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Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Lehtonen, Clarke & Campbell – The Hockey Writers

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Some things are stewing in the NHL pot. On Monday, the NHL’s Board of Governors held a conference call to discuss a range of issues, including the possibility of staging the NHL Entry Draft in June before the completion of the 2019-20 regular season. However, according to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun, no decision was made about the 2020 draft.

Related: Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Andersen, Cujo & Resuming the Season

LeBrun tweeted that an announcement might not be made until next week. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly had emailed LeBrun that, “We think it’s more important to get the right decision than to get a quick decision.”

With these discussions in the wind, in this post I’d like to help Toronto Maple Leafs fans stay up-to-date on any news and rumors emerging from and about the organization.

Item One: Maple Leafs Sign Defenseman Mikko Lehtonen

On Monday, May 4, the Maple Leafs officially announced they had signed former KHL defenseman Mikko Lehtonen to a one-year entry-level contract. Lehtonen led all KHL defensemen with 17 goals, 32 assists, and 49 points last season while playing 60 games for Helsinki Jokerit.

Make no mistake Maple Leafs fans, this is a great signing for the team. Unless there’s a huge surprise, the 26-year-old Lehtonen will immediately assume a roster spot on the team’s blue line for the 2020-21 season. At the same time, because general manager Kyle Dubas signed him to an entry-level contract, that offers the team – even in a time of not knowing where the upper limit of the salary cap will eventually land – great flexibility. It’s likely the signing makes both Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie expendable this summer.

Finally, Lehtonen might have been the best defenseman in the entire KHL (he was named a KHL All-Star), which further makes this a huge signing for the team during a time when it really needs to re-shape its blue line. Now they can do that re-shaping in a time of salary-cap crunch.

Related: Revisiting John Ferguson Jr.’s Draft – 2004

TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted that, although Lehtonen did play right-defense for Finland at last year’s World Championship, Travis Dermott probably has the most experience and aptitude to switch.

Lehtonen comes with pedigree. He played for Team Finland at the World Championships in 2017 and 2019 (was named the tournament All-Star in 2019 when his team won gold), played for Team Finland’s 2018 Olympic team, and won gold at the 2014 World Junior Championships.

Item Two: Wendel Clark Speaks about Former Maple Leafs Coach Pat Burns

For die-hard Maple Leafs fans, Wendel Clark – the tough-as-nails Saskatchewan farm boy who took the city of Toronto by storm – has always been a favorite in the team’s history. In a great interview last week by Sportnet’s Luke Fox, Clark talked about a wide-ranging number of subjects over his career with the team. Although I will only report a single part of that interview here, I invite fans to follow the link and enjoy Fox’s article.

During the interview, Fox asked Clark about playing for equally-tough Maple Leafs head coach Pat Burns. Fox asked Clark what strings Burns pulled as a coach.

An intense Wendel Clark, as featured in the 1991-92 Topps Stadium Club set.

Clark answered: “He was a tough cop. It was gonna be his way, and he was gonna force you to do things — even though everybody on the outside didn’t know you were forced to do it. Everybody had to do what he wanted to do, and he got everybody on the same page.”

Clark also noted: “A lot of times we’re all sticking up for each other because you’re mad at Burnsy. That was part of his coaching – he knew that would make us closer as a team, right? It’s all part of him putting in a structure that he wanted, and he did it every year.”

Related: What Mats Sundin Meant to Toronto Hockey

Finally, Clark added: “He started in Montreal, then Toronto, then Boston, then Jersey. He coached the same way in every spot. He had a game plan, and he had us as a very hard team to play against. We were all on the same page from ’92 to ’94.”

By the way, in the 1991-92 season (the season before Burns came as Maple Leafs coach), the team’s record was 30-43-7 (67 points), and the team finished 5th in Norris Division. In 1992-93, Burns coached the team to a record of 44-29-11 (99 points), and the team finished 3rd in Norris Division. In Burns’ next season (1993-94), the team’s record was 43-29-12 (98 points), and they finished 2nd in Central Division. Clark was captain on all those teams.

Item Three: Jack Campbell Simply Loves Playing in Toronto

A few weeks before the NHL trade deadline, Maple Leafs general manager Dubas pulled the trigger on a trade that brought backup goalie Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings to the Maple Leafs. That was Feb. 5; and, shortly a month later Campbell was on his way back to his California home to wait out the NHL’s regular-season suspension.

In a recent conference call, although his first weeks with the Maple Leafs were a whirlwind, Campbell reported he’s loved being part of his new team. He especially lauds the organization, calling it “fantastic.”

Jack Campbell, Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)

Campbell noted, “I’ll always be grateful for L.A. and the opportunities they gave me to establish myself in the league, but I mean, getting traded to Toronto, it’s the hockey mecca of the world. What a fantastic organization, top to bottom; the fans, the management and, number one, my teammates. I just really enjoyed getting to know everybody.”

He admitted that, when he saw fellow goalie Frederik Andersen and teammate Auston Matthews on Instagram, he experienced FOMO (fear of missing out). As Maple Leafs fans probably have read, because Andersen was unable to return home to Denmark, he’s staying with Matthews in Arizona during the quarantine. (As an aside, can you imagine the bond Andersen and Matthews could have when this self-quarantine is completed?)

Campbell also said, “I love those guys (Andersen and Matthews). They’re awesome. We’ve been texting once a week or so, just staying in the loop, and it looks like they’re having a good time. Those two guys are pretty similar, they love spending time outside playing sports.”

Related: Bill Barilko, the Tragically Hip & the Most Famous Goal in Maple Leafs History

They better also find some things to do inside as well. It’s been exceedingly hot in the Phoenix area – tomorrow the temperature is going to be +42 C. It’s air-con time.

What’s Next with the Maple Leafs?

There was a lull for a while, but when Dubas’ signed Lehtonen that was a major coup. He and his team are always working on something, and they seem to have better-than-average success making what they hope to happen actually happen.

It will be interesting to see what the organization is up to next.

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Lankinen stops 26 shots, Canucks blank Flyers 3-0

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves for his fourth career shutout and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Saturday night.

Nils Hoglander, Brock Boeser and Kyle Sherwood scored for the Canucks, who spoiled Philadelphia’s home opener and the first NHL home game for top Flyers’ prospects Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko.

The Canucks controlled play for most of the game and took advantage of Philadelphia’s defensive breakdowns for a pair of goals.

Samuel Ersson made 29 saves for Philadelphia, which lost its fourth consecutive game (0-3-1) after winning its season opener against the Canucks in Vancouver.

TAKEAWAYS

Canucks: Tyler Myers picked up an assist on a nifty, no-look pass to Boeser. It was Myers’ 1,000th NHL game. Myers also had three shots on goal, blocked a pair of shots, finished the game plus-1 and led the Canucks in total time on ice at 21:54.

Flyers: In another milestone game, Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier played in his 800th career game. However, the veteran centre was demoted to the fourth line and on the left wing by coach John Tortorella before the game. Once the Flyers fell behind 3-0, Couturier was shifted back to centre, but he couldn’t spark the team’s offence.

KEY MOMENT

Vancouver scored twice in 50 seconds in the second period to pull away. Sherwood’s goal was a one-timer off a faceoff win by Teddy Blueger to make it 3-0.

KEY STAT

Minus 11, the Flyers’ goal differential in five games this season at even strength. Through five games they have now been outscored 17-6 at five-on-five. All three of Vancouver’s goals on Saturday were at even strength.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

Flyers: Host the Capitals on Tuesday night.

AP NHL:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Washington Capitals 3-2 win ends Dallas Stars’ winning streak

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored to help the Washington Capitals end the Dallas Stars’ season-opening winning streak at four with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.

Wilson’s goal was his third in three games, Strome his second of the season and Raddysh his first since joining the team in free agency last summer. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as the Capitals wrapped up this early homestand with back-to-back wins.

The Stars fell from the ranks of the league’s unbeaten teams despite a short-handed goal by Colin Blackwell and one at even strength from Jason Robertson. Rookie Oskar Bäck set up Blackwell for his first NHL point.

Casey DeSmith was screened on two of the three goals he allowed on 26 shots.

LIGHTNING 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel had tied it and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Vegas.

Kucherov’s second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain unbeaten. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.

Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots.

Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points this season in five games and reached reached double-digit points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the 10th U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.

After Barbashev put Vegas up 3-2 early in the second, Hagel pulled Tampa Bay even at 3 with 2:22 remaining in the third.

BLUE JACKETS 6, SABRES 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist and Daniil Tarasov made 21 saves to help Columbus to a win over Buffalo.

Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, and Zach Werenski added two assists.

Ryan McLeod, Owen Power and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, and Jiri Kulich added his first NHL goal. Devon Lev stopped 19 shots for the Sabres (1-5-1), who have lost two straight road games and five of their first six overall.

CANUCKS 3, FLORIDA 2, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime and Vancouver got their first win of the season, beating Florida.

Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes had goals for Vancouver, with Kevin Lankinen stopping 26 shots.

Anton Lundell got his fourth goal in the last three games for Florida and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida remained without forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as New Jersey beat Ottawa.

Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.

The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.

Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.

Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.

Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.

RANGERS 5, RED WING 2

DETROIT (AP) — Artemi Panarin had his eighth career hat trick and New York rolled to a victory over Detroit.

Panarin became the first Rangers player to have multiple points in the first four games of a season. He scored twice on the power play. Vincent Trocheck also had a power- play goal and assisted on all of Panarin’s goals.

Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in his season debut. Victor Mancini also scored.

The Rangers have won the last five meetings, including twice this week. New York had a 4-1 home victory over Detroit on Monday night.

Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals.

KINGS 4, CANADIENS 1

MONTREAL (AP) — David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping road-weary Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal.

Los Angeles improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by arena renovations.

Rittich rebounded after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.

Justin Barron scored for Montreal (2-3-0). Sam Montembeault stopped 28 shots. He made a save on Kevin Fiala on a penalty shot.

BLUES 1, ISLANDERS 0, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joel Hofer made 34 saves and assisted on Jake Neighbours’ goal at 2:04 of overtime in St. Louis victory over New York.

Hofer had his second career shutout in his and the team’s second overtime victory of the season.

Philip Broberg carried the puck into the New York zone and made a centering pass to Neighbours for the winner.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorkin made 29 saves.

Blues defenseman Nick Leddy sat out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has missed this season. Leddy played in all 82 games last season.

OILERS 4, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brett Kulak scored twice and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to lead Edmonton to a victory over reeling Nashville.

Jeff Skinner also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won consecutive games after beginning the season with a three-game skid.

Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville (0-4).

Forsberg’s goal midway through the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season. That lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied it.

Kulak sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute for the defenseman’s first career two-goal game.

BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno each scored a power-play goal, and Chicago beat San Jose.

Taylor Hall and Jason Dickinson also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists.

Hall, who missed most of last season because of right knee surgery, put the Blackhawks in front 4:20 into the first period. It was Hall’s first goal since Nov. 5 and No. 267 for his career.

Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which trailed 3-0 early in the second. William Eklund and Mikael Granlund had two assists each.

The Sharks dropped to 0-2-2 under Ryan Warsofsky, who was promoted to head coach in June.

Petr Mrazek had 20 saves for Chicago, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 stops for San Jose.

KRAKEN 6, FLYERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Shane Wright scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period and Seattle held off a Philadelphia rally in a victory.

Tolvanen’s goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 14:57 mark. Eberle made it a two-goal game with a goal at 17:44. Eight seconds later, Wright scored to give Seattle a three-goal lead.

Jared McCann tied the game at 2-2 with the first of Seattle’s four second-period goals.

Cam York and Jamie Drysdale scored to pull Philadelphia within 5-4 in the third period, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded with a goal to push Seattle’s lead to two with just over five minutes left in the game.

Scott Laughton scored twice for the Flyers in the first period, while Brandon Montour scored one in for the Kraken.

Chandler Stephenson had an assist in his 500th NHL game. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.

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Canada’s Dabrowski, New Zealand’s Routliffe out of Japan Women’s Open after walkover

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OSAKA, Japan – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are out of the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament.

Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Romania’s Monica Niculescu advanced to the final on Thursday by way of walkover.

The fourth seeds were supposed to play the top-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.

Bucsa and Niculescu will next face third-seeded Ena Shibahara of Japan and Laura Siegemund of Germany in the final.

Dabrowski and Routliffe defeated Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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