This year’s version of the Toronto Maple Leafs has felt different. Now I know non-Leafs fans are going to say, “oh, you guys say that every year and look what happened every single time,” to which I would respond with, you are right. There is no defending how much the teams of years past have choked in during the biggest moments of their careers thus far. In saying that, this year’s team DOES feel different. They have adopted the “next man up” mentality this year. Mainly because they didn’t have a choice, their top two goaltenders were sidelined at the same time. Erik Kallgren stepped in and held down the fort till at least one of Murray or Samsonov’s returned from injury. At one point, they were without Rielly, Muzzin, and Brodie, arguably the team’s top three defencemen coming into this season, all at the same time. However, the team didn’t panic, and through a collective effort, the defensive core managed to weather that storm together without being phased much at all. Guys like Mac Hollowell, Victor Mete, Jordie Benn, Conor Timmins, and Filip Kral all stepped in and did a fantastic job.
In my opinion, this latest injury will require that next-man-up mentality more than any of the previous injuries. It was reported this morning by the Leafs PR team that team superstar Auston Matthews would be sidelined for a minimum of three weeks due to a knee sprain he suffered against the Rangers Wednesday night. A couple of weeks ago, Auston missed a couple of games due to an injury that had been bothering him for “quite some time,” to quote Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. Are the two injuries related? I’m not sure, and the Leafs did not confirm whether that was the case. Nevertheless, over the next three weeks, from January 27th to February 17th, the Leafs play a total of six games. One of those games is against their forever rivals, the Boston Bruins. It will be very interesting to see how Sheldon Keefe juggles the lineup to handle this the best way he possibly can. It’s no secret that they simply cannot replace Auston in the lineup; that would be impossible. They will, however, need to find a way to collectively fill the void as best as they can. While the injury is a tough pill to swallow for the blue and white, tests like these build championship teams in the long run.
If I were to voice my opinion on how I’d like the lineup to look, at least at some point over the next three weeks, I would probably go with something like this:
Bunting – Tavares – Jarnkrok
Nylander – Kerfoot – Marner
**Steeves – Holmberg – Anderson
Engvall – Kampf – McMann
At the time I am writing this article, Alex Steeves is still with the Toronto Marlies. In saying that, I would love to see him get a real shot to prove himself at some point over the next three weeks. Steeves is a guy who I’ve wanted to see in the Leafs lineup all year. For those who aren’t familiar with Steeves’ game, he is relentless on the forecheck, has offensive upside, and isn’t afraid to throw his weight around. Through 40 games with the Toronto Marlies this year, Steeves has 13 goals and 20 assists for a total of 33 points. If he is given a shot to prove himself, it will be very difficult for Keefe to take him out of the lineup afterward. Also, while Marner and Nylander haven’t played a ton together during five-on-five play throughout their careers, the few times they have, it has been electric. Why not try it again?
The bottom line is the Matthews injury comes at the worst time. There’s no point in trying to sugarcoat it. But this year is different. There’s no time to whine and complain about it. This year’s team is different. It’s time to get to work. It’s next man up, fellas.
