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2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

Kyle Clifford's retirement... is this actually a thing? Sorry for being the grumpy guy. Wasn't he Dubas's first client as an agent? He hardly played for the Leafs, but I suppose he was a serviceable vet for the Marlies.
 
I liked Clifford. Maybe easier to say this in hindsight I suppose but if the Leafs wanted a part-time goon they probably should have just kept him in the NHL. Surprising a little to see that he's only 34 years old.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
I liked Clifford. Maybe easier to say this in hindsight I suppose but if the Leafs wanted a part-time goon they probably should have just kept him in the NHL. Surprising a little to see that he's only 34 years old.
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I liked him as well. Maybe too little, too late but he tried to morph his game into playing better defensively and contributing more hockey. I think he made real progress that way. He sustained that effort when he went to the Marlies. That may have helped pave a path for him towards coaching/development. I did not see the Marlies as much recently but I saw a number of occasions where he still stepped up - old school - to protect his Marlies teammates.

Nice article on him:
Hockey News: 'The Epitome Of A Great Teammate': How Kyle Clifford Has Created A Lasting Impact Inside The Maple Leafs' Organization
 
herman said:
I remember this vaguely being very funny, so I looked it up.

Called up for last game in 06, scored.
Called up for one game in 07, scored.
Called up again in 08 for a longer stretch, scored in that first game.
Called up in December 08 and scored in each of his first three games (5 in 6 games, and then 0-ferred the rest of the way)
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Thanks for doing my homework herman!
 
jhanhky.substack.com

The toughest type of player to coach

Workshop 159: Matias Maccelli's fit with TOR
jhanhky.substack.com jhanhky.substack.com
If you're in freebie mode, here's a 7 min video breaking down Maccelli's potential fit (issues) in the Leafs lineup, with some general player archetype remarks about middle 6 offensive players being harder to navigate from a coaching perspective compared to your bluechip offensive drivers and your bottom of the lineup role players.

So this generally applies, in varying degrees, to the aforementioned Mattias Maccelli, Max Domi, Nick Robertson, Easton Cowan, and to a lesser degree Dakota Joshua (who is quite a different archetype for the same niche).

Because of the possession playstyle where they actually turn out pretty okay in regular season usage, the prospect pipeline was overloaded with this player type under Dubas' drafts (Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Mikhail Abramov, Nick Abruzzese, Ryan Tverberg, Joe Miller, Veeiti Miettinen, Dmitry Ovchinnikov, Ty Voit, Roni Hirvonen, Brandon Lisowsky, Nick Moldenhauer, Hudson Malinoski) and free agent signings (Max Ellis, Alex Steeves). The bet is that one or two of them, under the right circumstances and opportunity, pop off a la Verhaeghe or Brad Marchand if you're extremely lucky; the higher percentage outcome* is that they top out as tweeners in the AHL (Seth Griffith) and/or find success overseas.

* technically this is the outcome for just about every draft pick outside the top 10-15

Speaking of Cowan:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1954973911830909343
 
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herman said:
Oh hey it's a real thing?! circles + puck touch makes more sense than blueline/blueline crossing (refs would die)

How did it fare?
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It was a neat concept. I saw goals scored on the initial penalty shot. But saw even more scored by the players joining the play and gaining rebounds.
 
OldTimeHockey said:
It was a neat concept. I saw goals scored on the initial penalty shot. But saw even more scored by the players joining the play and gaining rebounds.
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That is the spectrum of results I expected. The chase element also kills off those slightly annoying Kuznetsov/Schremp/Cowan meandering shootout attempts. The cost feels higher to take an OT penalty, so some might lean to being more conservative while starpower skill will feel like they can drive the net with more impunity to get a goal or draw a call.
 
herman said:
That is the spectrum of results I expected. The chase element also kills off those slightly annoying Kuznetsov/Schremp/Cowan meandering shootout attempts. The cost feels higher to take an OT penalty, so some might lean to being more conservative while starpower skill will feel like they can drive the net with more impunity to get a goal or draw a call.
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Another thought is to allow the team awarded the penalty shot to change their players (other than the shooter), so that you can put out a couple speedsters that may get up the ice even quicker to create the rebound opportunity.

Another cool result would be the defending team leaving one player at the opposing blueline with the hopes of a save and quick up.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1957817419864424619

Nice little mid-August read here. The more I think about it the more convinced I am that we'll see Domi on the top line and McMann on the second line. Both trios had very good success in limited minutes last season. That leaves Maccelli-Roy-Joshua, which closely resembles the Maccelli-Bjugstad-Crouse checking trio that Matias had success with in Arizona.
 
theleafsnation.com

Maple Leafs hire Mikael Kotkaniemi, father of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, as a European Scout

The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations" target="_blank"...
theleafsnation.com theleafsnation.com
In addition to Kotkaniemi, the Leafs also hired Steven Reinprecht as a Pro Scout, John-Paul Laciak as an Assistant Athletic Therapist, Trevor Bartoli as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach and Performance Coordinator, and Nick Biamonte as Video Coach for the Toronto Marlies.
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I don't really know who has come off the list because I'm not a sicko.

edit: I'm bored with the lack of news, so I checked the web archive from April for funsies.

Removed since April:
President & Alternate Governor | Brendan Shanahan
Director, Hockey Operations & Administration | Leanne Hederson
Associate Coach | Lane Lambert
Director, High Performance | Rich Rotenberg
Sports Scientist | Sachin Raina
Lead Performance Dietician | Margaret Hughes
Assistant Equipment Manager | Tom Blatchford
Senior Advisor | John Rosasco
Executive Assistant to the President | Lia Pellegrino (part of Shanahan's firing)
Management & Coaching Development Associates | Kalley Armstrong, Greyson Silva-Addo (These are internships; they usually get new ones when the season starts)
Director, Hockey Research | Rob Pettapiece
Developers, Hockey Research & Development | Jed Ong
Video Analysts | Lojain Farah
Pro Scouts | Jackson Maxwell, Richard Pollock,

Title Change:
Trevor Bartoli | Roving Strength and Conditioning Coach to Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Performance Coordinator
Alex Ryan | Equipment Assistant to Assistant Equipment Manager
Andrew Low | Developers, Hockey Research & Development to Senior Developer, Hockey Research and Development
Ryan Minicola | Video Analyst to Assistant Director, Video & Scouting Analysis
Josh Simpson | Video Analyst to Lead Analyst, Player Development
Jacob Burton | Video Analyst to Video Analyst, Hockey Operations

Added since April:
Assistant Athletic Therapists | John-Paul Laciak
Lead Sports Dietitian | Landon Hong
Assistant Sports Dietitian | Stefanie Di Tella
Sports Science Consultant | Steven Hirsch
Equipment Assistant | Lester Tiu
Analysts, Hockey Research & Development | Lou Farah
Developer, Hockey Research and Development | Cameron Farquharson
Amateur Scouts | Mikael Kotkaniemi
 
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I am optimistic about line depth, team toughness, goaltending, reliable D, and everyone having a meaningful role. Having salaries disbursed across all lines will help players feel more valued and important. JT's salary sacrifice should also help solidify the roster as a true team. Role the lines and get everyone involved.

Berube's approach to Reilly will hopefully pay off this year, allowing him to jump up and contribute offensively in a more calculated way with a reliable partner that can pick up the inherent defensive slack.
 
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