Leafs head coach admits to being concerned with team, lists 3 players he wants more from
The Toronto Maple Leafs came into this season with a lot of promise after addressing their roster needs by signing UFAs Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Ryan Reaves and John Klingberg. There was also the fact that Matthew Knies was coming into his first full season, which was exciting to Leaf fans.
Fast forward a few months and the Leafs are currently 5-4-2, though they could just as easily be 3-6-2 at this point when you consider how shaky they looked in their first 2 games of the season, allowing a combined 9 goals against Montreal and Minnesota. There are definitely some concerns.
Last night, after a disappointing 6-4 loss to Buffalo, Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe admitted to having some significant concerns at the moment, with a number of players still not having found their way. Keefe identified Matthew Knies, David Kampf and Max Domi as guys who he wants to see more from moving forward.
"Yeah, I'm concerned, for sure... We've got guys - Knies is new to the league, hasn't found his stride offensively. Kampf is a guy who's going to give you everything he has, but [scoring] is not his primary thing. Domi is a guy we expect more out of and some contribution offensively.
I keep going back to that Tampa game when [Domi] makes two game-breaking plays that get us the win there in Tampa... that's the kind of contribution you need from he and Knies. It's a lot of heavy-lifting for our top guys right now, for sure."
I keep going back to that Tampa game when [Domi] makes two game-breaking plays that get us the win there in Tampa... that's the kind of contribution you need from he and Knies. It's a lot of heavy-lifting for our top guys right now, for sure."
Domi's best season came as a center in Montreal in 2018-19, when he had 28 goals and 72 points in 82 games. Domi was brought in to play on the wing in Toronto, but I'll be curious to see if the Leafs at least try him out at center as they look to get out of this 4-game losing skid.
Kampf, as Keefe alluded to, is not really here to score goals or put up points. His primary role is to shut down the opposition's top players and to kill penalties. In having said that, Kyle Dubas had indicated when he acquired Kampf that he had more to give offensively, so it will be interesting to see if Keefe can get him going after the depth center posted 26 and 27 points in each of the last two seasons, respectively.
For Knies, he's probably got a little more rope, since he's so new to the league. Yes, he needs to produce, but he's also playing with two guys who are struggling right now as well, which has probably contributed to his poor start.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 5 | 363 ANSWERS Leafs head coach admits to being concerned with team, lists 3 players he wants more from Which of the following players are you most concerned about after a slow start? | ||
| Max Domi | 188 | 51.8 % |
| Matthew Knies | 34 | 9.4 % |
| David Kampf | 44 | 12.1 % |
| None of the above, they'll be fine | 97 | 26.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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