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Nylander Wins MVP At World Championships

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The Toronto Maple Leafs must be happy after William Nylander and the gold-medal winning Team Sweden captured the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships over Canada Sunday. Nylander, coming off his first full season with Toronto, was named the World Champion MVP after scoring seven goals in the tournament.

Nylander, the eighth overall pick in 2014, completes an eventful year with that award. He already had been named NHL Rookie of the Month twice (in October and March), helped the Maple Leafs reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013 by scoring 22 goals in his first full season. His success in Germany at the world championships dealt with more than just the seven goals. He tallied seven assists for 14 points. He also finished with the best plus-minus in the tournament (+11) and was named a World Champion All-Star and a Top 3 player on his team.

Nylander capped off the overtime shootout victory by body slamming his own goaltender New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist after the victory. His success only further heightens the anticipation of the Maple Leafs’ season next year after he and Auston Matthews teamed up to almost knock off the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

Morning Notes: Babcock, Maple Leafs, Borowiecki

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The Toronto Maple Leafs fan base has been abuzz over the last few days after seeing pictures of Mike Babcock at games 3 and 4 between Nashville and Anaheim, even being joined by GM Lou Lamoriello for the latter. His appearance immediately made many think that he was scouting Ducks defensemen eligible for the expansion draft, though Sportsnet’s Luke Fox has an additional theory.

Predators captain Mike Fisher will be a free agent this summer, and though he’s obviously tied strongly to the Nashville community—he’s married to country music star Carrie Underwood after all—the numbers might just not leave enough room for him. Nashville has a busy offseason ahead of them, with both Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson hitting restricted free agency. If Fisher were to hit the open market, Toronto would likely be interested after the comments Babcock made earlier this year about him.

  • Maple Leafs fans will also be happy to see the success of their two young stars at the World Championships. Mitch Marner and William Nylander have been some of the best forwards in the tournament thus far, with Nylander especially finding incredible chemistry with playoff-foe Nicklas Backstrom. Nylander and Backstrom have a long history, going back to the latter’s rookie season in Washington when he was welcomed into the home of then-teammate Michael Nylander, William’s father. The two, almost 10 years apart, spent a lot of time together during those first two seasons playing ping-pong in the basement or mini-sticks in the hallway. It seems all that time spent so many years ago has created a sort of familiarity on the ice, that has blossomed into some incredible goals since Backstrom joined the tournament.
  • The Ottawa Senators won’t get Mark Borowiecki back tonight, though he took the morning skate with the team. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, the bruising defenseman suffered a setback pushing too hard to try and get back on the ice. He still hopes to return in this series, which would stretch to next Thursday should it go all seven games. The Senators will try to take a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight as they take on the Penguins at home.

 

Maple Leafs Notes: Babcock, Boyle, Nylander

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The Maple Leafs met with the media today after cleaning out their lockers, and Mike Babcock spoke about several things including his immediate future. The head coach will be heading to the World Championships not behind the bench, but in the stands to scout players of interest according to James Mirtle of The Athletic. While he obviously didn’t clarify which players those would be, there are several names that would be of interest to teams around the league.

Daniel Brickley will be suiting up for Team USA before heading back for another season with Minnesota State. The 22-year old defenseman will be a free agent next spring should he decide to turn pro, and would likely be on Toronto’s radar. Vadim Shipchyov and Evgeny Dadonov, both rumored to be heading to the NHL this summer will also be suiting up for the Russian team, likely who you’ll find Babcock watcing most often.

  • Brian Boyle told reporters that he’d be open to returning to the Maple Leafs, emphasizing how much fun he had since coming over from Tampa Bay at the deadline. Boyle is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and will be a sought after free agent for his leadership and success in a bottom-six role. He earned $2MM this season, but might even see a slight raise on a short-term deal.
  • Surprisingly, Babcock relayed that William Nylander will not be moved to center next year despite earlier reports that he would. Nylander found a ton of success with Auston Matthews throughout the season but was expected to move back to his natural position next year. It will be interesting to see what that means for the rest of the Maple Leaf forwards, as they already had a backlog of wingers before this decision. It also means that Tyler Bozak perhaps is safe for another season, after setting a career-high in points. Bozak will be entering the final season of his current contract, and will be a UFA in the summer of 2018.

Morning Notes: Flames Burn Out, Toronto’s Unlikely Hero, Looking Ahead

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Saturday April 15th was a riveting evening of hockey for any fan of the sport. The Blackhawks were dominated 5-0 by the Predators in Game 2, but the other three games were all nail-biters. The Flames looked to take the lead after climbing out of a 2 goal deficit in the 2nd period, but the call on the ice of goalie interference against John Gibson kept the game tied. The Ducks would go on to get a bizarre ricochet goal from the stick of Ryan Getzlaf with just 4:46 remaining in regulation to secure an ugly win, and go up 2-0 in the series.

  • The Leafs’ Kasperi Kapanen has not been in the spotlight – the likes of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews have been so phenomenal that he is easily forgotten in the mix. The promising young crafty forward was the centerpiece of the Phil Kessel deal, which until now, had undoubtedly looked to favor the Penguins. Serving 4th-line duty, the forward had only scored one goal in his 8 games up with big squad this season. In the second overtime of Saturday’s Game 2 versus the Capitals, the forward crept in to the back post as Brian Boyle used his lanky frame to fool the netminder into sealing the near post in anticipation. The result was a gorgeous finish to a game where an unlikely hero was desperately needed. If the forward can build on this huge goal, perhaps he can become an X-factor in a series where they are the underdogs. He seems to be confident in the team’s chances.
  • The Senators would not go down quietly. Down 2 goals through 40 minutes, the squad rallied to tie the game with tallies from Chris Wideman and Derick Brassard. As mentioned in an earlier post, Chara’s late regulation delay-of-game penalty proved quite costly, as the Senators capitalized on the powerplay’s momentum and ended the overtime quickly. Dion Phaneuf hammered one home after the team had hit two posts previously in quick succession. The series has been incredibly tight, but surely Bruins fans will lament the lost opportunity, especially in light of their badly bruised defensive squad.
  • Four games will take place this Sunday. The Wild will try to avoid going down 3-0 in hostile territory, the Blue Jackets will hope to dodge a similar fate with cannons firing, and the Sharks and Rangers look to go up at home after splitting the first two on the road.

Toronto Notes: Andersen, Matthews

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Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen has “no symptoms” of a concussion, but will sit tonight’s game against Blue Jackets, according to coach Mike Babcock. The goaltender is expected to start Game 1 of the playoffs.

Andersen, who was hit by Pittsburgh’s Tom Sestito who ironically was back for his first game after serving a four-game suspension for a hit against Tobias Enstrom, hit Andersen in a fly-by. Initial belief was he had suffered a concussion. Backup Curtis McElhinney took over in Saturday’s game and is expected to get the start with recent callup Garret Sparks to take backup duties.

Other Toronto notes …

  • When rookie Auston Matthews scored his 40th goal Saturday, an empty netter with three seconds remaining that clinched the Maple Leafs a playoff spot, it put the teenager into rare company. The 19-year-old rookie is now the fourth rookie-teenager in NHL history to score 40 goals. He joins elite company next to Dale Hawerchuk (45 goals at 18 years of age in 1981-82), Mario Lemieux (43 goals at 19 years of age in 1984-85) and Sylvain Turgeon (40 goals at 19 years in 1983-84). Matthews had previously broken the American-born rookie scoring record when he recorded his 39th goal Monday.
  • Dave McCarthy of NHL.com reports the Leafs will have nine players play 82 games this year, a testament to their health and one reason for the team’s success this year in reaching the playoffs. Matthews, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Connor Brown, Leo Komarov, Zach Hyman, Jake Gardiner, Matt Martin, Nikita Zaitsev have played all 81 games so far and are expected to play tonight. William Nylander is only at 80 games.

 

Snapshots: Maple Leafs, Sobotka, Spooner

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The Toronto Maple Leafs made their intentions clear this season as they added playoff-tested Brian Boyle to the mix for their playoff push. Not expected to compete for the Atlantic crown this year they find themselves just seven points back of Montreal with two games in hand. Kristen Shilton of TSN spoke to Mike Babcock about the addition, and he said the team deserves this. “We’re excited. Lou thought our group had earned the right for us to help them,” Babcock said, before indicating that Boyle will play tonight on the fourth line and help out both special teams.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie thinks that it’s not just Boyle that the Maple Leafs are after, and that they may use their LTIR space to facilitate other deals. The Leafs have a lot of cap space because of the dead contracts they’ve taken on over the past few years, and could use it to gather assets from teams looking to add at the deadline. They have to be careful though, as the bonuses that Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander (among others) are owed on their entry-level contracts cannot be covered by the LTIR space and would count as penalties next season should they put them over the cap.

  • McKenzie also detailed the possibility of Vladimir Sobotka turning heads at some point tomorrow, as the Omsk Avangard winger is nearing the end of his KHL contract. It’s not clear if Sobotka would consider coming over after his season ends, but would be playoff eligible. Lou Korac of NHL.com asked Blues GM Doug Armstrong about the possibility, who responded: “Once he gets on our soil, then I’ll talk about him.” The 29-year old Sobotka has been a pain in Armstrong’s side for a long time.
  • In a new column from Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, Ryan Spooner spoke out against his former coach Claude Julien and the tense relationship the two shared. Spooner claims that Julien “just didn’t really trust [him]”, and that the two never saw eye to eye on his play style. Spooner has 33 points in 61 games and is well on his way to another 40+ point season before he’s 26. If he’s not dealt in the next few months, he’ll be looking for a big upgrade in the summer on the $950K he’s currently earning.

Snapshots: Hurricanes, Lazar, NHL In Sweden

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The Carolina Hurricanes could be in a position to make some noise in the trade market.

Young and skilled defensemen are often key pieces in making trades, and the Hurricanes have stocked their system with them over the past few drafts. The club’s last three first round picks have been highly-ranked defenders: Haydn Fleury, Noah Hanifin, and Jake Bean. They have also selected Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin in lower rounds.

Because of this depth of solid defensemen, GM Ron Francis told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that he’s willing to deal from a position of strength to build up other parts of his roster. That could place the Hurricanes as a possible destination for either Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog, seeing as the Avalanche desperately need to improve their defensive core. LeBrun also speculated that Francis could try pry William Nylander out of Toronto, but doubted that the Maple Leafs would have any interest in moving Nylander to improve their blue line.

In addition to the Avalanche and Maple Leafs, LeBrun suggests the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Winnipeg Jets could all have interest in the Hurricanes’ young blue-liners.

Regardless of whether or not the Hurricanes can land a stud offensive player at the deadline, they’re well-placed to make moves over the summer as other teams look to improve their defense.

  • Despite rumors to the contrary, Curtis Lazar has not asked for a trade from the Ottawa Senators. Lazar’s agent met with GM Pierre Dorion last weekend, after which the player re-iterated that he wants to stay in Ottawa. After Dorion suggested that Lazar needs to “sink a few ’four foot putts’,” Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen quoted Lazar as saying even those “almost feel like a home run right now.” The struggling young forward feels that he needs to get back in the lineup and start “feeling good about [him]self.” Lazar has just one assist in 29 NHL games this season, and four points in 13 AHL games.
  • Speaking of Ottawa, the Senators will be spending some time outdoors next season, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. Pending NHL and PA approval, the Senators will face off against Colorado in Stockholm twice this coming November. It’s been widely speculated that those could be outdoors. Even if those end up being indoors, Shannon reports that the Senators owner has confirmed that the club has an agreement to host an outdoor game in December 2017. It remains to be seen if that will played at Parliament Hill as part of the celebration for Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Bruins, Canadiens

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For the Maple Leafs, the past calendar year has been one of wild swings. In the last 12 months (and a few days) the team dealt team captain Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa for cap relief, finished last in the NHL, drafted the future face of the franchise and vaulted themselves into playoff contention. In the last few weeks though the team has held on tight as the roller-coaster has tilted up on two wheels.

The team currently sits tied with Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, but has had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net in recent weeks. After two back-to-back shutouts over Calgary and Detroit in late January, the team has allowed 30 goals in eight games and gone 2-4-2. Kristen Shilton of TSN reports on their mediocrity and where the team’s mindset is as they try to turn things around. One of the positive notes has been the play of William Nylander, who after an early season demotion to the fourth line has recharged his defensive tanks and become a leader on a shutdown line with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.

The team has no time to settle in though, with a condensed schedule and eight games in the fifteen nights remaining in February. They’ll take on the New York Islanders tomorrow on home ice.

  • The Boston Bruins are 3-0 with their new head coach, getting a boost from the new voice of Bruce Cassidy behind the bench. They tore apart their rival Montreal Canadiens last night 4-0 and have put some space between them and the struggling Maple Leafs. Perhaps the coaching move was the right choice, but they’re in for a tough road trip when they come back off their mandated bye-week. The team will hit the road on the west coast with matchups against San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Dallas out of the break—a tough schedule for anyone.
  • Montreal could do with a little of that coaching magic, writes Michael Traikos of the National Post. While the Bruins surge, the Canadiens flounder at the top of the Atlantic Division, now only six points ahead of the Ottawa Senators despite having played five more games. For what at one point looked like a lock for the top see in the division, Montreal now faces a tough final stretch of games. Traikos opines that Michel Therrien should be fired like his Boston counterpart, despite still holding onto that top seed. For now he remains with the team an they’ll come out of their break against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
  • Hopefully they will return with some help, says Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. In his latest column, Campbell examines the Canadiens need for some secondary scoring help behind the top duo of Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov. After Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and AGM Chris McFarland were seen in attendance at the Bruins-Habs matchup on Sunday, hope sprung in Montreal about a possible addition of one of the two young players on the Avalanche trade-block. Both Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog would provide a nice punch to the second line for the Habs, though the asking price remains as high as ever.

Atlantic Notes: Toronto Trade Speculation, Yandle, Lightning

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While there have been rumblings that the Maple Leafs could potentially be shopping left winger James van Riemsdyk, he’s not letting that talk affect him, writes Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star.  Given his contract ($4.25MM this season and next), the spot that Toronto is currently in, and the demand for top six talent, there is some logic in suggesting the team could possibly deal him.  For his part, van Riemsdyk isn’t too worried about the chatter:

“You’ve gone through it before… That kind of thing, it was different in Philly. It would eat at you a lot more back then. You take it more personally back then and you never thought those things would happen to you. But not so much now, now that you’ve been through it.”

While van Riemsdyk may not be bothered by the speculation surrounding him and, to a lesser degree, William Nylander, head coach Mike Babcock was looking to put an end to it:

“We’re not looking to move those guys. There’s been a bunch of talk, a bunch of talk about Willy too, and I said to those guys, just play hard… We’re not looking to move them. There can be a truth one day and that truth can change the next… There’s noise (media) and you know you guys can make a lot of noise.“

With Toronto being the major media market that it is though, it’s unlikely that the chatter regarding van Riemsdyk will subside any time soon, no matter how much the team publicly indicates that they’re not shopping him.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Keith Yandle’s streak of 577 consecutive games played will come to an end tonight after leaving yesterday’s game in the first period due to a lower body injury, notes the Sun Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov. Interim head coach Tom Rowe told reporters that Yandle will be out for a while, though there is no specific timeframe for his return.  Dylan McIlrath is expected to draw into the lineup in Yandle’s spot tonight in Philadelphia.
  • The Lightning have assigned defenseman Luke Witkowski and center Michael Bournival to their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, the team announced. The moves leave Tampa Bay with just 12 healthy forwards on the active roster although right winger Ryan Callahan is nearing a return to action and could be ready to return for their next game on Thursday.

Rookie Report: Laine, Marner, Nylander, Werenski, Matthews

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The last three drafts have produced a number of all-world talents who are not only leading respective rookies, but the league as well. Here’s a look at the scoring leaders as the first quarter of the season nears completion.

Starting with Patrik Laine, the #2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, the Finnish forward has already recorded two hat tricks in his first pro season and has been drawing comparisons to his hero, Alex Ovechkin. Laine has been as advertised: a speedy sniper who always seems to be where the puck is. Not only does Laine lead all rookies with 12 goals, but he’s #1 in the league amongst goal scorers, tied with a guy by the name of Sidney Crosby.

Oct 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner (16) controls the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during a preseason hockey game at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Mitch Marner is #2 in scoring with 16 points and has been so dominant, that it has CBC wondering if he’s the “face” of the Maple Leafs. Marner has been nothing short of exceptional, notching seven goals and nine assists, buoyed by ten points in his last seven games. His commitment to a total game–not just scoring–even has bench boss Mike Babcock gushing. From CBC:

“You look at all the kids in our lineup — [defencemen Connor] Carrick and [Nikita] Zaitsev and [forwards Zach] Hyman and [Connor] Brown, and then the three guys that have elite skill — he not only has the skill but he competes every night,” said Babcock.

“He competes with and without the puck. That’s really positive. I’ve never coached a kid that good that young.”

William Nylander and Zach Werenski are tied with 14 points apiece. Nylander, the eighth overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft,  has given the Maple Leafs a huge boost in terms of production, joining teammates Marner and Auston Matthews in turning the Leafs’ fortunes around. For a kid who said back in March that he wanted to be “great,” he’s lived up to his expectations. Werenski is the only defenseman on the list and has been a major player in Columbus’ surge over the past few weeks. Tom Gulitti writes that Werenski is a major reason the Jackets are off to a 10-4-2 start and the 19-year-old has been quarterbacking a the power play, another sign that he’s a major player in Columbus’ improvement.

Matthews rounds out the top five with 13 points, and much has been written about the number one overall pick of the 2016 NHL draft. Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut, but has been silent for the past 11 games. Yet it’s the maturation that Matthews and his fellow rookie teammates have shown that has caught the eye of his coaches and the league. Matthews commitment to a two way game, despite failing to score in nearly a dozen games, shows that he has bought into the Babcock system.

With three Leafs in the top five of scoring among rookies, happier days certainly seem to be on their way to Toronto.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

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