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Nazem Kadri Scheduled For In-Person Disciplinary Hearing

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1:18: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Kadri’s hearing is scheduled for Monday.

8:31: It’s not a question of if Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri will be suspended, but rather for how many games. The aggressive forward will undoubtedly miss time for his second straight postseason after cross-checking Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk in the face in last night’s chippy Game Two loss. Kadri received a major penalty and game misconduct, but the NHL Department of Player Safety was quick to announce that Kadri’s hit would be reviewed further and not via a phone hearing, but instead an in-person hearing. The date and time have yet to be revealed, but it will certainly be before the two teams square off again in Game Three on Monday night.

An in-person hearing allows for Kadri to be suspended for longer than five games, which seems like a very likely outcome in this case. In fact, the initial reaction to the hit from NBC analysts Eddie Olczyk and Keith Jones after the game was that Kadri could face upwards of ten games in this suspension. The hit in question was unquestionably egregious, after Kadri took issue with a hard but clean hit by DeBrusk on Patrick Marleau along the boards in the third period. Deep in the Bruins zone, Kadri cornered DeBrusk and delivered a cross-check right to the head area, taking DeBrusk down. It was nearly the exact same area in which Kadri intentionally boarded Bruins forward Tommy Wingels in the playoffs last year, which earned him a three-game suspension. At the time, that was Kadri’s fourth career suspension, for a total of 14 games, and his seventh punishment from Player Safety. After his eighth interaction with the Department in this upcoming hearing, it is safe to assume that the suspended games total will go up significantly. A repeat offender who has clearly not learned his lesson, Kadri seems likely to feel the full force of the Department. It is expected that they will take full advantage of the in-person hearing rule, banning Kadri for more than five games. He is unlikely to see the Bruins again this postseason and may have even played his final game already. His absence will be a big loss for the Maple Leafs.

As for DeBrusk, the response from many – especially in Toronto – has been that the Bruins forward deserves a second look of his own. Not only did DeBrusk check Marleau dangerously close to the curved-glass stanchion, but he also caught Kadri with a knee-to-knee hit earlier in the game. However, neither check was considered a penalty by the officials nor did they appear to have an intent to injure, and the expectation is that Player Safety does not have interest in further discipline for DeBrusk. In fact, the escalating aggression between Kadri and DeBrusk, which began in Game One and re-started early in Game Two, may only be used to justify keeping Kadri from a Round One return. DeBrusk’s health will also be taken into account, as the young forward did not return to the game after Kadri’s cross-check and his status is unknown for Game Three. All signs point to the tough youngster avoiding serious injury and being ready come Monday night, but his absence from the rest of the third period will be a factor in Player Safety’s decision.

Atlantic Notes: Ottawa Free Agents, Rask, Marleau

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The Ottawa Senators have completed their scouting meeting in Florida recently and many now are waiting on what general manager Pierre Dorion intends to do with less than two months before the trade deadline. The team has three critical unrestricted free agents on their team in Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel and it’s been made clear that the team can’t afford to lose any of them for nothing.

According to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, the rumor is that Ottawa intends to attempt to re-sign both Stone and Duchene, but the team is ready to listen to offers for Dzingel. The 26-year-old winger has improved every year with Ottawa and could net the team a solid return as has two key qualities in his speed and ability to score in front of the net. Dzingel, who is coming off a 23-goal season last season, already has 17 goals in 32 games this season and looks to be heading for a new career-high in goals as well as points. The downside to Dzingel is that he can disappear for long stretches of time and sometimes avoids going to the net.

Of course, even though Ottawa is ready to negotiate with both Stone and Duchene, that doesn’t mean the team will be able to work out a deal with either one of them. If that’s the case, the Senators might be forced to trade more than just Dzingel. The belief is the team is now ready with all scenarios if they are forced to trade one, two or all three of those players at the trade deadline.

  • It looks like Tuukka Rask was earned back his starting job for the Boston Bruins, according to The Athletic’s Joe McDonald (subscription required). The veteran goaltender lost playing time to backup Jaroslav Halak this season, but with Rask on a four-game winning streak along with a 1.23 GAA and a .959 save percentage, it looks like he’s taken back his job. “There’s one net and Tuukka’s playing very well now and we’re trying to get him as many starts, so obviously that’s going to limit Jaro’s activity,” explained head coach Bruce Cassidy after Thursday’s loss. “When he’s in there he’s got to basically outplay (Rask) and that’s been the mantra with a lot of players in our group and that’s where (Halak’s) at now if he wants to get more starts.”
  • While rating the players on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, The Athletic’s Ian Tulloch (subscription required) writes that Patrick Marleau has fallen short of expectations this season. He writes the biggest problem with Marleau is fans’ expectations for the veteran forward, who is coming off a season where he scored 27 goals last year. However, if you factor in the five empty net goals, his season wasn’t nearly as impressive. Add in the fact that Marleau is 39 years old now, no one should be surprised that the winger has undergone a decline. His 10 goals and 43 games suggest he may not even reach 20 goals for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

Pacific Notes: Chiarelli, Haula, Tanev

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The Edmonton Oilers have been a team that has languished in mediocrity the last couple of years until the team fired head coach Doug McLellan and replaced him with Ken Hitchock. Since then the team seems almost unbeatable as the Oilers have produced a 9-2-2 record under the veteran head coach. Much of that credit might fall to general manager Peter Chiarelli.

With the sudden success of the team, The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman (subcription required) interviewed Oilers’ CEO and vice-chair of Oilers Entertainment Group Bob Nicholson, who stated emphatically that if Edmonton makes the playoffs, Chiarelli’s job is safe.

“Yeah. There’s no question,” Nicholson. “I think there’s a lot of things that Peter hasn’t gotten credit for. He’s really started to build. You’re starting to see some of them come up now with the [Caleb] Joneses and the [Evan] Bouchards. We have a lot of assets, which this organization hadn’t had for a while. Peter deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Chiarelli has been highly criticized over the years after being hired in 2015, which included trading No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson. He also made a few questionable acquisitions, including signing Milan Lucic to a seven-year, $42MM deal, which already looks like an albatross of a contract as there are still five years remaining, while Lucic is playing more of a bottom-six role for the team. Chiarelli also traded the team’s first and second-round picks to the New York Islanders for defenseman Griffin Reinhart, who played just 29 NHL games and is mired in the AHL for the Vegas Golden Knights. That first-round pick turned out to be Mathew Barzal.

However, the addition of Hitchcock and the signing of goaltender Mikko Koskinen have looked like solid moves this season. If the Oilers can continue on their torrid pace, Chiarelli may have done enough to stay on for a while longer.

  • While Vegas Golden Knights’ Erik Haula was listed as “month-to-month” a month ago, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that general manager George McPhee admitted that Haula actually had surgery in November after suffering the lower-body injury after being driven into the boards by Toronto Maple Leafs’ Patrick Marleau on Nov. 6. “He did have surgery,” McPhee said, who added that the injury was not an ACL injury. “It’s a unique injury.” McPhee has no timetable on Haula’s injury and wouldn’t even speculate as to whether last year’s 30-goal scorer would return for the regular season or even the playoffs. “It’s really hard to know,” McPhee said. “It’s going to be some months, but we don’t know because it’s just such a different injury than any of us have seen before.”
  • It’s possible that the Vancouver Canucks have waited too long to move defenseman Chris Tanev as a trade chip. According to Harman Dayal in The Athletic (subscription required), Tanev’s value has fallen quite a bit in the last few weeks and may not be a tradeable asset anymore. It’s believed that his inability to stay healthy is one problem and even though Tanev has played in 29 games this year, there are rumors that he’s hurt now and isn’t playing at his usual level of play. Whether his underwhelming play is a result of playing injured or rapidly declining play, it’s unlikely that Tanev could bring in anything back in value at the moment.

Toronto Maple Leafs Lock Up William Nylander For Six Years

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The long-awaited saga between William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs is finally at an end. The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have signed the holdout restricted free agent to a six-year, $45MM deal, according to CapFriendly. Nylander is expected to be on a plane from Stockholm to Toronto within 10 hours.

“We always tried to stay optimistic,” said general manager Kyle Dubas (via TSN’s Kristin Shilton). “We had our process and we have a great staff…it wasn’t really an emotional experience. It’s my duty to the organization to put the organization in the best possible spot with all our economics. We hope to always avoid [a standoff], but it’s a realistic situation.”

The deal has a complicated structure, especially for the first year. According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Nylander’s first-year salary is pro-rated at 10MM (6.67MM), plus a $2MM signing bonus, which comes out to net $8.67MM and a $10.2MM AAV. In the remaining years of the deal, Nylander’s AAV is $6.996MM.

Here is a breakdown of the deal (via CapFriendly):

  • 2018-19: $10MM salary + $2MM signing bonus = $10.2 AAV
  • 2019-20: $700K salary + $8.3MM signing bonus = $6.97 AAV
  • 2020-21: $2.5MM salary + $3.5MM signing bonus = $6.97 AAV
  • 2021-22: $2.5MM salary + $3.5MM signing bonus = $6.97 AAV
  • 2022-23: $2.5MM salary + $3.5MM signing bonus = $6.97 AAV
  • 2023-24: $2.5MM salary + $3.5MM signing bonus = $6.97 AAV

For Nylander, it ends a long holdout as Nylander missed out on 59 days of the season, officially signing five minutes before the NHL deadline for him to sign an NHL contract this year. With rumors that Nylander had been holding out for $8MM and trying to force Dubas’ hand in the rookie GM’s first holdout negotiations, Nylander was forced to settle for under $7MM, which is a win for Dubas.

“I think all offers varied. I’m not going to get into where our offers started and where theirs started,” Dubas said. “I’m happy for our team and I’m happy for William. I wish we had been able to get this done before training camp…happy to add William.”

McKenzie also notes that Nylander received a 10-team modified no-trade clause in the final year of the deal as he is not eligible for a no-trade clause for another five years.

The 22-year-old center was considered to be a key piece of Toronto’s young core, but with the team’s salary cap having tightened up over the past two years with signings to major free agents Patrick Marleau and more recently to John Tavares, the team needed to prove that they could extend some of their younger players for discounts or be forced to break apart some of the team. Nylander is only the first of many of their future contract negotiations as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will both be restricted free agents this coming offseason and are expected to get paid even higher than Nylander. The team also have several other key contracts, including Nylander’s on-ice replacement this year in Kasperi Kapanen, who has played well enough to earn himself quite a raise in restricted free agency next season. Andreas Johnsson’s play should also get a boost in pay as a restricted free agent as well. The team also will have to factor in the contract of defenseman Jake Gardiner who will hit unrestricted free agency next season and needs to be locked up.

“I knew people were ready to jam that one down my throat,” Dubas said. “We hope all these guys will be career Leafs. That’s our goal, is to keep it together…We’ve had discussions with [Matthews and Marner’s agents]. We want to avoid a situation where all our players aren’t in training camp. Not [making history] in the way we’d like to [with Nylander deal].”

Despite the long holdout and his $8MM asking price, Nylander fared pretty well. The Maple Leafs had made it clear early in negotiations this summer that they weren’t willing to go past six years at $6MM, so to get an extra $1MM per year is impressive, considering the team’s budget.

TSN’s Darren Dreger  was the first to report the deal.

Snapshots: Three Stars, RFAs, Marleau

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The NHL has released their latest Three Stars of the Week, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Patrik Laine finds himself on top. Despite plenty of other outstanding performances last week, Laine was the easy choice after scoring 11 goals in just four games including a five-goal effort on Saturday night. The young Winnipeg Jets forward set all kinds of franchise records with the outstanding performance, and joined an incredibly small group of players to post five goals in a game before their 21st birthday. Only Laine, Don Murdoch and Wayne Gretzky have ever done so; Laine will have to do it again this season to tie Gretzky with two such performances.

Coming in second and third this week are Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikita Kucherov, two players well versed in this award. Fleury earned third star honors just over a month ago, while Kucherov has been in the top three several times throughout his career. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning forward will have to continue their strong play if they hope to compete for the Stanley Cup again this season, and may even find themselves on this list again down the road.

Pacific Notes: Pavelski, Schmidt, Carlyle, Juolevi

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Joe Pavelski has seen a number of teammates play through their expiring contracts and not let it affect them. Joe Thornton has done it twice in the last two seasons, while Patrick Marleau did it recently as well, although he opted to find a new home.

Now the San Jose Sharks’ center is in the exact same situation, explains Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription required). The 34-year-old Pavelski is in the final year of a five-year, $30MM contract and so far, there have been no talks of an extension with the long-time Sharks’ veteran. Just like Thornton and Marleau at the time, the lack of a deal isn’t affecting Pavelski’s play as he’s put up 11 goals so far this season, which is already half way to the 22 goals he scored last year.

“(Thornton and Marleau) handled it different times throughout their careers, and they’ve handled it well,’ Pavelski said earlier this week. “Obviously, you probably understand some of the things that they’ve gone through in the past a little bit better. But they’ve never taken away from the group. It’s never been a distraction. You just respect them as people for how they want to contribute to the group.”

  • The Vegas Golden Knights should get a defensive boost Sunday night when No. 1 defenseman Nate Schmidt returns to the team after sitting out with a 20-game suspension. However, Adam Hill of The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the return of Schmidt won’t be some magic elixir, however, for a struggling Vegas team that sits at 8-11-1 this season. However, Schmidt should help the team out in two key areas, offense and defense. “He’s one of our best players so he’s going to make a difference all over the ice — I hope,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Always a solid guy, moves the puck, skates well. You know what kind of player he is and he’s a big part of our group, so hopefully he’s going to make a big difference.”
  • With an 8-9-4 record, many people wouldn’t be surprised if the Anaheim Ducks chose to make a coaching change and move on from head coach Randy Carlyle. However, while that thought is apparent in the Ducks’ locker room, Carlyle isn’t worrying about his job. “We’re at the 20-game mark and we said that you do an evaluation of where you’re at with our group. We’ve been inconsistent and nobody’s going to be here waving the banners but we have some positives within that group too,” Carlyle said. “We have some players that have never played before now (and) have some NHL games and NHL experience. We’re not that far away from the pack. We’re still hanging around. The key is now is to stay with the pack until we can get our group playing at a higher level and having some personnel back that we can grow our group as a team. We haven’t created an identity for our hockey club yet, and that’s been the most frustrating part for us.”
  • Mike Halford of The Athletic (subscription required) looks at the play of defenseman Olli Juolevi, who has been putting up quite a few points in his first season with the Utica Comets of the AHL, and wonders when the Canucks may be ready to bring the prospect up to the NHL squad. So far, Juolevi has 13 points in 16 games and the Canucks, who lack any offensive weapons on defense, could really use one for a team that has fared quite well so far this season with a 10-9-2 record so far. However, defense is also an issue as the 20-year-old sports a minus-11. Utica assistant coach Gary Agnew admits that he needs time to develop his game still. “Certainly he’s not fully responsible for all those minuses, Agnew said. “But when there’s a little bit of a trend, there’s a trend. Obviously it’s a part of the game that we’re working hard with him at, and he’s very receptive to coaching. He’s eager to learn and he wants to be better. He’s doing all the things that you hope a high prospect does, in terms of his coachability.”

Vegas’ Erik Haula Leaves Game On Stretcher With Leg Injury

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With Paul Stastny already sidelined with an injury, the Vegas Golden Knights were dealt a major blow tonight, with another center suffering what looks to be a serious injury. Erik Haula was stretchered off the ice in Toronto following a collision with Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau (video). Haula was immediately clutching his right leg and shouting in pain, with the optics and immediate reaction pointing toward a torn ACL. Haula is likely to miss a substantial period of time – perhaps the remainder of the season – if this is the case.

The incident occurred early in the third period on a rather innocuous play. As Haula was exiting the defensive zone, Marleau came in for a light hip check against the boards near the red line. As Haula fell awkwardly backward, his skate appeared to become jammed in the boards, twisting his knee as he fell. The pain was evident from his response and an injury of that magnitude in the knee area is almost certainly torn ligaments, likely the ACL. A stretcher was immediately brought out. While Haula was able to wave to the crowd, this was anything but a positive moment for the Golden Knights and their fans.

Haula, 27, has been a fixture in Vegas’ top-six so far this year and has seven points to his credit, third-best for the struggling club. Haula has also been very effective at the face-off dot and has the best possession numbers of any Knights forward. His injury and likely prolonged absence is no small matter. An ACL tear is generally a 6+ month recovery, putting Haula’s return this season in doubt if that is indeed the case. The Golden Knights await further clarification on the injury, but it’s not good news for a team who somehow need to turn things around this year, now down two top forwards.

Eastern Notes: Murray, Flyers’ Goalies, Kapanen, Zadina

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Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray is back with the team on the active roster after suffering a concussion less than a week ago, but will serve as the backup to Casey DeSmith for tonight’s game in Montreal, according to Seth Rorabaugh of The Athletic (subscription required). Third-stringer Tristan Jarry traveled with the team in case Murray cannot serve as backup.

Head coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t surprised that Murray was ready to return from a concussion after just a few days.

“And the reason is, it’s really hard to compare one concussion to the next,” Sullivan explained. “The nature of that injury is that they’re all different. Some guys recover very quickly. With some guys, it lingers. There’s so many things associated with it.”

Murray has struggled in the two games he has appeared in this year, having allowed 11 goals, but Sullivan believes that sitting Murray on the bench rather than sitting in the press box is the best thing for his recovery.

“When you see the game up close on the bench, it’s a whole different game than it is from the press box,” Sullivan said. “Things happen a whole lot faster. It’s one step in the process that we think prepares our goalies to be successful when they step back on the ice.”

  • David Isaac of the Courier Post writes that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall isn’t opposed to the team keeping three goaltenders when injured backup Michal Neuvirth returns to the lineup, which is “not too far away.” The team has had quite a bit of success with the tandem of Brian Elliott and Calvin Pickard, but the team would have to expose someone to waivers if they want to keep just two goalies on the roster. “We’ll have to deal with that at the time,” Hextall said when asked if he intends on carrying three goalies on his roster. “It’s not an ideal situation, but if that’s what’s right for our hockey club, that’s what we’ll do. All these injuries, we have a roster issue. Thankfully we don’t have a (salary) cap issue. We’ll deal with it at the time and see what information comes to us between now and then and make a decision.”
  • Jordan Samuels-Thomas of The Athletic (subscription required) profiles Toronto Maple Leafs top-line winger Kasperi Kapanen and how he’s found chemistry with the team’s top line while William Nylander holds out for a contract extension. Kapanen’s effort, well-rounded game and speed have made him a perfect fit alongside Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau.
  • MLive’s Steve Kaminski writes that Detroit Red Wings prospect Filip Zadina is starting to get hot in Grand Rapids after posting a two-goal game in his third appearance for the AHL club. “I am getting better every single game, and I’m way more comfortable than I was when I played the first game,” the sixth-overall pick in this year’s draft said. “(The goals) helped me a lot mentally, and I am more confident with the puck.”

Snapshots: Orpik, Ennis, Bruins-Flames

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While the irony of the situation was clear all along, the assumption was that there was no issue with the Washington Capitals’ trade of Brooks Orpik to Colorado earlier this off-season, the Avalanche’s subsequent buyout of Orpik’s contract, and then the veteran defenseman re-signing with the Caps. However, GM Brian MacLellan told The Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno that the team actually underwent a thorough investigation from the NHL. The league questioned Washington executives about the team’s trade and later signing of Orpik to a lesser salary than the one bought out. It is illegal for a team to re-sign any player they themselves initially bought out, but Orpik was bought out by Colorado. As such, the investigation did not uncover any conspiracy; the league found that the Capitals conducted themselves “above board”, as MacLellan put it. He stated that there would be no further repercussions from what seems to just be an honest coincidence. Whyno reached out to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who confirmed that the Capitals were cleared of any alleged wrongdoing. The Capitals are now set to save significant cap space on the same services. Had they held on to Orpik this summer, he would be making $5.5MM against the cap. Instead, they were able to sign him to a $1MM deal with incentives that is much kinder to their salary cap crunch. It’s fair to be skeptical of that circumvention, but MacLellan affirms that the team “did everything by the book”, making it simply shrewd business management on their part.

  • One player who wasn’t as fortunate as Orpik following his buyout is forward Tyler Ennis. After injuries forced Ennis out of Buffalo last summer, with the Sabres trading him to the Wild, Minnesota also couldn’t get the former rising star going and bought out the remainder of his contract earlier this summer. Ennis’ value has plummeted so far over the past three seasons that it completely overshadowed the fact that he recorded 212 points in 345 games in the five seasons prior. Ennis could only manage to land a one-year deal worth the minimum salary, a $650K pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that only came after a series of meetings with GM Kyle Dubas in which he had to sell himself to the young Toronto executive. Yet, TSN’s Kristen Shilton writes that this has done nothing but motivate Ennis. Speaking with determined veteran at the start of Leafs training camp, Ennis said “Absolutely, I have something to prove. There are a lot of people that doubt me, there are a lot of people that have written me off and I’m just here to show them I have a lot left to give… My goal is to show people that I can play, that I have a lot of talent still and I’m ready to work.” With William Nylander still unsigned and not in camp, Ennis has had the good fortune of filling his spot on a line with Matthews and Patrick Marleau thus far in camp, which is a good way for him to impress the Maple Leafs’ brass. Shilton notes that he has already impressed teammates and coaches alike thus far and could be well on his way to a key role in Toronto this season. It would be quite the rebound story for a player who is correct in his opinion that many people have counted him out, but those same people could soon be forced to change their minds.
  • Believe it or not, the NHL preseason kicks off in just over six hours. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are set to square off in Shenzen, China at the Universiade Sports Center in the first of two match-ups of the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games. Despite the odd timing for fans in North America, both the NHL Network and Sportsnet will air the contest, which begins at 2:30 AM Boston time and 12:30 AM Calgary time. For those staying up for the first game of the 2018-19 season, both the Bruins and Flames have released their split squad rosters who have made the trip and will compete in the series. Tonight’s game marks the beginning of Boston’s evaluation of several young forwards fighting for a top-six right wing spot and third-line center spot, while Calgary must determine both who their primary backup goaltender and how the bottom-six will work out.

Maple Leafs Will Not Name A Captain This Off-Season

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The Toronto Maple Leafs did not have a captain last season and judging by the comments of new GM Kyle Dubas, they may not have one this season either. In an interview with TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Dubas stated for a fact that the team would not name a captain prior to the beginning of the season and would again go without one until Dubas, Brendan Shanahan, and the coaching staff can better evaluate their options.

I want to get into a day-to-day with these people and see who is best suited to handle [the captaincy]… if we do determine that we need somebody to handle that. If we feel we have a void in leadership because we don’t have a formal captain, then that is something that I think we can address… We need to evaluate it as the season evolves and as we go through the ups and downs of a season and see how the players each individually handle the daily process of a season.”

Dubas seems hesitant to make any sort of decision until he has a complete read of the locker room and until a time that he feels naming a captain is necessary. He calls the title for a historic club like the Maple Leafs “an honor” and wants to make sure that the correct person is named. Dubas feels that being patient with naming a captain will be the right move and eliminates the risk of any future drama surrounding the team’s leadership.

Dubas specifically mentions Patrick Marleau, Ron Hainsey, and free agency prize John Tavares as top candidates if and when a decision is made. The latter was the captain of the New York Islanders before signing in Toronto and some speculated that the commitment made by the team to Tavares could indicate that he would be in line for the same role. Meanwhile, Dubas singled out Marleau as a player who stepped up as a locker room leader for the team last year. While the team lost regular alternates in Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov this off-season, Marleau, Hainsey, and Nazem Kadri also wore the “A” occasionally last season. As for the young core of the team, Dubas says that he hopes William Nylander, Morgan Rielly – a frequent alternate the past few years, Jake Gardiner, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner continue to grow in their leadership abilities, but stopped short of calling any of them a prime candidate at this point. With Nylander still unsigned and both Gardiner and Hainsey on expiring contracts, it would seem that either Marleau or Tavares would be the favorite for the role, with Rielly, Matthews, and Marner as possibilities. However, Dubas will not rush the decision and the Leafs may even go another whole season without a formal captain.

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