Galchenyuk continues to make an all-around impact for the Maple Leafs

Article content

Past failures have pushed Alex Galchenyuk to take hold of his opportunity with the Maple Leafs and keep it in his grip.

To an extent.

“Yes and no, to be honest,” Galchenyuk said on Friday. “It’s not like it’s the foundation, that I’ve been with a few teams and that’s why I’m super-motivated. I trained well all summer and prepared for a big year. Sometimes things don’t work out, but you stick with it.”

The game in Winnipeg against the Jets on Friday was Galchenyuk’s seventh with the Leafs. The third pick overall in the 2012 National Hockey League draft wandered through a handful of organizations after Montreal traded him to Arizona in June 2018 for Max Domi, landing with the Leafs in a trade with Carolina in mid-February that didn’t register much beyond the league offices.
Galchenyuk, however, has worked well on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander after putting in the work with the Toronto Marlies, providing coach Sheldon Keefe with another solid option.

Article content

A commitment to being effective without the puck has been noticeable.

“It’s something I’ve been paying a lot of attention to and not just being one-minded on offence,” Galchenyuk, who had three assists through his first six games with Toronto and rang one off the far goal-post on Connor Hellebuyck late in the third period of last night’s shootout win. “Playing both sides of the rink and winning battles, helping on the defensive side creates offence too.”

Said Keefe: “Galchenyuk has been consistent in his work habits, his details in his game, competitive. When the puck comes to him, he makes a play with it. He has really helped.”

We don’t think the play of Galchenyuk will impact the desire of general manager Kyle Dubas to add to the forward group before the NHL trade deadline on April 12. But if a swap doesn’t happen, Keefe won’t wake up on the morning of April 13 in a state of worry.

“We’ve been rolling as a team and building a lot of positive feelings about the group and the camaraderie of the team has been strong all season,” Keefe said.

“Our job is to coach the group that we have and whether it’s injuries, trades, waivers, whatever it is that impacts the lineup, our job is to have the team ready to play and that’s where my focus lies.”

Keefe was asked whether he expects the trade deadline to be any different this year, considering the impact of the coronavirus.

“I have no idea,” Keefe said. “I have no control over what might happen on our front. Coaches coach, managers manage.”

Article content

True. Keefe and Dubas, though, are tight. We would bet Keefe will have a little more say than he’s letting on regarding possible acquisitions, and what he thinks the team might need.

DUBAS’ EXPECTATIONS

Dubas told TSN during its pre-game show on Friday night that he expects the Leafs’ top two prospects — defenceman Rasmus Sandin and forward Nick Robertson — to be factors in the coming weeks.

“(Sandin) is trending toward returning next week (from a fractured foot) and we would expect him at some point in the second half of our season to contribute to the Leafs and then be ready to go for the playoffs with us,” Dubas said.

Sandin has not played since he suffered the injury with the Marlies on Feb. 15.
Robertson returned to the Marlies lineup this week after recovering from an abdominal injury that had kept him out since March 3.

“When we return from the trip, we’ll revisit where he’s at, but he’s someone that we also expect to challenge for our roster,” Dubas said. “His shot is his best attribute, but he continues to improve his playmaking ability.

“Both guys we expect to be big parts of our club for a long time.”

Dubas also touched on forward Nick Abruzzese, who has not played this season at Harvard as the pandemic caused the Ivy League to cancel its season.

“He has tremendous intelligence and skill level, but his passion for hockey and his drive to get better is outstanding,” Dubas said of the Leafs’ fourth-round pick in 2019. “We’re really excited about (him) because of his versatility.

Article content

“We feel he will be a tremendous fit with our core group of forwards.”

GAME ON

How much have Dubas’ off-season bargains worked out? Jason Spezza’s assist in the 2-1 shootout win over the Jets was his 20th point, easily the most among players with an NHL-minimum $700,000 US cap hit. In second in that group — Leafs teammate Joe Thornton with 12 points … A Morgan Rielly pinch helped lead directly to the tying goal by Winnipeg’s Andrew Copp … The Travis Dermott goal that gave Toronto a 1-0 lead was just the ninth by a Leafs defenceman this season. The only NHL team with fewer goals from its defence corps is Winnipeg (seven) … The clubs were rather even through regulation: Shots on goal were 33-31 Leafs, attempts were 57-56 Jets … No call on Copp in overtime for a hit on Auston Matthews, though there should have been. Keefe said he missed it, “but there was a lot of frustration on the bench.” Someone, perhaps Matthews, clearly yelled: “You’re f—-ing horrible!” …Matthews had no points, but led the Leafs with eight shots on goal and was 10-4 in the faceoff circle … The Marlies signed Brennan Kapcheck to a two-year AHL contract, and the defenceman will join the club on a professional tryout for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. The 24-year-old native of Mt. Prospect, Ill., was captain of American International College this past season and had 18 assists in 19 games.