NHL
For the first time in a decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs will begin a season without Mitch Marner, their longtime minute-munching, point-producing All-Star forward.
Behind the bench navigating his departure will be Craig Berube, who led the Leafs to a 108-point, Atlantic Division-winning regular season before playoff disappointment yet again marred everything in its wake.
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The Leafs won’t have Marner, who joined the Vegas Golden Knights in a noisy sign-and-trade this past summer, but they will have three intriguing new pieces in Nicolas Roy (who came over in that sign and trade), Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli. And, as Berube explained to The Athletic in a pre-training camp check-in, they hope to have Auston Matthews back at his healthy, Hart Trophy-level best.
The Leafs coach also weighed in on his plans for Marner’s replacement at first-line right wing (and alternate captain), the new additions and their fit in the lineup, Easton Cowan’s NHL audition this fall, dialling up the shot attempts, and Nick Robertson’s (still) uncertain future.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
I think we should start with the big story from the offseason, which is obviously Mitch. Where do you think you’ll miss him the most?
Listen, he touched all areas of the game for us — penalty kill, power play, five on five. He’s a guy that’s hard to replace. You’re not replacing him. But we brought in three new players — Roy, Joshua and Maccelli, all sorta different types of players — but I feel like we’re probably a deeper team, bringing in the three guys. We talk about replacing Mitch; that’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re just trying to improve our team in other ways by adding these players.
You mentioned two of the new guys, Roy and Joshua. Do you think with guys like that, this can be a team that is maybe better suited to playing the way you want to play?
For sure. They’re definitely those types of players. They’re big and heavy, and they’re long and they’re defensively responsible. They’re heavy on pucks and on the forecheck and things like that. A little more size there. A guy like Maccelli’s coming in, this guy has a lot of ability making plays — he’s a good playmaker. I know he had the couple really good years in, I guess it would have been Arizona, before Utah. But we’re gonna need that offence from him and that playmaking ability, too. I feel like we added size to our team and some heaviness, but also we added a pretty good playmaker that has some real upside.
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How much did you pick Shane Doan’s brain about Maccelli?
Well, obviously a lot. He’s been around him. He knows the kid really well. He was very positive about him and his abilities and what he can do. We’re excited. Listen, these guys, we gotta get going in camp and see where they all fit in and where the chemistry fits with different linemates and things like that. But again, I think that we got a little deeper with our team, but we also lost a real good player. We know that.
Did you talk to Mitch about the decision at all?
You know, I didn’t really get into it with him throughout the season. We talked at times about things. What I stressed to Mitch was, “This is your decision with what you want to do. And great, you should do it, because that’s what you feel like you should do. I’m not here to persuade you or anything like that. Would we love you to stay? Yeah, for sure we would. But this is your opportunity to become a free agent and make your decision.” I said, “You gotta just focus on playing and doing what’s best for the hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs at the time.” Which he did. He had a great year. I didn’t see any dips in his game throughout the season, really. I thought he was pretty consistent. It was his decision.
I’m just thinking back to that meeting you had that everyone went crazy over, when you had coffee soon after you were hired. Did it surprise you knowing where you started with him?
I’m not sure I get surprised by those situations. I think players — everybody’s different. He might have (been) thinking in his head that he wants to play it out and see where it ends up. Now, who knows if things work out differently in the playoffs where he would be. Am I surprised? No, not really.
So obviously, last year, you really seemed to like the combination of him with Auston and Matthew Knies on the other side. How do you think you’ll go about filling that void on right wing?
Again, we’re not replacing Mitch. I’m not looking at it that way. But I think it’s about trying some people at camp, for sure. I think that’s the route you gotta go and see what looks good and what fits. I think Auston and (Knies) have been a good pair here, all of last year. I thought they worked really well together. I think it’s a good combination there. And I’ve always worked in pairs more than lines. So I think Knies and Matthews are a good pair and it might be popping guys in and out of there in different situations sometimes. We gotta test it out in camp and see where we’re at.
Well, I remember you saying during the year that you didn’t really like the look of William Nylander on Auston’s right wing. Is that something you think you’ll give a little bit more of a look to? Or, do you look at the balance of the lineup and say, “I need him elsewhere”?
That’s a good point and that’s a good question, because you can always think you can throw Willy up there. But I think that adding Joshua, Roy and Maccelli gives us more balance and maybe we’re just a little deeper four-line team. And keeping Willy with (John Tavares), I really like that pair too. So, I don’t mind a balance, to be honest with you.
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You mentioned Maccelli and his playmaking skills. Could you see that being a look that works with Matthews?
It could be. It definitely could be. And that’s something that maybe I don’t throw up there right away in camp. I don’t just want to put him in a situation to, “Oh, I’m playing with Matthews and Knies, I gotta perform at such a high level.” I want him to get his feet under him at camp and get working and understanding how we like to play the game and getting comfortable. It’s definitely something that could work, though, so we’re thinking about it.
I see three candidates for that spot. And I guess the other guy is Max Domi. Where do you think he fits in the puzzle heading into this year?
Yeah, definitely. I think he’s a guy that’s played with Matthews in the past and had success. He looks for (Matthews) and gets him the puck and that’s important. I think that Max could work (there). It could work. But I think Max has to change just his mindset a little bit, playing with those guys on a consistent basis. It’s not always about looking for (Matthews) and finding (Matthews). It’s about Max, him shooting pucks, scoring goals and being that type of player. You can’t always just be a one-headed monster. He’s gotta evolve a little bit and do other things out there with those guys. He’s capable of it for sure. It’s just a mindset for me with him.
You talked a lot last year about wanting him to shoot the puck more, and I guess that just goes with what you’re talking about.
Yes, exactly. Just being more direct. Yes, he has the ability to make the plays and we need him to do that. But also, he’s gotta take his looks and finish, and just be a more interior player. That’s what I call it. Getting to the inside more, being a more interior player. Just being a more direct player. And using his skating ability. He’s a powerful skater, and I find when Max is skating, he’s a very good player. It’s when he’s not moving his feet.
So can you see starting with him on Auston’s wing and maybe trying some of the other guys throughout camp?
Yeah, for sure. I think they’re all gonna get a look, I really do.
I wondered if you got a chance to see Auston this summer?
I saw him here in Toronto a couple times.
And does he look more like the best version of himself physically?
He does look very good. I think he’s stronger this year; he’s put a little weight on. I think he talked about maybe he thought he was a little too lean last year. And he’s feeling a lot better than he has, which is a very good sign.
Are there any things strategically you can do, or the group can do, to get him better opportunities to shoot the puck? Or do you think last year was more about just physically, he wasn’t at his healthiest?
I think it was a combination of a few things. When we looked at all of his shots, chances and attempts, they were better than they were the year before. Not by much. It was very close. The line, opportunity-wise, was better. They created more offence and more chances. He didn’t have much puck luck, to be honest. And physically, he wasn’t basically healthy the whole year. He battled through a lot. That’s the character of the player and the leadership he shows. I thought he was great without the puck. I thought on the penalty kill, defensively going against top lines all the time, I thought he was great. The finish wasn’t there.
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Do you maybe use that line differently this year?
We can. With Roy and Joshua coming aboard, I do believe we have better matchups that way. Roy and Joshua played in that situation before, quite a bit. But at the same time, (Matthews) is gonna go head-to-head against top players.
It’s just a function of his talent.
Yeah, and I think with Roy being a centre iceman and a right-handed faceoff guy, there’s gonna be less of Matthews in (defensive) zone faceoff (situations). We can use Roy more.
I wonder how that affects John Tavares as well. This is his age-35 season. Can you maybe lighten his load by having someone like Roy in the lineup?
Definitely. D-zone, those types of situations. But Johnny wants to play. He doesn’t care what situation he’s put in; he wants to be on the ice. And he’s our best faceoff guy; he was last year, stat-wise. He’s gonna be used when we need him. It’s about a feel thing for me more than anything.
You mentioned the Matthews’ line in terms of the chances they were generating. I wondered if, with some time to get away from the season, any of the nights when you were getting outshot, out-possessed in terms of the shot attempts, was there anything there that you thought maybe needed to change to possess the puck more this season?
Yeah, I think our forecheck is a big part of it. Our forecheck, from a quick-strike standpoint, was very good. I thought that we didn’t secondary forecheck enough, in keeping pucks alive in the O-zone, to create more O-zone time. And I think we can do a better job of that. And that’s our (defence) included, hedged up and killing more plays in the O-zone. That’s where it starts for me. The shot attempts for sure can go up, and they will go up. I think our D can do a better job of getting more pucks to the net, too. We gotta shoot pucks quicker. It’s got to be a first option.
I wondered how you see Nick Robertson fitting in this year, especially with the changes in personnel? Is he someone who’s going to have to come in and maybe earn a job at camp?
There’s a lot of competition at camp. I’ll leave it at that. There’s a lot of competition at camp, which is great. I think it makes for a competitive camp and that’s what we want, because that’s gonna get us more prepared for the regular season. I don’t have the answer to that right now. There’s jobs available and again, it’s a competition. You gotta come in and play your ass off and earn a spot.
I know from looking back at your teams in St. Louis that you weren’t afraid to have young players on your team, which made me think of Easton Cowan. What does he have to do to show he’s ready to play in the NHL?
Well, I think if you look at Cowan, he came into junior, his first year, year and a half, maybe two years, this guy was a hounder, a forechecker. He played that style of game. He obviously developed and became a high-end junior player. But I think he’s got to think about how he came into junior and what he did. We need him to get the trust of the coach by playing a simple, north game, and being that hounder and that forechecker and being a difficult guy to play against, being defensively responsible, managing the puck, things like that. He’s gotta change a little bit, because junior is different than pro. We all know that. Cowboy’s had a real good summer. He’s stronger. He’s bigger. He’s prepared. And he understands what he needs to do to try to make the team.
Mitch was an alternate captain here for a long time. Is there someone else who steps into that role for this year?
We thought about that and discussed it. I think we leave the A’s with Morgan (Rielly) and JT. But our leadership group is more than that, and that’s what matters for me. You don’t have to have an A on or anything like that to be a leader. We have our leadership group and that group’s strong, and I think all the guys understand that. I think we’ll just leave the A’s with Morgan and JT right now. Whether that changes or not, it could. But right now, it’s not.
(Top photo: Brace Hemmelgarn / Imagn Images)
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Jonas Siegel is a staff writer on the Maple Leafs for The Athletic. Jonas previously covered the Leafs for TSN and AM 640. He was also the national hockey writer for the Canadian Press. Follow Jonas on Twitter @jonassiegel
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