Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock will enter his first training camp in Toronto with many players returning from a roster that finished near the bottom of the NHL standings.
With the team slated to go through a year of transition, the most important task for the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold medal winner is to determine whether those returning have what it takes to contribute to the club three or four years down the line or if they are better suited to be used as trade pieces to add future assets in Brendan Shanahan’s rebuild.
Babcock’s fresh outlook will not give holdovers any guarantee of assuming the same prominence in the lineup they held under Randy Carlyle or Peter Horachek and the priority of finding out whether someone can handle a particular role may be secondary to which player is best suited for the job.
Here are three training camp battles to be keep your eye out for:
1st line center – Tyler Bozak vs Nazem Kadri
Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock enters his first training camp with a group of players returning from a squad that finished near the bottom of the NHL standings.
With the team slated to go through a year of transition, the most important task for the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold medal winner is to determine whether those holdovers have what it takes to contribute to the club three or four years down the line or if they are better suited as trade pieces to add future assets in Brendan Shanahan’s rebuild.
Babcock’s fresh outlook will not guarantee any player the same prominent position they held under Randy Carlyle or Peter Horachek and the priority will be to discover who is best suited for the particular job.
Here are three training camp battles to be keep your eye out for:
1st line center – Tyler Bozak vs Nazem Kadri
It is firmly established that Bozak has not been a good fit as a top line NHL center, but he has clearly been the most consistent option up the middle. The 29-year-old is coming off a career-high 23 goals last season and Toronto wants to keep Bozak in an offensive role to keep his value high for a potential trade.
The 24-year-old Kadri regressed in his second full season, with lower offensive totals, continuing defensive lapses and off-the-ice issues that necessitated Shanahan to suspend the young center for three games.
Kadri signed a one-year, $4.1 Million extension last month and reportedly spent this summer getting into the best shape of his career, but it is still questionable whether he is capable of rising to the challenge.
There is little to be discovered about Bozak, he is a known commodity. Kadri’s ceiling has yet to be determined and even though Bozak may be the better performer, the greater priority may be to find out whether Kadri can handle top line responsibilities.
Advantage – Kadri
Top Pairing D – Dion Phaneuf vs Jake Gardiner
2012 top pick Morgan Rielly is being groomed as the central figure on the Leafs blueline, but it is unknown whether Babcock will pair the 21-year-old with team captain Dion Phaneuf or roommate Jake Gardiner.
Phaneuf is a better defenseman overall and less prone to defensive gaffes than the talented but gaffe-prone Gardiner, but the 30-year-old may be more effective with his minutes limited instead of playing 25+ minutes every night.
Babcock has an affinity for defensemen with skating ability and Gardiner’s skills are tantalizing, but his decision making ability and questionable hockey IQ have prevented him from ascending to a more prominent role in Toronto.
The Leafs in past years have told Phaneuf to turn the other cheek and not be confrontational, as he was too valuable to spend time in the penalty box, but slightly decreasing responsibilities and allowing more freedom to be physical could spark a resurgence in #3’s career.
Gardiner is an excellent athlete and seems to perform better when he is played a lot, but his ability to stay in the lineup or in the good graces of his head coach has been dependent on not making bad decisions.
Advantage – Gardiner
1st Line Right Wing – P-A Parenteau vs Richard Panik vs Joffrey Lupul
The top line right winger next season will be a far cry from the last six years with Phil Kessel and will be either a pair of veterans trying to re-establish their careers after a difficult 2015 or a player claimed off of waivers last season.
The Leafs signed Parenteau in early July after the Quebec native was bought out of the final year of his contract by Montreal after scoring eight goals in 56 games. The 32-year-old winger was successful as a complementary top line winger with John Tavares in New York and is known for his prowess on the power play.
Panik was acquired from Tampa Bay when the Lightning tried to sneak the 23-year-old forward through waivers after training camp and scored 11 goals playing mostly in a bottom six role.
Lupul is a natural right winger who moved to the left side to play with Kessel after being acquired from Anaheim in 2011. The Leafs have depth on the left side with James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, Daniel Winnik and Nick Spaling to shift Lupul to right wing.
The winger will turn 32 in September and is coming off another injury-plagued season, in which he missed 27 games with two separate injuries and went one-quarter of the season without a goal.
Particularly with Parenteau and Lupul, playing with van Riemsdyk and either Kadri or Bozak will be all about maximizing player value, as the ex-Hab winger is signed for one year and Lupul has another three years remaining at $5.25 Million per season.
Advantage - Parenteau
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