TORONTO – Morgan Rielly went there first. Brendan Shanahan doubled-down.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing something the Original Six franchise hasn’t dared in quite some time — talk about hoisting hockey’s holy grail.
“Our goal will always be to win a Stanley Cup,” Rielly, the team’s current longest-serving player, said at the start of training camp. “Anything short of that will be a failure.”
Shanahan, a three-time champion on the ice, but with a solitary series victory in a decade as Leafs president, took no issue with the defenceman’s take.
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with players or teams coming in and saying, ‘Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup,'” he said. “We’re certainly aware of the results we’ve had in the past. We’ve come back with the determination to get that job done.
“I would be more concerned if our players were coming in here and saying, ‘Our goal is to get to the second round.'”
Toronto has done that just once in the NHL’s salary cap era. But unlike past iterations, these Leafs aren’t scared to talk winning.
“It’s something that every single guy in the locker room wants to do … unfortunately it hasn’t happened yet,” said Mitch Marner, a star winger and lightning rod for blistering playoff criticism. “We know that we have the right people in there to do it.”
The feeling outside those four walls was markedly different in the spring.
There was a sense massive change was coming in Toronto — a city with a Cup drought dating back to 1967. Shanahan basically said as much following the latest first-round playoff: “Everything is on the table.”
The Leafs, however, didn’t break up the so-called “Core Four” forward group of Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares. They instead made a switch behind the bench, firing head coach Sheldon Keefe and bringing in Craig Berube.
“It’s evident the way that we want to play,” Matthews said of a fast, direct, north-south style the Cup winner preaches. “Pretty clear from the get-go.”
General manager Brad Treliving didn’t make a big roster splash, but stiffened the blue-line corps with the additions of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
“We’ve improved,” Treliving said. “Sometimes you just gotta keep hitting singles and doubles.”
The other big shift was Tavares passing the captaincy off to Matthews.
“I’ve been put in this role and this situation because of who I am,” said Matthews, a sniping centre with 69 goals last season, the most the NHL has seen in more than three decades.
One rumoured move that didn’t materialize was a trade involving Marner, who’s entering the final year of his deal. He has been eligible to re-up his contract with the team since July 1 and possesses a full no-movement clause on his current deal.
Marner’s status will hang over the club until there’s a resolution, but the laid-back Nylander performed well last season in a similar situation before signing his eight-year, US$92-million extension.
Treliving said despite talk of titles, the group can’t get too far ahead of itself.
“We have to be process-driven,” he said. “If you take care of those details, you’ll get to where you eventually want to go.”
Hockey’s ultimate goal.
“Always been the main focus,” Rielly said. “There’s been stuff that’s happened along the way during that journey. But, ultimately, we want to win together.
“We want to win in Toronto.”
WONDER WOLL
The Leafs hoping goaltender Joseph Woll is finally ready to carry their crease load.
The 26-year-old, who has dealt with various injuries, has just 36 career NHL regular-season games under his belt to go along with seven playoff contests.
“Great when he’s in net for us,” Rielly said. “If you take the parts of last year where he was healthy and playing, there’s a lot of good signs.”
Treliving said Toronto is confident attaching its wagon to Woll.
“Joe’s one of the top young goaltenders in the league,” said Treliving, who signed Anthony Stolarz from the Cup-winning Florida Panthers as insurance. “There’s a process that you go through. It’s a hard position.
“We want to make sure we’re supporting him.”
CAPTAIN MATT
Matthews, 27, was named the 26th captain in franchise history when Tavares stepped aside in August.
“I don’t think there’s really stuff I need to go in and just completely change,” said Matthews, a former league MVP. “It’s just continue to try to be a better version of myself and take steps in different areas as a player and as a leader.”
Tavares, who like Marner doesn’t have a contract after this season, said handing the torch to Matthews has been natural.
“He has my full support,” he said. “Looking forward to helping him, and for me to continue to do my thing.”
DEFENDING HOME
Tanev, who grew up in Toronto, signed a six-year, $27-million contract after his rights were acquired ahead of free agency.
“He improved our (defence) corps, he improved our penalty kill,” Rielly said of the hard-nosed, shot-blocking blueliner. “Just automatically, overnight made our team better.”
Tavares played against Tanev in minor hockey growing up.
“Really relishes what he does,” said the veteran centre. “Tremendous hockey IQ with defending.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
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