Subj : Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Matthe;s, Lehtonen, Kadri
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers - Main
Date : Sun Sep 13 2020 04:40 am
In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I'll share the news that
Auston Matthews came in second to Nathan MacKinnon in the voting for the Lady
Byng Trophy. I'll report another COVID-19 quarantine that impacts a Maple Leafs
signee.Related: Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Further Thoughts About the Andersen
Trade
Finally, I'll engage a hypothetical situation that considers what long-time
Maple Leafs'; favorite Nazem Kadri might tell Frederik Andersen about being
traded. Item One: Auston Matthews Finishes Second for the Lady Byng Trophy
The Lady Byng is one of my favorite trophies. After every season it's presented
to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type
of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of
playing ability." This season the Colorado Avalanche's MacKinnon won the award
with Maple Leafs'; Matthews coming in second in the voting.Auston Matthews of
the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal on
goaltender Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime of Game
Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round on Aug. 07, 2020. (Photo by
Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Lady Byng Trophy has an interesting history. The Trophy itself is named to
honor Marie Evelyn Moreton (Lady Byng), who was the�wife�of the�Viscount Byng
of Vimy. Viscount Julian Byng commanded the Canadian forces at the�Battle of
Vimy Ridge�and was the Governor-General of Canada�from 1921-1926. His wife Lady
Byng was an avid hockey fan and she created and donated the trophy to the NHL
in 1924-25.
For the first few seasons, Lady Byng decided the trophy';s winners herself. Her
first choice was Frank Nighbor�of the original�Ottawa Senators. As the story
goes, during the 1924-25 season she invited Nighbor to�Rideau Hall and showed
him the trophy. She then asked if he thought the NHL might accept any trophy
given to award its "most gentlemanly player." When Nighbor thought it would,
Lady Byng surprised him by awarding the trophy to him.Related: Roger Neilson:
Coaching Genius & Innovator
Some hockey fans believe the award goes to skilled players who play "soft."
Tell that to Wayne Gretzky, who won the award five times, or to Pavel Datsyuk,
who won four times. Even the Maple Leafs'; Dave Keon won the award twice in the
early 1960s. In 2020, MacKinnon ran away with the award with Matthews
trailing.
Matthews led the Maple Leafs in scoring with 80 points (including 47 goals and
33 assists) in 70 regular-season games. He was assessed only four minor
penalties. Other Maple Leafs players from the 2019-20 season also got votes.
William Nylander finished in 26th and Mitch Marner 30th in voting. Nylander
received a second and a third-place vote. Marner received two fourth and two
fifth-place votes.
MacKinnon noted after winning the award, "I respect my opponents. I don';t want
to be dirty. I also want to be trusted by the coaching staff that I won';t
take penalties and things like that. I guess with my skating, I try to use my
legs to stick check and things like that and not take unnecessary minors. But I
never thought I';d win this award. Usually I get more minors than this. But
obviously I';m very honored. Some of the best players ever have won this award,
so it';s really cool."Item Two: Mikko Lehtonten's Jokerit Team Has Been
Quarantined after COVID-19 Exposure
Mikko Lehtonen's start to his 2020-21 KHL season was impressive with three
goals and an assist in two games, but it ended quickly. After a potential
COVID-19 outbreak on an opposing team, the team's season has been paused while
Lehtonen and Jokerit (Helsinki) entered their quarantine.Mikko Lehtonen (Oleg
Bkhambri (Voltmetro) / CC BY-SA -
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Yesterday,�the KHL announced�that an upcoming game between Jokerit and Ak Bars
would be moved to a later date after four positive cases showed up on the
Neftekhimik team that Jokerit beat 6-0 Wednesday. Because the team was possibly
exposed, Lehtonen and other team members will begin a 14-day quarantine and
will undergo further testing before they're allowed to return to play. Jokerit
also announced that the team's next four games would also be postponed.
For any Maple Leafs fans tracking the KHL, Lehtonen's impressive start -
although only two games - suggests his past season was no fluke and that he's
ready to play at the NHL level. Lehtonen became the second Maple Leafs player
to have his season halted because of COVID-19 exposure. Mikko Kokkonen, the
Maple Leafs' third-round draft choice in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, was
also�placed into quarantine earlier this week�when his Jukurit U20 team in
Finland's The Liiga was exposed to the virus.Item Three: What Might Nazem Kadri
Tell Frederik Andersen About Being Traded?
NHL hockey players are regularly traded; that's part of the game. The
definition of a trade is that it's a transaction between teams that involves
the exchange of a player's rights from one team to another. In other words, if
players wish to play NHL hockey, they are legally bound to play for the owner
of their rights.Related: Who is the NHL's Top Goaltending Prospect?
The definition of "trade" lacks any emotion. In fact, a player's feelings are
not part of the considerations for a trade. However, if you think about it, how
can personal feelings not be involved? For example, this past week Jake Allen
was traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Montreal Canadiens.
On social media, Allen put out a long tweet,
Thank you, St. Louis. @StLouisBlues pic.twitter.com/rSV8x74B01- Jake Allen
(@34jallen) September 2, 2020
That's typically what players do. They stand up straight, act like good
professionals, thank the organization they're leaving, and then publically look
forward to moving to their next organization.
However, every once in a while, you get a sense of what it's like for hockey
players to have to leave a team they really loved playing for. Last season,
Maple Leafs fans watched how hard former-Toronto player Nazem Kadri tried to
stay with the team. Kadri was eventually traded to the Colorado Avalanche
during the offseason, but he did everything he could to stay with the Maple
Leafs.Toronto Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri speaks to reporters after a locker clean
out at the Scotiabank Arena (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov)
General manager Kyle Dubas wanted to trade Kadri to the Calgary Flames, but
Kadri nullified it because he had a contract clause that allowed him to do so.
Only after he became convinced the Maple Leafs no longer saw him as part of
their plans did he agree to be traded.
It';s not like Andersen hasn';t experienced being traded before. In 2016, he
was with the Anaheim Ducks who traded him to the Maple Leafs�for two draft
picks. I'm sure Andersen had mixed feelings about leaving the Ducks and had
close friends there.
This time seems different. Then, Andersen was in his mid-20s and John Gibson
was the Ducks'; starting goalie. Andersen, who was a backup, moved to the Maple
Leafs to become a starter and had a chance to play regularly. After five
successful seasons, he';s gained the status as the go-to guy in goal. Being
traded means he';s being removed from that status.Frederik Andersen (THW
Archives)
This week, it's occurred to me how fickle hockey can be. Kadri joined an
Avalanche team that might still be in the Western Conference playoffs except
they ran out of healthy bodies and lost to the Dallas Stars. In retrospect,
that trade seemed to end well for Kadri. Since his 2019-20 season is now
complete, I wonder how he enjoyed Denver and playing with the Avalanche.
Currently, rumors abound that Andersen might be traded during this offseason.
He's been quiet about his emotions; however, he certainly has made good friends
during the time he's been with the Maple Leafs. Specifically, he and Matthews
seem to be best buddies.Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen
celebrates with centre Auston Matthews. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)
I wonder what Kadri might tell Andersen if they were to have a Zoom conference.
Is Kadri happy he said OK and was traded to the Avalanche? What advice might
he give Andersen?
I hope that if Andersen is traded he'll land as well as Kadri seems to
have.What's Next for the Maple Leafs?
Last week, an article by the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons shared rumors that
Maple Leafs general manager Dubas has a growing reputation of putting out
feelers for his players but asking "exorbitant" prices for them. Certainly, the
Kasperi Kapanen trade seemed to bring a good return.Related: Maple Leafs'
Auston Matthews Is Undergoing a Transformation
If that's the case, is Dubas only "shopping" Andersen without a real desire to
trade him? No one knows, but it won't be long before we'll see. As Dubas has
hinted, he's not finished building this roster yet.
The post Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Matthews, Lehtonen, Kadri & More appeared
first on The Hockey Writers.
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