What an active week — and offseason overall — it’s been for Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In: T.J. Brodie (RD), Wayne Simmonds (RW), Zach Bogosian (RD), Joe Thornton (C), Jimmy Vesey (LW), Joey Anderson (RW), Travis Boyd (C/LW), Aaron Dell (G), Fillip Hallander (C/LW), David Warsofsky (LD)
Out: Kasperi Kapanen (RW), Andreas Johnsson (LW), Cody Ceci (RD), Tyson Barrie (RD), Frederik Gauthier (C), Jeremy Bracco (RW), Kasimir Kaskisuo (G), Jesper Lindgren (RD), Pontus Aberg (LW/RW)
To say nothing of the 12 draft selections or the Alexander Barabanov and Mikko Lehtonen signings out of the KHL back in the Spring.
Let’s jump right into the musings.
The Joe Thornton Signing
Photo: Mark Blinch. Getty Images
Frederik Gauthier was Toronto’s fourth-line center for 61 games last season and 70 the year before. Even if Joe Thornton looks like a shell of his former self, at the very least, he should be able to replace Gauthier as Toronto’s big left-handed faceoff specialist plus all the intangible value he brings. At the league minimum salary, there’s very little risk here, and it’s tough to hate this signing as a result.
Thornton is one of the best playmakers of all time. He should help Toronto’s second power-play unit, and he’ll certainly bring some veteran leadership to the locker room. Like Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza, it’s going to be really cool to watch him play at home in Toronto. A strong play-driver in the 2018-2019 season, he still looked like a perfectly respectable NHL player last season. If he has a bounce-back season at the age of 41, the Leafs have themselves a good third-line center. If he doesn’t, they should still have a perfectly fine fourth-line player at the league-minimum salary.
If you evaluate each individual signing in a vacuum, there is little risk in signing Thornton, Spezza, or Simmonds. However, there is at least some risk here collectively, as Toronto’s bottom six is going to be quite slow, and it’s not going to be easy to scratch any of them even if they end up struggling. Ideally, all three of them should be the slowest player on their line, but it seems like two of them are bound to play together.
It’s not perfect, and if it’s not working, you’re trusting your coach to make a difficult decision. I still think Thornton and Spezza are valuable NHL contributors — and I also think there’s a reasonable chance for Simmonds to have a bounce-back season — but it’s worth acknowledging that there’s at least a chance that this doesn’t work out perfectly.
It sure seems like we’re going to see plenty of back-to-backs next season, as the league will likely look to minimize travel as much as possible. As a result, don’t be surprised if they give Thornton, Spezza, or Simmonds the occasional night off. Rotating 13 forwards and 7 defensemen in and out of the lineup should not be a major problem. I’d rather give these players a breather now and then rather than have a 2018-19 Justin Holl situation, where someone lives in the press box and plays only 11 games. As long as the coaching staff is up front with the players and emphasizes the importance of keeping them fresh for the playoffs, I don’t see it being a major problem if they come out of the lineup once every 10 or 15 games.
Leafs fans saw Patrick Marleau take a pretty significant step back following his first season in Toronto. He’s still a fine skater to this day, but I do think he lost a step. It’s trickier to evaluate when Thornton will decline further; like Spezza, he was never a great skater to begin with. He’s still big, strong, and a wicked passer. As I said above, I’ll certainly take my chances that he can at least improve on Gauthier’s value.
I also wonder if Thornton could end up on the wing, where played there during the World Cup of Hockey back in 2016. Given his lack of speed, this could help him to extend his career as a top-nine player. The Sharks weren’t going to do this in 2018-19, as he still graded out as a terrific play-driver at center. They weren’t going to do this last season when they had their fair share of injuries and were limited in terms of depth.
Thornton can still take faceoffs if he plays on the wing, and while I don’t think he’s a great fit with the pass-first Kerfoot, I wouldn’t mind experimenting early on. Since Thornton never shoots the puck, look for him to play with good shooters.
I mentioned the Thornton rumours in my last article, where I stated that he was worth a shot for a bottom-six role. I get that having a 37-year old Spezza as the team’s second-oldest forward is not for everyone, but I think both players have enough left in the tank.
I like this addition and I’m pumped to watch Thornton play for the Leafs.
The Odd Man Out
Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images
The Leafs have five clear top-six forwards: Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Zach Hyman. Alex Kerfoot can either be a solid third-line center, or the third-best player on the second line. Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Ilya Mikheyev, and Wayne Simmonds are all locks to be in the lineup as well, so that’s 10 spots accounted for.
I fully expect Jimmy Vesey to be on the roster. He’s a decent bet to score 15 goals, and he could fit with either Kerfoot or Thornton. There’s at least a chance that he’s the 13th forward, but he’ll be on the roster in some capacity.
The remaining two spots are up for grabs. Alexander Barabanov is likely a favourite for an NHL job, but he scored under half-a-point per game in the KHL last season, a threshold he’s only surpassed once. I think the Leafs will give him an opportunity to make the team, but he’s going to have to earn his spot in the lineup. Vadim Shipachyov was the biggest thing since sliced bread a few years back, and he only ended up playing three NHL games. In Toronto, Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman, and Igor Ozhiganov also never fully stuck in the NHL after coming overseas. While I think they’ll give Barabanov a good chance to play, he’s going to have to earn a spot in the lineup.
Pierre Engvall can be sent to the Marlies without going through waivers. Nick Robertson, barring an unexpected rule change, is not eligible to play in the AHL. Faced with a similar decision during their play-in series, the Leafs ended up playing Robertson in game one over Engvall. Of course, Robertson ended up being scratched in Game 5 when Andreas Johnsson returned and Engvall took over Gauthier’s spot, so this lineup decision is far from a lock.
Adding another layer of uncertainty, we don’t know if there’s going to be an OHL season at this point or what one will look like. Assuming the old rules are intact, you either play Robertson in the NHL all year, or you don’t play him in the NHL at all. If the Leafs think he can make an impact come playoff time, they’ll keep him in the NHL. If they don’t think he’s ready, they’ll send him down. He would certainly be a great fit with the past-first Thornton. If anything, I think that signing Thornton helps more than hurts Robertson’s chances. Ultimately, he’ll control his own destiny. If looks good enough in preseason (assuming there is a preseason), the Leafs will make a spot for him.
I think Engvall is a bit underrated right now, as he’s good in transition and good defensively. He played well at center in the play-in series against Columbus, and he covers a ton of ice. He’s not amazing offensively, but the Leafs could use another good two-way forward, and he’s certainly good on the penalty kill. I’d send him to the Marlies before I traded him for nothing. That being said, I’m not sure that he fully controls his own destiny — if Robertson and Barabanov both look like solid NHL players, I think they’ll both stay on the roster. They can always call Engvall up if needed, but as mentioned, barring a rule change for this year, they can’t do that with Robertson.
All of Denis Malgin, Travis Boyd, Nic Petan, Adam Brooks, and Yegor Korshkov will be in tough to make the team. Kenny Agostino played in 63 NHL games in 2018-19 and scored at close to a point-per-game with the Marlies last season, but he is a major long-shot. It doesn’t hurt to have depth, but I’d consider trading a player or two at some point, as I’d like to see someone like Agostino given a better chance of making an NHL team. I think Joey Anderson is also likely on the outside looking in considering he fits best on the right side, where Simmonds and probably Spezza have the final right-wing spots locked down.
The Next Steps For Toronto’s Offseason
Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images
The Leafs look pretty much set. Unless something falls into their lap, I don’t see many more moves happening. Their forward depth is matched on the back-end: One of Mikko Lehtonen or Zach Bogosian will be their seventh defenseman, and then there’s Calle Rosen, Rasmus Sandin, and Timothy Liljegren behind them. Half the outrage I see on Twitter these days is basically “this player shouldn’t be scratched!” That’s probably a good sign. Between injuries and back-to-backs, who gets scratched is the least of my concerns at this point.
Other than maybe Engvall, the two players that seem like they could potentially be dealt are Alex Kerfoot and Justin Holl. I don’t think it’s overly likely that either player is traded, but if one does get moved, you need to get a player who is just as good if not better in return. The Muzzin-Holl pairing was the lone bright spot on Toronto’s blue-line last season, and I’ve been dying to see Morgan Rielly play with a partner like TJ Brodie for years, so I don’t know why you’d break that up. I think Travis Dermott could potentially play in the top four, but I’d rather keep him on the third-pairing to start and ensure that I have great depth. Unless someone like MacKenzie Weegar is added, I doubt Holl is going anywhere.
You also can’t trade Alex Kerfoot without getting another quality center back in the deal. He was one of Toronto’s better players in the play-in series, and the third line was terrible when he wasn’t there. You could play him on the wing and give Thornton a chance to start the season as the third-line center, but you certainly need a backup plan ready in case Thornton’s play declines further. Having too much center depth is always a good problem to have. It’s not having enough that becomes a major issue.
While I didn’t want to trade the first-round pick they acquired in the Kasperi Kapanen trade — having the 15th pick in a deep draft class is tough to pass up — I’m more open to the team trading its 2021 first-round pick. Rather than trade for a rental, I’d rather do what the Tampa Bay Lightning did and trade for cheap players with control. For example, I know he’s small, but I’d give up a good haul for Conor Garland, who carries just a $775k cap hit this season.
I’m not expecting much else to happen with the Leafs for the remainder of the offseason, but they have some flexibility if something does come up, and Kyle Dubas has stated his desire to keep enough maneuverability under the cap to be able to add mid-season or at the deadline.
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
