Craig Berube’s lighthearted take on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ defensive Crisis vs. the Montreal Canadiens

Toronto Maple Leafs would be working their Montreal Canadiens game through some roster bad luck. With playoffs around the corner and points being desperately fought for in the Atlantic Division, the Leafs are down two key defensemen, and their paycheck does not allow them to call up any extra hands just yet. Meanwhile, to lighten the mood, head coach Craig Berube had his spin on matters.


Going against the Montreal Canadiens without Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe is less than ideal for any team. Ekman-Larsson has racked up 29 points in 77 total games this year; meanwhile, McCabe, given ice time and injury, has accrued 23 points in 66 games. There is an expectation that McCabe would come back ahead of season closure; meanwhile, Ekman-Larsson is day-to-day.

In another casual moment with the press regarding the shortfall, Berube suggested, “Maybe I’ll suit up and play back there, I wasn’t sure about it." Totally in jest, he recognized the seriousness of the issue and remarked that it would take a collective effort to fix it. In particular, the forwards MUST defend. Transition and breakout situations, where the forwards need to help the needy blue line on this night, will be really important.
Due to cap limitations, Toronto has only about $195,000 in space, entirely unable even to consider the addition of another minimum-salary player for their game Saturday. Although NHL rules would allow for an emergency recall, that can happen only after having played a game short-handed. This means the AHL reinforcements would come in time for Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
In practice, Simon Benoit was up with Chris Tanev on the top defensive pair, which will be called on the most heavily against Montreal. These two, in tandem with the rest of the healthy defensemen, will share the bulk of the ice time and responsibilities that would have gone to McCabe and Ekman-Larsson.
Also Read : Craig Berube's Leadership: A New Horizon for Toronto Maple Leafs
Unlike the aforementioned roster crunch, the Leafs head into Saturday's game with a somewhat decent record of 48-26-4 (100 points), thereby securing for themselves a playoff spot. Every single match is important, given the virtually neck-and-neck competition presented by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. Thus, Toronto wants to stay smart during this short-term fight and maintain their vigor for the postseason.