McMann skated as the extra forward during the team's first regular season practice.
McMann skated as the extra forward during the team's first regular season practice.
The Toronto Maple Leafs held what you can now consider their first official regular-season practice on Monday.
With Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz officially locked up to standard player contracts, both appear set to be in the lineup when the club visits the Montreal Canadiens in their season opener at Bell Centre on Wednesday.
That will come at the expense of Bobby McMann, who skated as an extra.
Berube described McMann's camp as good and bad, before, backtracking on the term 'bad' following Monday's session.
"There's more there. I know that. Bobby knows that," Berube explained. "I felt he maybe was a little hesitant at times. He's a great skater, good size, and needs to be a power forward out there. And so I'm not too worried about it.
McMann had a breakout season with the Maple Leafs in 2023-24 scoring 15 goals and adding 10 assists in 66 games. The undrafted forward was rewarded with a two-year contract extension worth $1.35 million per season.
McMann had been dealing with hip issues in previous seasons but he appears to be past all of that. With a new head coach, everyone is auditioning for spots and it's likely we'll see McMann draw into the lineup sooner rather than later.
But for now, it looks like Pacioretty will get the first crack on Wednesday against a franchise he used to wear he used to be captain.
"it means a lot because I'm going to you know see friends there and whatnot but it's just another game of trying to get ready for a long season, Pacioretty explained. "I learned quickly in a market like this that you can never get too high or never get too low and that being the first game is going to be a good example of that is you know go out there and play try and get set the tone for a season but don't let you know what you're going to do. You know my emotions get too high or too low."
Pacioretty, who joined Maple Leafs camp on a PTO following a season with the Washington Capitals, signed a one-year deal worth $873,770, Per Puckpedia, the deal includes $626,230 in performance bonuses that could get his average annual value to as high as $1.5 million.
Per Dailyfaceoff's Frank Seravalli, half the bonus will be paid out after Pacioretty reaches 10 games. The other half will be dolled out after 35 games played.
Given Pacioretty is looking to prove himself following his second Achilles injury, the 35+ structure of games played makes sense.
Any performance bonus paid out will likely be issued as a cap charge on the Leafs' books for the 2025-26 season.
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