The Toronto Maple Leafs started on the right foot on their three-game Western road swing with a dominating 5-1 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.
Nazem Kadri tallied twice, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly and Andreas Johnsson also scored for Toronto and Frederik Andersen made 22 saves for his 10th victory of the season, but once again the driving force behind the Leafs offense was the duo of Tavares and Mitch Marner.
Marner had a pair of assists on the night and got the Leafs going less than three minutes into the first, setting up Kadri for a power play goal. Tavares scored on the man advantage to extend the Toronto lead to 2-0 and setup Rielly for his eighth goal of the season early in the middle frame.
“(Mitch has) got that offensive ability and he's always got his head up.” Kadri said after the game. “When he gets the puck, I'm never surprised, I'm always trying to find an opening for my stick to be on the ice. He sees it and he'll make the right play.”
The Leafs duo had 14 shot attempts against the Kings and have ably picked up the offensive slack in the absence of Auston Matthews. In seven games since the Matthews injury, Marner has seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) and Tavares has nine (3 goals, 6 assists) and a six-game point streak.
“When you look at John and what he’s able to do tonight, the way he wins those draws on the power play, you don’t have to worry about the breakout, you just go out and play.” Rielly said.
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There has been some opinion regarding the William Nylander contract situation, that it would not have occurred had the Leafs not signed Tavares or that they would be a better club with the restricted free agent locked up for the future.
There is no doubt that the Leafs with Tavares are a much stronger club. If they can get Nylander signed to a long-term contract for a reasonable cap hit, that would give Toronto two dynamic offensive combos for the foreseeable future, but it is possible that the club could be just as well off by getting the return that most people expect for the winger, if his representatives are unwilling to compromise on terms of a new deal.
In his piece in the Athletic, Pierre LeBrun lays out nine possible teams that could be interested in the 22-year-old winger and that could offer a package that includes a top-four defenseman that Toronto desperately needs and other pieces.
Many of the teams (Carolina, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Anaheim) have been targets of speculation for weeks and the Hurricanes consistent presence at Scotiabank Arena has been well chronicled. Others mentioned, such as Vegas, St. Louis, Florida, Arizona and Colorado might have the right pieces to pull off a deal.
An NHL executive indicated that the impasse could go down to the eleventh hour and that a team would wait until then to make their most attractive offer. The Leafs have until 5pm EST on December 1 to sign Nylander to a new contract or he will be ineligible to play in the NHL for the rest of the season.
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Mike & Norm have returned for a new episode of the podcast. After nearly a week since the last collab, there’s much to sort through.
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