All posts by Justin Cuthbert

Maple Leafs lose Andersen to upper-body injury

Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen exited and will not return to Saturday's clash with the Buffalo Sabres after suffering an upper-body injury in the first period.

He was able to complete the opening frame, but backup Curtis McElhinney led the team out of the tunnel to begin the second period.

Andersen had won six of this last eight starts entering Saturday's contest, helping the Maple Leafs grab hold of a top-three seed in the Atlantic Division.

McElhinney has a 4-4-0 record and .923 save percentage in nine appearances since joining the Maple Leafs.

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Maple Leafs lose Andersen to upper-body injury

Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen exited and will not return to Saturday's clash with the Buffalo Sabres after suffering an upper-body injury in the first period.

He was able to complete the opening frame, but backup Curtis McElhinney led the team out of the tunnel to begin the second period.

Andersen had won six of this last eight starts entering Saturday's contest, helping the Maple Leafs grab hold of a top-three seed in the Atlantic Division.

McElhinney has a 4-4-0 record and .923 save percentage in nine appearances since joining the Maple Leafs.

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Nylander sets Leafs rookie record with 10-game point streak

William Nylander has fashioned the longest point streak by a rookie in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 100-year history.

Nylander set the record with a point in a 10th straight game Thursday versus the New Jersey Devils, collecting an assist on Josh Leivo's first-period power-play goal. It was a secondary helper, but the 20-year-old Swede made the play, landing a precise cross-zone pass onto the stick of Auston Matthews, who had his rebound jammed in after it was misplayed by Keith Kinkaid.

It's also the longest streak by a rookie in this year's incredible freshman class, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

Nylander tied the record set by Gud Bodnar, and later matched by Bob Nevin and Dan Daoust, with a two-point outing versus the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

In addition to the streak, Nylander triggered a second $212,500 performance bonus in the space of 24 hours, with the assist being his 35th of the season. He earned his first bonus by scoring his 20th goal in Columbus.

Nylander now has 55 points on the season, and is quickly scaling the list of the best rookie seasons among Swedes. He's within four points of Mats Sundin, who began his Hall of Fame career with a 59-point campaign.

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Babcock learns lesson after gifting Blue Jackets extended power play

The rare teachable moment for Mike Babcock.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were forced to defend an on-ice personnel disparity for almost seven minutes Wednesday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets because their coach decided not to send a man over the boards to serve a five-minute major penalty assessed to Roman Polak.

It's unclear why Babcock hesitated on the decision (or how the rational hasn't burned him previously after more than 1,100 games behind an NHL bench) but coaches do have the option to wait on that selection, instead sending a player to the box during a stoppage.

In most cases, the whistle will come. But it's not something Babcock will take for granted again.

"It's all my fault .. that will never happen again," Babcock said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

"I can tell you I will never wait to put a guy in. You're going whether you like it or not."

As it turns out, the penalty killers picked up their coach. Columbus was without a shot more than four minutes into its power-play try, as the Maple Leafs clamped down on the opposition even well before the near-two-minute bonus was inadvertently added.

Toronto scored twice more after the kill, earning a massive 5-2 win.

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Nylander matches Leafs rookie record as point streak hits 9 games

William Nylander is into the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie record book.

The exceptional, often-overlooked Maple Leafs freshman equaled a franchise rookie mark Wednesday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets, extending his point streak to nine games with a primary assist on Auston Matthews' 33rd goal of the season.

Nylander hit the lucrative 20-goal mark on a breakaway in the second period, counting his first multi-point outing on the streak. He has three goals and seven assists over that span, upping his total to 54 points.

Nylander shares the point streak record with Gus Bodnar, Bob Nevin, and Dan Daoust, who collected at least one point over nine consecutive games in their rookie campaigns. He'll have an opportunity to break that record Thursday when the Maple Leafs host the New Jersey Devils in the second half of a back-to-back.

In this incredible rookie class, Nylander isn't the first to nab at least a share of a rookie record. Surprisingly, that distinction belongs to Zach Hyman, whose three shorthanded goals are the most by a Toronto rookie. But the two rookies who have hogged the applause this season will soon join them.

Matthews is within one goal of Wendel Clark's franchise mark, while Mitch Marner's next assist will be No. 40, which would match the standard Bodnar established in 1943-44.

Both Matthews and Marner could potentially exceed Peter Ihnacak's rookie record of 66 points.

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Babcock plays down Quenneville’s comparison of Leafs, Blackhawks

Joel Quenneville sees his own in the Toronto Maple Leafs, who, like the Chicago Blackhawks accomplished previously, seem to be in the process of fashioning a highly competitive roster after a stretch of difficult seasons.

Before their marquee matchup Saturday night, Quenneville told his coaching counterpart Mike Babcock that the Maple Leafs remind him of his team before they reeled off three championships in the space of seven years.

Babcock understands the Blackhawks represent the standard to which they aim to achieve, but was quick to acknowledge that comparisons don't promise similar riches.

"Everybody has a plan," he said, according to David Alter of the Athletic. "When you have a plan and you keep adjusting that plan, and you stick to it, you have an opportunity. But not many teams win three Cups in the period of time they have.

"Lets just get better here today."

What's more important than measuring up to a team from almost a decade ago is presenting a challenge to the current iteration of the modern-day dynasty, which happens to boast the NHL's best record since Feb. 1.

The Blackhawks have won 15 of their last 18, and in the process vaulted up to first in the Central Division.

Toronto, meanwhile, shuffled back into a wild-card spot with an enormous win over Tampa Bay earlier in the week, but must continue to take points with the Lightning and New York Islanders still just a point back.

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Maple Leafs sign Miro Aaltonen to entry-level contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs have added a body from overseas, announcing the entry-level signing of 23-year-old forward Miro Aaltonen on Friday.

Aaltonen is a former sixth-round draft selection of the Anaheim Ducks. He's spent the last six seasons playing professionally overseas, most recently leading the KHL's 24-and-under class in scoring with 19 goals and 44 points in 59 games with Chekhov Vityaz.

He's 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, and TSN's Kristen Shilton describes the forward as a good puck-mover.

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Radulov denies he’s seeking max-term extension with Canadiens

Alexander Radulov denies he's seeking an eight-year contract extension from the Montreal Canadiens.

"It's not even close, what they saying." Radulov said Friday, according to TSN's John Lu. "I don't even know how this .. I just don't want to even discuss that because it's nothing I can really control.

"I was sick yesterday, and I got a phone call from my agent, (who said), 'there's something going on, some people talking,' so I was like 'Who's talking? No one knows nothing about it,' so I even talked to Marc (Bergevin) today and it's like someone throw it in the Internet, or whatever it was, and it doesn't make sense."

Reports surfaced this week that the dynamic 30-year-old winger's reps were indeed seeking a maximum-term deal for their client in the midst of his successful return to the NHL this season.

Radulov has provided 15 goals and 32 assists in 65 games on his one-year, $5.75-million contract with Montreal.

He previously spent the better part of the last eight seasons in the KHL.

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Flyers’ Filppula confirms shutting down potential deal to Maple Leafs

Philadelphia Flyers forward Valtteri Filppula confirmed Thursday in Toronto that he snuffed out a potential trade to the Maple Leafs by exercising the no-trade clause included in his contract signed with his former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Nothing against Toronto," he said, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic. "Obviously they have a great team and coach."

Filppula was later dealt to the Flyers, a team included on his list of acceptable destinations, for defenseman Mark Streit. He was immediately flipped to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fourth-round draft pick.

There was talk Filppula was uninterested in a reunion with Mike Babcock, who instructed him while he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

Filppula dismissed that theory Thursday.

"I heard the stories, but that's not the case," he told Sami Hoffren. "I don't have anything against Toronto"

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Brooks Laich wants trade if Maple Leafs don’t have use for him

Brooks Laich wants back in the NHL, whether it's with the Toronto Maple Leafs or elsewhere.

The veteran forward, left to ride buses with the Toronto Marlies while the Maple Leafs carry a heavy complement of rookie forwards, indicated Sunday that he would like to be dealt before the March 1 trade deadline if Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock don't intend to call him up.

"My focus is still in this organization and playing for the Maple Leafs," Laich told Joshua Kloke of The Athletic. "The decision is up to them, but if they don't see me in their plans going forward towards the playoffs then I would like the opportunity to chase a Stanley Cup with another organization."

Laich was dealt to the Maple Leafs before the deadline last season in the trade that brought Connor Carrick to Toronto. He appeared in 21 games, transitioning from the President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals to a team that earned the most tickets at the draft lottery with its last-place finish.

Exceeded by top pick Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and the former Marlies that brought so much success to the minor-league outfit last season, Laich has not been with the Maple Leafs since training camp.

He's been limited to 22 games after missing two months with an undisclosed injury.

Laich is in the final season of a contract that pays him $4.5 million annually.

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