And because of pandemic realities, the sooner the better for the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the NHL trade deadline less than four weeks away in a season truncated by COVID-19, Dubas said Tuesday he’s examining various options with an eye toward improving a roster already loaded with offensive talent.
The Canadian border remains closed to non-essential travel, however, meaning any player acquired from an American-based team would have to observe a 14-day quarantine before stepping on the ice.
“It certainly provides an incentive to make the moves earlier,” Dubas said on a video conference call with reporters. “It takes two to make that happen, though.”
Dubas also made it clear he’s willing to dip into his prospect capital — forwards Nick Robertson and Rodion Amirov, defenceman Rasmus Sandin, and Toronto’s 2021 first-round pick likely fall under this umbrella — if a deal makes sense before the April 12 trade cutoff, simply and emphatically answering “Yes.”
With the Leafs just past the schedule’s midway point, Dubas spoke with reporters for nearly 40 minutes about the positives and negatives he’s seen through 30 games.
There’s been plenty of good with improved defensive structure, impressive results, and stretches of consistency not previously seen from this group. There’s also been some bad — especially over the last week — for a franchise with designs on a long playoff run this spring and, if things go well, early summer.
WATCH | Senators edge Leafs in Battle of Ontario:
Ottawa forward Drake Batherson scored twice in less than a minute to push his squad to a 4-3 victory over Toronto. 1:49
Toronto sat atop the NHL’s overall standings with a 18-4-2 record and a .792 points percentage on March 3 after beating the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 to complete a three-game, 13-1 romp over Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s team.
“It showed what we’re capable of,” Dubas said. “The key is doing that as often as possible, and not just when you’re concerned about an elite, offensive team with two of the best players in the game.”
But since then, the Leafs, who still lead the division at 19-9-2 and a points percentage of .667, have lost five of their last six in regulation, including ugly back-to-back losses over the weekend.
“Great teams find a way to stop the bleeding and pull themselves out and use those as an opportunity to grow and improve and get better,” Dubas said. “That’s what I’m looking at now from our group.”
‘Focused on forwards’
Heading into his third trade deadline in charge, Dubas said he isn’t “transfixed” on one area, but indicated adding talent up front to complement NHL goal leader Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares is a priority.
“I’m not precluding anything,” Dubas said. “But I’d say most of the conversations are focused on forwards.”
There’s always a chance two teams in this season’s one-time-only Canadian circuit — borne out of those same border restrictions impacting trades — could swing a deal, but that might be tough with at least five of the division’s seven clubs still jockeying for playoff spots.
Dubas has historically tended to shoot for players with term remaining on their contract instead of acquiring pure rentals at the deadline, but that isn’t necessarily the case this time with the salary cap almost assuredly staying at US$81.5 million for at least the next few seasons as the NHL dusts itself off from the pandemic’s economic beating.
“It’s a rare time where probably a rental is a better fit,” Dubas said. “[But] if there’s something we feel can improve our team long-term, we’ll find a way to make it work.”
Toronto’s 35-year-old GM remade some of his roster following another post-season disappointment last summer, signing top-pair defenceman T.J. Brodie in free agency, while also adding veteran wingers Joe Thornton and Wayne Simmonds, along with bruising blue-liner Zach Bogosian, in hopes of changing both locker-room chemistry and on-ice performance.
“That’s a real important part of helping the team,” Dubas said. “Those guys don’t change day-to-day. They’ve added a lot.”
Questions in the crease
One area of concern raised Tuesday was Toronto’s goaltending, which has been basically average for the better part of the last two seasons. No. 1 option Frederik Andersen already missed time with a lower-body injury in 2021 — he’s returned to the lineup, but still clearly playing through whatever’s bothering him — while backup Jack Campbell (leg) has suited up just once since January.
“[Andersen] has a tremendous ability to gather himself when he may not be playing to the standard that he sets for himself,” Dubas said. “I have a lot of faith that Fred, over time, has continually shown us that he’s been able to find his way out of it, and that he will.”
In terms of when to pull a trigger on a trade, especially in a year where a Canadian team is guaranteed a conference final berth and there’s no date with the Boston Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning looming in the first two rounds, Dubas said players usually let their GMs know when the time is right.
“The great teams or the teams that have great seasons and go on great runs, they all deal with these types of stretches, and they deal with them very, very well,” Dubas said of Toronto’s current slide. “If our group can do that in combination with what they showed at the beginning of the year, I think the onus will be on me to do everything within reason.”
The road map Dubas laid out after taking over the Leafs — locking up four high-price forwards in Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander, and playing a fast, puck-possession, four-line game — has been poked, prodded and dissected in hockey’s biggest market since the spring of 2018.
Recent results aside, Toronto is in good shape 30 games into this season like no other, but Dubas is a long way from taking even the smallest of victory laps.
“There have been times when I think I haven’t done a good enough job whatsoever in helping the team,” he said. “The goal for the group is high performance sustained year after year. I only think after that time would I ever feel any sort of vindication. And even still, I’d still be trying to drive to continue that as long as we can.
“Any criticisms are warranted until we reach that point. And I don’t take them personally at all.”
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
