Goaltending
1 Raycroft
30 Aubin
Forward Lines
LINE 1: 23 Ponikarovsky; 13 Sundin; 42 Wellwood;
LINE 2: 18 Kilger; 27 Peca; 10 Steen;
LINE 3: 33 Battaglia; 14 Stajan; 16 Tucker;
LINE 4: 9 Suglobov; 53 Pohl; 92 O'Neill;
Defensive Pairings
PAIR 1: 15 Kaberle; 24 McCabe;
PAIR 2: 25 Gill; 7 White;
PAIR 3: 3 Belak; 56 Wozniewski
Healthy Scratches
43 Harrison
32 Tellqvist
Injured Reserve
80 Antropov (lower body, day-to-day)
36 Bell (ankle bruise, 2-3 wks)
45 Colaiacovo (headaches, day-to-day)
46 Ondrus (lower body, day-to-day)
44 Kronwall (sprained ankle, day-to-day)
Suspended
73 Kubina (1 game)
Andrew Raycroft will start his first official game as a Toronto Maple Leaf after being acquired in the off-season and signed to a three-year deal. He is looking to rebound from a dismal, injury-plagued 05-06 season in Boston, where he was bumped off the number 1 position by Hannu Toivonen.
Jean-Sebastien Aubin is coming off a brilliant 9-0-2 finish to last season as a call-up when Belfour went down, backstopping the Leafs' final 11 games without a regulation time loss. He is jockeying for the backup spot with Tellqvist. Expect one or the other to be traded within the next 2 weeks as they are both signed to one-way contracts. His strong performances during the pre-season gives him the slight edge.
Mats Sundin came off the Olympics like a man possessed, having just led his national team to a gold medal. He practically carried the team upon his back, scoring 20 goals in that time, willing the Leafs into the final playoff spot, but ultimately falling short by two points. The off-season did not yield any high-end wingers for him to play with this season, so he has decided to play more selfishly (finally!) and he's been given the Leafs' most skilled offensive player, Kyle Wellwood.
Wellwood had a solid rookie season (overshadowed by Crosby and Ovechkin) and he will be asked to improve on that this season playing on the top line. Fortunately, he has a history of catching his stride every sophomore season with a team by nearly doubling his goal and point production. In his first year with the Belleville Bulls he was 14-37-51 (Goals, Assists, Points). His next year with them saw his numbers skyrocket to 35-83-118 and similarly when he was with Windsor and St. John's.
Alexei Ponikarovsky began showing flashes of his true potential last season, finally using his size and heavy shot to create chances. His on-ice maturity evidently developed as a result of playing wing to Joe Niewendyk in the pre-lockout campaign. Poni will be doing most of the spade work on this line, digging out pucks for the playmakers, Sundin and Wellwood. Look for his one-timer from the circle when Sundin takes up roost behind the net.
Mike Peca, the Leafs' biggest acquisition this summer, adds a gritty, blue-collar approach to what has been a lackadaisical disregard for backchecking characteristic of previous Leaf teams. He will be tasked with shutting down the opposition's top scoring line. One of the best two-way players in the game, he's like an annoying, grizzled shadow that will hit you in the open ice.
Alex Steen will line up on Peca's wing to add some speed and a counter-attack scoring threat to this defensive line. Already gifted with natural two-way play, working with Peca will only make him better. Look for Steen to improve on his consistency and stamina in his sophomore season. He won't be a big points producer, but he brings a lot of the defensive intangibles that a team like the Leafs will need. They almost acquired Chris Pronger from Edmonton when they asked for a Kaberle and Steen package, but John Ferguson drew the line at Steen, showing just how important he is for the future.
Chad Kilger was a waiver wire pick up a few seasons ago with journeyman numbers. Last season he showed a bit of his OHL scoring touch, netting a career-high 17 goals. He is a gritty player, with above-average speed and size and very willing to use it. Much like Ponikarovsky, Kilger will be digging pucks off the boards for his linemates to put to the net. Expect him to get a few breakaways because of his good backchecking and speed. Also expect him to barge in and shoot it at the opposing goalie's pads to neutralize the rush. Oh well.
The third and fourth lines will generally be in flux as people step in and out of Paul Maurice's doghouse. Bates Battaglia and John Pohl both had strong showings in training camp and pre-season games. They both played under Maurice with the Marlies (Battaglia also played under him in Carolina) so they know what it takes to stay in the big league.
Matt Stajan will need to play more consistently and to his full potential in order to stay as third-line centre. He will probably see a lot of penalty-kill time (tied for the lead in short-handed points last season) alongside either Kilger, Steen, Peca or Sundin. He will also need to improve in his faceoff game.
Darcy Tucker will be called on to try to break that 30-goal plateau he fell shy of last season. He will need to play with a more composed ferocity and stay out of penalty trouble. He will likely see powerplay time in place of Ponikarovsky on the first powerplay unit. Look for him to set up on the left side at the goal line with a one-timer as Alexander Mogilny used to.
Jeff O'Neill had an excellent 40-goal season once while playing for Maurice with the Hurricanes. He has since lost his touch due to injuries and dealing with the loss of his brother Don last summer. Once he improves his fitness and regains his timing, the goals will fall into place. Big shots from the faceoff circle are his specialty. He will need to play a more defensively sound game to make it back to the top line though.
Alexander Suglobov was acquired at the trade deadline last year when Ken Klee was shipped to the New Jersey Devils. He is a Russian, so the name of his game is offensive razzle-dazzle (like Ilya Kovalchuk, but not a jerk). Most of the time he'll pull off four moves when one would be enough. His defensive game has improved since last season with the Marlies. As he acclimatizes to the NHL pace of the game, we might see him elevated to a scoring line.
Once he returns from his mild injury, look for Ben Ondrus to supplant any player who is consistently a defensive liability. Ondrus plays like a small wrecking ball, hitting anything that moves. He's like a younger Tie Domi, but without the big mouth and big divorce settlement.
The Leafs Defense Corps is an interesting mix this year. On one end of the spectrum we have hulking behemoths Hall Gill, Jay Harrison, Andy Wozniewski, Wade Belak, Pavel Kubina and Stefan Kronwall. Kubina, Kronwall and Wozniewski are pretty good skaters so they shouldn't have too much trouble in the new high-octane NHL. Hall Gill had a lot of problems last season in Boston, often getting into penalty trouble due to his slow skating. He needs to stay in position, where he is very effective at clearing out the front of the net (or mashing someone into the boards). Jay Harrison is a very responsible defenseman, but due to Toronto's lack of scoring, he will probably be relegated to the bench for the likes of more offensively talented players. On the other end we have smaller, shiftier, puck-moving defensemen like Carlo Colaiacovo (oft-injured and currently so) and Ian White. They have good offensive instincts to match their decent foot speed. They will be tasked with carrying the puck out of their own zone and bumping up that first pass to the forwards. Hopefully they will not fall to the bad habit of cross-ice diagonal glory passes.
The backbone of the defense corps will once again be assistant captain Bryan McCabe, and his partner (indeed) Tomas Kaberle, both freshly resigned to lengthy contracts and looking to pick up where they left off last season. Kaberle's deceptively whirly skating (once the cause of many a turn-over) soared to new heights last season, certifying Kaberle's ability as a puck mover and passer. Bryan McCabe will usually be the recipient of Kaberle's feathery passes. Hopefully he will be able to pick up the (heavy-handed) scoring touch that he lost over the Olympic break last year.
