Since the news about Auston Matthews' disorderly conduct charge has emerged, the rest of the hockey world has pretty much stood still, focusing intently on the Arizona native's legal issues.
On Friday, Matthews addressed the media following practice and shed some light on what the young pivot's relationship with Kyle Dubas is like after the decision not to inform the Leafs' GM of his off-ice issues. Here's what Matthews had to say; "We're in good shape. Obviously, I made a mistake, I'm taking ownership of it, but everybody makes mistakes & the conversations that we've had & just trying to work through it ... I'd say our relationship is just fine"
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Andreas Johnsson is poised for a big year, pencilled in beside Matthews and Nylander, at least to start the season. The 24-year-old Swede is coming off of a stellar rookie campaign that saw him score 20 goals and 43 points in 73 games. Johnsson's usage was primarily bottom-six, though he did see some time alongside Matthews and Kapanen at times last season.
Johnsson has been focused on improving his game during the off-season to avoid another slow start. In 2018/2019, Johnsson was held to 3 points through his first 18 games. Interestingly enough, Johnsson began training in gymnastics, four-to-five hours per day over the summer to improve his strength and balance in hopes of being able to get going a little quicker from the start of the season. An intriguing approach to self-improvement. One that Leafs fans and the coaching staff look forward to seeing the results of, no doubt.
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With regard to captaincy dilemma, there is growing speculation that John Tavares could be named the next Maple Leafs captain. Early postulation had Auston Matthews as the front-runner for the gig, but for obvious reasons, if this was indeed the case, it is likely that recent events have caused a bit of a paradigm shift in Toronto. Per Elliotte Friedman, there seems to be a bit more of a consensus now that JT could carry the torch.
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Morgan Rielly still remains another viable option for the Buds. He is the longest tenured Leaf, is the #1 Dman, is respected by his teammates, is trusted by the coaching staff, is great with the media and seems to handle the pressures that come with playing in Toronto.
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TSN's Mark Masters has released the lines from Leafs practice this morning. There are few conspicuous absences for tomorrow night's lineup.
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As you can see, it appears that Dmytro Timashov has been replaced by Yegor Korshkov on the 4th line. Timashov has had a quality camp for the Buds, but Korshkov has made a strong case that he deserves a shot at playing with the big club after scoring a couple of huge goals last week against the Canadiens on a night where Montreal dressed an NHL caliber roster vs Toronto's "prove it" group comprised of mostly AHL players. If Korshkov has another big night tomorrow, it might just be enough to seal the deal.
The other two names missing from this list are Martin Marincin and camp standout Rasmus Sandin, who seems destined to make the team this year, or at least get a 9 game look to start the season. Early speculation is that Sandin and Marincin will make up the top pairing on Friday in Detroit to face tougher competition to see how the pair handles the pressure of a larger assignment.
Michael Hutchinson will get the start on Friday in Detroit, with Andersen drawing in for Saturday night's game back in Toronto.
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The Buds will be testing out a new top power play unit at home on Saturday night. Kristen Shilton is reporting that new power play mastermind, Paul McFarland, has placed Morgan Rielly and Tyson Barrie on the point, with Marner, Tavares and Matthews as the 3 big guns up top. Prior to this, Andreas Johnsson has been utilized in place of Tyson Barrie, who was previously on the 2nd PP unit.
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