Jack Roslovic is getting an early look on the right side of Auston Matthews’ line at Toronto Maple Leafs training camp, and that setup comes with a built-in comfort level. Roslovic and Matthews have already shared ice time before, going back to their days together at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and the Leafs are hoping that familiarity helps Roslovic deliver more offense after signing a two-year, $8-million contract this summer.
The reunion in Toronto also brought back a warning from Matthew Tkachuk.
Matthews, Roslovic and Tkachuk were once part of a dominant junior trio, and Matthews said the group had its own celebration back then. But if that old routine makes a comeback now, Tkachuk wants no part of it. “We used to call ourselves ‘The Superman Line’ in junior, and he told us if we played against them and scored and did the Superman celly, he was going to kill one of us,” Matthews revealed with a big smile.
Tkachuk, now one of the NHL’s most intense competitors with the Florida Panthers, is looking forward to the matchup as much as anyone. The threat was never meant literally, of course, but the message was clear: if Toronto’s top line starts clicking, he doesn’t want to see Roslovic and Matthews turning it into a show against Florida.
Whether the Superman celebration ever comes back is still to be determined. If it does, Tkachuk has already made his stance known.
The Panthers, meanwhile, continue to be the kind of team that dishes out this sort of stuff around the league. Brad Marchand has already trolled Tim Stuzle about possibly being the captain in Ottawa, and head coach Paul Maurice recently said he wouldn’t put Matthew and his brother Brady on the same line with Sam Bennett because the trio would “be in jail” before the puck drops.
In Other News...
Kirill Marchenko Just Gave Blue Jackets Fans A New Reason To Worry
Kirill Marchenko gave Blue Jackets fans another reason to keep an eye on the contract picture when he declined to get into his future with Columbus and instead steered the conversation back to hockey. It was the kind of non-answer that tends to say plenty, especially with training camp bringing every roster question and every pending decision into sharper focus.
For Toronto, the broader camp buzz is still centered on how the Maple Leafs are sorting through their own lineup looks, including rookie Gavin McKenna starting out on a different line from Auston Matthews while the staff continues to evaluate combinations. Around the league, there is plenty of early camp intrigue too, with Edmontons Mike Babcock sounding energized about being back behind an NHL bench, but the Marchenko situation is the one that could end up hanging over Columbus for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin McKennas First Leafs Game Is Raising An Immediate Concern
Gavin McKenna is about to make his first preseason appearance for the Maple Leafs, and the early buzz around him has had less to do with where he fits in the lineup than with his listed size. He is reportedly showing up 10 pounds under his NHL Draft Combine weight, which naturally set off some chatter among fans watching for any hint of a problem before he even steps on the ice.
There has been no official sign of a health issue, and the bigger picture is that lighter players have carved out productive NHL careers before. The Leafs are still in evaluation mode, though, and McKenna's first game will be less about the number on a roster sheet than about how his frame holds up against NHL pace and contact. [Read more 🡒]
Auston Matthews Just Eased Torontos Biggest Offseason Fear
Auston Matthews gave the Maple Leafs something they badly needed this summer: a reason to breathe a little easier. In a recent interview, the star center said he wants to remain in Toronto and expressed confidence in new general manager John Chaykas direction, a notable public vote of faith for an organization that spent the offseason trying to calm outside nerves about its future.
Matthews also admitted he weighed the idea of leaving when the offseason began, which only sharpens the significance of where he landed. For the Leafs, the bigger message is not just that their franchise player is still talking about a future in Toronto, but that he now believes the team is moving the right way and can win there. [Read more 🡒]