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Taking stock of how Maple Leafs’ depth forwards have performed so far – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

February 23, 2021

TORONTO — The run to the top of the NHL standings has included some twists and turns for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They’ve dressed 30 different players over the opening 20 games alone and practised Tuesday down seven bodies: top-six wingers Joe Thornton (lower body) and Zach Hyman (foot), who are both considered day-to-day; winger Wayne Simmonds (broken wrist), who is still a few weeks from returning; depth forwards Alexander Barabanov and Scott Sabourin, who both entered the NHL’s COVID Protocol after inconclusive PCR tests; and defenceman Jake Muzzin (broken bone in face) and goaltender Frederik Andersen (lower body), who have no clear recovery timelines.

The most likely of that group to dress for Wednesday’s rematch with the Calgary Flames is probably Barabanov. He needs one more negative COVID-19 test to rejoin the team. But it’s not out of the question that they’ll all be out.

“I think you expect it in a year like this,” said veteran Jason Spezza. “There’s going to be injuries and there’s going to be guys out of the lineup. I think it’s been talked about ad nauseam just how things have changed throughout the year, but when you go through it there is an [adaptation period].

“You have to pick up the slack.”

Spezza went on to add that he feels depth is one of the keys behind a 14-4-2 start for the Leafs.

With that in mind, here is a look at how each of the forwards occupying a spot on the fringes has played and where his stock currently rests with the organization:

Jason Spezza

Stock: Strong performer

Analysis: There’s a pretty strong case here for Spezza to get a look in the top six with Thornton and Hyman both out. He’s produced 2.92 points per hour this season in a limited role — behind only Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and Thornton among Leafs regulars — and still moves surprisingly well around the ice at age 37. He’s also the team’s top faceoff man at 58.7 per cent and has a 52-per cent expected goals mark. The Leafs got him through waivers earlier this season, no doubt in part because Spezza’s agent said he’d retire if claimed by another team, but they probably don’t want to risk that again. He’s been that effective.

Alexander Barabanov

Stock: On the rise

Analysis: Not only do we run into sample-size issues here, but there’s also recency bias. Barabanov is a relatively unknown quantity coming over from the KHL and he didn’t look like a NHL player through his first seven games. Then on Monday he got a chance to play up the lineup with William Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot and generated three shots, plus another that rang off the crossbar behind Flames goalie David Rittich. He caught coach Sheldon Keefe’s eye with that effort: “I thought he had good jump from the early going in the game. He was on the puck. A strength of his game is when he gets to play in the offensive zone.” The challenge will be recreating it on nights he plays lower in the lineup because top-six opportunities aren’t likely to be too plentiful for him on this roster. But at least he’s put himself back on the radar.

Pierre Engvall

Stock: Trending up

Analysis: He briefly lost his spot on the Maple Leafs roster to start the season, taking sharp public criticism from Keefe at the end of training camp. But Engvall has bounced back and performed well since assuming third-line centre duties after a tour on the wing. He’s a straight-line player that doesn’t bring much offensively, but is only being asked to keep things even during his minutes. And at six-foot-five there’s definitely potential for him to become an effective checker — “I think a big thing for me is to be better at winning the pucks back, using my body to my advantage,” he said Tuesday, when asked about where he can find improvement. Engvall hasn’t locked down a full-time job yet, but he’s taken some steps forward in the last few weeks.

Jimmy Vesey

Stock: Plummeting

Analysis: Everything is heading in the wrong direction here. Vesey started the season on the second line after being signed as a buy-low free agent, but hasn’t been able to find any traction. He played a season-low 6:51 in Monday’s loss to Calgary and saw his point drought stretched to 12 games. On top of that, he’s been on the ice for 11 goals against at 5-on-5 while playing at least 100 minutes less than any teammate near him in that category. Some of that can be attributed to bad luck, but very little has happened offensively for Vesey despite dressing for all 20 games so far. He joined a power-play unit at Tuesday’s practice, which could be the boost he needs. His spot in the lineup looks increasingly tenuous.

Travis Boyd

Stock: Holding steady

Analysis: A poor showing at training camp relegated him to early taxi squad duty, but he’s made good on the opportunity since. Boyd scored in his Leafs debut at Calgary on Jan. 26 and is generating more offensively with the help of some power-play reps, firing 10 shots on goal in his last five games. The underlying numbers include some warning signs — Toronto has 44 per cent of even-strength attempts and 44 per cent of expected goals with him on the ice — but he’s been opportunistic with six points in 12 games. Said Spezza, Boyd’s most-common linemate: “He forechecks hard, he’s strong on pucks, but I think what separates him is his hockey sense. I think he gets in good spots, he makes it easy to play with and he’s a guy that’s shown he’s got some offensive touch around the net, too.”

Nic Petan

Stock: Low trading volume

Analysis: It’s difficult to draw too many conclusions here. Petan has only played six games this season and the Leafs are basically sawing off his minutes with 49.02 per cent of shot attempts and 49.6 per cent of expected goals. He’s personally generated one assist and eight shots on goal so far. Pretty good given his usage and opportunity. However, beyond a further run of injuries, it’s hard to envision him carving out a bigger niche with this group.

Alex Galchenyuk

Stock: TBD

Analysis: It remains to be seen when the former third-overall draft pick will make his Leafs debut. He was acquired in a Feb. 15 trade from Carolina and the focus now is on building him up before putting him in the lineup. Following Tuesday’s practice, Galchenyuk put in an extra session with skating development consultant Barb Underhill. Said Keefe of the 27-year-old forward, who is now on his seventh NHL organization: “He’s bounced around here and he’s trying to find a home and trying to solidify himself in the league again and within a lineup. So we don’t want to just rush and just put him in. We think we need to give him an opportunity at success. So there’s a couple things: Finding a comfort level around here with his teammates, the staff, our system, all of the surroundings. And then the other part of it is just his game. We think there’s a lot of areas we’d like to see him improve upon and reconnect with his skill-set and all of those kind of things.

“We’re in no rush despite the injuries we have here. We feel like the best thing for Alex is to really settle in and get comfortable and look to make improvements so that when his opportunity comes that he can be best prepared for it.”

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

3 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Penguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season

Published

3 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.

The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.

Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.

At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.

Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

Published

14 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.

Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.

The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.

“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.

“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”

Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.

The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.

“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.

“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”

Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.

He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.

Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.

“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”

Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.

“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.

Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.

Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.

“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”

Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.

Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.

Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.

Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.

Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.

“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

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