The spotlight is bright in Toronto and McKenna will certainly be under the microscope on Saturday night.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing him play his first NHL exhibition game and then we’ll see what that looked like,” Hiller said. “He’s looked great in practice, but let’s just see what it looks like for everybody. And we might say, ‘Hey, man, he has less deficiencies than we even thought. He adjusted right to this.’ And then the plan can change from there.”
McKenna will start on the second line beside Tavares and Nylander. Teammates are also curious to see what the kid looks like in the exhibition opener.
“I’m just like everybody else,” Lorentz said. “Obviously super excited to watch ... I know how excited and how much pressure he’s got, you know, expectations and stuff, but he handles it so well. I know he’s so mature for his age and he kind of just goes out there and does his thing.
“And in the pre-skates and the captain skates the past couple of weeks, you know, just the skill is obviously there, but it’s just he’s got this motor that doesn’t stop. He’s always moving his feet. He always seems to be in the right spots and the puck just seems to find him. So, you know, he’s going to have a lot of success in this league, and I guess it starts tonight. So I’m excited to share the ice with him tonight, and I’m excited to see what he can do.”
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Raddysh’s shot provides the Leafs power play with a new dimension.
“Until the opposing team wants to take him away, I think he just keeps pounding away,” Hiller said. “And then I would suspect somebody’s going to try to take him away. They did it in Tampa over time. They had to take him away and then that frees somebody else up. That’s just the way it works. It’s five versus four. So once you take one threat away, that usually would open something else up. So we’ll just see. And maybe they’ll take him away right at the start. Who knows? And we’ll be ready to adjust.”
The Leafs are hoping to get Matthews more looks on the man advantage. He was limited to five power-play goals in 60 games last season.
Morgan Rielly, who quarterbacked the top unit much of last season, finished with only one power-play goal.
“Anytime there’s somebody at the top with an extremely hard shot, accurate shot, that becomes a focus and the other players become less of a focus,” Hiller said. “Well, we know we’ve got some other players that can shoot it extremely well too. So, yeah, I think it’s going to create opportunities for somebody else. And right now, Willie’s on the other side. Willie’s got a great shot as well. So you’re going to have to pick your poison a little bit.”
Raddysh scored 22 goals last season, including 10 on the power play, which led all NHL defencemen.
Raddysh didn’t really unleash his shot on Saturday morning as the Leafs worked on special teams for the first time.
“He laid off on me there, so it was nice,” said Lorentz, who was on the penalty kill during the drills. “I went over and kind of gave him a little hug and thanked him. But he’s obviously got a bomb back there, and we’re going to see that this year. You know, when that lane opens up and he’s got the green light to hit it out here, he does, and he’s got some heat on it.”
“He’s hit me with a few pucks,” said Tanev with a grin. “They hurt.”
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Saturday will be Raddysh’s first game wearing the Leafs colours at Scotiabank Arena.
“It’s pretty special,” the 30-year-old said. “Being from Toronto, it will be a cool moment tonight. Obviously, it’s still a pre-season game but yeah, you know, you grew up wanting to do this, so it’ll be pretty special.”
How many supporters will he have in the building?
“I’m not too sure,” Raddysh said with a grin. “I haven’t really talked to too many friends and family. They didn’t really know if I was going to be here or on the road. I also haven’t let them know that I am playing here tonight. So maybe you should send that out (smile). But, yeah, you know, I’m sure some people will tune in and maybe some people will come down.”
Raddysh, who inked an eight-year deal with his hometown team as part of a sign-and-trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has only scored once in six NHL games in Toronto. But has plenty of positive memories from growing up going to games.
“It was more just the whole [process of] getting down here from Georgetown and Caledon,” he recalled. “I remember it was always a hassle right after my dad finished work, and he was rushing to put his Leafs jersey on and get in the car and go grab dinner and just make sure we got parking. Yeah, it was always fun just the ride going to the game, how excited you were. And then obviously, by the time we left, I was usually probably falling asleep and didn’t really finish making the game. It was always special coming down.”
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After spending four seasons as an assistant coach (2015-19) with the Leafs, Hiller is getting re-acclimated with Scotiabank Arena.
“Certainly in the bowl, the rink hasn’t changed much,” Hiller observed. “It feels like home. It feels really comfortable.”
With the compressed training camp this year, Hiller only has two pre-season games to get his players comfortable with his system before the regular season starts on Sept. 29. What does he want to see on Saturday?
“We’ve tried to emphasize a couple things,” he said. “I won’t get into them here, but we’ve tried to emphasize a couple things that we just really want to see and try to do well early. And so those things I’ll look for. Now, the simple part, and I talked about it in my original press conference, is the easy one is to skate, and that’s what I’m looking to see, and I’ve said it to everybody. If you say, ‘Hey, the Leafs are skating,’ you know that we’re doing some of the right things. What it looks like within that might be a little bit more detail-orientated, but skating, so I’ll give you that as far as the No. 1 thing I want to see.”
Associate coach Daniel Alfredsson will be running the bench for the Leafs in Montreal in the other split-squad game on Saturday night.
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Lines at Saturday’s skate for Toronto game group:
Knies - Matthews - Roslovic
McKenna - Tavares - Nylander
Lorentz - Quillan - MacEwan
Groulx - Koblar - Nansi
Rifai - Raddysh
McCabe - Tanev
Andrae - Danford
Stolarz
Bobrovsky absent (named starter on Friday)
