The start of a brand new season is finally here.
Following a summer that, for me, brought changes that were both very real (Sheldon Keefe out, Craig Berube in) and nothing more than aesthetics (John Tavares stripped of his captaincy, in favour of Auston Matthews), I have mixed feelings about what to expect this season.
What most were hoping for was a change to the core group of players that have done nothing but fail year in and year out. So, while management spoke at the end of last season in a way that made many believe that those type’s of changes could be coming in short order, nothing of major value transpired.
We all know that they took far too long to realize that changes were needed. By the time they came around on the idea that so many from Leafs Nation had been sharing for years, all of the core group were sporting full No-Movement Clauses, resulting in real change being left up to the players rather than the front office. It’s the front office that handed out those clauses, so the blame rests fully on the shoulders of Brendan Shanahan, who is now on his 4th GM since being hired as the Leafs’ President.
But I digress. Rehashing the failures of last year is for the comment section. It’s a brand new season, with brand new hope (just a pinch, for myself) and a few new faces on the roster. Chris Tanev, who is being labeled as an elite defender all of a sudden, is slated to play on the top pair alongside Morgan Rielly. While I agree that Tanev was fantastic for the Dallas Stars last season, and I was happy to hear that the Leafs would be signing him, the contract and subsequent expectations have made me pause. Chris Tanev is a solid player and a great leader, but expecting as much as some appear to be expecting from him is setting everybody up for disappointment.
Anthony Stolarz had a fantastic pre-season and we’re all hoping that it translates to the regular season, because if it does he could really begin to stabilize the goaltending position for the team. Stolarz, along with the incumbent starter, Joseph Woll, could be a solid tandem if everybody stays healthy and can handle a larger work load than they have in the past.
With a little more stability on the blueline and some hope in net, along with a change behind the bench, there is some reason for optimism. But you can judge that for yourself based on the projected opening night lineup:
What does stand out to me is that Timothy Liljegren, who is sporting a new 2-year contract with a $3M caphit, appears to be riding the pine to begin the year. He’s never been the hardest worker on the ice and I believe if that doesn’t change quickly under Berube that he’ll be on his way to a new team in short order. For a player they took in the 1st round and considering the amount of work they’ve put in to his development, it’s a shame to see a player with all the tools be a solid NHLer come up short.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens will be primed for action tonight. During their final pre-season game against one another things got a little heated. I won’t re-cap that game, but the knee-on-knee that resulted in Patrik Laine projecting to miss a few months of the season set some of the Habs’ players off. The expectation for tonight is that Arber Xhajak and Ryan Reaves will renew pleasantries. I’m sure Reaves is looking forward to it, as the last time those two met in a fight Xhajak jumped Reaves and ended up with the takedown. That’s a bit of a calling card for Xhajak, catching guys off guard like that, which is something that Reaves is now fully aware of and should be prepared for. It should be a spirited tilt, if it does happen.
As for the game itself, who knows what to expect. Montreal always brings their best against the Leafs, while this version of the Leafs simply hasn’t appeared to buy into any of the old rivalries. Toronto comes out flat against Montreal, Ottawa and Boston consistently, which seems to be the only thing they’ve done with consistency over the past decade. While the standings at the end of the year should indicate that the Leafs are a much better team, I wouldn’t bet against Montreal this evening.
Enjoy the game folks. Go Leafs Go!!