The Maple Leafs skated in two main groups at Ford Performance Centre on Friday. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
During a battle drill late in Friday\u2019s practice, centre Auston Matthews<\/a> absorbed a cross-check to the back before being pushed into the boards by 6-foot-5, 221-pound defenceman Philippe Myers<\/a>. The Leafs captain fell to one knee before quickly bouncing back up. <\/p>\n It was the latest proof that the upper-body injury that hampered Matthews all of last season is truly in the past. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m super happy with how I feel and just how the first two days have gone,\u201d the 28-year-old said. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s all you can ask for, and you never really know until you get back out. You can do everything in the summer and train and skate and do all this stuff, but once you kind of get back into this kind of feeling, you want to respond and feel really good, and I definitely have.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews sustained the undisclosed injury during training camp last year. He missed 15 games during the regular season and even flew to Germany at one point for additional treatment. Matthews finished the season with a career-low 33 goals, which was down from the career-high of 69 the year previously. <\/p>\n \u201cI felt like I handled that to the best of my ability last year,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cAnd, of course, you want to produce and do all that stuff, but, you know, we had the best regular season that we\u2019ve had since I\u2019ve been here. We won our division and did a lot of really good things that we just want to continue to build on going into this year.\u201d<\/p>\n After Toronto\u2019s second-round loss to the Florida Panthers<\/a>, Matthews promised that a summer of rest, recovery, and hard work would remedy the issue, and that appears to be the case. <\/p>\n \u201cI see him more engaged,\u201d observed Leafs head coach Craig Berube<\/a>. \u201cI think he\u2019s feeling good, so he\u2019s more engaged and, like, heavier and harder on pucks and things like that. You can see a little bit of a difference, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews didn\u2019t just take contact, he also popped a pair of goals during the battle drill sequence against Myers. <\/p>\n \u201cHe looks incredible out there,\u201d said linemate Matthew Knies<\/a>. \u201cSo, yeah, I\u2019m glad he\u2019s 100 per cent healthy and we\u2019re going to need him like that for the whole season.\u201d<\/p>\n Leafs Ice Chips: Healthy Matthews looking more engaged Auston Matthews pushed himself during Friday’s practice and came out of it looking like his old self as he enters camp healthy. TSN’s Mark Masters has more on how Matthews looked as well as Calle Jarnkrok, who dealt with injuries for a good chunk of last season. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n After seeing longtime wing man Mitch Marner leave for Vegas, Matthews will likely need to adapt his playing style this season. <\/p>\n \u201cThe give-and-go game, that\u2019s where he\u2019s going to miss Mitch the most,\u201d Berube said. \u201cThey had great chemistry in that side of things, so it\u2019s about maybe finding somebody else that can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Matias Maccelli<\/a> is getting the first look beside Matthews and Knies at training camp. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s extremely skilled, extremely shifty,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cHe sees the ice really well. He finds lanes to put the puck in places that you wouldn\u2019t really think are there sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Maccelli is not Marner, who racked up 102 points last season. Maccelli, meanwhile, mustered just 18 points in 55 games in Utah where he was a healthy scratch down the stretch before being traded to Toronto. <\/p>\n Berube suggests that Matthews may end up looking to take opponents on in one-on-one situations more often this season. <\/p>\n \u201cAuston might take another step and start hanging onto pucks and beating people himself one-on-one,\u201d the coach said. \u201cThey might have to change and be a little more direct. It\u2019s just things like that. And then defensively, it\u2019s about finding the guy that can fill the role, too. With Mitch on that line, he was a good defensive player, and so it\u2019s just going to take some time. We\u2019ll see where it ends up.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan was for Max Domi<\/a> to start on the top line with Matthews and Knies, but he\u2019s currently sidelined with a lower-body issue. Domi skated on his own before the main group on Friday and is getting close to a return. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Last year, the main topic of conversation at the start of camp was Marner\u2019s contract status. This year, the buzz is all about how the Leafs are looking to fill the void. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it was really much of a distraction last year, to be honest,\u201d Matthews said. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really think any of the outside stuff was a distraction last year. And, you know, it\u2019s definitely not a distraction this year. Maybe you guys will ask a couple more Mitchy questions here for the next couple of weeks (smile), but hopefully that\u2019ll die down here shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n Smiling Matthews hopes Marner questions will ‘die down shortly’ Life without Mitch Marner will be an adjustment for Auston Matthews but luckily for the Leafs, their captain has found success in the past without Marner. How will it impact his game? Head coach Craig Berube believes the give-and-go aspect will be the main difference. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Veteran winger Calle Jarnkrok<\/a> also dealt with injury adversity last season. He struggled at the start of training camp before undergoing groin and sports hernia surgery. He didn\u2019t return to the lineup until March. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m all smiles right now,\u201d the 33-year-old Swede beamed. \u201cIt\u2019s so much fun to be out there with no pain. Can just focus on, you know, playing hockey and have some fun out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Jarnkrok did not look like himself after returning last season. He produced just one goal and six assists in 19 regular season games before mustering just one assist in 12 playoff games. <\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t 100 per cent when I was back,\u201d Jarnkrok readily admits. \u201cIt was still hurting a bit. So, it wasn\u2019t as fun playing when you\u2019re out there and it still hurts. It was fun to be back, but it\u2019s just way different right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Jarnkrok started last year\u2019s training camp on a line with William Nylander<\/a> and Domi. This year, he\u2019s on a line with newcomer Michael Pezzetta<\/a> and David Kampf<\/a>, who was scratched in all but one playoff game last spring. <\/p>\n Jarnkrok has some work to do to earn his spot in Toronto\u2019s opening-night lineup. The early returns, though, are positive. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a whole summer of training, and he feels really good, and it\u2019s noticeable,\u201d said Berube. \u201cHe looks really good to me. Got a lot of jump in his step. We all know Calle, he\u2019s a good player. We all know that, but it\u2019s [about] feeling good, too, and he feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n After playing most of last season on the right side, southpaw Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a> is skating on the left side so far at training camp. <\/p>\n \u201cYou have to ask somebody else,\u201d he said with a smile when asked if he\u2019ll see more time on his strong side this year. \u201cI don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll see. I\u2019m on the left right now, so we\u2019ll see how that plays out. But, like I said before, I said it last year, doesn\u2019t matter left or right, I\u2019ll just do whatever the team needs me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Do reporters focus too much on this type of stuff? <\/p>\n \u201cWell, it\u2019s good,\u201d the 34-year-old Swede said with a grin. \u201cYou guys have something to talk about, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Ekman-Larsson produced four goals and 29 points last season, which was down from the nine goals and 32 points he generated the previous season with the Panthers. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to see more offence, right?\u201d Berube said of moving Ekman-Larsson to the left. \u201cI think any time a D-man with offensive abilities plays a strong side, he\u2019s a lot more comfortable, and it\u2019s just easier in the offensive zone. That\u2019s where it really boils down for me. It\u2019s pulling pucks off the wall, you\u2019re on your forehand right away, and [when] you\u2019re on your backhand, it\u2019s a lot more difficult, and it\u2019s not an easy thing to do. So, we\u2019ll see how that plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n Ekman-Larsson\u2019s partner, Simon Benoit<\/a>, is a more defensive-minded player. <\/p>\n \u201cSo far, you know, Benny\u2019s been okay on the right,\u201d Berube said. \u201cWe talked to him earlier in the summer about working on things, and [told him] that\u2019s where he might start. So, he\u2019s done a good job, too, but I think you\u2019ll see, from the offensive side of things, more production, maybe, from Ekman-Larsson.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Additional power play time would also help Ekman-Larsson generate offence. He spent most of last season on the flank of the second unit as the Leafs employed a five-forward top unit. <\/p>\n \u201cI always want to push the guys next to me and, I mean, I would love to get on the power play some,\u201d Ekman-Larsson said. \u201cI\u2019m pushing for that but, at the same time, I\u2019m supporting everybody who\u2019s on the power play, PK and 5-on-5 and that\u2019s what we need to do to kind of have that winning culture around here. And, yeah, I mean, I\u2019ve got to push the guy next to you and that\u2019s how you become a good team.\u201d<\/p>\n Marner quarterbacked the top unit last season. In his absence, Morgan Rielly<\/a> will take over once again at the top of the top unit. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s done it in the past here, and they\u2019ve had success,\u201d Berube noted. \u201cSo, for me, it\u2019s him right now.\u201d<\/p>\n OEL pushing for power play opportunities as he remains flexible on the blue line Oliver Ekman-Larsson isn’t sure if he will be seeing more time on the left this season and says he’s willing to play wherever he is needed to help the team win. As for finding more opportunities on the power play, the veteran defenceman admitted, ‘I would love to get on the power play.’ <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Despite returning the same top six that ended last year, the Leafs are hoping to get a little more offence from their defence this season. Toronto only got 21 goals from their blueliners last year, which was the fewest in the NHL. <\/p>\n Shutdown defenceman Chris Tanev focused on his offensive play during the summer. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always trying to get my shot better,\u201d the 35-year-old said, \u201cso the ability to get some pucks to the net. Always some room in my game to get better at that. I worked a lot here with those guys on that. And then just having a good stick, having good feet, make sure I have the ability to make passes when they\u2019re there and move pucks up to our forwards as quick as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Tanev established career-highs in goals (six) and points (28) during the 2021-22 season with the Calgary Flames<\/a>. He finished his first season in Toronto with three goals and 15 assists in 75 games. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re always trying to get better,\u201d Tanev said. \u201cOnce you stop doing that, that\u2019s when guys or your own personal self, maybe, you take a step back. I think always having that persistence and that edge to get better, and that want to and will to get better, is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n With Marner off the books, the Leafs looked to use the greater cap flexibility this summer to build a deeper lineup. In particular, a new-look third time is already showing its potential at training camp. <\/p>\n Nicolas Roy<\/a>, who was acquired in the sign-and-trade which saw Marner land in Vegas, has been skating with Dakota Joshua<\/a>, who was picked up in a deal with the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe type of player I like to play with,\u201d Roy said of Joshua. \u201cBig guy, keeps it simple, likes to protect the puck, go to the net, so it\u2019s a little bit my game as well. It\u2019s been fun to play with him, even in the little scrimmage we did pre-camp. Yeah, good player.\u201d<\/p>\n The feeling is mutual. <\/p>\n \u201cA great player to play with,\u201d said Joshua. \u201cVery simple and easy to read off of so it makes the job for people around him a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Berube loves the size on the line. Roy stands 6-foot-4, 201 pounds while Joshua is 6-foot-3, 206 pounds. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a line that can go out against any line in the league and hold them down, check them, be physical and hard on them with the size and the strength that they have,\u201d Berube said. \u201cThey play similar games, you know, down low in the offensive zone, checking, things like that. Be hard to play against, you know? That\u2019s why I like them together.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n