The 2024-25 Maple Leafs are slowly aligning on the ice and, just as vitally, under the salary cap.
While the National Hockey League’s 5 p.m. EST deadline on Monday to reveal the final 23-man roster and the necessary shuffling of some players to injured reserve, the morning practice indicated which way general manager Brad Treliving and new coach Craig are leaning.
There was no sign of winger Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), while goaltender Matt Murray and defenceman Marshall Rifai would learn that they had cleared NHL waivers. Defenceman Jani Hakanpaa still is practising after being green-lighted late in camp from his knee rehab, but he and Timothy Liljegren are currently seventh and eighth on the depth chart, pending where Rifai ends up.
Winger Bobby McMann, who wasn’t a full participant in camp, appeared as a spare forward with Connor Dewar, who is coming back from shoulder surgery.
The arrival of Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz as well as Nick Robertson’s five-goal camp were part of the reason McMann might sit the opener Wednesday in Montreal.
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It’s a surprise given McMann was fired up after missing the playoffs last year with injury and was considered the combination of bruising winger and scorer that Berube appreciates.
“There’s more there, Bobby knows it, I know it,” Berube said. “He was hesitant at times (through camp). He needs to be a power forward out there. But I’m not too worried about it.”
Some drama on the final decision was removed before the Leafs hit the ice, when Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz signed cost effective one-year contracts as their PTOs ended.
The 35-year-old Pacioretty, determined to prove he still has the legs and scoring touch after a painstaking period getting through issues related to a torn Achilles tendon, had five pre-season points to tie Robertson and John Tavares for the team lead. He signed for $873,770 US, including a reported $626,230 in games played bonuses.
It was a relief after Pacioretty put in a long summer of training and can now look forward to his first game in the city where he once captained the Canadiens.
“This means a lot,” Pacioretty said. “You come in, you don’t really know what to expect about the group and fitting in and the butterflies whether it will work. I’m just really excited.
“At this stage of my career, the most important thing is winning and I feel this whole group has a chance. There’s a lot of top players and you don’t want to be just along for the ride, you want to contribute in some areas of my past and in some new roles.”
Lorentz, one of three Leafs signed from the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, has a huge Leafs fans base at home in Waterloo.
“It began before camp, going through the (practice) facility,” Lorentz said of early interest to be a Leaf. “To officially sign and go forward with a group like this is super special. I’m ready to bring it on Wednesday.
“There was an opportunity every kid would dream of, especially from being around this town, just an hour away.”
While on the road to recovery, the call to put Hakanpaa, Dewar and Jarnkrok on some kind of injured reserve allows the Leafs some cap room to get Pacioretty and Lorentz aboard.
Meanwhile, there’s question where 2023 first-round pick Easton Cowan winds up, as he has not yet been returned to the OHL London Knights.
Journeyman defenceman Dakota Mermis likely goes on long term IR with a broken jaw, further getting Toronto under the $88-million limit.
The Leafs are in a quandary with Liljegren. They signed him for $3 million the next two years, but he didn’t have a great start under Berube and that’s a tough contract to move if thinking to break the logjam on the blueline. Until the scrappy rookie Rifai knows his fate, Philippe Myers is in the picture with 158 games NHL experience with three teams, most recently Tampa Bay.
“This guy competed hard in camp, in practice and in the games,” Berube praised. “A big guy (6-foot-6, 213 pounds) who takes the body and has a good stick. Blocking shots, penalty killing, stuff like that, he impressed us.”
Morgan Rielly and Chris Tanev are the first defence pairing, Jake McCabe came back to practice Monday from an upper body issue to continue his camp partnership with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit remains with Conor Timmins.
Pacioretty and Robertson will be centred by Pontus Holmberg. The William Nylander experiment as centre is now to be on an as-needed basis as he stays on right wing with John Tavares and Max Domi. Lorentz has hit it off with David Kampf and Ryan Reaves.
The Leafs also announced Monday they have signed big defenceman Cade Webber to a two-year extension that kicks in next year. It’s a two-way deal in 2025-26 and a one-way the following season.
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