The Toronto Maple Leafs captain is not dealing with an injury, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe.
The Toronto Maple Leafs captain is not dealing with an injury, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to take on the Ottawa Senators in both teams’ second pre-season game on Monday.
But John Tavares will not dress and was not in the lineup for Toronto's 3-2 loss to Ottawa in Sunday's pre-season opener and didn't take the ice for the team's morning skate.
"It was just part of the plan for him," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said when asked if Toronto's captain was dealing with an injury. "He's going to do some individual work. But just part of the plan for him."
Keefe added that Tavares will make his pre-season debut on Wednesday when they take on the Buffalo Sabres in St. Thomas, Ontario as part of the annual Kraft Hockeyville series of pre-season games around the NHL.
The Maple Leafs will have their projected top line out on display as newcomer Tyler Bertuzzi will skate alongside Toronto's top forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
The Maple Leafs signed Bertuzzi to a one-year, $5.5 million deal this summer.
The Senators will see Vladimir Tarasenko make his pre-season debut.
The Russian forward signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Senators this summer after spending most of his 11-year NHL career with the St. Louis Blues. He split last season between the Blues and the New York Rangers.
Nylander's First Game at Center in Preseason
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William Nylander has opened his first Toronto Maple Leafs training camp at center and logged 23:06 of ice time in Toronto's loss to Ottawa on Sunday.
But Keefe liked what he saw from the player in the position.
"Willy's minutes probably got higher than I wanted it to be just the nature of the amount of special teams and 6-on-5 and having him on the penalty kill and power-play," Keefe said. "I thought he handled it well. He got better in faceoffs. For all of that, it was a good night for Willy for a pre-season game."
Nylander struggled in the faceoff circle to begin the game but got better in the second and third periods and finished at 50 percent. The dynamic forward played 6:25 of his 23:06 on the power-play and an additional 1:13 on the penalty kill.
Keefe was particularly impressed by the play-making ability of Max Ellis, who played on Nylander's wing. The Leafs signed the Notre Dame product to a two-year, entry-level contract in April of 2022. He had 10 goals and 10 assists with the Toronto Marlies last season.
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