The Colorado Avalanche left Ottawa with more than an overtime loss. They also walked out of the game without Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, and both stars are expected to be sidelined for a stretch.
MacKinnon’s night ended after a battle with Senators defenseman Artem Zub, who delivered a routine cross-check that caught MacKinnon on the right hip. MacKinnon went down in pain, reached for the area, then got back to his feet and skated off under his own power. He did return briefly before leaving the game for good.
Makar’s situation looked even more troubling because it happened without contact. While carrying the puck at the point, he appeared to tweak something and exited the game.
Adrian Dater reported, “Both will ‘miss some time’, according to my sources. How long that is beyond tomorrow’s game has yet to be determined.”
Elsewhere around the league, Simon Edvinsson’s contract situation with the Detroit Red Wings is drifting toward an even stranger ending. After spending the summer and training camp frustrated by the lack of a deal, Edvinsson reported to camp anyway before heading back to Sweden to train. The situation stayed quiet until nearly a month into the season, when Elliotte Friedman said Edvinsson now prefers a trade out of Detroit.
There still haven’t been credible reports on what the Red Wings are actually offering, but there is a belief they are treating Moritz Seider’s $8.55 million salary as the ceiling. In the current market, that has not been viewed as a fair offer.
With the December 1 deadline for restricted free agents to sign approaching, Detroit had hoped Edvinsson would eventually agree to a contract. Instead, he is now reportedly willing to go to Sweden and play out the year. On NHL Now, Friedman said Swedish reporters strongly believe he will head there if he can’t play in the NHL.
The Red Wings are also dealing with Dylan Larkin sitting out while he awaits a trade, which only adds more pressure to get these situations right.
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs’ rough stretch is not expected to lead to a coaching change. The team is six points out of a playoff spot at the quarter mark of the season, and the slide has been ugly: five straight losses, all of them at home.
There are plenty of reasons the season has gone sideways. Injuries have piled up, Sergei Bobrovsky hasn’t delivered the level of play the Leafs wanted, and the roster available to the coach simply isn’t the strongest group in the league. But the heat around Hiller’s job comes from the losing streak, the home skid, and the sense that some players look unmotivated while others aren’t being used the way many around the team would like.
The top line of Easton Cowan, Auston Matthews, and Jack Roslovic has been one of the few bright spots. It hasn’t been flawless, but it has not been the issue.
The second line has been a bigger problem. John Tavares and William Nylander, along with a rotating winger, have not clicked consistently.
Tavares has not looked great since returning from injury, and Nylander has been up and down. Ryan Tverberg got a look there and looked good, but the line still didn’t produce enough.
The bottom six has done its job, but the biggest concern is Gavin McKenna. He is averaging less than 14 minutes of ice time per game and is often going long stretches without playing during games.
Even so, a firing would not instantly fix the Leafs’ deeper issues. The bigger priority, if this keeps going south, may be finding ways to get the younger players more ice time.
Speaking on Hiller and the Leafs, Chris Johnston said, “I don’t see how they could fire him. They just hired him. When’s the last time a coach got 25 or 30 games, let alone the 21 or whatever they’ve played?”
In Other News...
Maple Leafs May Have A Blue-Line Move Bigger Than A Rental
The Maple Leafs are still hunting for help on the blue line, and the talk around the deadline suggests they are not just looking for a stopgap. Toronto appears interested in a defenseman who can fit alongside the teams core for more than a quick playoff push, which is a different kind of swing than the usual rental chase. That makes the market a little more complicated, but also a lot more interesting for a club trying to solve a problem that has lingered beyond one season.
Names such as Cam York, Alexander Nikishin, Rasmus Sandin and Simon Edvinsson have surfaced as possible fits because of their age, contract situations and longer-term appeal. None of that means a deal is close, and the Leafs still have to find the right match if they want to turn interest into an actual upgrade, but the fact they are being linked to this tier of defender says plenty about how they view their next move. [Read more 🡒]
Why Gavin McKennas Role Just Became A Bigger Leafs Debate
The Maple Leafs skid took another hit in Minnesota, where a 5-2 loss marked their seventh defeat in eight games without earning any points, and it also put Gavin McKennas usage back under the microscope. McKenna skated just 10:37, his lowest ice time of the season, even though he has been one of the more productive young pieces on the roster with six goals and 13 points in 21 games.
Jim Hillers message afterward was clear enough: McKenna will have to prove he can be more than a scoring threat if he wants a larger role. The coach said the young forward needs to be a good all-around player and handle the grind of the season, which turns every shift into part of a bigger Leafs debate about how much responsibility he should be given right now. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Are Seeing Progress But One Problem Still Looms
A day away from the rink took the Maple Leafs into a different setting this week, with the club using the Blue Jays facilities as an off-ice workout stop designed to shake up the routine and give the group a little extra energy. Jim Hiller said the change of scenery can matter, especially when a team is trying to keep its legs and its focus sharp while working through the middle of the season grind.
Hiller also pointed to signs of progress in the Leafs recent play, even if the clean-up work is far from finished. Mistakes are still showing up, but the bigger message was about sustaining a positive culture and carrying that mindset into the next stretch of games, with the quality of the Blue Jays setup serving as a reminder that sometimes a different environment can help a team reset. [Read more 🡒]