The latest experiment involving William Nylander at centre appears to have fizzled out.
For the second day in a row at the Ford Performance Centre, Nylander practised on the right wing of a line with John Tavares at centre and Max Domi on the left.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, however, refused to say that using Nylander up the middle is over for now.
“I told Willie to just keep banging away at it,” Berube said. “Keep working on it, keep taking reps in practice. It’s a work in progress.
“He needs to keep working on faceoffs, to keep working on positioning of a centreman because it’s a very good option.
“There’s a lot of good things I like about it. But right now, this is where I got the line set, today. Not tomorrow, today.”
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Berube acknowledged that using Nylander at centre is “not going to happen overnight,” adding that “I don’t think we need to talk about it anymore.”
So why send mixed messages then? Why not just keep Nylander at centre and give him all of the reps there?
“He’s had a lot of reps,” Berube said. “He takes reps every day in practice.”
If the Leafs are serious about turning Nylander into a full-time centre, then they have to give him a long runway to try to make it a successful transition. That would seem obvious, though Nylander also didn’t get a long look at centre a year ago under Sheldon Keefe.
Whatever happens, we should have a clearer idea in the Leafs’ pre-season finale on Saturday when the club plays host to the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena.
Berube is expected to use a lineup that will greatly resemble the group he will employ in the regular-season opener on Wednesday in Montreal against the Canadiens.
Three Leafs — defenceman Jake McCabe (upper body) and forwards Calle Jarnkrok (lower body) and Nick Robertson (upper body) — did not practise on Friday.
Berube said there was nothing serious involving any of the three. Regarding Robertson, who has scored the past five Leafs goals, Berube said: “Very pleased. He’s a goal scorer and he’s finishing, which is great, but it’s the work ethic and the details for defence. His (second) goal (in Detroit on Thursday) is a typical example, where he’s a low guy coming back in our zone, knocks a guy off the puck, makes a play and advances up the ice and gets a goal.
“Those are the types of things that impress me. No matter where he plays, if he plays the way he’s playing, he’s an effective plays.”
IN A TOUGH SPOT
Defenceman Timothy Liljegren sounded like someone who can see the writing on the wall.
The 25-year-old has fallen out of the top six on the blue line and knows that roster moves have to happen for the Leafs to get themselves in line with the salary cap by 5 p.m. on Monday.
So, to a degree, he thinks about his future with the Leafs. A trade involving Liljegren is in the realm of possibilities.
“Everything can happen, right?” Liljegren said. “I’m just trying to take it day by day. I know we have to make some changes, so we’ll see where it goes.”
Conor Timmins has been taking top-six reps with Simon Benoit. With McCabe absent on Friday, Philippe Myers moved up to play with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Liljegren remained with Marshall Rifai.
“Haven’t really had that much flow in my game, I guess,” Liljegren said of his play through camp. “I think it’s been OK, but not my best hockey.”
Berube wouldn’t say if Liljegren would play on Saturday, also not a good indication for the Leafs’ first-round pick in 2017, and pointed to areas of Liljegren’s game that have to improve.
“I think Lilly’s got to do things quicker,” Berube said. “He’s got to be a little bit heavier in his battles and moving pucks quicker.
“He’s battling. He wants to be a guy in the lineup every night. That’s great, but sometimes, you put too much on your plate. If I had to say anything, simplify his game a little bit more, and just do your job as a defenseman, killing plays and being heavy.”
Whether Liljegren is playing heavy hockey should not be an issue now. If he’s not doing it in a camp in which his job was not secure, it’s no mystery that he finds himself in this position.
THE COWAN QUESTION
Easton Cowan also did not participate in Friday’s practice and speculation continues to grow that Cowan will be returned to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League in the coming days.
“You want to do what’s right for the long term,” Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said during an interview on the Fan 590 on Friday. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself. He’s a better player today at camp than he was last year.
“He’s recognizing the other parts of the ice that are important, but I think he comes in and puts so much pressure on himself that sometimes that can freeze a guy.
“We think Easton is going to be a major part of this team moving forward. Is that now? Is that starting a year from now? We’ll see. We have a few days to play this out. We’re going to do ultimately what is really important for Easton. This isn’t a rush to get here. He has lots of time ahead of him.”
MORE CUTS
The Leafs announced further cuts on Friday, including forward Nikita Grebenkin, who had a solid camp and demonstrated he probably is not far off from a regular role in the National Hockey League.
Grebenkin was among 14 players sent to the Toronto Marlies. Another forward, Alex Steeves, was placed on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to the Leafs’ American Hockey League affiliate.
Also sent to the Marlies were goalie Artur Akhtyamov, defencemen Mikko Kokkonen, Nicolas Mattinen, Topi Niemela, Matteo Pietroniro and Cade Webber, and forwards Joseph Blandisi, Roni Hirvonen, Alex Nylander, Cedric Pare, Jacob Quillan, Logan Shaw and Ryan Tverberg.
Nick Abruzzese cleared waivers and is expected to join the Marlies.
LOOSE LEAFS
Berube wouldn’t commit to naming Joseph Woll as the Leafs starting goalie on Saturday night. Woll appeared to make it through practice without any issues … Bobby McMann had a direct answer when we asked how this camp has been different for him, considering that he signed a two-year contract extension last March at the age of 27 after several seasons in the minors. “Honestly, I’m maybe hungrier,” McMann said. “I feel like I’ve had enough of a taste of it now and this is where I know I can be and I want to be, so I want to continue to earn that spot and earn opportunities I can get. Trying to be a guy who is consistent.” McMann had 15 goals and nine assists in 56 games when a knee injury ended his season on April 13, causing him to miss the playoffs.
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