FRIEDMAN: MAPLE LEAFS PREPARED FOR INTERNAL COMPETITION WITH SEVERAL PLAYERS ON THE BUBBLE
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has been very busy of late, navigating trade requests, contract extensions and professional tryout agreements, as he looks to set up head coach Craig Berube for success. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman feels with the intensity about to pick up in a major way in Toronto, training camp is going to be full of internal competition, which could push several players off the roster.
Friedman touched on the latest in Leafs’ land on 32 Thoughts the podcast and made it clear as day, there’s a number of players on the bubble. “I think he’s prepared to have some competition here. I don’t think he and Berube are afraid of letting some players who would like at this and think ‘I am on the bubble here?’. I think they want the competition, they want to see who it drives, and it wouldn’t surprise me because you don’t need to have your roster final until the day before the season begins, it wouldn’t shock me if the Leafs let this play out a little bit.”
“I think that is their plan,” stated Friedman. “Again, if you get a good offer, you may say ‘I gotta take this’, but I think they’re interested in making their camp a little more competitive.”
Friedman continued to touch on the Nick Robertson trade saga and was asked by co-host Kyle Bukauskas if he was surprised at all to see Robertson signed by Treliving despite the continuous focus on him wanting out. “I think the options were limited. As we said last week it didn’t benefit him to be sitting out. I get where Robertson’s coming from but sometimes you have to take the knee and concede defeat,” explained Friedman.
“This was Robertson’s time, it’s better for him if he just said ‘alright, I’m coming’, and I’ll do this. I think he did the right thing. If he plays well, everybody wins. It sets him up in a good place and the team wins because Robertson’s playing great. There’s a huge benefit for everyone involved here to make this work. Teams get pushed around when the player has the leverage and when the team has the leverage, sometimes they like to push back. And, I think that definitely happened with Robertson.”
With Max Pacioretty expected to turn his PTO into a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs, there’s going to be a number of wingers fighting for the left side. Matthew Knies is a lock for the top spot, however, the likes of Robertson, Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, Alex Nylander, Pontus Holmberg, Connor Dewar, Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten will all be looking to impress Berube and secure their spot for opening night. Max Domi could also be in the mix should William Nylander start the season at centre.
As Friedman points out, the team is very likely to be patient when it comes to finalizing their roster and give themselves some time to make calculated decisions which don’t handcuff themselves. Even with Pacioretty and recently signed Jani Hakanpaa joining the team, there are a number of question marks throughout the roster, which is likely music to the ears of Berube as he’ll want to put his fingerprints all over the lineup.
The Maple Leafs open their preseason schedule hosting the Ottawa Senators on Sept.22.
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2024-09-13T14:17:54Z dg43tfdfdgfd