It’s a well-known fact, even among diehard, optimistic fans, that the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be a very good hockey team this coming season. Despite having brought on potentially the best (certainly one of the most successful) head coaches in the NHL in Mike Babcock, there isn’t much on-ice talent in Toronto. The team’s best players, like James van Riemsdyk, Morgan Rielly and Joffrey Lupul, are certainly considered good NHLers, but can’t carry a team (the same group, with Phil Kessel, was the team’s core during the 2014-15 season which led the Leafs to the fourth overall draft pick).
So, with a team right in the thick of a complete rebuild, one would think there would be many spots in Leafs training camp for young players to break into the NHL. However, Toronto’s brain trust of Brendan Shanahan, Kyle Dubas, Mark Hunter, and now Lou Lamoriello has been smart this summer. The 2015-16 Maple Leafs will not (as many rebuilding teams are) be comprised of young players being exposed to large roles on an NHL team too early in their development.
Instead, the Leafs signed a handful of struggling free agents to low-risk, high-reward short term contracts. Now, the roster spots that would’ve been filled either by prospects (hurting their development) or by enforcers without any hockey ability, will belong to the likes of PA Parenteau, Mark Arcobello, Shawn Matthias and others. In the trades made this offseason, the Leafs continued to show a desire to acquire roster players on small contracts to fill gaps on the NHL team – like Martin Marincin and Nick Spaling.
As it stands, it would seem there are very few spots on the NHL team for players to compete for at training camp. Of course, there’s every chance that one of the off-season acquisitions will be beaten for a place on the team (that’s where the low-risk part of the contracts come in to play), but the competition will certainly be fierce. The Leafs recently added another name to the list of players vying to make the team in Devin Setoguchi, who will attend camp on a professional tryout (PTO), trying to rekindle his NHL career after falling off the last couple of seasons, as he struggled with off-ice issues.
There are likely up to 20 players who will likely be competing for the last couple spots in preseason. There are players like Matt Frattin and TJ Brennan who are now beyond their development years, and are looking to finally break into full-time NHL jobs. Some players still young enough to be considered prospects, like Connor Brown, Josh Leivo, Frederik Gauthier, and Stuart Percy will be looking to prove they’ve improved enough to make the big club, leaving the Marlies behind. And then there are the high-profile recent draft picks – Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Kasperi Kapanen (acquired from Pittsburgh in the Kessel trade). They likely all believe they could play in the NHL this season, and there are certainly fans who would love to see them in action for the Leafs. However, it’s certainly unlikely any of them make the Leafs opening-day roster – especially if the reason for acquiring all those short-term players is to avoid exposing their top prospects too early. Toronto’s management is in no rush.
Of course, there could be a huge surprise player to make the team, like Andreas Johnson or Brandon Leipsic. But in all likelihood it’ll be someone like Matt Frattin on the NHL roster. There is absolutely no need to rush any of the many prospects in the Leafs system. Nevertheless, many of the prospects will be giving Babcock and the front office something to think about in September.
Whatever roster emerges from training camp, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be an interesting team to watch this year. With more than half the team on short-term contracts, a lot of players will be trying to earn a new deal. With almost the entire team trying to prove themselves, and Mike Babcock behind the bench, the team might not be as bad as expected (not a playoff team, but maybe not in the basement). There will be some interesting developments in Toronto this year, most likely. Training camp starts September 18th in Halifax.
Main Photo: TORONTO, ON – JULY 7: William Nylander falls while running a skating drill during the first day of the Maple Leafs rookie camp at the Mastercard Centre. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
