Opinion | Leafs mailbag: The joy (or curse) of scoreboard watching, Matthew Knies watch and an ode to the hip check

One thing about knowing who your first-round opponent is going to be: It has turned scoreboard watching into an art.

On one feed, the Maple Leafs were happy to get Ryan O’Reilly back into the lineup, giving Sheldon Keefe the healthiest set of skaters he’s had all year.

On the other, Lightning coach Jon Cooper must be left wondering what players he’ll have when the playoffs start. Tanner Jeannot and Pat Maroon left Thursday night’s 6-1 loss to the Islanders, with Cooper saying Jeannot’s injury is “worrisome.” Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Erik Cernák were already on the sidelines.

So, are the stars aligning for the Leafs to accomplish the … unthinkable? Unmentionable? Do we say it out loud?

Or is this just one more way of setting it up so the … inevitable? … will be that much more unpalatable.

Whatever the case, there’s very little left for either team to play for other than staying healthy.

The Leafs, by the way, are in a bit of a salary-cap bind now with O’Reilly healthy (and off long-term injured reserve) and Matt Murray sidelined. They have only 12 forwards along with nine defencemen and three goalies. Keefe will rest who he can Saturday against Montreal, so let’s guess at an 11/7 formation and a Joseph Woll appearance in net.

Woll is the only player they can send to the AHL’s Marlies (Wayne Simmonds and Nick Abruzzese were dispatched to make room for O’Reilly). They’d better hope Murray returns to health, so they can have the cap room needed to sign Matthew Knies when his NCAA season ends — hopefully in triumph — on Saturday.

I personally think they’re bubble-wrapping Murray until Knies signs. When Murray comes back, Woll goes down and there’s cap room for Knies.

Questions, please

If you have a question, email it to [email protected] and I’ll answer it in the next Mailbag. To this week’s mail, with Morgan Rielly facing the heat, Connor McDavid eluding hip checks and Auston Matthews changing his skates.

Hey, Kevin. Almost there, the finish line is in sight. My colon is already starting to tighten. Another sad year for Canadian teams, though, eh?

I was just reading that Luke Schenn was saying he is not being “shy” and just trying to fit in with the Leafs, but instead offering some frank advice for his fellow D-men. (Good for him!) He was advising that sometimes, just sometimes, a puck off the glass and out is a good thing. What a concept! This is reassuring for those of us who scream “Get it out!” at our TVs during most Leafs games as the puck is inexplicably “cycled” backward behind their own net, yet again.

But it begs the question: Is this not a long-overdue point to be made for the, uh, coaches?

Colin B.

London, Ont.

You sent this early in the week and I wanted to talk about that comment, because off the glass and out is not the way the Leafs play. They keep the puck, retreat, find a new path. Then I watched Schenn’s off-the-glass attempt and not out. To Charlie Coyle. Goal. So … hey, I like Schenn. He does a lot of other things right. I’m not saying he made the wrong choice on Thursday night. Three guys were on him. He could have used some help. Still, it’s not how the Leafs play.

My question as I wait for playoffs to begin is one I’ve always wondered: How many skates, gloves and sticks do the players use in the course of a season? Are there any players who go through skates and gloves like crazy? I was surprised to hear Auston Matthews goes through skates a lot. Never would have thought it since the boot on the skate is moulded, not like the leather ones I grew up with. How much do teams budget for equipment, sticks, tape, etc.?

Thanks, Kevin. Love your work.

Ken W.

The answer differs player by player. Ryan O’Reilly gets a different set of gloves every five minutes or so, but they’re recycled through a dryer. So I think he’s got four sets a game, but uses the same ones. I believe Mats Sundin had a new pair of skates every game. Dion Phaneuf went through lots, too. I have heard that the stick budget alone is close to $400,000 on average per team. I had one retired general manager tell me that the entire budget for equipment by one team in the NHL these days was his entire budget for a team — including salaries and travel — back in the 1980s. Take that for what it’s worth.

Hey, Kevin. With the salary cap making it hard for teams to keep players that they have drafted and become stars, has there ever been any discussion about each team being allowed a franchise player whose salary does not go against the cap? This would help every team keep their star player and free up money to keep other players. It’s frustrating watching teams get dismantled after becoming successful. The salary cap did its job levelling the playing field. Now it’s time to let teams that draft well be able to keep their players and not have to sell and start over. I am a 60-year-old Leafs fan that doesn’t want to go through another rebuild.

Scotty N.

Lots here, Scotty. First off, I don’t think the Leafs are going through a rebuild any time soon, so calm down on that front. I’ll disagree with the premise. I think the cap makes it easier for teams to keep players who have — your words — “become stars.” John Tavares is pretty much the only big name who switched teams as a UFA in recent years. Prior to the cap, there was far more movement (IMO) of star players for financial reasons.

The cap rules make it financially appealing for players to stay with the team that drafted them. Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Steve Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Nicklas Backstrom, Carey Price, Jonathan Toews — that’s a pretty impressive list of players over 30 who “became stars” and stayed with their original team. Some players leave because teams move on from them, but had long tenures before leaving as UFAs (Patrick Marleau, Corey Perry). Tavares bucked the trend, as did Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise years before.

But in terms of fans warming up to players — say, a good 10-year run — these days are better than the pre-cap years of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr, Alex Mogilny, Pavel Bure, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ron Francis, Chris Chelios, Ed Belfour, Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan switching teams as free agents.

No more Morgan Rielly. He hurts the defence and should not be on the power play. He will not shoot the puck, and why with more talented forwards sitting on the bench does the coach not run with five forwards? Wake up, coach. Give five forwards a try again.

Thanks, Pat U.

I’ll disagree with just about everything you said. The Leafs power play is tied with Colorado for third-best in the league. But I will say this about Leafs fans: You’re not happy until you can gripe about one player. Justin Holl took most of the criticism for a year or so. Now Rielly. I just don’t get it.

Hei, Kevin. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned hip check? I watch a lot of hockey highlights, but seldom see a hip check. Has it gotten out of fashion, or is the game so fast that it is too difficult to apply? I can only imagine these streaking forwards like Jack Hughes and Connor McDavid would think twice if they were lambasted with a hip check. Your thoughts?

Kind regards

Scot in Norway

I think McDavid and Hughes and others would simply elude the hip check and the defenceman would be standing still pylon-like, embarrassed. That’s the game these days.

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