TORONTO — In the wake of a listless loss that left a bad taste in the mouths of the Toronto Maple Leafs faithful, coach Sheldon Keefe is injecting some youth into his lineup as his club looks to right the ship on Thursday night.
Joining the fray up front is Nick Robertson, who replaced Denis Malgin alongside John Tavares and William Nylander on the second line Wednesday as the club went through their paces at the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke, Ont.
Stepping in on the blue line to replace the injured Jake Muzzin is Victor Mete — though, rather than slotting him into Muzzin’s spot alongside Justin Holl, Keefe used this chance to shuffle the deck to move young Rasmus Sandin up to that second duo, pairing Mete instead with veteran Mark Giordano.
Both tweaks figure to add a bit of renewed tenacity to the lineup as Toronto looks for a bounce-back effort against Dallas on Thursday, perhaps most notably from Robertson, who is champing at the bit to earn a regular spot with the club.
“I expect him to just go back and play the way that he was,” Keefe said Wednesday of the young sniper. “That was my message to him. You know, he's been through some things here in the last 10 days or so, but he was playing really well. He went down and played some games with the Marlies, did a good job there. So he should be confident — just come in and take advantage of your opportunity.”
As for the changes on the blue line, Keefe pointed to Mete’s wheels as another potential game-changer.
“I like the speed that he would bring to our back end, both offensively and defensively. So I'm looking to see him be involved in increasing the pace of play from the back end for us.”
Beyond Mete, the rest of the blue-line realignment allows for another greater dose of youth, with Keefe and his staff giving Sandin a chance to have more of an impact in a greater role.
“It's a chance to move Rasmus back to his natural side, Mete and Giordano spent time through camp together — it's just a look that we wanted to see,” the coach said of his new pairings. “Gio's minutes are naturally going to increase in all regards, despite the fact that we still have him down on that third pair. He's going to be moved up and play against tougher competition, taking more load on the penalty kill.
“At the same time, it gives us more opportunity to get more out of Rasmus, and that's going to be important for us.”
From Keefe, to his young stars, to his seasoned veterans, the message Wednesday was one of trying to find the right balance moving forward, of taking on the weight of Monday’s disappointment — a 4-2 loss to a rebuilding Arizona Coyotes squad that Toronto surely should’ve handled — while understanding that the goals, and the wins, will come in time.
“Obviously, there’s some stuff that we'd like to clean up,” Auston Matthews said of where his club’s game is at following the loss. “I mean, we're four games in — obviously, nothing's going to be perfect. I think you're still working through some stuff that I think most teams have to work through, in different areas of our game. So, we're just trying to map that all out and then continue to progress and move in the right direction.”
The addition of the quick-footed Mete onto the blue line, and some more minutes for Sandin, is one path to unlocking more of the high-octane offence these Maple Leafs have become known for — an identity that hasn’t quite returned yet this season. Mitch Marner is well-aware of what Mete can bring to the table in that regard, having gotten a close look at the 24-year-old during their time together in the OHL.
“He’s got a great stick on him, he’s got great wheels so he can get up and down the ice very well. He’s not afraid to block shots as well,” Marner said of his former London Knights teammate. “I think he works with our system pretty well, with how we like to get our D active, like to get them jumping in and joining the rush to make odd numbers. We’re excited to get him going.”
For Robertson, who will bring his blazing shot to the top six in hopes of lighting a fire under the team’s offensive juggernauts, the goal is simple: finish Thursday night as the difference.
“I don't want to participate,” Robertson said ahead of his season debut. “I want to be a factor in our team winning the game, and be an impactful player.”
Maple Leafs’ lines at Wednesday’s practice:
Bunting — Matthews — Marner
Robertson — Tavares — Nylander
Engvall — Kerfoot — Jarnkrok
Aston-Reese — Kampf — Aube-Kubel
Extra: Malgin, Simmonds
Rielly — Brodie
Sandin — Holl
Giordano — Mete
Extra: Liljegren, Benn, Kral
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