The confetti from another Stanley Cup parade in another city not named Toronto had long been swept off the streets, and another off-season of tweaks was well underway.
Sheldon Keefe was attending his first in-person draft as Maple Leafs coach ahead of his first “normal” season in the position.
And yet, Keefe said, not much had changed.
The disappointment from another too-swift postseason, another squandered home-ice advantage, still rattled around in his head with all those potential line combos.
But the positives gleaned from his group’s record-busting regular season and nail-biting playoff test of the two-time champions hadn’t changed either.
Keefe threw himself into the Leafs’ summer-improvement projects with a bounce of optimism, encouraged by “the belief we have in our group and how close we felt we were to beating a very, very good team.” Yet motivated because, well, “we failed to get it done once again.”
The hope is that combination of bitter, thin-margin defeat and sweet, contagious belief that the hockey club is on the precipice of breaking through has led to minimal change in the roster.
Outside of the new guys in pads, most of the players who report to Ford Performance Centre for medicals Wednesday will be as familiar with each other as they are long summers.
Keefe is correct. No, not much has changed.
Some fiddling here and there, starting this week at camp, and maybe the outcome will.
Current salary cap space: $0 General manager: Kyle Dubas Head coach: Sheldon Keefe Assistant coaches: Spencer Carbery, Dean Chynoweth, Manny Malhotra, Curtis Sanford (goaltending) Unsigned players: Rasmus Sandin (RFA), Zach Aston-Reese (PTO), Dylan Ferguson (PTO)
THE PRESSING QUESTION: Where — and when —does Rasmus Sandin fit?
As the other Leafs report for medicals and prepare to take the ice, Sandin still sits and waits.
One of the NHL’s few outstanding restricted free agents dug into a contractual stalemate, the 22-year-old defenceman is long on confidence and promise. But his résumé and leverage are short.
If the left shot isn’t interested in signing a deal similar to pal Timothy Liljegren’s two-year, $2.8-million pact, perhaps a one-year prove-it paper is the simplest way to put this distraction on the back burner. (Mikey Anderson’s recent one-year, $1-million agreement with Los Angeles could provide the template.)
How the Sandin saga shakes out will have a ripple effect on the roster.
If the Swede signs for decent money, does another salary need to be dumped in trade so the Leafs can be cap-complaint for Opening Night? (Righty Justin Holl is the rumoured bait.) And which lefty moves to the right side so Sandin can get more shifts? (Mark Giordano feels like the only candidate.)
If Sandin and Dubas can’t find common ground, however, the seventh defenceman slot opens opportunity for an inexpensive free-agency recruit like Jordie Benn or Victor Mete to impress in preseason. That roster flexibility could save a tweener from the October waiver wire.
Conversely, with Liljegren missing camp due to injury (as first reported by Chris Johnston), Sandin could find himself with increased leverage — and ice time.
(The Leafs will comment on the nature of Liljegren’s injury Wednesday.)
We’re fascinated to see how it all plays out.
TRAINING CAMP BATTLE TO WATCH: Puzzle-piecing the bottom six
Keefe will once again be blessed with elite game-breakers at the top of his lineup. Farther down the bench, however, the intrigue — and competition — should heat up.
For now, we’ll pencil unsung 50-point utility man Alexander Kerfoot at left wing alongside John Tavares and William Nylander in the top six, knowing full well the coaches are content to throw Kerfoot anywhere and will likely give other forwards a crack to produce in such a premium spot.
(Calle “Four More Years” Järnkrok, Pierre “I Think I Can Score 20” Engvall, Nick “Time to Pop” Robertson, and Adam “Did You See Me at the Worlds?” Gaudette are all candidates to take a step offensively and could get some run higher in the lineup.)
The configuration of the bottom six, particularly, will be interesting, and there is no shortage of options.
We see Stanley Cup winner Nicolas Aubé-Kubel as the only fourth-line lock.
If true, that leaves two spots open for Gaudette, surprise PTO Zach Aston-Reese, respected veterans Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford, and Marlies like Robertson, Joey Anderson, and Curtis Douglas to scrap over.
As with so many overextending teams, the final cuts may not entirely be made on merit.
Cap considerations, waiver eligibility, experience, injuries (Engvall is nursing something already), and role will all come into play.
PROJECTED LINEUP OUT OF CAMP
Michael Bunting–Auston Matthews–Mitchell Marner Alexander Kerfoot–John Tavares–William Nylander Pierre Engvall–David Kämpf–Calle Järnkrok Zach Aston-Reese–Adam Gaudette–Nicolas Aubé-Kubel
Morgan Rielly–T.J. Brodie Jake Muzzin–Justin Holl Rasmus Sandin–Mark Giordano
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
