With no Auston Matthews, a game-time decision for Mitch Marner, and no Ilya Mikheyev, this 2021-22 season is kicking off with an early dose of adversity for the Maple Leafs starting tonight against Montreal (7 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
That means expanded opportunities are in store for the likes of Michael Bunting, David Kampf, Alex Kerfoot, and Pierre Engvall, all of whom should see more ice time at the left wing and center positions.
Montreal is facing a little bit of adversity themselves early in the season with the indefinite absences of Carey Price and Shea Weber as well as the day-to-day injury status of their biggest offseason addition up front in Mike Hoffman. Paul Byron is also out long term after undergoing hip surgery in late July.
Unsurprisingly, Dominique Ducharme will be trotting out a balanced-looking forward group that is well-suited to rolling four lines:
The Leafs, too, will need a good amount of depth involvement from the likes of Engvall – Kampf – Kase and Simmonds – Amadio – Spezza without their 20+ minute stud center in Matthews and potentially without their 20+ minute, all-situations winger in Marner, although the forecast seems positive on Marner’s likelihood of participating tonight. There might be some silver-lining value in terms of getting some of the important supporting cast members, particularly those that have been newly added over the offseason, more involved in the early going.
This year more than any other, the perennial exercise of turning the page on the past year’s failures and renewing hope for the new season has been a more difficult proposition for the fan base (to speak generally), but fans are back in the Scotiabank Arena, and the Maple Leafs are entering a critical — dare one say make-or-break? — year for the player core and management group.
We’ve heard a lot of talk about the team really learning its lesson this time about honing its killer instinct at playoff time, but the saying “put up or shut up” has never applied more fairly than it does this season for this Leafs team.
The new power play coach is breathing new life into the disappointing-when-it-matters power play? The Leafs may have found an actually credible checking line center? They’ve added some hungry (and younger) complementary pieces on the cheap to the forward group via free agency? It all matters a good deal in a sport with these kinds of margins between winning and losing, but the main storyline all year is unquestionably going to be whether the Leafs’ stars can deliver when it counts.
We won’t know the answer until eight months from now, but it has to start with a great 82-game regular season inside a tougher division, and that begins tonight exactly where it left off so disappointingly last May — Leafs vs. Habs, at Scotiabank Arena.
Game Day Quotes
Sheldon Keefe on the return of fans in the building:
It’s really big. Our ability to play in front of the fans is a really big deal. Family connections are also very important. Just having them at a few preseason games, for me, having the family waiting after the game… Having them in the building is important for our players as well.
We have a fair number of local guys who have come in here and haven’t played a game in front of their family before. It is a big deal. The season is long, and to have that family connection — not just for the player but for the family themselves — is really important for everyone across the league.
Keefe on the Leafs vs. Habs rivalry:
I think it is a new season. Given we have played them three times in preseason as well, you get some of that stuff out of the system, but it is going to be going at a whole other level today. I think the Leafs and Montreal rivalry is there, whether we played them in the playoffs last season or not. It exists and it is a great thing.
Morgan Rielly on the return of fans in the stands:
I am pumped. It is going to be a lot of fun. Guys have their parents in town for the first time in a long time. Guys are happy to have the crowd back in the mix. We are anxiously waiting to see what it is going to look like. Once we get playing, I think it will be interesting — a fun and cool atmosphere we haven’t experienced for a long time.
Jake Muzzin on his past LA Kings teammate Mike Amadio making the team:
He is a really smart player. He has a great stick. He sees the ice well. I am excited for him.
Muzzin on the vote of confidence from Kyle Dubas in keeping the team together:
We talked about how it shows belief in us and the group. He could’ve made changes. He could’ve made a lot of people happy by trading someone, but he believes in this group. It is on us to go and show him we are who he thinks we are.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards #20 Nick Ritchie – #91 John Tavares – #16 Mitch Marner* #58 Michael Bunting – #15 Alex Kerfoot – #88 William Nylander #47 Pierre Engvall – #64 David Kampf – #25 Ondrej Kase #24 Simmonds – #18 Michael Amadio – #19 Jason Spezza
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
