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Which Maple Leafs could replace Joe Thornton on the top line? – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

January 21, 2021

The early returns on the Joe Thornton-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner top line in Toronto were all positive in five games.

Each of the three are at or above a 60 per cent corsi rating at 5-on-5. Marner is tied with John Tavares for the team points lead at six, while Matthews is working at a point-per-game rate even though he’s only scored on two of his league-leading 27 shots — a 7.4 percentage that’s well below a 15.5 per cent career average.

In Wednesday’s defensive snoozer (which was actually positive in some way for both teams) the Thornton-Matthews-Marner line controlled 75 per cent of the 5-on-5 shots they were on the ice for.

It was Toronto’s best line.

And now it’s time for a shakeup.

Thornton left Wednesday’s game with an injury that Sheldon Keefe described as “not a day-to-day thing.” The team awaits the results of an MRI later Thursday for full details, but it’s clear Toronto will have to move on without its Jumbo centre-turned-winger for a while.

The question, naturally, becomes: who replaces him on the top line?

And it might not even be quite that simple.

Adding a little more intrigue to the mix is the fact Auston Matthews departed Thursday’s practice early, leaving some question as to whether or not he’ll be in the lineup for Round 2 against Edmonton Friday.

“He just wasn’t feeling great today coming off the game yesterday, so just going to take the rest of the day to see how he is tomorrow. We’ll have an update in the morning,” Keefe said.

If Matthews is out, then John Tavares’ line becomes the new “No. 1” and, really, all sorts of possibilities for line changes enter the mix. But with Matthews, at least, it seems a little more fluid and even if he doesn’t go on Friday his absence may only be short term.

The Thornton loss will have the longer-term impact, so who could replace him on the top line with Matthews and Marner?

Nick Robertson would have been perfect, but a knee injury has already forced him out for four weeks. Now Toronto’s bottom six will be stretched thinner and, perhaps, more work is coming for Tavares and William Nylander, who both are averaging just over 17 minutes of ice per game — or about six minutes less than Matthews, and seven less than Marner.

With Matthews in the lineup next to Marner, here are some possibilities to play on the left side.

Jimmy Vesey
Well, let’s start with the practice lines from Thursday, when Matthews was absent.

Adam Brooks would be filling in for Matthews here, and if this is what is put forth Friday, Vesey would arrive here from Tavares’ line and Zach Hyman would get a bump up from the third (more on him in a bit).

You could say the jury is still out on Vesey. He wasn’t great Wednesday, but arguably had his best performance the game before. He’s getting PK time, but feels more like bottom-six player than star support. Still, he’s getting the minutes and was practicing in this place Thursday. If that comes to pass it shouldn’t be a surprise.

But there’s this: in Toronto’s five early games they’ve been outscored 9-7 at 5-on-5. If Vesey doesn’t help boost either the offence or the defence in some way, and this scoring hole widens, Keefe could mix his lines up again. He’s nothing if not flexible with his set up, depending on the situation.

Zach Hyman

This would be my pick. Hyman is the worker bee who wins key corner puck battles and has supported Toronto’s stars to great success in the past.

On the third line to start the season, Hyman has been the driver — Toronto has controlled 55 per cent of the 5-on-5 shots when he’s on the ice and he’s the only bottom-sixer who has a positive goal differential at 5-on-5. In Monday’s game against Winnipeg, he recorded 10 shots on net.

After Thornton left the Oilers game, Hyman’s even-strength shifts were spent with Matthews and Marner. According to Natural Stat Trick, they played 6:16 at 5-on-5 together Wednesday and were 3-3 with the opposition in shots on goal. They were also the only Toronto line to score a goal Wednesday, which began on a Hyman drive, and finished (with a little luck) after Matthews won a puck battle.

The way the lines were arranged Thursday, though, suggests Hyman will instead start with Tavares and Nylander.

There is a potential risk to moving Hyman up now, especially if Matthews is out. The bottom six is stretching and Hyman has arguably been the most important piece in that section of the lineup. Promoting him would certainly be worthy, but you have to wonder in what state that leaves the depth. As mentioned before, an uptick in minutes for Tavares’ line could help that situation to some degree.

Ilya Mikheyev

Whether or not you think Mikheyev is a long-term fit in the top six, he’s clearly someone who could slot there in a pinch. And the upside is intriguing. He had 23 points in 39 games last season before a gruesome wrist injury removed him from the lineup until the play-in round. He has the one assist in five games this season.

However, if Mikheyev gets a bump up it may come with Tavares first instead. Mikheyev played more often with Toronto’s captain at 5-on-5 last season (138:45 minutes) and the underlying numbers for both players were better when they were together.

When Justin Bourne built his ideal Leafs lines out before Thornton’s injury, this is what his top six looked like, which would seem to bolder Hyman’s candidacy to join Marner and Matthews:

Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Mikheyev-Tavares-Nylander

Then you wonder, if it gets to a point where both Hyman and Mikheyev need to be in the top six and the Maple Leafs are still struggling to produce or find consistency, would Keefe reunite the Marner-Tavares-Hyman line that was so successful two years ago there is now value keeping them spread apart?

That, then, would conceivably leave Matthews with Nylander and either Mikheyev or Vesey.

John Tavares

If you see this one, something terrible has probably gone wrong.

Here is the emergency switch, the nuclear option. What if Toronto starts a spiral or goes a stretch where the scoring dries up? Could you see this attempted?

More likely this trip would get put together in a specific game situation, like trailing by a goal or more late when an offensive spark is needed. It’s been done before.

But putting the three of them on the same line for a full game, multiple games in a row, puts maximum stress on the rest of the forward units. Still, it’d be fun to see.

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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