6
The Toronto Maple Leafs' current roster doesn't have a bright future, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president Richard Peddie said in an interview with Hockey Night in Canada before the Leafs' game with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
"Actually, I look at this team and I can't see we're making any progress towards winning a Stanley Cup," Peddie told Elliotte Friedman.
A few hours later, Peddie probably would have liked to have prefaced his words with something such as "other than young defenceman Anton Stralman and forward Jiri Tlusty."
Given a chance to strut their stuff, the two Toronto rookies shone brightly in the Leafs' 4-2 victory over the Canadiens. The youngsters scored two goals each in the win at the Air Canada Centre.
Related Articles
If Stralman, 21, and Tlusty, 20, continue their fine play in the final week of the regular season, it would make the decision easier for Leafs interim general manager Cliff Fletcher or his successor to get rid of some veterans either through trades or buyouts.
"It's good preparation for next year to really show what you've got, especially for all the young guys," Stralman said of the season's final few games. "So, of course, these next three games we have left are really important."
Stralman played 15 minutes 42 seconds against Montreal, the most ice time he's seen since playing more than 19 minutes in Toronto's embarrassing 8-0 loss at home to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 5. The smooth-skating and shifty player had only four assists in his first 41 games with the Leafs this season, but has checked in with three goals and an assist in his past five matches.
Tlusty, who has played the past two games on a line with Mats Sundin and Nik Antropov, has four goals and five points in his past four games to improve his season totals to 10 goals and 16 points in 55 games.
"It's a great opportunity for me, playing more and playing with the best two guys [Antropov and Sundin]," Tlusty said.
"I just play my best and try to show everyone how I can play."
Unlike for most of their veteran teammates, the NHL season will not end for Tlusty and Stralman after this Saturday's regular-season finale in Montreal. Tlusty, a native of the Czech Republic, will join the Toronto Marlies of the AHL for their playoff run at the Calder Cup. Stralman's next destination is up in the air.
He hopes to get a call in the next few days from the Swedish contingent to play for his country in the world championship in Quebec City and Halifax. Stralman played for fourth-place Sweden last spring in Moscow.
Ultimately, the call will be Fletcher's. But he's willing to talk to Sweden's management team about Stralman playing for his country. Fletcher also added that he likes that this year's tournament will be played on the smaller North American ice surfaces, which will aid Stralman's progress.
Meanwhile, Fletcher was asked on Saturday about rumours that he already had approached the MLSE board of directors with a proposal to buy out the contracts of veterans Darcy Tucker and Bryan McCabe.
"That's not a decision we will make until the end of June [the buyout period for players is the last week of June]," Fletcher said. "If you're going to consider buying a player out, your natural choice would be to try and trade the player. A lot of these decisions won't be made until after the [NHL] draft because trades could happen and change the dynamics of your team."
What will happen in Toronto's next game, against the Buffalo Sabres at home tomorrow, is the reappearance of backup goaltender Andrew Raycroft. He will be seeking his first victory since Nov. 9. Raycroft hasn't seen any action since relieving Vesa Toskala on Feb. 5 and hasn't started since Jan. 20, a 3-2 road loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Toskala made his 30th consecutive start on Saturday and notched his 33rd win of the season.
