Maple Leafs Camp Notebook: Who will play with Matthews?

TORONTO — Tuesday night marked the Toronto Maple Leafs†first hockey game at Scotiabank Arena since they were booed off their own ice in Game 7.

A sneak preview of hockey night in Toronto sans Mitch Marner. 

And although the result — a 3-2 exhibition overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators — was a smidge less significant than the last time the team performed in this arena, weâ€ll be observing all these contests with a question in mind.

Can a new top-six winger emerge from the ranks? (Matias Maccelli, you get first crack.) Or will Brad Treliving need to go fetch one?

Itâ€s a void the general manager tried filling in free agency and via a quiet summer trade market.

“Itâ€s not been from a lack of trying,†Treliving said. “Thereâ€s just not a lot of them out there that everybodyâ€s willing to hand over to you, right? So, I think today is no different than yesterday and the day before. Itâ€s going to be tomorrow. Youâ€re always looking to try to improve your team.â€

The worst-kept secret leading up to July 1 was that veteran two-way game-breaker Brad Marchand may very well have signed with the Maple Leafs, his favourite boyhood team, had the Florida Panthers not made the money work.

Leafs D-man Brandon Carlo, a former teammate of Marchandâ€s in Boston, told Sportsnet.ca that he tried nudging his friend “a bunch†to sign north.

“I had talked to him, and there had been conversations there, and I felt like he definitely had that interest to come here. Ultimately, it didnâ€t end up that way. But that would have been fantastic,†Carlo said. “Now weâ€re just gonna have to compete against him and hopefully beat him here soon.â€

Carlo wasnâ€t surprised in the least that Marchand celebrated his second Stanley Cup more fiercely than the first. Judging by the photographic evidence, at least.

“I knew it would be that way, for sure. I know that he had a conversation with Bergy (Patrice Bergeron) that if they ever won again, they would go all out with the partying. So, I’m glad he had a lot of fun. It’s a reset now — and hopefully we can emulate some of those videos on our own this year.â€

Establishing another top-six producer would go a long way toward that goal.

Matthews puts moratorium on Marner queries

When a reporter asked Matthews over the weekend how his pre-game ritual might change now that his warmup buddy of nine years was gone, the captain glanced at his watch.

“You got two more weeks and then weâ€re done with these questions,†Matthews replied.

Maccelli may be a shifty, pass-first wingman. But, beyond his initials, no one is confusing him for Marner 2.0.

And projected first-line winger Max Domi had his camp set back by a lower-body injury.

The onus will fall on a healthy and determined Matthews to drive Line 1, likely with less give-and-go and more puck carrying on his own.

“I see him more engaged,†coach Craig Berube observes. “Heâ€s feeling good, so heâ€s more engaged and heavier and harder on pucks and things like that. You can see a little bit of a difference, for sure.â€

Matthews†O-zone starts fell to a career-low 53.9 per cent last season. Expect a jump in that department. And expect his offence to look different. More direct.

That said, Matthews†strike Tuesday did come off a nifty give-and-go with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Maccelli did register a pair of secondary assists.

“Auston might take another step and start hanging onto pucks and beating people himself one-on-one,†Berube said. “Defensively, itâ€s about finding the guy that can fill the role, too. With Mitch on that line, he was a good defensive player, and so itâ€s just going to take some time. Weâ€ll see where it ends up.â€

Whatâ€s old feels new again for Dakota Joshua, whose first two NHL seasons were preceded by Berube training camps in St. Louis.

The coach hasnâ€t changed much in how he preps his players for the 82-game grind.

“It feels hard. Feels hard again,†the power forward says. “Just competing and just making sure that youâ€re going at one each other hard. Thatâ€s what he wants to see. Thatâ€s been consistent.â€

From Day One, the Maple Leafs have made small-area, close-contact battle drills a staple. Clearing pucks and winning the walls, boxing out and gaining net-front position are of priority in the coachâ€s mind.

A couple players have already suffered minor tweaks (Nicolas Roy, Simon Benoit), but Berube loves the internal intensity. 

“You gotta be smart. We don’t want to be putting our guys into the boards from behind. But at the same time, itâ€s important to get those battles in training camp,†Berube explains.

“They skate a lot throughout the summer and in August with the team, but theyâ€re not really doing those types of things. And itâ€s hard to just jump in there and do them. 

“Those are the things you got to work on in training camp so theyâ€re ready to go.â€

One-Timers: Matthew Knies missed about half a period in Tuesdayâ€s tilt after getting tripped up on rush, but did return to the game…. Dennis Hildeby posted a 23-save clean sheet in two periods of work. A fine start to what just became a more important camp for the goaltender…. Easton Cowan continues to impress. “He has abilities out there, with making plays and things like that — which he showed me tonight — but they were the right plays at the right time, which is important,†Berube said post-game…. Bobby McMann found the back of the net for the first time since March 25. Canâ€t hurt his confidence.

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