Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews speaks to the media during the opening day of their NHL training camp in Toronto, on Sept. 20.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Jake Muzzin will be unable to join his teammates when the Maple Leafs commence with training camp on Thursday. Neither will Matt Murray.
Wait. What year is this? Is it 2022 or 2023?
Not to make light of injuries, but neither Muzzin nor Murray played a significant role last season. Muzzin incurred a head and neck injury in the fourth game and never returned. A handful of health issues limited Murray to 26 games, and in those the veteran goalie did not do especially well.
Brad Treliving, Toronto’s new general manager, said Muzzin, a 34-year-old defenceman, has yet to recover. He was a little more vague about Murray, other than to announce that he will undergo significant surgery next week. On what exactly, he wouldn’t say.
Maybe another anvil landed on Wile E. Coyote’s head.
To be fair, neither Muzzin nor Murray was being counted upon for the season, which commences Oct. 11 with an engagement against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena.
The point is that the more things change for the Maple Leafs, the more they remain the same.
Treliving, head coach Sheldon Keefe and four key players were rolled out to the media on Wednesday at the Ford Performance Centre in Toronto’s west end. Players underwent their annual physical exams, with the first-on ice drills scheduled the next day.
There are 49 skaters and seven goaltenders in camp. A majority of those present have no realistic chance to make a veteran team that won a playoff round – finally – in 2023.
“There are not a lot of ‘help-wanted’ signs on our roster right now,” said Treliving, previously the long-time general manager in Calgary.
Like everyone else involved, he spoke of the excitement he feels.
“You spend the summer putting the team together, and today we start to build it,” he said.
He’s a chatty sort and quick with a quip.
About William Nylander, the forward with whom he is negotiating a contract, he said, “He’s a cool cat.”
About Martin Jones, the 33-year-old goalie who was brought in as insurance behind Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll, he said, “I wanted someone with some grey hair.”
There wasn’t a lot of newsy stuff, other than Nylander is possibly going to begin camp at centre. The 27-year-old, whose contract expires next summer, has mostly played right wing during his eight years in the NHL.
“We want to give him some time and an opportunity to grow into that position through camp and have experience and confidence to do it,” Keefe said. “It gives us a chance to see what it looks like, how it affects his game, but also how it affects the flow of our team.
“Willie has been fully on board. He is totally comfortable playing centre. I coached him playing centre with the Marlies. So it’s not a huge leap, just something we haven’t given a whole lot of runway.”
Treliving would not talk about the contract discussions with Nylander.
“The lines of communication will always be open,” Treliving said. “We want to get it done. After today, I’m not going to comment until we have something to report. I find it’s best to do business that way and hopefully we can find a good conclusion.”
The team’s leadership group – Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, John Tavares and Mitch Marner – were marched out to answer questions. The others are professional, but it is an obligation that only Rielly seems to enjoy.
The take is that everyone is optimistic. The significant new faces – Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves – are quickly fitting in. They have been in Toronto working out with their new teammates for three weeks already.
Rielly, a defenceman entering his 11th season in Toronto, advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup for the first time this summer. He said it hurt to get bounced out of the playoffs by the Panthers in five games in Round 2.
“You are very disappointed after your loss,” Rielly said. “Losing that round to Florida and then watching them get to the final, didn’t make it easier. But upon more reflection and communication with your teammates, there are good things you are able to extract.
“Whether it was how you did earlier in the year or the fact that you won one round, all of that stuff matters to a certain extent. We have higher goals than one round. We want to play beyond that. I think we learned a lot in both series. The goal is to take those lessons and grow together and move forward.”
Wait.
What year is this?
Marty Klinkenberg