NEWARK – Sheldon Keefe exhaled in between the answers he gave at his media availability on Monday with good reason. The loss of Ryan O’Reilly to LTIR with a broken finger was far from the only news the Maple Leafs coach had to cover.
What comes next for a team whose lineup remains in a state of flux?
Let’s start with O’Reilly, who took a shot off his left hand late in the second period on Saturday against the Canucks. Keefe confirmed O’Reilly broke his finger but didn’t put an exact timeline on his return as O’Reilly returned to Toronto to see a specialist for an accurate diagnosis. Keefe did stress multiple times that O’Reilly would be fit to return for the playoffs.
“We’ve acquired him to be healthy and ready to go for the playoffs,” Keefe said. “To that end, it’s not bad.”
Any player going on LTIR must remain out of the lineup for 10 games and 24 days.
“In essence, you go back to the way we were,” Keefe said of how he sees the forward group shaking out.
The most notable benefactor of the injury, at least immediately, is fellow new Leafs forward Sam Lafferty. Monday’s practice saw the speedy new acquisition deployed between William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok after Lafferty spent his first three games on the wing.
“It gets (Lafferty) back into a position of comfort,” Keefe said.
The Leafs have been interested in plugging Lafferty into the middle of the ice, having been impressed while scouting him playing centre with the Blackhawks. That Lafferty kept his head above water playing in difficult head-to-head matchups with the Blackhawks stuck out to Keefe.
Lafferty could stick at centre when O’Reilly returns should the Leafs biggest acquisition this season end up playing on the second line with John Tavares. That would keep David Kampf in a fourth-line role. Whether Lafferty can use his wheels and form some chemistry with the Jarnkrok, more of a skilled and cerebral forward, might go a long way to determining his role down the stretch.
“Just try to use my speed, get pucks back and get it to those guys,” Lafferty said of his approach alongside Jarnkrok and Nylander. If he can also bring more of the physical element that’s been lacking from that line, all the better.
The loss of O’Reilly was further complicated by Tavares struggling with an illness on Monday. The Leafs captain practiced in a grey sweater and won’t play on Tuesday. Keefe said that decision was “out of an abundance of caution” and that a return for Saturday’s game against the Oilers is likely. Still, getting a clear picture of how the Leafs forward groups will look throughout this upcoming stretch without O’Reilly will therefore be difficult, at least against the Devils.
Keefe was hesitant to correlate Tavares’ missing Tuesday’s game with the hit he took from Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers.
“You’re a little bit more mindful of it. But there’s a lot more. There’s a bug going around, we’re travelling a lot, we just want to be sure. He got through the entire practice today and felt good,” Keefe said.
With O’Reilly on LTIR, the Leafs had the ability to call up both Pontus Holmberg and Alex Steeves from the Marlies. Holmberg and Steeves have spent the previous seven games together on a line with the Marlies, with a combined eight points in the process.
Steeves struggled with his early season AHL form but has improved as of late with responsible two-way play. And Holmberg has shown off more offensive touches in his game in the AHL while looking like an NHL-ready defensively-minded centre during his 36 games with the Leafs this season.
“Their skill sets match,” Keefe said of the pair, who are projected to play with Michael Bunting.
With 19 games remaining in the regular season, this call-up feels like one of the last opportunities both players will get to earn a spot in Keefe’s playoff lineup, if there is any space for them at all. Holmberg in particular has shown, despite a few errors here and there, that he can earn Keefe’s trust with his ability to read plays in the offensive and defensive zones.
Sticking with the forward group, Bunting continues to see his role diminish. Once seen as a de facto left winger with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Bunting’s offensive effectiveness has waned. As Jonas Siegel recently noted, Bunting averaged 15.5 minutes ATOI in February, down from 17 minutes a game in January.
“I don’t know,” a perturbed-sounding Bunting said when asked where he thinks his game is at right now. “It is what it is. I’m hopefully going to get it back here.”
Coupled with some unnecessary penalties as of late, it feels like both Bunting and Keefe are looking for the player to hit the reset button.
“I just want him to worry about his game,” Keefe said. “That’s a big part of why we changed the lines. When you’re playing up on that top group, not only is the expectation high in terms of production, but the matchups are difficult.”
The expectations have shifted. Now, Keefe wants Bunting to use his speed, tenacity and playmaking to drive a line with two relatively inexperienced players alongside him. Doing so could help solidify his case that he should be back beside Matthews and Marner sooner rather than later.
“There’s a bit of a mental block there for him right now,” Keefe said. “And we’re trying to help him through that. He’s an important guy. I have full confidence he’ll end up back with Matthews before long.”
And as if that wasn’t enough on the news front, new Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn was absent from practice. The former Canuck stayed in Vancouver after Saturday’s loss as his family is expecting the birth of their third child.
The defence pairs saw some movement as well as a result, with Timothy Liljegren joining Morgan Rielly on a pair. Liljegren had spent the last two games in the press box as a healthy scratch as Keefe experimented with a lineup featuring 11 forwards and seven defencemen. Keefe will, rightfully, return to 12 forwards and six defencemen against the Devils on Tuesday.
Liljegren should slot in on the team’s second power-play unit as well.
“As I’ve talked to him about, our team is deeper on defence than it was prior to the deadline. So with him, and the rest of our defence, the standard is higher in terms of staying in and competing with that,” Keefe said.
For his own part, Liljegren believes his game has taken a step forward this season because of how often he’s played against top forward lines compared to sometimes being sheltered in previous NHL stints.
All in all, the Leafs adjustment to the steady stream of new faces in the days leading up to the trade deadline and then after the deadline itself continues to be a work in progress. It was noteworthy to hear Lafferty say on Monday that there’s more offensive structure in the Leafs system than he’s been used to. Assuming he’s not alone, the ripple effects of the new acquisitions may continue to be felt throughout this upcoming stretch.
On one hand, synergy among linemates and pairs can be hard to come by with the amount of changes there’s been to the Leafs lineup. The flipside of that argument is that the serious depth and options that the influx of players provides Keefe is a boon to someone who prefers to experiment and move pieces around in his lineup to find a formula he likes.
That perhaps is why Keefe stressed on Monday that blaming the latter for the team’s two losses in their last three games since they acquired Lafferty and Jake McCabe from the Blackhawks is “letting us off the hook too easily, frankly.”
“The more time that passes,” Keefe said, “we will get better as a group.”
(Top photo of Sam Lafferty: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
