Subj : Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Thornt;n, Brodie, Rielly
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers - Main
Date : Mon Nov 09 2020 04:40 am
In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I'll take an extended
look at how new Maple Leafs Joe Thornton is playing in Switzerland and share
some insights about his life there. Second, I'll look at the team's depth on
defense.Item One: Joe Thornton Is Scoring More than a Point-a-Game in
Switzerland
No surprise perhaps but news from Switzerland is that the ageless Joe Thornton
is playing well. Thornton is off to a solid start playing with�Davos HC in
Switzerland. Thornton has a goal and five points in three games he's played
there this season.Joe Thornton, now with the Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey
Writers)
Because the 41-year-old center lives in Switzerland during the summers and the
NHL season is not expected to begin until January at the earliest, Thornton has
decided to stay home and play in Europe. Mostly, as Thornton reports, he loves
playing hockey and this gives him a chance to do that.
A lot of younger players and prospects are furthering their development by
playing in Europe, but Thornton is one of the few veterans who';ve decided to
play overseas. But then Thornton is different in a number of significant ways
from most NHL players. That he lives in Davos is only one of these
ways.Related: Maple Leafs Become Chapter in Vesey's Puzzling Career
As an aside, Davos is a small city of about 10,000 people in Switzerland
surrounded by mountains. Every year, Davos hosts the World Economic Forum,
which is a meeting of global political and business elites. It also has one of
Switzerland';s biggest ski resorts. For hockey fans, at the end of every year
(obviously when possible) it is the place where the Spengler Cup Hockey
Tournament is played. That tournament is hosted by the local HC Davos.
That's the club that Thornton plays on. According to an NBC Sports article
written in mid-October this year, Thornton has spent the last 15 summers living
in a home he bought in the town of Davos. Thornton has played for the team
during the last two lockouts, met his wife here, and has become a Swiss
citizen.
Right now, the beardless Thornton plays for Davos and obviously loves it. As he
says, "It's like my home away from home. I'm comfortable here."
"Jumbo Joe" Thornton est à Davos jusqu'à la reprise de la NHL !
À 41 ans, le 🇨🇦🇨🇭 a encore une grosse envie de glace ⬇️
pic.twitter.com/WAjxkeu4Ut- MySports_CH_fr (@MySports_CH_fr) October 15, 2020
Thornton will play in Switzerland until the NHL returns to play. Because of the
financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he "has agreed that any
modest compensation (for Davos) can only be made next season." In other words,
it seems that he loves hockey enough to play for free in Switzerland.
As he noted about playing with Davos, "I never thought it'd be possible again,
but with the circumstances, I'm happy to be back and happy to be playing in
Davos again."Related: QMJHL Feels Impact of COVID-19 Despite No Positive Tests
"I just love playing hockey, I really do. I have a passion for the sport, I
like helping other guys. I was born to play hockey and I'll play as long as I
can as long as I'm healthy."
Obviously, playing regularly gives Thornton a head start when the Maple Leafs
training camp starts. Most fans believe he'll be the team's third-line center,
but obviously that remains to be decided.Item Two: Maple Leafs Have New Depth
on Defense
I'm on record as saying that, unlike a number of other hockey commentators, I
became a Tyson Barrie fan last season when he led an undermanned an injured
Maple Leafs defense made up mostly of young defensemen through a difficult
time. When other defensemen Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, Cody Ceci, and Travis
Dermott were all out at the same time, Barrie actually was the senior
defenseman and helped the team keep its head above the water with a winning
record.Jake Muzzin, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
I know, in retrospect, admitting that you';re a Barrie fan isn't the most
popular position to be in with Maple Leafs nation. Most fans and hockey pundits
are happy he has moved on to the Edmonton Oilers. In fact, the Maple Leafs
defense has been the rightful focus of criticism for a few years. The
acquisitions of Barrie and Ceci last season did nothing to rectify the
situation and the injuries I noted above during the season and qualifying round
exposed the Maple Leafs depth problems.Related: Buffalo Sabres Jersey History
With the offseason moves completed, general manager Kyle Dubas did not end up
making much of a splash by signing free agent Alex Pietrangelo, although that
seemed as much Pietrangelo's choice as the Maple Leafs. Still, given his
signing of T.J. Brodie, a player he had been after for a couple of seasons, at
a little less than half Pietrangelo's salary means Dubas might have only been
kicking tires in his conversations with Pietrangelo.
Here's where the Maple Leafs defense stands as I write. The team brought in
former Calgary Flames Brodie on a four-year, $20 million contract. Stanley Cup
winner Zach Bogosian was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract; and,
current KHL star Mikko Lehtonen was signed on a one-year, entry-level contract.
By the way, Lehtonen is currently leading all KHL defensemen in scoring.
Brodie will likely play on the team's top-pairing and partner with Rielly.
Muzzin signed a four-year extension earlier this year, and he's partnering with
Justin Holl as the shutdown defensive duo. And, it remains unclear where
Bogosian, Lehtonen, and Dermott (who was recently re-signed), 20-year-old
up-and-comer Rasmus Sandin, and just-breaking-in 21-year-old Timothy Liljegren
might play.Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Rasmus Sandin (THE CANADIAN
PRESS/Graham Hughes)
In yesterday's post, I noted the improvement of the goalies since the 2019-20
season. Now, in general, looking at the defense it seems as if Dubas has
created a situation that offers head coach Sheldon Keefe a number of options
and considerably more depth for the 2020-21 season.What's Next for the Maple
Leafs?
Obviously, it's way too early to look past the 2021-22 season because we don't
even know yet what the deal is with the current season coming up. So much is up
in the air; still, at some point, hockey fans hope that life gets back to
normal and NHL regular-season hockey will begin again in a more settled
way.Related: Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews Is Undergoing a Transformation
One has to wonder, however, what permanent changes might be instituted given
the NHL's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, might any new NHL
season begin closer to Christmas? I'm looking forward - even as early as late
next week - to some news from the NHL league office about when a season might
start.
That seems to be the next bit of news hockey fans should be watching for.
The post Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Thornton, Brodie, Rielly & More appeared
first on The Hockey Writers.
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