Sheldon Keefe comments on the idea of a Tavares/Marner reunion this season
With training camp underway, NHL players are starting to shake the summer rust off while young prospects are trying to prove why they deserve a shot. It's an exciting time of year, for management, players and especially fans. Typically in training camp, you will see players get opportunities to play with players that they normally wouldn't have in a regular season game. A perfect example is newcomer Adam Gaudette, who got to play on a line with Captain John Tavares and Mitch Marner at training camp on Thursday.
The obvious note about this line is that it features Tavares and Marner playing together, a look that we have scarcely seen since Sheldon Keefe took over as head coach back in 2019. The bench boss was asked if media and fans should read into the duo playing together, to which Keefe replied with a blunt "No.", seemingly implying that Marner will be with his regular centre-man, Auston Matthews this season.
Seeing how it is still the early days of training camp, one could understand the coach's response. Lineups are not set in stone this early into training camp, and there will likely be many other looks and combinations before the Leafs play their first regular season game on October 12th. Despite Keefe shutting the idea of the reunion down, the idea of Marner and J.T. playing together is certainly fascinating, so we'll see what happens this season.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 23 | 206 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe comments on the idea of a Tavares/Marner reunion this season Would You Want to See a Tavares-Marner Reunion This Season? | ||
| Hell Yeah | 42 | 20.4 % |
| No, keep Matthews-Marner together | 109 | 52.9 % |
| Depends on the match-up | 30 | 14.6 % |
| Don't care, just win | 25 | 12.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
