Sports

The Maple Leafs Scored 10 And Have Problems – Defector

Published

3 years ago

February 27, 2022

Look, I’m no happier to be here right now than you are. Asking What’s the deal with the Maple Leafs? is a fool’s errand at the best of times, let alone before the trade deadline and still two months out from the playoffs. They are confounding, is what they are—as much to their own front office as to observers. They are a danger, but to themselves as much as to others. They are a high-priced sports car doing 90 but ready at any minute to fly apart and smash headlong into a tree. They are, in short, basically what they have been for the last half-decade: fearsome up front, mediocre-to-questionable on the blue line, and a time bomb in net. What that has earned them is a series of first-round exits, but perhaps this year is different. Perhaps this offense is talented enough to overwhelm opponents and paper over the cracks, and perhaps this streaky goalie has what it takes to win in the postseason. Perhaps! But these suppositions too have been part of the annual tradition. You can’t achieve disappointment without them. Anyway, the Leafs nearly blew a 7-2 lead last night.

If it’s ludicrous to stock-take after or infer anything from a single game, it’s not nearly as ludicrous as that game itself. Toronto beat the Red Wings on Saturday evening in Detroit by a score of 10-7, and that is no typo. It was the highest scoring NHL game since 2011, and it was an absolutely carnival of bad goaltending. Per MoneyPuck, the game featured 12.2 goals above expected, given the quantity and quality of scoring chances. Both teams yanked their starting netminders, and one of them even brought theirs back in after having to pull his replacement. Jack Campbell, Toronto’s starter, actually had the best numbers of any goalie in this one, even though he allowed five goals on 25 shots. But Campbell gets the coverage because, of the four men who strapped on the pads and watched a bunch of pucks fly past them, he’s the only one who may be counted on by a good team come the playoffs.

The Leafs have to hope it was the third period of this game that was the fluke rather than the first two, though neither were extensively out of character. Because Toronto looked damn good for 40 minutes, utterly outskating and outworking their opponents. “We lost every puck race, every puck battle, every competition battle,” said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, “we lost every single one of them.”

Much of the damage was done by what has emerged as perhaps the best line in hockey, that of Michael Bunting, who is scoring his way to a strong Calder case, Auston Matthews, who leads the league in goals and has somehow found yet another gear this season, and Mitch Marner, who’s having the best shooting and goalscoring season of his career. On Saturday Toronto’s first line combined for six goals and nine assists. Marner, as part of his four-goal game, racked up a natural hat trick in a span of under 10 minutes in the second:

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“That line was pretty much unstoppable tonight,” said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. It’s that line that Toronto will be counting on to overpower playoff opponents, and even ones capable of siccing talented checking lines on them will find it hard to keep them off the board for a full 60. The top line—give or take some sort of coming back to earth for Bunting, who was a career Coyotes AHLer until this magical rookie year—is not the problem. Depth scoring is, though maybe not a huge one. Unfortunately it’s one that may have to go unaddressed, as the Leafs’ desire to pick up a top-six forward at the deadline may fall by the wayside thanks to a greater need for another defenseman. And even that may not be their biggest hole.

Jack Campbell has gone from feel-good story to another in a long line of Leafs goalies with big blinking question marks. He started off this season with a Vezina-worthy run, but since the new year he’s sported a sub-.900 save percentage. His offense has picked him up more often as not—as they did in this one—but it’s hard to compare him to the other netminders the Leafs may face in the playoffs and feel confident about Toronto’s chances against the likes of a Vasilevskiy or a Bobrovsky, to say nothing of potential later-round match-ups in a strong Eastern Conference.

Speaking of great East goalies: That Freddie Andersen thrived the second he got out of Toronto may hint that the Leafs’ back-end woes are significantly a function of their inability to stop a rush or clear the front of their own net, but when Campbell has been bad, he’s been really bad. Campbell entered the third period on Saturday looking to protect a 7-2 lead, and promptly allowed three goals in under five minutes before getting the hook. The first and third goals of this sequence are among the softest you’ll ever see.

“He’s got to be better,” Keefe said of Campbell. “That goal to start the period is a nothing play, really. It’s a routine save that he can make and he doesn’t. And then it kind of still snowballs, obviously, from there.”

Petr Mrazek wasn’t much better, allowing two goals on eight shots in relief, but the Leafs offense yet again bailed the team out, tacking on a few more for the least comfortable 10-7 win you’ll ever see.

“I’m putting Petr Mrazek in a horrible spot,” Keefe said. “I mean, if there’s ever been a time where a goalie knew for sure he wouldn’t be going into a game, that would probably be it. I’m sure he was pretty much already on the plane in his mind. And then all of a sudden, he’s got to go into a crazy game. I thought it was important to make that change at that time.”

It was a crazy game, and a wildly entertaining one—the NHL is perhaps not thrilled that it overshadowed an outdoor game in Nashville. But these Leafs have a way of demanding attention, for reasons both good and … otherwise. No deficit is overwhelming to them, but also no lead is safe. That makes for fun, fascinating hockey to watch, but not an ideal roster with which to enter the postseason. With a later-than-usual trade deadline of March 21, the front office still has time to come to a decision on whether it can trust Campbell to try to reverse historic fortunes. There may be an unusual number of quality goalies available at the deadline, and if Campbell can’t reverse his slide, I’d expect the Leafs to go get one. With a looming first-round matchup against a more complete team, Toronto is still playing catch-up, no matter how many goals it can score.

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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