TORONTO — Rare is the occasion throughout his first year behind the Toronto Maple Leafs bench that Sheldon Keefe has called out a specific player and demanded better.
Publicly, at least, Keefe has been much more the encourager than the critic when it comes to individual analysis.
Yet in this sprint of a training camp that has made it awfully difficult for players to scramble up the depth chart, there’s been no mistaking who has been bumped down.
Pierre Engvall won a Calder Cup under Keefe in 2018. He played in the majority of the Maple Leafs’ games last season as an NHL rookie and earned himself a two-year, $2.5-million contract extension. During this camp, he was the first man up when a forward from the main group fell to injury (Alexander Kerfoot, leg).
And yet, on Monday, Engvall was among the first was on a path back to the Marlies after a deep round of roster cuts.
“I expect Pierre to be better, to be honest,” Keefe said Saturday night, following the Blue and White’s intrasquad scrimmage. “I think it might be coming up on, if not past, the one-year anniversary of his last goal.”
Ouch.
That Engvall, 24, scored in the scrimmage didn’t matter. That a player whose role in the bigs will be a defensive, bottom-six role committed turnovers did.
Keefe wants a stronger physical commitment from Engvall, who’s more likely to rely on his smooth skating than his outsized six-foot-five, 214-pound frame. And, of course, the occasional offensive contribution can’t hurt. Engvall went pointless in the Columbus bubble series.
Engvall’s last goal arrived on Feb. 22, when he scored on Carolina Hurricanes emergency backup David Ayers. He has one point in his past 25 games.
Who’s in? Who’s out?
In all, Toronto trimmed 14 bodies off its roster Monday, sending the following players down to continue their training with the Marlies:
Forwards Kenny Agostino, Joey Anderson, Justin Brazeau, Rourke Chartier, Engvall, Tyler Gaudet, Scott Sabourin, and Nic Petan; defencemen Mac Hollowell, Teemu Kivihalme, Timothy Liljegren, Martin Marincin, and Calle Rosen; and goaltender Michael Hutchinson.
The remaining group participated in an intense, 70-minute session at the Ford Performance Centre spread over two sheets and featuring battle drills, special teams work and line rushes. Music blared.
Keefe cautioned that by no means should these roster decisions be considered final.
“It’s going to be a fluid situation,” the coach said. “Throughout the season, we’re going to need a lot of people.”
As things stand, here is the projected lineup for Wednesday’s opener versus Montreal:
Thornton-Matthews-Marner
Vesey-Tavares-Nylander
Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Hyman
Barabanov-Spezza-Simmonds
Robertson-Brooks-Boyd (extras)
Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Holl
Dermott-Bogosian
Sandin-Lehtonen (extras)
Andersen
Campbell
Dell (extra)
Note: Robertson, Lehtonen, Barabanov and Sandin are all waivers-exempt.
Lehtonen’s development gives Dermott a shot
Until Monday, Mikko Lehtonen — the reigning KHL Defenceman of the Year and a fascinating new recruit — had been slotting to the left of Zach Bogosian on the third pairing, and the Finn’s offensive flair was on full display Saturday.
The Maple Leafs have decided, however, that the 26-year-old will be best served by watching some small-ice action from the press box and taking a step back to work on his reads and own-zone play in practice before making his NHL debut.
“Looking at last week for Mikko, the game the other day,” Keefe said, “we like a lot of things about him, [but] we think there are areas that need more time.”
T.J. Brodie assumed Lehtonen’s spot up top on the second power-play unit, and Travis Dermott slid in as third-pair left D.
Keefe has had direct conversations with Dermott. The defenceman has bounced up to the top four and down to the fourth pairing over the past year, and he’s been used on both the left and right side during this camp.
“I would really like to see Travis really latch on to his strengths,” Keefe said.
The coach has identified three elements for Dermott to focus on and improve: (a) puck retrievals and starting the Leafs’ breakout on dump-ins, (b) defensive-zone puck pressure and causing turnovers, and (c) gap control during the opponents’ rush.
Check those three boxes, and Dermott will help his own cause.
Waiver worry means carrying three goalies
Third-stringer Aaron Dell did not train with the main group, as a three-goalie practice rotation is seldom ideal. But it’s notable that Dell, 31, was not placed on waivers either.
There is a serious concern that Dell — a bargain at $800,000 — wouldn’t slip through the wire without being claimed. The New Jersey Devils, for one, are in need of goaltending depth in light of Corey Crawford’s recent retirement.
For now, Toronto will carry three goalies. On Monday, extra forwards Nic Robertson, Travis Boyd and Adam Brooks skated over to the Marlies pad after practice to shoot on Dell and keep him sharp.
“We like having the depth at the position. We feel it’s important in this season. So, that’s how we’re doing things here to start,” Keefe explained. “We’ve had some discussions about whether or not we utilize him at different times to back up here in the early going. We’re going to continue to discuss that.”
One-Timers
Alexander Kerfoot returned to his third-line centre spot Monday after missing the bulk of camp nursing a leg injury suffered Tuesday. Kerfoot explained that he’d lost balance and fallen awkwardly into the boards during a 3-on-2 line rush. “I feel good on the ice right now,” Kerfoot assured. The plan is to deploy Kerfoot for more D-zone draws this season. He has started 53 per cent of his NHL shifts in the O-zone…. Because all coaches are mandated to wear masks during practice, Keefe uses an electric whistle…. New assistant Manny Malhotra, who suffered a serious eye injury in 2011, smartly coaches with a helmet and visor on…. Marner on Thornton’s inability to carry stress: “I don’t think he has social media. He barely knows anything about social media. So, it’s great in that aspect.”… BREAKING: Mitch Marner now casually refers to Auston Matthews as “Tony.”
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
