Insider Reveals Rationale Behind Maple Leafs' More Immediate Roster Plans
Photo credit: Maple Leafs
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has revealed why the Maple Leafs chose to keep 28 roster players and go the LTIR route instead of completing a trade or demoting additional players.
Yesterday, we saw the Maple Leafs place Jani Hakanpaa, Calle Jarnkrok and Dakota Mermis on LTIR, while placing Fraser Minten and Connor Dewar on season-opening injured reserve. After signing Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz following their successful PTOs, the Leafs got within $1 of their LTIR limit and have a healthy 13 forwards and 8 defensemen. Monday afternoon, shortly after the signings of Pacioretty and Lorentz were announced, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was on The FAN 590, discussing why the Leafs chose to carry an expanded roster with LTIR instead of accruing cap space.
"I really believe when they brought in Pacioretty and Lorentz, that this was all about when we sign them, [they were] going to do what they did today... I think that was always the plan. They wanted a competitive camp. They wanted some people to feel insecure and I think they are not afraid of making difficult decisions if they have to make them. We'll see if they make some moves, we'll see if anybody gets traded, but I don't think they really mind the fact that they have extra players here who are guys that can go into the lineup. I believe they want to create a bit of a sense of urgency around some of their roster and they did it in the pre-season and looks like they still could do it for a while until they are forced to make a decision."
As Friedman noted, they wanted to create a sense of urgency in their roster and the Leafs certainly accomplished that with a pair of regulars last season on the outside looking in with Timothy Liljegren and Bobby McMann currently set up as the healthy scratches.
The Leafs are looking for the internal competition to continue for the first month of the season before they make any final decisions. Some may see the constant competition to be a hinderance for players to settle into roles or play their games effectively, but the reality is that having to fight for a spot in the lineup every game is supposed to entice players to bring their best effort game in and game out.
The Leafs don't have to rush into any decision about trading a player or two to become cap compliant, but how certain players perform over the next 30 days will likely play a very big role in how the Leafs shuffle their roster when players return from LTIR.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 8 | 1363 ANSWERS Insider Reveals Rationale Behind Maple Leafs' More Immediate Roster Plans Who will the Leafs trade first? | ||
| Jarnkrok | 247 | 18.1 % |
| Kampf | 176 | 12.9 % |
| Liljegren | 861 | 63.2 % |
| Other | 79 | 5.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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