No, this isn’t an in depth article about what happened this season with the Leafs. Nor is it one that stretches back over the years, which appears to be a trend among the Leafs Nation media at the moment. I could write one of those, I guess, to keep up with the Jones’. A fantastic version of those articles has already been written anyway, you can find it here. Well done Bruce Arthur. My version of that article would simply be riddled with expletives about how so many people wanted to tear things apart years ago and now, when it’s too late and all the most valuable players have full control over whether they leave or not, management appears to have finally come on board with what so many saw so clearly years ago.
For a fan it’s frustrating. Demoralizing. Disheartening. Hopeless. So many words could be used to describe this feeling of futility.
Losing to a zamboni driver. Losing to the Habs after being up 3-1 in their 1st round playoff series. Losing to….. well, everybody. Why bother to continue to rehash it all? The simple fact of the matter is that nothing has changed this year, no matter how much you want to believe the soon-to-be 35 year old Chris Tanev can change their fate, he can’t. No matter how badly you want to believe that Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is currently being paid by the Utah Yeti and Vancouver Canucks to play for somebody else, can help their powerplay in the playoffs, he can’t. No matter how much you want to believe that Anthony Stolarz, the 30 year old goaltender that has never appeared in more than 28 games in an NHL season and has just 1 playoff appearance under his belt (this year, in the finals, after McDavid and the Oilers ran Bobrovsky from the crease) can stabilize the crease, he can’t. This problem goes far beyond any one spot on the roster. This is a deeply embedded and rotten cancer of a problem that began with the President and has made it’s way throughout the organization.
The bloated contracts with full no-move clauses and monstrous signing bonuses. The befriend-them GM and coach. Anointing them playoff contenders long before they were playoff contenders. When saying “plan the parade” went from being a joke to a belief. Making players believe that they were on the verge of “breaking through” instead of telling them they were playing terribly and had to be better. The core evolved into an entitled, pretentious, spoiled lot that checks out after game #82 and are now in a position where they can stay throughout their current contracts before walking for nothing.
Well played Brendan. Well played.
But I digress. This isn’t an in depth article about any of that. Instead, this is an article about depth pieces they can still sign this summer to help support a franchise that is going nowhere. So, let’s get to it:
Maxime Comtois
Comtois isn’t a player that is about to hop into your top 6 forward group and make an impact. However, the 25 year old did have 16 goals and 33pts in 55 games for the Anaheim Ducks a few years back. It was a few too many years back to expect him to rekindle that kind of success, but the 6’2″ 210lb LWer would bring size and grit to the Marlies, while also being a good call-up option throughout the season. He plays a gritty style of game and if we’re being honest with ourselves that’s a department the Leafs took a step back in this summer after losing the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi and Joel Edmundson. A 1-way, league minimum deal with a little bit of exposure and an opportunity is all it should take to get him and he could be a fit within a Craig Berube run system.
Liam Foudy
Every team needs centre depth throughout their organization and that’s something that Foudy can bring. The 6’2″ 195lb native of Scarborough has over 100 games of NHL experience in his career but hasn’t been able to cement himself as an everyday NHLer. At 24 years old time has likely run out on being considered a prospect. With that said he’s still young, so it could just be a matter of the former 18th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft needing to reinvent himself a little bit and what better place to do that than at home around family and friends?
Jared Tinordi
Like centre depth, the Leafs could always use more defenders and especially ones that bring veteran savvy to the table. Tinordi, a 6’6″ 230lb LD, would be a great fit for the Marlies and would be a good call-up mid season if the Leafs don’t feel that any of their prospects would be well served by playing in the NHL this year. They’ve been adding size to the blueline and this signing would follow that trend. The difference here is that the size they’ve been adding has largely been younger players.
Calen Addison
Due to the fact that they’ve been adding size to the ranks, management could view their blueline as a little too slow and immobile. If a jolt of offense is what they want then Addison would fill that need. It’s likely that he finds a home in the NHL this year with a team that isn’t projected to make the playoffs and is willing to see if he can find the form that saw him produce 29pts in 62 games for Minnesota over the 2022-23 season. The longer he’s on the market the better their chances are at signing him and sneaking him through waivers to help the Marlies. If he has success there and finds his way back to the NHL then trading him for a mid round pick could be in the cards. Every asset counts for a team that has hemorrhaged picks for years, after all.
Sammy Blais
While Blais has been a good producer in the AHL, he hasn’t had the same offensive success in the NHL. However, the idea would be to get him to the Marlies to be a leader and producer at the level, while calling him up for spot duty if need be. He does stand a chance at making the team out of camp as well, depending on how the chips fall. Craig Berube knows him well, as he played for the Blues during the year they won the Stanley Cup, when he dressed for 32 regular season and 15 playoff games. An energy player with some size, Blais would really help the teams 4th line.