Craig Berube is itching to see where players fit in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup with the NHL camp set to begin on Wednesday.
It was a quiet but eventful summer for Toronto. Mitch Marner departed the organization for the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving a massive hole on the top end of the lineup. However, they added plenty of new bodies, including Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Michael Pezzetta, among others.
There’s a lot of change in the works. Berube, though, likes the group's setup, entering his second season coaching in Toronto.
“Going back to last year, I really like our team, like our players. Just their attitude and their work ethic, it's always great to work with guys that work extremely hard and practice and are prepared,” he said on Wednesday.
“But I guess we lost a player — a real good player here — but we added three new players to our lineup and I'm excited about that. I know (Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving) talked about DNA last year, and I thought that Tre did a hell of a job of changing that over the summer, adding these players.
“I'm excited to see where they fit in and how they look and try to find some chemistry with players and things like that. It's a change, we all know that. Losing Mitch and bringing in three new players, it's a little bit of a change here for sure.”
'Our Leadership Group Is More Than That': Maple Leafs Likely Not Adding Alternate Captains After Mitch Marner's Departure
The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be making any official player leadership changes after the departure of <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/report-mitch-marner-first-game-against-maple-leafs-at-scotiabank-arena-to-be-nationally-broadcasted-in-canada">Mitch Marner</a>.
One of the most exciting aspects of entering this season without Marner: “I don't have to hear ‘Core Four’ anymore,” Berube bantered. “Hopefully, I don't have to hear it from you guys (the media) the whole season.”
It’s nice to believe the newcomers will help fill the crater left from Marner’s departure. But until we see that on the ice, it’s just hope, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Every new season opens up opportunities for change, and just that alone can be exciting.
Maccelli is looking to have a bounce-back year after scoring just 18 points in 55 games last season. The same goes for Joshua, who, after his season began late following testicular cancer surgery in September of last year, tallied 14 points in 57 games.
'I Like To Bring It All': What To Expect From Dakota Joshua In First Season With Maple Leafs
<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/looking-forward-to-playing-a-long-time-here-like-phil-kessel-why-dakota-joshua-will-wear-no-81-with-maple-leafs-this-season">Dakota Joshua</a> might not know many players on the Toronto Maple Leafs yet, but he has familiarity with head coach Craig Berube.
“I mean, like for us now, we've turned the page, right? We're moving forward. We wish Mitch all the best, but our focus is on our team, not what was. It's what is now,” Treliving said.
“And I said at the time, you're not just replacing him, right? We can all break it down however you want. To me, it's not replacing 100 points. Somebody's going into that spot, right, and they're going to have production and all the rest of it. So to me, it was rounding out the roster, and I feel good about it.
“But the reality is, we'll see, right? We're going to watch now and see where everybody fits. We've got 100 napkins with a lot of stuff written down on it. That will change after tomorrow when you start to build chemistry and who fits with who.
“We've got lots of options to play in the middle. I like the depth throughout our lineup. I like the bottom of our lineup. I think we've increased the depth there. Obviously, we've lost a player that touched a lot of parts of the game. So the guys that we brought in can kill penalties. They can handle some different jobs. But I'll say it again. We'll see how everything fits as we go forward here. Like I said, it's going to be a process of building the team.”
'He's Been Buzzing': Nicolas Roy Impressed With Morgan Rielly During Captain Skates And Other Takeaways Ahead Of First Maple Leafs Camp
MILTON, Ont. —<a target="_blank" href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/AP0FeYxTStEji0FG4TR9">Nicolas Roy</a> has been in Toronto for three weeks working with some of his new <a target="_blank" href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/morgan-rielly-pictured-with-son-mccormick-while-preparing-for-maple-leafs-training-camp">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> teammates and has been impressed with everyone he has skated with. But one player in particular caught his eye.
The preparation started in the hushed summer months, though the real work begins on Thursday morning, once the on-ice sessions of training camp begin.
Nothing appears to be set in stone quite yet, aside from maybe Auston Matthews playing with Matthew Knies and John Tavares skating alongside William Nylander. The defense likely will remain the same as last season, too, but who knows? It’s always possible that a newcomer grabs a spot on the bottom pair.
Another fascinating wrinkle will be the production of Matthews with Marner not on his wing anymore. He's been pretty productive without Marner when he's been out of the lineup, however, it's a different story when it's for an entire season.
'The Acquisitions We’ve Made Have Been Looking Good': Who'll Play With Matthew Knies And Auston Matthews On Maple Leafs' Top Line?
There are undoubtedly huge shoes to fill with <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/william-nylander-says-mitch-marner-never-considered-leaving-maple-leafs-during-2024-25-campaign">Mitch Marner’s departure</a>, but Matthew Knies believes the Toronto Maple Leafs will be set up strong with their offseason additions.
Matthews has been stapled to Marner for pretty much his entire career. And the Maple Leafs' captain admitted it was difficult to see him go to Vegas this summer.
"I mean, those are always tough conversations to have. Obviously, at the end of the day, you're teammates. You're also friends, and he'll be a friend of all of ours for life," Matthew said.
"So those are always tough conversations to have. But at the end of the day, he made his decision and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward and we're moving on. Like I said, bringing in some new faces, some new guys that we're super excited about. I can't really dwell on the past."
"I mean, like what Auston said, it's challenging," Morgan Rielly said.
"I mean, you get to know someone, become friends with them. But people make choices. And as a player and as teammates up here, you have to just carry on. We have a new challenge now this year, and in this training camp. I mean, guys leave all the time. Mitch was a polarizing guy because of how talented he was. But, for us, it's onward, and I think we're looking forward to hitting the ice tomorrow, and that's where our focus is."
‘He Took An Unbelievable Deal’: Maple Leafs’ William Nylander Praises John Tavares’ Loyalty
John Tavares could have commanded a higher salary had he tested the market. Instead, he signed a <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/2924500">four-year extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs</a> for an average annual value of $4.38 million per season. It was a significant discount from the player’s previous <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://puckpedia.com/player/john-tavares">AAV of $11 million</a>, and while it was clear that the 38-goal scorer from the 2024-25 season wasn’t going to match his former salary, the number he signed for was a significant bargain.
It's a new era for Toronto without Marner. As Berube said, no more Core Four, and the club hopes that the new additions will help in every area possible, from five-on-five to the special teams.
“We added Roy and Joshua. They're both good penalty killers. They've killed in the National Hockey League since they've been in the league, more Roy than Joshua. But they're both very capable. And having that right-hand centerman is a nice element to have,” Berube said.
“We didn't have one last year with draws and things like that. But I think we added two real good killers. We brought in (Scott) Laughton last year. He's got some time under his belt here in how we do things. So I thought he did a good job in the playoffs.
“So, yeah, we lost a real good killer. He was a good killer, Mitch. We all know that. But we added some guys that are going to help. And (Brandon) Carlo, obviously. We brought in Brandon Carlo last year, which really helped our PK from the time he got here on. He's a great killer on the back-end side.”
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