Big surprises at Maple Leafs annual Blue and White scrimmage

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There were plenty of wrinkles, if not huge surprises, that stemmed from the Maple Leafs’ annual Blue and White scrimmage on Saturday.

It served as the only dress rehearsal before Wednesday night’s season-opener, so the team did its best to make it feel more meaningful.

A morning skate was held. Players were separated into home and visitor dressing rooms. The game was televised. Martina Ortiz Luis sang O Canada. Canned crowd noise – perhaps a wee too much – was piped in after hard hits and saves. Hall and Oates reverberated around Scotiabank Arena each time a goal was scored. After all, this was Toronto against Toronto. And in these strange times, even a hockey exhibition is reason to celebrate.

For the record, the John Tavares-led White team beat Auston Matthews’s Blue squad, 6-3. Joe Thornton made his debut and almost immediately started to feed linemates passes while camped behind the net. Wayne Simmonds, another newbie with a well-known knack for such, buzzed around goalies like a hornet at a picnic.

William Nylander, who is coming off the best season of his career, scored twice for the winning side. Mitch Marner netted a pretty one for the losers, rushing up on Aaron Dell and lifting a puck over his glove. Matthews finished off a nice pass from Marner on one power play. Tavares flipped a backhand past Frederik Andersen to break a 0-0 tie. Nick Robertson rifled a shot past Dell, but as a young forward he is in a battle to make the team. The same is true for Adam Brooks and Pierre Engvall. Jason Spezza also had a goal; the old and reliable will centre the fourth line against the Montreal Canadiens with the commencement of the 56-game regular season.

One of the best performances of all was turned in by a defenceman, Mikko Lehtonen, who could prove to be the most intriguing addition to the team.

The 26-year-old from Finland was the leading scorer among defencemen in the KHL last season with 49 points in 60 games, and received honours as the league’s best defender for three successive months.

Teammates had already taken notice of him during training camp in Toronto, and he skated well Saturday and contributed assists on both of Nylander’s goals, one a deflection of a Lehtonen shot and the other a one-timer after a pass from him.

Lehtonen also scored against Andersen during a shootout exercise after the first period.

“I felt like I could play better, actually,” Lehtonen said afterward. “It wasn’t my best game. There were situations where I could do better and others where I did very well. I’ll just try to learn every day.”

As highly regarded as the KHL is, there are relatively few skaters that have come from it and became major stars in North America. The biggest without doubt is Artemi Panarin, who made the transition from playing in Russia to become a rookie of the year in the NHL. Alexander Radulov, a right wing, has had a long and successful career in the NHL, as well as long stints in Ufa and Moscow.

Nikita Gusev had 44 points in 66 games for the New Jersey Devils last season as a rookie. Ilya Mikheyev also showed a lot of promise for the Maple Leafs in a 2019-20 season that was interrupted by injury.

Lehtonen, who signed a one-year contract for US$925,000, spent last week at training camp holding down a position in the third defensive pairing with fellow newcomer Zach Bogosian. He also directed the second power-play unit, which includes Simmonds, Thornton, Jimmy Vesey and T.J. Brodie.

His quick development has endangered the roster spots of Travis Dermott and Rasmus Sandin.

Lehtonen concedes he needs to make the adjustment to playing on the NHL ice surface. It is significantly smaller than the one he is accustomed to in Europe and realizes he will have less time and space to push the puck up the ice.

“I have watched a lot of NHL games, and I talked with guys who have played here, so I kind of learned before I came here what to expect,” said Lehtonen, who has not played outside of Europe previously. “There has not been anything that is a big surprise for me, but there are always smaller things you need to adjust.”

The Maple Leafs took Sunday off and resume practice on Monday leading up to opening night.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe said he feels the team looks confident and ready, with help especially from recently arrived veterans such as Thornton and Simmonds.

“Challenges will come [during the season] and we have to maintain that spirit,” Keefe said. “That is a priority for us. We feel we are in a much better position with the added experience, and the veterans that have come here and with the personalities they bring.”

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