Currently carrying just one goaltender and one extra forward in order to accommodate their nine defensemen on the roster and Matthew Knies’ new entry-level contract, short-term injuries to Calle Jarnkrok and now Sam Lafferty have thrown best-laid plans for Knies’ debut out the window. Instead of giving the 20-year-old a day or two to settle in and perhaps take a morning skate with the team first, Knies will make his NHL debut tonight in Florida very shortly after joining the team and clearing medicals.
That means the Leafs will return to 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Knies slotting in on a line with Alex Kerfoot and Noel Acciari, and Luke Schenn dressing as the #7 on the backend. Unable to recall an emergency backup goaltender from the AHL, their backup goaltender will be ATO signing Nick Chenard, whose final season of his OHL career just ended with the Owen Sound Attack’s sweep at the hands of the London Knights.
Okay, this is what I think it is: TOR could have called-up Woll instead of signing Knies, which makes it “an emergency of their own creation.” My bet is TOR considered signing Knies the priority, wanted to get him signed no matter what
Certainly, Knies’ debut brings an added layer of intrigue on the Leafs‘ side to a game that’s already very meaningful from the Panthers’ perspective. With their playoff hopes slipping away at the time, Florida scrapping out an overtime win — very much against the run of play over the 60 minutes — in Toronto back on March 29 was the start of an incredible six-game winning streak with their backs against the wall. They’ve outscored their opposition 28-9 over this run.
Florida is now tied with the Islanders for the first wildcard spot with 90 points apiece with two games left to play, and the Penguins are one point back of the Isles and Panthers also with two to play. The Panthers could clinch a playoff spot tonight with a regulation or overtime victory paired with a regulation loss by the Islanders against the Washington Capitals.
Entering that game in Toronto on March 29, goaltender Alex Lyon had lost four of his last five with a .864 save percentage. Including that 3-2 OT win over the Leafs, Lyon has now won six straight with a save percentage of .956 including one shutout. To watch a 30-year-old journeyman in Lyon pull this off at this time of the year under these circumstances conjures up memories — albeit in a much smaller number of games — of Andrew Hammond’s run in Ottawa when he went 20-1-2 to get the Senators into the playoffs back in 2014-15.
The Leafs have a chance to exact revenge for March 29 and end this current tear for their division rival, and where they might lack an edge in desperation, they should be entering the game the far looser team with good recent memories from their visit to this building on March 23 when they lit up the Panthers for seven goals in a 7-2 victory.
All eyes will be on #23 in white, Matt Knies, as he looks to acquaint himself with the league and maybe even force himself into some conversations around the playoff lineup, although expectations should be kept in perspective tonight for obvious reasons given the circumstances.
The 11/7 lineup should give Sheldon Keefe extra opportunities to spot him in for some scoring situations next to the team’s top talent provided he doesn’t seem too overwhelmed by the environment, game speed, and physicality in his early shifts. It will not be similar to Nick Abruzzese’s debut out of college last April against a Philly team that was just playing out the stretch; the Panthers will be playing at playoff speed and intensity tonight. Hopefully, Knies’ mature frame, hockey IQ, and recent experience in do-or-die Frozen Four and Big Ten championship games make for a quick adjustment.
Right into the deep end. Let’s see what the kid has got.
Head to Head: Panthers vs. Maple Leafs
In the season-to-date statistics, the Panthers hold the advantage over the Leafs in three out of five offensive categories, but the Leafs hold the advantage in five out of five defensive categories.
Game Day Quotes
Sheldon Keefe on the decision to throw Matthew Knies straight into a game:
It wasn’t the plan initially, but Lafferty — in addition to Jarnkrok — is unavailable today. We had to move up his plan to get him in here tonight.
A great opportunity for him to get right in. It hasn’t been ideal circumstances for him in terms of his travel and even his day-to-day medicals and all of these kinds of things, but ideal circumstances passed us by long ago. Here we are.
Keefe on the expectations for Knies in his debut:
It has been such a whirlwind for him playing in the Frozen Four and losing in that overtime there, traveling back with his teammates to Minnesota to settle some things there, and then returning back to Florida here today.
We had to get him out to get some medicals and different standardized testing they have to do before they can play. Maybe that is tiring for him. Maybe it is less thinking and time to worry about things. Just go out and have fun.
Our mindset for it is just to give him an opportunity to get comfortable in the league with this little time we have left. He is a great prospect and a player we are really excited about. We will just give him a chance to play and try to get him as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible.
Keefe on the decision to start Knies with Alex Kerfoot and Noel Acciari:
I want to keep our top six intact from the last game. It is a tricky one.
At the same time, we have 11 forwards, so things will move around quite a bit. I think it is important that I try to get him some of the — let’s call it — easier or less difficult matchups and just allow him to get out there and get comfortable.
I have him lined up with Acciari and Kerfoot, who are two veteran guys that talk a lot, know the structure, and are reliable defensive players. There will be some movement with 11 forwards tonight.
Paul Maurice on the high-pressure game for the Panthers vs. the Leafs’ lack of anything to play for:
A skilled team sometimes not having as much pressure on them makes them even more dangerous because they can make those plays. They’re not missing the playoffs if they force something. We expect we’re going to have to play our best game of the year.
I don’t think they’re taking their foot off it right now. They’re prepping for something.
That first round gets talked a lot about in Toronto so they want to be right and ready for that. I think they will go fast and hard.
Ryan O’Reilly on Matthew Knies’ NHL debut:
I am excited to see him play. There has been a lot of talk about him. I have seen some clips here and there. I am excited to see him. Going to the finals, and being a Hobey Baker finalist… it is going to be pretty cool.
It’s a crazy last little stretch for him, but it’s so exciting coming to this team — such a good team – for his first game. It is going to be a really cool experience for him.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#58 Michael Bunting – #34 Auston Matthews – #16 Mitch Marner
#91 John Tavares – #90 Ryan O’Reilly – #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Knies – #52 Noel Acciari – #15 Alex Kerfoot
#12 Zach Aston-Reese – #64 David Kämpf
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #78 TJ Brodie
#55 Mark Giordano – #3 Justin Holl
#44 Morgan Rielly – #37 Timothy Liljegren
#2 Luke Schenn
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Ilya Samsonov
Nick Chenard (ATO)
Extras: Erik Gustafsson, Conor Timmins
Injured: Sam Lafferty, Calle Järnkrok, Matt Murray, Nick Robertson, Jake Muzzin, Victor Mete
Florida Panthers Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Carter Verhaeghe – #16 Aleksander Barkov – #10 Anthony Duclair
#27 Eetu Luostarinen – #15 Anton Lundell – #19 Matthew Tkachuk
#94 Ryan Lomberg – #12 Eric Staal – #13 Sam Reinhart
#54 Givani Smith – #6 Colin White – #21 Nick Cousins
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MacKenzie Weegar wasn’t bitter or upset as he watched friends live out their dreams.
The Calgary Flames defenceman just hopes to experience the same feeling one day. He also knows the road leading to that moment, if it does arrive, will likely be long and winding — much like his own path.
A seventh-round pick by the Florida Panthers at the 2013 NHL draft, Weegar climbed the ranks to become an important piece of a roster that captured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season club in 2021-22.
Two months later following a second-round playoff exit, he was traded to the Flames along with Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk. And less than two years after that, the Panthers were hoisting the Stanley Cup.
“Happy for the city and for the team,” Weegar said of Florida’s June victory over the Edmonton Oilers. “There was no bad taste in my mouth.”
His sole focus, he insists, is squarely on eventually getting the Flames to the same spot. The landscape, however, has changed drastically since Weegar committed to Calgary on an eight-year, US$50-million contract extension in October 2022.
Weegar has watched a list that includes goaltender Jacob Markstrom, defencemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov and forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane shipped out of town since the start of last season — largely for picks, prospects and young players as part of a rebuild.
Despite that exodus, he remains committed to the Calgary project steered by general manager Craig Conroy.
“It’s easy to get out of all whack when you see guys trying to leave or wanting new contracts,” the 30-year-old from Ottawa said at last week’s NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. “I just focus on where I am and where I want to be, and that’s Calgary.
“I believe in this team. The city has taken me in right away. I feel like I owe it to them to stick around and grind through these years and get a Stanley Cup.”
The hard-nosed blueliner certainly knows what it is to grind.
After winning the Memorial Cup alongside Nathan MacKinnon with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013, Weegar toiled in the ECHL and American Hockey League for three seasons before making his NHL debut late in the 2016-17 campaign with the Panthers.
He would spend the next five years in South Florida as one of the players tasked with shifting an organizational culture that had experienced little success over the previous two decades.
“There’s always going to be a piece of my heart and loyalty to that team,” Weegar said. “But now I’m in a different situation … I compete against all 32 teams, not just Florida. There’s always a chip on my shoulder every single year.”
Weegar set career highs with 20 goals — eight was the most he had ever previously registered — and 52 points in 2023-24 as part of a breakout offensive performance.
“I think my buddies cared a lot more than I did,” he said with a smile. “All I hear is, ‘fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.'”
Weegar was actually more proud of his 200 blocked shots and 194 hits as he looks to help set a new Flames’ standard alongside Huberdeau, captain Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson for a franchise expected to have its new arena in time for the 2027-28 season.
“You have to build that culture and that belief in the locker room,” said Weegar, who pointed to 22-year-old centre Connor Zary as a player set to pop. “Those young guys are going to have to come into their own and be consistent every night … they’re the next generation.”
Weegar, however, isn’t punting on 2024-25. He pointed to the NHL’s parity and the fact a couple of teams surprise every season.
It’s the same approach that took him from the ECHL a decade ago to hockey’s premier pre-season event inside a swanky hotel on Sin City’s famed strip, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the game’s best.
“From the outside — media and even friends and family — the expectations are probably a bit lower,” Weegar said of Calgary’s outlook. “But there’s no reason to think that we can’t make playoffs and we can’t be a good team (with) that underdog mentality.
“You never know.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 17, 2024.
Jose Maria Celestino da Costa was named vice-president and head of soccer operations while Marianne Brooks was appointed vice-president of partnerships, Kelly Shouldice as vice-president of brand and content and Joyce Sou as vice-president of finance and business operations.
The new six-team women’s pro league is set to kick off in April.
“Their unique expertise and leadership are crucial as we lay the foundation for not just a successful league in Canada, but one that stands among the top sports leagues in the world,” NSL president Christina Litz said in a statement. “By investing in top-tier talent and infrastructure, the Northern Super League is committed to creating a league that will elevate the game and set new standards for women’s professional soccer globally.”
Da Costa will oversee all on-field matters, including officiating. His resume includes stints with Estoril Praia, a men’s first-division team in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, where he helped develop the Portuguese women’s league.
Brooks spent a decade with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, working in “partnership sales and retention efforts” for the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, and Rogers Arena. Most recently, she served as senior director of account management at StellarAlgo, a software company that helps pro sports teams connect with their fans
Shouldice has worked for Corus Entertainment, the Canadian Football League, and most recently as vice-president of Content and Communications at True North Sports & Entertainment, where she managed original content as well as business and hockey communications.
Sou, who was involved in the league’s initial launch, will oversee financial planning, analysis and the league’s expansion strategy in her new role.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
