The Maple Leafs met with the media today after cleaning out their lockers, and Mike Babcock spoke about several things including his immediate future. The head coach will be heading to the World Championships not behind the bench, but in the stands to scout players of interest according to James Mirtle of The Athletic. While he obviously didn’t clarify which players those would be, there are several names that would be of interest to teams around the league.
Daniel Brickley will be suiting up for Team USA before heading back for another season with Minnesota State. The 22-year old defenseman will be a free agent next spring should he decide to turn pro, and would likely be on Toronto’s radar. Vadim Shipchyov and Evgeny Dadonov, both rumored to be heading to the NHL this summer will also be suiting up for the Russian team, likely who you’ll find Babcock watcing most often.
- Brian Boyle told reporters that he’d be open to returning to the Maple Leafs, emphasizing how much fun he had since coming over from Tampa Bay at the deadline. Boyle is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and will be a sought after free agent for his leadership and success in a bottom-six role. He earned $2MM this season, but might even see a slight raise on a short-term deal.
- Surprisingly, Babcock relayed that William Nylander will not be moved to center next year despite earlier reports that he would. Nylander found a ton of success with Auston Matthews throughout the season but was expected to move back to his natural position next year. It will be interesting to see what that means for the rest of the Maple Leaf forwards, as they already had a backlog of wingers before this decision. It also means that Tyler Bozak perhaps is safe for another season, after setting a career-high in points. Bozak will be entering the final season of his current contract, and will be a UFA in the summer of 2018.