In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at two young players I’m hoping will make the roster out of training camp, Bobby McMann and Pontus Holmberg. I’ll also share how they might impact the status of two veterans on the team, Sam Lafferty and Dylan Gambrell.
Finally, I go all celebrity gossip and share news about two “epic” weddings in British Columbia for former Maple Leafs Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot. From the photos, they looked like huge parties.
Item One: Can Either Bobby McMann or Pontus Holmberg Make the Roster
Other than Matthew Knies, who should be a given to make the Maple Leafs roster, Bobby McMann and Pontus Holmberg have a good chance to make the team out of training camp.
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I am rooting for McCann for a number of reasons. First, I like his blue-collar game. He plays with a lot of energy and could provide secondary scoring. Almost at the other end of the spectrum is Holmberg. He seems cerebral, and as head coach Sheldon Keefe noted last season, he seldom makes a mistake. He is also versatile and plays like an old soul.
They could both earn a role on the fourth line (although Holmberg could sneak higher on the food chart), which would be a benefit for the team game and salary cap. If they do make the team, it would likely be to replace Sam Lafferty. Lafferty has a manageable cap hit at $1.15 million, but the team could save $350,000 without him, and that is not chump change this season.
Item Two: Dylan Gambrell Could Be Fun to Watch
There’s been so much news about Auston Matthews and William Nylanders’ contract extensions, then Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi were front and center, and, finally, the recently-completed arbitration hearing for Ilya Samsonov. However, in the background, the Maple Leafs have made some other strategic offseason signings.
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Dylan Gambrell could be fun to watch. His one-year contract is for the league minimum (worth $775,000), and he will add depth to the forward group and also challenge for a place on the fourth line.
This signing aligns with two of the team’s goals. First, Gambrell is on a low-cost, one-year deal to help manage cap space. Second, he’s a depth player who brings a lot of grit and attitude to the team. Like Lafferty, he’ll be competing with young talent for a spot on the roster. Also like Lafferty, if the youngsters supplant them, they might be waived and moved to the Toronto Marlies.
Item Three: Maple Leafs and Their Friends on Different Teams
British Columbia has been the site of two weddings this summer. First, Tyson Barrie’s wedding in Victoria earlier this summer was a huge party, attended by former teammates and friends Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman, Luke Schenn, Mike Smith, Darnell Nurse, and Kyle Turris.
More recently, Alex Kerfoot and friends celebrated his wedding to Marissa Balleza in BC’s Okanagan Valley with an “epic party” attended by both current and former Maple Leafs Michael Bunting, John Tavares, Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, and Justin Holl.
Marner, who seems to hit everyone’s party, was also in attendance as well as Jimmy Vesey and Colin Blackwell – they were Kerfoot’s teammates when he played for the Harvard Crimson.
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The party was lively enough that Marner and Bunting might have missed their flights home; there was a report that both names were called for missing their last-minute boarding.
Kerfoot recently signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes but shared a farewell message, expressing his gratitude to the city of Toronto and its passionate fanbase for their support during his time with the team.
“Thank you to the city of Toronto and the entire Maple Leaf fan base for the support over the last four years,” Kerfoot wrote in an Instagram post earlier this month. “Your passion makes putting on the blue and white feel a little extra special every night. To everyone involved in the organization — from ownership to the day-to-day staff, it is a first-class operation that I was grateful to be a part of for a short while.”
The Bottom Line
Let’s hope there are some tough training-camp decisions. I keep waiting for the Marlies to arrive in force. Players like Knies, Holmberg, and McMann were mentioned already, but Nick Robertson, Alex Steeves, and Nick Abruzzese will be looking to make the roster as well.
Although Lafferty’s performance last season wasn’t up to par with what he brought in his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, he shouldn’t be counted out. As well, Gambrell’s specialized skills, such as his penalty killing, could earn him a solid place on the team.
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Training camp performances and preseason games, which are really not that far away, will help the new coaching staff make their final roster decisions.